UNITED NATIONS, Jun 7 2024 (IPS)* –– The continued veiled threats from Russia, warning of nuclear attacks on Ukraine, have prompted some politicians in Europe to visualize a nuclear-armed European Union (EU).
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UN Secretary-General António Guterres (center right) attends a Security Council meeting on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation on March 18, 2024. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider
NEW YORK, Jun 6 2024 (IPS)* — It is quite astonishing and clearly insane, that Manfred Weber, the German leader of the European Union’s center-right European People’s Party, now expected to come in first in the European Parliament election scheduled on June 6-9th, is calling for the EU’s own nuclear “deterrent”—arguing that the US-stationed nuclear weapons in five NATO states, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherland, and Turkey, may be inadequate protection for Europe’s security should Trump, that great friend of Russia, be elected!
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Aerial view of the European Parliament in Brussels
(UN News)* —Horrific violence and the risk of famine continue to stalk the people of Sudan, UN humanitarians warned on Friday [], as they echoed condemnation by UN Secretary-General António Guterres of an attack on a village south of Khartoum two days ago that is now believed to have left more than 100 dead.
“The UN Secretary-General strongly condemns the attack reportedly carried out on 5 June by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Wad Al-Noura village, Jazira state, which is said to have killed over 100 people,” his Spokesperson said in a statement overnight, which also underscored “the immense suffering of the Sudanese population as a result of the continued hostilities”.
The war has caused unprecedented devastation to the Palestinian labour market and the wider economy, according to new data and analysis by the ILO and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
Since hostilities erupted in October 2023, the unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip has reached a staggering 79.1 per cent. In the West Bank, which has also been severely impacted by the crisis, unemployment has reached 32 per cent.