As Donors Suspend Critical Funding to UNRWA, Allegations Against Staff Remain Murky

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, severed the contracts of staffers accused by Israel of taking part in the Hamas killing spree of Oct. 7. Yet the Israelis refuse to share evidence to the UN agency or to the larger UN organization about the allegations. Meanwhile, major donors to UNRWA have frozen funding just as Gazans face life or death situations. BBC SCREEN GRAB […]

February 6, 2024 5

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Namibia

Obituary: Hage G Geingob 3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024

Hage Gottfried Geingob (3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024) President Dr. Hage G Geingob became the first Namibian president to die in office when he succumbed early in the morning of 4 February 2024, after having been rushed to a private hospital in Windhoek on 3 February 2024 shortly after his return from the United States where he had sought novel cancer treatment. Dr. Geingob was born in Tsumeb in 1941, receiving […]

February 4, 2024 839 2

World

International Community Must Not Waver in Its Commitment to Two-State Solution, Secretary-General Tells Palestinian Rights Committee

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the opening of the 2024 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in New York today: Mr. Chair, Ambassador Cheikh Niang, congratulations on your election to the Bureau. The Committee’s mandate and advocacy are crucial amidst the unresolved Question of Palestine and the enormous violence and suffering, particularly since the horrific 7 October attack by […]

February 1, 2024 18

World

Guyana, Leading the UN Security Council, Is Not Giving Up on a Ceasefire in Gaza

Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, permanent representative of Guyana, photographed at the country’s mission to the UN, Jan 22, 2023. “We would very much like to see a ceasefire for the people to receive the necessary humanitarian aid,” she said about Gaza in an interview. “We are not at that point yet, and that is really regrettable.” JOHN PENNEY/PASSBLUE By Damilola Banjo via PassBlue The United Nations Security Council’s continuing failure to agree […]

February 1, 2024 6

Local

Namibian photograph wins international award.

A photograph of a Mahangu (Pearl Millet) harvester in northern Namibia has won first prize in an international photographic competition organised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The competition was part of the FAO’s International Year of Millets, which raised awareness of the nutritional benefits of millets, including Mahangu, and their cultivation under changing climate conditions. The picture, taken in May 2021 by Jonathon Rees, shows […]

January 31, 2024 26

World

UN Secretary General convenes urgent meeting with donor countries

UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres will meet with several donor countries in an attempt to persuade them to reverse their decision to pause UNRWA funding. Several countries which include the United States and Germany, put a halt on funding following allegations that several UN staff were allegedly involved in the October 7th attacks on Israel. Jody Jacobs reports from the United Nations.

January 31, 2024 17

World

Austria also pauses lifesaving support for UNRWA

United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has appealed to countries to reverse their UNRWA funding suspension. Several countries paused their funding to the aid agency following allegations that some UNRWA personnel were involved in the October 7th terror attacks in Israel. Jody Jacobs reports from the United Nations.

January 30, 2024 11

Africa

UNDP’s New $1 Billion Fund Could Boost Africa’s Tech Startups Globally

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, Presidents Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, left, and Paul Kagame of Rwanda helped launch the United Nations Development Program’s investment fund directed at tech startups in Africa. Called Timbuktoo, it could cushion the bearish state of venture capital globally. WEF2024 By Damilola Banjo via PassBlue Venture capital funding is shrinking globally, but experts are optimistic that a new $1 billion investment […]

January 30, 2024 32

Opinion Pieces

ICJ ruling is a victory for human rights and justice

“The Peace Palace, seat of the International Court of Justice, the Hague, Netherlands. The court is the principal judicial body of the United Nations.” Photo: United Nations via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Deed) By GroundUp Editors via GroundUp The ruling on Friday by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is a victory for human rights and justice. Fifteen of the seventeen judges found that South Africa made a plausible case that the dreadful […]

January 29, 2024 18

United Nations