March 23, 2025 No comments
Three-week Gaza aid ban ‘collective punishment’: UNRWA chief
INTERNATIONAL, 23 March 2025 Humanitarian Aid - The tight Israeli blockade of humanitarian supplies is pushing Gaza closer to an acute hunger crisis, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), said on Sunday. Mr. Lazzarini made the remarks in a social media post, in which he noted that the siege, which is preventing food, medicines, water and fuel from entering the occupied Palestinian territory, has lasted longer than blockades imposed during the first phase of the war. The UNRWA chief pointed out that people in Gaza depend on imports via Israel for their survival. “Every day that passes without the entry of aid means more children go to bed hungry, diseases spread and deprivation deepens.” Gaza, he added, is inching closer to an acute hunger crisis. The...
Read moreMarch 23, 2025 No comments
Mind your language: The battle for linguistic diversity in AI
INTERNATIONAL, By Fabrice Robinet 23 March 2025 Culture and Education - For two years, one international organization under the umbrella of the UN has been leading a relentless campaign in the corridors of global digital diplomacy. Its mission? To bring linguistic diversity to English-dominated artificial intelligence. With his signature geeky glasses and TED-Talk-style headset, Sundar Pichai looked straight out of a Silicon Valley incubator. That Monday, February 10, Google’s chief executive took the stage at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris. From the Grand Palais podium, he heralded a new golden age of innovation. "Using AI techniques, we added over 110 new languages to Google Translate last year, spoken by half a billion people around the world," said the tech mogul, his eyes fixed on his notes....
Read more
March 21, 2025 No comments
Exhausted Gazans wake from another night of Israeli bombing: UN aid teams
INTERNATIONAL, 21 March 2025 Peace and Security - Israel’s renewed bombing campaign and intensifying ground operation in Gaza are reversing gains achieved during the brief ceasefire, UN humanitarians inside the devastated enclave said on Friday. “We’re waking up from another intense night of bombardments, the fourth night of bombardment since the ceasefire abruptly broke down on Monday night…the situation is gravely, gravely concerning,” said Sam Rose, Acting Director of Affairs in Gaza for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees. Speaking from close to the Netzarim Corridor bisecting the Gaza Strip which Israeli security forces have begun to reoccupy, Mr. Rose said that bombardments “across the Gaza Strip” caused large-scale loss of life in the past four days. His comments came as the Israeli Defense Minister reportedly...
Read more
March 21, 2025 No comments
Running to bomb shelters, nothing new for Ukraine’s schoolchildren
INTERNATIONAL, 21 March 2025 Peace and Security - Classes cut short by air raid sirens have become a routine part of school life for many Ukrainian youngsters in the three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, a new UN report published on Friday details. There have been a staggering 1,614 recorded attacks on Ukrainian schools up to the end of last year says the report from the UN human rights office OHCHR – part of a legacy of death, injury, disability and family separation. Children’s educational attainment level has plummeted during the unrelenting hostilities, “diminishing their future educational path and ability to realize their full potential in employment and beyond.” Furthermore, children living in the four regions annexed by Russia in breach of international law, are “especially vulnerable” following the...
Read more
March 21, 2025 No comments
‘The poison of racism continues to infect our world’, Guterres warns on International Day
INTERNATIONAL, 21 March 2025 Human Rights - The United Nations commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Friday, calling on the global community to uphold its shared responsibility to combat racism in all its forms. 21 March marks the adoption of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and honours the legacy of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, when South African police opened fire on a peaceful protest against apartheid, killing 69 people. A toxic legacy Despite decades of progress, racism remains a threat, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned in a message marking the occasion. “The poison of racism continues to infect our world – a toxic legacy of historic enslavement, colonialism and discrimination. It corrupts communities, blocks opportunities, and ruins lives, eroding the...
Read more
