Page 44 - United Nations

Gaza now 'uninhabitable' due to Israel-Hamas war: UN humanitarian chief

The U.N. humanitarian chief described Gaza on Friday as uninhabitable three months into Israel's war with Hamas, warning that famine was looming and a public health disaster unfolding. In a grim assessment of the devastating impact of Israel's military response to the horrific Hamas attacks on October 7, Martin Griffiths said that Gaza's 2.3 million people face daily threats to their very existence while the world just watches. He said tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, have been killed or injured, families are sleeping in the open as temperatures plummet, and areas where Palestinians were told to relocate have been bombed. People are facing the highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded (and) famine is around the corner, Griffiths said. The few partially functioning hospitals are overwhelmed and critically short of supplies, medical facilities are under relentless attack, infectious diseases are spreading, and amidst the chaos some 180 Palestinian women ar

Azerbaijan minister, state oil company veteran to lead COP29 climate talks

The country has an estimated 2.5 trillion cubic metres of natural gas reserves, according to the 2021 BP Statistical Review of World Energy, and it aims to double its gas exports to Europe by 2027

UN's world food price index ends 2023 around 10% below 2022 levels

The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 118.5 points in December, down 1.5% from November

Indian economy outperforming peers, projected to grow at 6.2% in 2024: UN

India is projected to grow at 6.2 per cent in 2024, supported by robust domestic demand and strong growth in the manufacturing and services sectors, the United Nations has said. The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2024 report, launched here on Thursday, said that gross domestic product in South Asia is projected to increase by 5.2 per cent in 2024, driven by a robust expansion in India, which remains the fastest-growing large economy in the world. Growth in India is projected to reach 6.2 per cent in 2024, slightly lower than the 6.3 per cent estimate for 2023, amid robust domestic demand and strong growth in the manufacturing and services sectors, the report said. India's GDP is projected to increase to 6.6 per cent in 2025. The report notes that economic growth in India is projected to remain strong at 6.2 per cent this year mainly supported by resilient private consumption and strong public investment. While manufacturing and services sectors will continue to ..

AI needs global rules that won't stifle innovation

The regulators in all the countries must get their acts together and pool their wisdom to evolve a uniform set of laws to manage the transition

S Africa launches case at top UN court accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza

South Africa launched a case Friday at the United Nations' top court accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and asking the court to order Israel to halt its attacks. South Africa's submission to the International Court of Justice alleges that acts and omissions by Israel ... are genocidal in character" as they are committed with the intent "to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group. It also asks the Hague-based court to issue an interim order for Israel to immediately suspend its military operations in Gaza. South Africa can bring the case under the Genocide Convention because both it and Israel are signatories to the convention.

Human rights situation rapidly deteriorating in West bank: UN report

The report calls for an immediate end to the use of military weapons and means during law enforcement operations, an end to arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of Palestinians

Pakistan's current economic model not working, says World Bank official

Pakistan's current economic model is not working, a top World Bank official has said, underlining that the cash-strapped nation must change policies that have plagued development and benefitted only a few. The remarks by World Bank Country Director Najy Benhassine came in a Policy Vision article, published in the latest UNDP publication. Pakistan's current economic model is not working since it has fallen behind its peers, significant progress in poverty reduction has now started to reverse, and the benefits of growth have accrued to a narrow elite, Benhassine said. There is a broad consensus that action is needed to change policies that have plagued development, benefitted only a few, and led to very volatile and low growth, the Dawn newspaper quoted Benhassine as saying. Pakistan is heavily exposed to climate change, with the potentially devastating impacts of climate shocks and natural disasters already apparent, he said in Development Advocate Pakistan, the UNDP's quarterly ...

Children in Afghanistan remain highly vulnerable to grave violations: UN

The report, which was released on December 22, 2023, said that children's access to basic services was "disrupted due to protracted conflict, displacement, extreme poverty and food insecurity

Tenfold increase in reported cases of dengue over last generation: UN

The UN health agency said on Friday that reported cases of dengue globally increased tenfold over the last generation, with climate change and the growing spread of virus-carrying mosquitoes partly to blame for transmission that remains mostly prevalent in the Americas. The World Health Organisation said reported cases soared to a record 5.2 million in 2019, up from 500,000 in 2000, across 129 countries worldwide, figures that likely understate the actual toll. In January, WHO warned that dengue posed a pandemic threat and was the world's fastest spreading mosquito-borne disease. While there are vaccines and specially bred mosquitoes containing a bacteria called Wolbachia to fight dengue, there are no specific treatments for the virus once someone becomes infected. This year, more than 5 million cases and over 5,000 dengue-related deaths were reported, WHO said. Changing distribution patterns of the mosquitoes that spread dengue, together with higher rainfall, humidity and heat link

