World News in Brief: Iran in the Human Rights Council, Myanmar election ‘fraud’, migration chief in Cyprus, Mozambique flood update

Addressing the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mr. Türk said that although the “killing on the streets of Iran may have subsided…the brutality continues”. He said that violent repression did not solve any of Iran’s problems but instead created conditions for further violations, instability and bloodshed. “We have indications that the security forces made mass […]

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EU announces €153 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Moldova

The European Commission is announcing €153 million in emergency aid to Ukraine and refugee-hosting Moldova, as millions Ukrainians face freezing temperatures without power under sustained Russian bombardment of energy infrastructure. Responding to the urgent needs, the EU is allocating an initial €145 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine to provide protection assistance, shelter, food, cash […]

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UN rights chief decries US treatment of migrants, as deaths in ICE custody rise

In a news release on Friday, High Commissioner Volker Türk said individuals suspected of being undocumented migrants are being surveilled, arrested and detained – sometimes violently – in locations ranging from hospitals and places of worship to courthouses, schools, markets and private homes. The UN rights chief said he was “astounded by the now-routine abuse […]

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Sudan: UN warns of unprecedented child hunger in Darfur as fighting fuels refugee exodus

The war, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has devastated civilian infrastructure, collapsed basic services and triggered one of the world’s largest displacement crises. A nutrition survey conducted this month in Um Baru locality in Sudan’s North Darfur state – one of the […]

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UN chief warns ‘law of the jungle’ is replacing rule of law

António Guterres was addressing a high-level open debate of the UN Security Council convened by Somalia, which holds the Council presidency for January. The discussion comes as conflicts multiply, global tensions rise, and confidence in international institutions and rules is fading – even as the UN marks 80 years since the adoption of its founding […]

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At the edge of war: the Central African Republic’s uneasy border with Sudan

Since the beginning of the civil war in Sudan, tens of thousands of refugees have fled south to the area, carrying with them not only what they could salvage from their homes, but the woes of the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. On a sweltering November day, at the start of the dry season, a tall woman […]

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Registration of international NGOs in Palestine: joint statement by High Representative Kallas and Commissioners Lahbib and Šuica

High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, and Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, issued the following statement:   The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to worsen. As winter sets in, Palestinians are left exposed to heavy rain and falling temperatures, without safe shelter. […]

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Amidst uncertainty, a helpline in Pakistan becomes a lifeline for Afghans

She sits among a multilingual team of 40 colleagues, speakers of Pashto, Dari, Persian, Arabic, Urdu and English, in a room filled with monitors and headsets.   Each colleague is connected to a different life, a new fear, a unique story. Many callers are women, mothers with young children, widows, single women who have built […]

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New measures to strengthen cybersecurity resilience and capabilities

  We spend a lot of our time online. This shift to the digital world brings threats as well as opportunities. This includes cyber and hybrid attacks on essential services and democratic institutions, which Europe faces on a daily basis. The Commission has proposed new cybersecurity measures to further strengthen the EU’s resilience and capabilities in […]

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Commissioner Lahbib joins national commemoration in Switzerland for victims of Crans Montana fire

Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib is participating in the official national commemoration honouring the victims of the Crans Montana fire and expressing solidarity with the injured, their families and the communities affected. The ceremony, held in Martigny on the national day of mourning, will bring together the Swiss federal and cantonal authorities, international partners […]

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