By Michelle Nichols NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed veteran British diplomat Martin Griffiths as the world body s new aid chief on Wednesday, and said Griffiths would continue as the U.N. Yemen mediator until a transition has been announced. Several sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Griffiths had been tapped to replace Mark Lowcock as the U.N. under-secretary-general and emergency relief coordinator. He will be the fifth British person in a row to be the U.N. aid chief. Britain last year reduced its foreign aid spending commitment to 0.5% of gross domestic product from 0.7%. Griffiths has been trying to mediate an end to the conflict in Yemen for the past three years. A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Iran-aligned Houthi group ousted the country’s government from the capital Sanaa. The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system. A replacement for Griffiths has to be approved by the 15-member U.N.
Head of Ethiopia s Tigray region administration has resigned, his deputy says
This content was published on May 5, 2021 - 18:27
May 5, 2021 - 18:27
NAIROBI (Reuters) -The head of Ethiopia s Tigray region government has resigned, his deputy said on Wednesday, without giving details.
Mulu Nega was appointed head of the federal government-appointed interim administration in November during a military offensive launched in the northern region after regional forces attacked its bases there.
His deputy Abebe Gebrehiwot Yihdego told Reuters of his resignation. Mulu did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
The Prime Minster s spokeswoman and a government spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Report finds over 4,000 attacks against health workers since 2016
A surgical operating theatre in a hospital at Ariha, in the Syrian province of Idlib, which was hit by an airstrike on January 30, 2020. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Violence against health workers and facilities continues unabated with over 4,000 incidents reported in conflict zones over the past five years, a new Swiss-UK funded report reveals.
This content was published on May 5, 2021 - 17:46
May 5, 2021 - 17:46
ICRC/SHCC/sb
On May 3, 2016, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on the protection of health care in conflict. Resolution 2286, supported by 80 states, included steps states could take to mitigate such attacks. Five years on, attacks against health facilities, workers and patients continue in conflict zones around the world.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking will travel to Saudi Arabia and Oman on Thursday for talks with government officials about efforts to end Yemen s civil war, the U.S. State Department said in a statement. Lenderking s discussions will focus on ensuring the regular and unimpeded delivery of commodities and humanitarian assistance throughout Yemen, promoting a lasting ceasefire, and transitioning the parties to a political process, the statement said. A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Iran-aligned Houthi group ousted the country s government from the capital Sanaa. The civil war has created what the United Nations calls the world s worst humanitarian crisis, with some 80 percent of the country s population of 29 million requiring aid and 13 million facing starvation. Since taking office in January, U.S. President Joe Biden has made Yemen a priority and appointed Lenderking to help revive stalled U.N. efforts to en
Food prices soar in West Africa amid conflicts and COVID, WFP says
FILE PHOTO: Zonabo Sore, 11, who fled from attacks of armed militants in Sahel region carries her sixteen-month-old nephew Housein, who suffers from malnutrition, as his twin brother Hassan is being examined at hospital in Kaya, Burkina Faso November 23, 2020. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra reuters tickers
This content was published on April 16, 2021 - 13:58
April 16, 2021 - 13:58
Dakar (Reuters) - Food prices in West Africa have jumped more than 30% since last year to their highest levels in nearly a decade due to coronavirus lockdowns and a decline in cereal production, the World Food Programme (WFP) said Friday.