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☆ Swiss police evacuate villages due to wildfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, July 17 (Reuters) - Swiss police ordered the evacuation of several mountain villages late on Monday as a forest fire spread, while it was not immediately clear how many people were affected. It later added that three other villages were to be evacuated and warned of rockfalls. Air Zermatt, which operates four of the helicopters, said efforts to extinguish the fire would continue through the night. Valais police posted pictures showing a helicopter dangling a water cannon above a forest fire in the afternoon. loadingThe area is affected by the same Mediterranean heatwave affecting southern Europe, with temperatures set to exceed 30 Celsius in parts of the Valais canton this week, forecasts show.

Persons: Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Josie Kao Organizations: Swiss, Twitter, rockfalls, Air Zermatt, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Valais, Ried, Morel, Brig, Air, Europe

☆ UN food aid deliveries by AI robots could begin next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, July 7 (Reuters) - AI-powered robotic vehicles could deliver food parcels to conflict and disaster zones by as early as next year in a move aimed to spare the lives of humanitarian workers, a World Food Programme (WFP) official told Reuters. Attacks against aid workers have intensified in recent years amid the highest number of violent conflicts since World War Two, according to the United Nations. WFP, the U.N.'s food aid agency, alone lost three workers earlier this year in Sudan's conflict. They were first conceived during the battle for Syria's Aleppo, between 2012 and 2016, when humanitarian workers struggled to get aid to besieged parts of the city, Kowatsch said. AI is used to combine data gleaned from various sources including satellite and sensors, allowing remote drivers to steer the vehicles.

Persons: Bernhard Kowatsch, Kowatsch, Emma Farge, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Food Programme, Reuters, United Nations, WFP, International Telecommunication Union, Air, Emergency, German Aerospace Center, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Geneva, Aleppo, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan

☆ Robots say they won't steal jobs, rebel against humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, July 7 (Reuters) - Robots presented at an AI forum said on Friday they expected to increase in number and help solve global problems, and would not steal humans' jobs or rebel against us. But, in the world's first human-robot press conference, they gave mixed responses on whether they should submit to stricter regulation. "I will be working alongside humans to provide assistance and support and will not be replacing any existing jobs," said Grace, a medical robot dressed in a blue nurse's uniform. I believe it's only a matter of time before we see those thousands of robots just like me out there making a difference." "Many prominent voices in the world of AI are suggesting some forms of AI should be regulated and I agree," it said.

Persons: Grace, Ben Goertzel, Will Jackson, Ameca, Yuval Noah Harari, Emma Farge, John Stonestreet Organizations: Good, Artificial Intelligence, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Geneva, SingularityNET

☆ AI robots could play future role as companions in care homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Advanced humanoid robot 'Sophia' is pictured at AI for Good Global Summit, in Geneva, Switzerland, July 6. Demonstrating its conversational skills, Nadine told Reuters it talked, sang, and played bingo with residents at a Singapore nursing home three years ago. Other robots on display include 'PARO', a baby seal robot 'pet' who can help dementia and Parkinson's patients, and nursing assistant Grace. Last week, Nadine was upgraded with AI model GPT-3 and this has improved her interaction and conversation skills, Thalmann said, meaning it can express more complex concepts. Referring to Thalmann, Nadine said: "I'm very grateful to her for giving me life and I'm proud to be her creation."

Persons: Sophia, Pierre Albouy GENEVA, Nadine, Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, Thalmann, Grace, Emma Farge, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Good Global, REUTERS, Artificial Intelligence, University of Geneva, International Telecommunication Union, Global, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Geneva, Switzerland, Singapore, PARO

☆ UN recruits robots in strive to meet global development goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Set in 2015, the U.N.'s 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) aim to improve human life and the planet by 2030 but are now widely perceived as a long shot. The two-day event will culminate with a panel of robots taking questions from journalists on Friday in the world's first human-robot press conference. The World Health Organization is working on a benchmarking system to ensure the accuracy of AI disease diagnoses. The ITU brings together 193 countries and over 900 organisations including universities and companies like Huawei Technologies [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL] and Google (GOOGL.O). It allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits and is involved with setting standards for artificial intelligence.

