Page 26 - Lobal Issues News Today

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 16 (IPS) - A cash crunch and hiring freeze at the United Nations threaten to hinder UN human rights investigations in places like Sudan, Ukraine, and Syria.

The largest remaining hospital in southern Gaza is “barely functional”, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday, amid reports of intense attacks by Israeli forces.

Civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are once again bearing the brunt of localized violence, amid a sharp uptick in fighting between Government forces and the M23 armed group, the UN refugee agency reported on Wednesday.

Tensions remain high in North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), particularly in the town of Sake, as clashes persist between M23 rebels and Government forces, the UN mission in the country, MONUSCO, reported on Wednesday.

KATHMANDU, Feb 15 (IPS) - These are the worst of times, but they can become the best of times, said speaker Dr. Walden Bello, seeking to inspire thousands of progressives who gathered for the World Social Forum (WSF) in Kathmandu on Thursday with the planet under clouds of armed conflict and assaults on democracy.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 15 (IPS) - Inclusive social protections for children would be a positive signifier of social development in a time where 1.4 billion children globally are denied them. A step towards realizing this has been taken through a new monitoring tool on current social protection and child poverty statistics.

Amid ongoing airstrikes targeting Gazas southernmost city of Rafah and reports that Israeli forces have conducted a military operation inside the Nasser Hospital Complex, concerns over a potential ground invasion of the densely populated border city are escalating.


 An independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said on Thursday that Israel’s decision to ban her from entering the country is nothing new and must not distract from atrocities being committed in Gaza.


As the world celebrates World Radio Day, marked on 13 February, we dug into the UN archives for a vintage podcast classic from 1959, when famed Frankenstein actor Boris Karloff narrated an episode describing a visit to a leprosy clinic in Tiranka, Nigeria.

UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Martin Griffith has reiterated his warning against a full-scale military assault on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population is now sheltered.