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Middle East war: Attacks on vital healthcare, evacuation strike fears

Almost one month since Israeli and US airstrikes on Iran began, sparking a wider regional war, UN agencies and partners on Friday highlighted the terror among civilians fleeing bombardment, with “no safe space” to go…

World News in Brief, Cuba blockade hits healthcare, Haiti’s ‘vortex of violence’, deadly Djibouti shipwreck

Hospitals are just the latest vital public services to be hit in Cuba, more than a month since Washington took measures to block oil supplies from entering the Caribbean nation. In an alert, the UN World…

DR Congo: violence intensifies as UN mission pledges continued support

The security and political situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains “extremely tense”, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Thursday. Despite the volatility, the UN…

Ukraine: danger is only increasing, warns UN human rights office

More than four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the “danger is only increasing”, particularly from attack drones, a top UN human rights official warned on Thursday. “During the first…

Persian Gulf crisis impacting food security, FAO warns

The intensifying conflict in the Persian Gulf “has triggered one of the most rapid and severe disruptions to global commodity flows in recent times,” the Chief Economist with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday.…

UN resolution urges reparations for slavery’s ‘historical wrongs’

Applause erupted in the UN General Assembly Hall on Wednesday as Member States adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity. The resolution…

World News in Brief: 273 million out of school, deadly attacks on Ukraine, migratory species in danger

The number of children and young people out of school worldwide has climbed for the seventh consecutive year, reaching 273 million, according to a new report from the UN education agency, UNESCO.…

UN chief calls for immediate release of 118 detained UN staff

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for the immediate release of the 118 UN staff currently detained worldwide as attacks against the United Nations increase with 179 personnel arrested or detained last year alone…

MIDDLE EAST LIVE 25 March: All eyes on Strait of Hormuz; war is ‘out of control’, UN chief warns

It’s day 26 of war in the Middle East. The UN chief says with the conflict now totally out of control, diplomacy must prevail. Ongoing strikes in Israel and Iran have included intensifying Israeli attacks against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, while some US troops are heading to the region, the…

Gulf war ‘out of control’, Guterres warns, as UN appoints envoy to push for peace

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the escalating Gulf war is “out of control”, urging all sides to step back from the brink and allow diplomacy to prevail, as he announced the appointment of a senior envoy to spearhead peace efforts…