Montreal, Canada | AFP | Through his foundation, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates is the top nongovernmental donor to the Global Fund against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, with plans to give $600 million between 2017-2019. In an interview with AFP, Gates said the Global Fund’s successes have given him hope, even …
Read More »Kenya border oil reserves case against Somalia in UN court
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s fight to hold on to potentially lucrative Indian Ocean oil and gas reserves, threatened by a maritime border spat with Somalia, goes before the UN’s top court in The Hague on Monday. The hearings, due to last through the week, are the first stage …
Read More »IS sex slavery survivor Yazidis named UN goodwill ambassador
United Nations, United States | AFP | A young Iraqi woman who survived rape and abuse as a sex slave of Islamic State fighters has became a UN goodwill ambassador for the dignity of survivors of human trafficking. Nadia Murad Basee Taha, a 23-year-old Yazidi woman, called for justice for the …
Read More »Global Fund collects $13 bln to end AIDS, malaria, TB by 2030
Montreal, Canada | AFP | An international donor conference in Montreal reached its goal of raising $13 billion for the fight to eradicate AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria by 2030, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday. “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great Honour to announce that for the fifth …
Read More »At Canada conference, $13 billion sought for AIDS, malaria fight
Montreal, Canada | AFP | International donors gather in Montreal this weekend with a goal of raising another $13 billion for the fight to eradicate AIDS and two other major deadly diseases — tuberculosis and malaria — by 2030. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is chairing the conference, held every …
Read More »South Sudan fighting sends refugee numbers soaring past one million mark
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Renewed fierce fighting has pushed nearly 200,000 people to flee South Sudan since July, sending the number of refugees from the war-scarred nation past one million, the UN said Friday. “The number of South Sudanese refugees sheltering in neighbouring countries has this week passed …
Read More »Kenya refugee return scheme flouts international law: HRW
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | As Kenya prepares to close the world’s largest refugee camp, a rights watchdog said the repatriation of Somalis from the sprawling Dadaab camp is based on misinformation and violates international standards. Human Rights Watch, which interviewed scores of people in the vast camp last month, …
Read More »South Sudan hunts activists after UN Security Council visit
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Civil society activists who met with UN Security Council diplomats during last week’s visit to South Sudan are fleeing a government crackdown, groups said Friday. Around a dozen activists met with the UN delegation when it visited South Sudan to push for peace after an …
Read More »UN: Malong and Kiir to blame for Juba violence
United Nations, United States | AFP | A UN panel of experts has concluded that heavy fighting that engulfed South Sudan’s capital Juba in July, forcing vice president and ex-rebel leader Riek Machar to flee, was “directed by the highest level” of the country’s military. The confidential report seen by …
Read More »UN helicopters rescue Machar troops in DRC forests
United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has transported more than 100 supporters of South Sudan’s rebel leader Riek Machar to health facilities for emergency medical treatment, the UN said Wednesday. The rebel fighters had crossed into the DRC and “were …
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