UN chief issues urgent plea for Gaza ceasefire
With Israeli activity intensifying in and around Gaza City, UN chief António Guterres renewed his urgent call for a ceasefire on Thursday, as Palestinians continued to flee intense airstrikes, artillery shelling and gunfire.
The Secretary-General was speaking to reporters at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9):
“I must reiterate that it is vital to reach immediately a ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages and to avoid the massive death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause.”
Around one million people still live in the city – which is Gaza’s largest – in the north of the shattered enclave. The Israeli army has reportedly described it as a stronghold of Hamas, the terrorist group whose deadly terror attacks in Israel and hostage-taking sparked the war on 7 October 2023.
The UN chief also condemned the Israeli Government’s decision to approve a controversial settlement expansion project in the occupied West Bank.
It would “divide the West Bank” and “must be reversed”, Mr. Guterres said, adding that all settlement construction violates international law.
If the large settlement goes ahead, it risks cutting off East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, which Israel captured during the 1967 Six-Day war after defeating Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
Monsoon floods kill more than 700 in Pakistan
Heavy monsoon rains and flash-floods have killed at least 739 people across Pakistan since late June, displacing thousands and destroying homes and crops, with more severe weather forecast.
In an update, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, warned that further flooding, landslides and crop losses can be expected, as it works with the authorities to provide assistance to the most vulnerable.
Reports indicate that Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has suffered most, with widespread devastation caused by torrential rains between 15 and 19 August that left 368 people dead.
An additional 182 people were injured, more than 1,300 homes suffered damage and nearly 100 schools were destroyed.
National authorities are leading the response and have mobilized more than 2,000 personnel to help with rescue and evacuation.
The UN and partners have also been involved in dispatching key relief items, including food, tents and medical supplies to affected areas.
In 2022, unprecedented flooding in Pakistan killed more than 1,700 people, displaced millions and caused an estimated $40 billion in economic losses.
In Ukraine, war is less stressful than exams, UNICEF says
Finally to Ukraine, where research suggests that kids today find exams more stressful than air-raid sirens.
Citing new data from a mental health study into nearly 12,000 people, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said that it indicates that war is the new normal for many.
The UN agency noted that 34 per cent of children identified exams and tests as a major source of stress, while just 27 per cent expressed concerns about air-raid sirens – a regular feature of life, since the full-scale Russian invasion on 24 February 2022.
The mental health study – an initiative of Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska – also found that among parents, their top concern was not air-raid sirens, but about not having enough money to buy the basics.
The aim of the project is to encourage more supportive environments for children, teenagers, young people and families.
Just under half of Ukrainian people of all ages report high stress levels, while 20 per cent say they feel very anxious and unable to cope.
“Mental health is the foundation of every child’s well-being,” said UNICEF’s Shameza Abdulla, who appealed for greater support for families through access to quality social services and other resources for their mental well-being…wherever they live”.
Daniel Johnson, UN News.
