April 24, 2024 No comments
UN coordinator in Gaza announces new plan to deliver lifesaving aid
INTERNATIONAL, 24 April 2024, Humanitarian Aid - A new mechanism for getting lifesaving aid into Gaza will start in the coming days, UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator Sigrid Kaag announced in a briefing to the Security Council on Wednesday. “The operationalisation of the mechanism will allow for pipeline prioritisation, predictability, visibility and tracking of supplies to Gaza,” she told ambassadors. The new plan stemmed from Security Council resolution 2720, adopted in December, which established Ms. Kaag’s position and requested her to forge a UN mechanism to accelerate aid deliveries into the war-torn enclave, which now faces looming famine. Since Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel in October that left 1,200 people dead and 250 taken hostage, Israeli military operations have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza...
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April 24, 2024 No comments
Russia vetoes Security Council draft resolution on a weapon-free outer space
INTERNATIONAL, 24 April 2024, Peace and Security - Russia used its veto to quash a draft resolution aimed at keeping weapons out of outer space. The Security Council rejected the draft resolution, introduced by Japan and the United States, by a vote of 13 in favour to one against, with one abstention (China), that would have had the 15-member organ call on “all States, in particular those with major space capabilities, to contribute actively to the objective of the peaceful use of outer space and of the prevention of an arms race in outer space.” Also by the draft, the Council would have called on all nations “to refrain from actions contrary to that objective and to the relevant existing treaties in the interest of maintaining international...
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April 24, 2024 No comments
UN migration agency assists survivors of deadly shipwreck off Djibouti
INTERNATIONAL, 24 April 2024, Migrants and Refugees - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is offering medical care, food, shelter and psychosocial support to 33 migrants who survived a shipwreck off the coast of Djibouti on Monday, as local authorities continue search and rescue operations. The migrants were on a boat carrying at least 77 people from Ras al-Ara off Yemen’s coast which capsized off the coast of Djibouti, near Obock, leaving 24 dead and 20 others missing. Just two weeks ago, a similar accident, resulting in the death of at least 38 migrants, occurred. “The occurrence of two such tragedies within a span of two weeks highlights the dangers faced by children, women, and men migrating through irregular routes, underscoring the importance of establishing safe...
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April 24, 2024 No comments
New global campaign boosts lifesaving vaccines
INTERNATIONAL, 24 April 2024, Health - Two UN agencies alongside the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the global vaccine alliance Gavi launched on Wednesday a campaign to scale up programmes to save lives, marking the start of World Immunisation Week, celebrated annually during the last week of April. The Humanly Possible joint global communication campaign aims to boost vaccination programmes around the world, with support from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). “Thanks to vaccinations, more children now survive and thrive past their fifth birthday than at any other point in history,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. Indeed, global immunisation programmes have shown what is humanly possible when many stakeholders, including world leaders, regional and global health agencies, scientists, charities, aid...
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April 24, 2024 No comments
UNRWA seeks $1.2 billion to meet urgent needs in Gaza and the West Bank
INTERNATIONAL, 24 April 2024, Humanitarian Aid - The UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, launched a $1.2 billion appeal on Wednesday to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip and to respond to needs in the West Bank as violence there increases. The funding will cover humanitarian response through the end of the year, with the goal of meeting the most urgent needs of 1.7 million people in war-ravaged Gaza and more than 200,000 Palestine refugees in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Lifeline for millions “The scars of war are seen on a massive scale in Gaza. Meanwhile violence is increasing in the West Bank,” Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said. “It is critical to support UNRWA in providing lifesaving humanitarian assistance and development services in health and education. The past months proved that...
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