Pacific 

Myanmar: UN rights office warns of growing crisis in Rakhine state

Fierce battles have intensified between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group, displacing tens of thousands of people in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships in recent days. An estimated 45,000 Rohingya have reportedly fled to an area on the Naf River near the border with Bangladesh, seeking protection. Over one million Rohingya are already in the country,… Read More
Europe 

WHO report reveals major health disparities between European teens

Based on information from 44 countries that engaged in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, it highlights unhealthy eating habits, increasing levels of overweight and obesity and low levels of physical activity in young people. According to WHO, each of these are “significant risk factors for a range of noncommunicable diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer.” Unhealthy… Read More
Europe 

Ukraine: humanitarian, health needs soar as Kharkiv hostilities intensify

“Relentless aerial attacks continue, prolonging and exacerbating an already dire situation,” said UN refugee agency (UNHCR), spokesperson Shabia Mantoo. “More than two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion, regular shelling and attacks continue to claim lives and destroy homes and critical infrastructure across the country.”  Ms. Mantoo noted that in the past week, more than 10,300 people have been evacuated from… Read More
Pacific 

Climate crisis fuels deadly floods, worsening hunger in Afghanistan

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that as erratic weather on the back of the worsening climate crisis “becomes the norm”, things will only get worse. This month’s unusually high rainfall followed a dry winter, rendering the ground too hard to absorb water, leading to massive flooding. Unseasonably warm temperatures further complicated the situation by melting mountain snow, causing… Read More
Africa Mali West Africa World 

The Malian professor jailed for criticizing military junta

Malian professor, Étienne Fakaba Sissoko had written a book but little did he know that act would send him to jail. The economist professor was jailed for two years for his criticism the current military junta. The 41-year-old academic, has been in custody since March this year, charged with defamation and damaging the state’s reputation by distributing fake news. The… Read More
Africa South Africa Southern Africa World 

South Africa’s top court bars Zuma from contesting election

South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma cannot run in this month’s general elections after the country’s top court ruled to bar him. Zuma, who resigned as president in 2018, fell out with the governing African National Congress (ANC). He has been campaigning for a new party called uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) named after the ANC’s formed armed wing. Zuma was… Read More
Pacific 

India’s LGBTQIA+ community notches legal wins but still faces societal hurdles to acceptance, equal rights

UNAIDS, the main advocate for coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the UN Development Progarmme (UNDP) offices in India have been important partners in this effort.  On this International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), celebrated annually on 17 May, we reflect on the journey of some members of this community in India and shed light on… Read More
Africa South Africa Southern Africa World 

South Africa: Rescue efforts end at collapsed building

South Africa has announced an end to rescue efforts at the site of a building collapse in George. At least 33 construction workers died from the disaster with 19 people still unaccounted for when the five-storey luxury apartment building collapsed on May 6. 29 survivors were pulled from the debris though and most of them receiving medical treatment. The rescue… Read More
Pacific 

UN rights office urges Sri Lanka to reveal fate of the disappeared

The call accompanies the launch of a key report by OHCHR, highlighting also the need for the Government to acknowledge the involvement of State security forces and to issue a public apology. From the 1970s to 2009, Sri Lanka witnessed widespread enforced disappearances, predominantly carried out by the national army and associated paramilitary groups.   The Liberation Tigers of Tamil… Read More
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