Over 0.57 mn people in Gaza are now 'starving' due to fallout from war: UN

A report released Thursday by the UN finds that more than half a million people in Gaza are starving because of not enough food entering the territory since the outbreak of war more than 10 weeks ago. It is a situation where pretty much everybody in Gaza is hungry," said World Food Programme chief economist Arif Husain. He warned that if the war between Israel and Hamas continues at the same levels and food deliveries are not restored that the population could face a full-fledged famine within the next six months. The report released Thursday by 23 UN and nongovernmental agencies found that the entire population in Gaza is in a food crisis, with 576,600 at catastrophic - or starvation - levels.

Intense negotiations at UN on Gaza aid resolution, trying to avoid US veto

UN Security Council members were in intense negotiations Tuesday on an Arab-sponsored resolution to spur desperately needed humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza during some kind of a halt in the fighting, trying to avoid another veto by the United States. US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told reporters Tuesday morning that negotiations were still underway. Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh of the United Arab Emirates, the Arab representative on the 15-member council, said she hoped the council could vote on a resolution early Tuesday afternoon. The council had scheduled a vote late Monday afternoon, but it was postponed to try to get the US to support the resolution or abstain. The US vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by almost all other council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on Dec 12 by a vote of 153-10, with 23 abstentions. The draft resoluti

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Women survivors of gender-based violence being jailed by Taliban: UN Report

The UNAMA office added that before the re-establishment of the Taliban, there were 23 shelters for the protection of women survivors of gender-based violence in country, none of which are now active

India calls for zero tolerance for terror actors and their sponsors at UN

While speaking at the UNSC Open Debate on Small Arms, she highlighted that India has suffered from cross-border terrorism and violence carried by terrorist groups using illicit weapons

UN Security Council extends sanctions oversight on Taliban for another year

The UNSC members, in a meeting on Thursday, approved Resolution 2716, requesting the Sanctions Monitoring Team to support the committee established by Resolution 1988

India's approach to Afghanistan continues to be guided by historical ties

In the past two years, some Afghan diplomats have left India as they obtained residency in third countries but the remaining diplomats have taken over the responsibility for continued functioning of the diplomatic missions of that country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, he said India's approach to Afghanistan continues to be guided by its historical relations, friendship with its people and relevant UN resolutions. "The diplomatic presence of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in New Delhi and the Consulates of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Mumbai and Hyderabad continue to function in India," he said in his reply. "During the past two years, some Afghan diplomats have left India since they obtained residency in third countries. However, the remaining Afghan diplomats based in India have taken over the responsibility for the continued diplomatic functioning of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan," he ...

AU's inclusion in G20 under India's initiative should inspire UN: Amb

India's initiative to include the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 under its presidency is a significant step in reform that should inspire the much older United Nations to make the Security Council contemporary, New Delhi's envoy to the UN has said. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj told the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) meeting on Security Council Reforms on Wednesday that upon India's initiative, the African Union became a permanent member of the G20 at the New Delhi Summit in September this year. The inclusion of the African Union in the G20 ensured that an important and valuable voice from the Global South is added to an influential institution of global governance and decision-making. This significant step in reform should inspire the United Nations, a much older organisation, to also make the Security Council contemporary. Broad representation is, after all, a prerequisite for both effectiveness and credibility, Kamboj .

India votes in favour of UNGA draft resolution demanding ceasefire in Gaza

India voted in favour of a draft resolution in the UN General Assembly that demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict as well as the unconditional release of all hostages. The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution, introduced by Egypt, at an Emergency Special Session here Tuesday. The resolution was adopted with 153 votes in favour, while 23 nations abstained and 10 voted against the text. The resolution, sponsored among others by Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Palestine, demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and reiterated its demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, notably with regard to the protection of civilians." It also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access. The resolution however did not name Hamas and the US proposed an amendment to the draft ...

Israel-Hamas war latest updates: UN votes for Israel Gaza ceasefire, India supports

More than two months after Hamas attacked southern Israel, death and destruction have devastated the region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.