Rome, Italy | AFP | A sudden rise in hunger across the globe will require a new emphasis on developing rural economies, the United Nations said on Monday. After steadily declining for a decade, 2016 saw an increase in hunger, with 815 million people, or 11 percent of the world’s population, …
Read More »UN says peacekeeper killed in attack on DR Congo base
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Rebels from a Ugandan-dominated group on Monday attacked a UN military base in DR Congo’s unstable east, killing one peacekeeper and injuring 12 others, the UN mission said. The attack took place in Beni where UN soldiers have been battling the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), …
Read More »DR Congo violence pushes thousands into Zambia
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Several thousand people have fled to Zambia in the past month to escape violence in Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN said Tuesday. The UN refugee agency said 3,360 people from DR Congo’s conflict-wracked southeast had entered Zambia since August 30, the largest influx of its …
Read More »UN chief asks Cameroon to probe attacks on anglophones
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on Cameroon to probe deadly attacks in the country’s restless English-speaking region after protests leading to a symbolic declaration of independence. At least 17 people were killed in weekend attacks in mostly French-speaking Cameroon’s southwest, a …
Read More »Burundi radio station suspended for criticising killings
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The director of a Burundi radio station said Friday his outlet is being temporarily taken off air after criticising the government over the killings of dozens of refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). CCIB FM+, which is run by Burundi’s chamber of commerce, …
Read More »African vote throws UN Burundi abuse probe into question
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The UN rights council voted Thursday to send experts to help authorities in crisis-wracked Burundi to investigate violations, casting doubt on whether an independent international probe would be allowed to continue. The resolution, presented this week by a group of African countries, was controversial since …
Read More »Aid chiefs to access Myanmar’s Rakhine on Thursday: UN
United Nations, United States | AFP | Representatives of UN agencies will be permitted to visit Rakhine state in Myanmar on Thursday for the first time since the start of a massive exodus of minority Rohingya Muslims. “There will be a trip organized by the government, probably tomorrow, to Rakhine,” United …
Read More »Kabila at UN pledges DR Congo elections but still no date
United Nations, United States | AFP | Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila told the United Nations on Saturday that his country is moving towards holding elections but vowed to resist “foreign diktats” on setting a date for the historic vote. Addressing the General Assembly, Kabila appealed for support from …
Read More »UN needs $200 million for ‘catastrophic’ Rohingya influx
Dhaka, Bangladesh | AFP | The United Nations will need $200 million over the next six months to face the “catastrophic” influx of more than 420,000 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh, a top UN official said Friday. The Rohingya Muslims, escaping ethnic unrest in Myanmar, have overwhelmed Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar in under …
Read More »Museveni, UNAIDS call for quick pace of action to end AIDS
Museveni, world leaders come together to renew the urgency around ending AIDS as part of the Sustainable Development Goals New York, US | UNAIDS | The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, in collaboration with UNAIDS, brought together six heads of state or government to accelerate action and get countries on …
Read More »