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Boost for UNRWA as UK decides to restore funding

The head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees UNRWA welcomed the decision by the United Kingdom on Friday to resume funding of the agency “at a critical time, as the agency continues to come under harsh and unprecedented attacks…

World News In Brief: Bangladesh student protests, Yemen’s maternal deaths, Mandela Day, honouring LGBT rights at EuroGames 2024

The UN chief urged the Government of Bangladesh on Thursday to create an environment that allows proper dialogue with student protesters following weeks of demonstrations in the South Asian country. UN…

Eastern Afghanistan reels from fatal storms; dozens dead, hundreds homeless

UN teams and humanitarian partners in Afghanistan are mobilizing in response to devastating windstorms and flash floods that have ravaged eastern regions of the country, resulting in dozens of fatalities and the destruction of hundreds of homes…

‘Largest’ displacements so far in Gaza’s war of attrition: UN aid agencies

UN humanitarians issued a fresh alert on Thursday about having to cut rations in Gaza where fresh evacuation orders by the Israeli military have prompted “the largest displacements since October” across the enclave…

No end in sight to the ‘war on women’ in Gaza

Wars are never gender neutral and Gaza is further evidence of this as some one million women and girls bear “the worst brunt” of nine months of conflict, the UN Women Special Representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said on Thursday.…

Books offer novel way to counter prison overcrowding in the Philippines

A reading programme for prisoners in jails in the Philippines is supporting their education as well as enabling them to shorten their sentences. The initiative supported by the UN office on Drugs and…

Human Rights abuses in CAR detention centres need urgent response: UN experts

Immediate action is needed to address human rights abuses in detention centres across the Central African Republic (CAR) according to a new UN report released on Thursday. The report…

UN forum on sustainable development concludes with renewed commitment, call for urgent action

The High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development concluded on Wednesday, with nations reiterating the need for renewed impetus and accelerated actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline…

New support needed amid preparations for Ukraine’s third wartime winter

A new $100 million financial contribution will be given to support displaced and war-affected people in Ukraine as they prepare for the third winter since the start of Russia’s invasion, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi announced on Thursday during his third wartime visit to Kharkiv…

'Listening to the agony' in Gaza: Humanitarians struggle to meet needs of displaced

The World Health Organization (WHO) has registered more than 1,000 attacks on healthcare facilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since the October 7 terror attacks in Israel sparked the on-going war in Gaza, the agency’s top official in the region said on Wednesday…