• UN chief calls on Security Council for decisive steps to end attacks on hospitals, medical staff

    Source: UN Security Council Country: Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, World, YemenBan Ki-moon stressed that international law is clear that medical workers, facilities and transports must be protected and the wounded and sick, civilians and fighters alike, must be spared.SC/12536 Security Council 7779th Meeting (AM) Speakers Urge Appointment of Special Representative ...

  • Raila election “Dream Team” in three-week offensive

    Opposition chief Raila Odinga and his “Dream Team" have stepped up the offensive against Jubilee and pitched the theme of economic exclusion and sabotage of non-supporters. They also have planned a hectic schedule of activities for the former Prime Minister in his presidential bid. The ODM squad led by ...

  • Unaccompanied children detained in Greece

    Source: Human Rights Watch Country: Afghanistan, Greece, Iraq, Pakistan, Syrian Arab Republic, WorldAccording to HRW, children are held in unsanitary conditions - sometimes with unrelated adults - in police stations and detention centers where they have little access to basic care and services. Greece: Migrant Children Held in Deplorable Conditions End Unjustified Detention ...

  • Reviving parents’ confidence in the polio vaccine in Pakistan

    Source: UN Children's Fund Country: PakistanStrangely enough, while many residents of urban slums and rural areas in Pakistan are averse to polio drops, they are resolute about getting their children immunized against other childhood diseases.By A. Sami Malik Eradicating polio in Pakistan has been an ongoing effort for more than 20 years. ...

  • Asia Pacific shows progress in water security but challenges remain – ADB

    Source: Asian Development Bank Country: WorldBy 2050, 3.4 billion people could be living in water-stressed areas in Asia and the Pacific while water demand will increase by 55%, states new report. Asia Pacific Shows Progress in Water Security, But Challenges Remain – ADB STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – Water security in Asia and Pacific has ...

  • Malnutrition: the silent killer in Afghanistan

    Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Afghanistan, PakistanThe number of children killed by conflict in 2015 represents less than 1 per cent of the estimated number of children dying due to malnutrition in one year HIGHLIGHTS • Malnutrition affects 2.7 million people including a million children under the ...

  • In Nauru, refugees face severe abuse and neglect

    Source: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch Country: Australia, Nauru, Papua New GuineaHuman Rights Watch and Amnesty said the Australian government’s failure to address serious abuses appears to be a deliberate policy to deter further asylum seekers from arriving by boat.Investigation on Remote Pacific Island Finds Deliberate Abuse Hidden Behind Wall of ...

  • Dull disasters: How planning ahead will make a difference

    Source: World Bank, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Country: WorldInsights can lead to practical ways in which governments, civil society, private firms, and organizations can work together to reduce the risks to people and economies when a disaster looms. In recent years, typhoons have struck the Philippines and Vanuatu; earthquakes have ...

  • Six richest countries host about nine per cent of refugees – Oxfam

    Source: Oxfam Country: Afghanistan, Burundi, China, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory, Pakistan, Somalia, South Africa, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, World, YemenIn sharp contrast, Jordan, Turkey, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Pakistan and Lebanon host more ...

  • Locust infestation hits Afghanistan’s most food insecure province

    Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, PakistanA locust infestation is expected to halve the harvest of Dawlatyar district in Ghor. The majority of families there rely on rain-fed agriculture land and their primary source of staple food is from their own crops. HIGHLIGHTS • One third ...

  • EU provides €12.3 million to enhance disaster preparedness capacity across Asia and the Pacific

    Source: European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office Country: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Lao People's Democratic Republic (the), Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Viet NamThe latest allocation brings ECHO's total funding for disaster preparedness programmes in the region to more than €140 million since 1996, including €27 million in ...

  • UNHCR doubles grant for registered Afghan refugees opting to return to Afghanistan

    Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Country: Afghanistan, PakistanDoubling of the repatriation grant for returning Afghan refugees will help to support voluntary repatriation and sustainable reintegration in Afghanistan, said UNHCR chief.ISLAMABAD: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi concluded his first tri-nation visit to Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. On ...

  • A record 65 million people displaced at the end of 2015

    Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Country: Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Ukraine, World, YemenConflict and persecution caused global forced displacement to escalate sharply, reaching the highest level ever recorded and ...

  • Stocks and stones

    IN JULY 2008 outraged investors in Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital, pelted the local stock exchange with stones after a plunge in share prices. In Lahore investors blocked the road to the city’s exchange with burning tyres. In Islamabad a mob set fire to share certificates. The panicked exchanges simply prohibited ...

  • UNHCR report sees 2017 resettlement needs at 1.19 million

    Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Country: Afghanistan, Australia, Bhutan, Burundi, Canada, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United ...