(UN News)* —Hunger in South Sudan’s northeast has reached a critical tipping point, with nearly 7.7 million people facing severe food insecurity as conflict escalates, the UN’s emergency food relief agency warned on Wednesday .
The situation is especially dire for returnees fleeing violence in Sudan, who now account for nearly half of those experiencing catastrophic hunger levels.
The influx of over 1.1 million displaced people into already fragile communities has overwhelmed resources and relief efforts, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
(UN News)* —In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships being faced by those about to give birth in the devastated enclave.
That’s the message from the UN World Health Organization, WHO, which said on Wednesday that mothers are going into labour amid dire conditions, putting their health and their babies’ lives at risk.
By Rami Ibrahim, Senior Audiovisual and Communication Assistant, IOM Yemen*
7 April 2925 (IOM)*–Sana’a, Yemen – Each morning, sunlight washes over Sana’a, bringing the city to life. The call to prayer rises above the rooftops, shopkeepers open their stalls, and the streets fill with people. But beneath the daily bustle, Yemen’s conflict lingers.
For many, survival is an ongoing struggle. Among them are thousands of migrants who arrive hoping to pass through, only to find themselves stranded.
After months of rehabilitation, Hussein is slowly regaining his strength with Abdulkareem by his side. Photo: IOM/Rami Ibrahim
A leaked paper reveals that Germany’s conservative political parties, the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), want to add a clause to Germany’s Nationality Law to allow the country to revoke German nationality from dual nationals if they are deemed “supporters of terrorism, antisemites and extremists.”
Statement by heads of OCHA, UNICEF, UNOPS, UNRWA, WFP and WHO
UNICEF/UNI448939/Eyad El BabaA child and his father as they pass through the rubble of buildings in Gaza.
NEW YORK, AMMAN, COPENHAGEN, GENEVA, ROME, 7 April 2025 (UNICEF)* – “For over a month, no commercial or humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza.
“More than 2.1 million people are trapped, bombed and starved again, while, at crossing points, food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies are piling up, and vital equipment is stuck.
(UN News)* — Amid the ongoing Israeli aid blockade and bombardment of Gaza, aid teams on warned that civilians trapped there face multiple daily challenges as relief supplies run critically low.
In a joint statement, the heads of the UN’s aid agencies warned that “we are witnessing acts of war in Gaza that show an utter disregard for human life,” with Israeli displacement orders forcing hundreds of thousands to flee – with nowhere safe to go.
(UN News)* — Unprecedented aid cuts are putting global progress to end maternal deaths at risk, three UN agencies warned in a new report that calls for greater investment in midwives and other health workers.
PORTLAND, USA, Apr 2 2025 (IPS)* – For most voters, to make America great again, as the 47th president has repeatedly pledged, meant to make the United States markedly superior globally.
The US administration’s actions, policies, program cuts and employee firings will not improve but likely only worsen America’s mediocre standing on virtually every major measure of societal wellbeing and development. Credit: Shutterstock.
However, the administration’s actions, policies and program cuts will not improve but only worsen the US’s mediocre standing among advanced countries.
(UN News)* — Amid reports of escalating settler violence in the West Bank, the UN rights office, OHCHR, briefed the Palestinian rights committee at UN Headquarters in New York, which also featured a screening of the Oscar winning documentary No Other Land.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe | Basel Adra (left), Palestinian film director, delivers testimony during a meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.\
Ambassador Riyad Mansour of the Observer State of Palestine and Israeli Human Rights lawyer Netta Amar Schiff – who joined via videolink – also took part.
(UN News)* —Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on course to become a $4.8 trillion global market by 2033 – roughly the size of Germany’s economy – but unless urgent action is taken, its benefits may remain in the hands of a privileged few, a new UN report warns.
Public Domain | Visualization of Artificial Intelligence combining a human brain schematic with a circuit board.
The Technology and Innovation Report 2025, released on Thursday by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), sounds the alarm on growing inequality in the AI landscape and lays out a roadmap for countries to harness AI’s potential.
The report shows that just 100 companies, mostly in the United States and China, are behind 40 per cent of the world’s private investment in research and development, highlighting a sharp concentration of power.