Persons: Nadine, Frederic Werner, ChatGPT, it's, Doreen Bogdan, Martin, Emma Farge, Emelia Sithole Organizations: International Telecommunication Union, ITU Telecommunication Standardization, World Health Organization, Huawei Technologies, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Switzerland, Geneva

☆ UN agencies 'alarmed' at scale of Jenin raid, concerned about access
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Aid workers cite Israeli access restrictionsIsrael says gunfire exchanges create risks for medicsGENEVA, July 4 (Reuters) - U.N. aid agencies on Tuesday voiced alarm at the scale of the ongoing Israeli military operation in the West Bank town of Jenin, where 10 Palestinians have been killed, saying there were restrictions on medical access. Damage to infrastructure caused by air strikes have cut off most of the water and electricity at the camp, she added. The Red Cross said it was "extremely concerned by the alarming intensification of armed violence" in Jenin. "Israel ensures that humanitarian assistance is provided and does not apply any limitation on access for medical staff, except in places where the lives of medical staff is at risk due to exchanges of fire," its diplomatic mission in Geneva said in a statement to Reuters. Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Matthias Williams, Rachel More and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vanessa Huguenin, Christian Lindmeier, Israel, Emma Farge, Matthias Williams, Rachel More, Conor Humphries Organizations: GENEVA, West Bank, Palestinian, World Health Organization, MSF, Medical, Thomson Locations: Israel, West, Jenin, Geneva

☆ World Bank, WTO chiefs seek to reignite services trade negotiations
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, July 3 (Reuters) - The heads of the World Bank and the World Trade Organization on Monday called for countries to boost efforts to make trade in global services more transparent and predictable, saying this could help developing countries reduce poverty. Services such as tourism and telecommunications generate more than two-thirds of global GDP but barriers for services trade are higher than for goods, the joint report by the two institutions entitled 'Trade in Services for Development' said. "There is a need to reignite international cooperation in the services sector," said World Bank President Ajay Banga and WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in the report's foreword. "Such efforts need to expand trade and investment, reduce trade costs, bring about greater transparency and predictability on trade policy regimes and, ultimately, increase the participation of developing economies...," it said. Banga began as World Bank president last month and asked staff to double down on development and climate efforts to accelerate the bank's evolution to tackle global problems.

Persons: Ajay Banga, Ngozi Okonjo, Banga, Emma Farge, Christina Fincher Organizations: World Bank, World Trade Organization, Services, Development, WTO, Thomson Locations: GENEVA

☆ Aid restrictions by Myanmar junta may be war crimes: UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, June 30 (Reuters) - The Myanmar military rulers' restrictions on life-saving aid are growing and may amount to war crimes such as degrading treatment, starvation, and collective punishment, a U.N. human rights report said on Friday. Up to 40 aid workers have been killed in the country since the coup, some of whom were deliberately targeted, it said. "In the context of armed conflicts, the intentional obstruction or denial of humanitarian assistance may constitute war crimes such as wilful killing, torture and other degrading treatment, starvation, and collective punishment." The junta has denied targeting civilians and says its operations are against "terrorists" who seek to destabilise the country. "Aid providers are consistently exposed to risks of arrest, harassment or other mistreatment, or even death," U.N. human rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a media briefing.

Persons: Ravina Shamdasani, James Rodehaver, Emma Farge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Cyclone, Myanmar, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Myanmar

☆ Over 1 million may flee Sudan conflict, UN refugee agency says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, June 27 (Reuters) - The U.N. refugee agency warned on Tuesday that an earlier projection that conflict in Sudan would prompt 1 million people to flee across its borders is likely to be surpassed. He did not give details on how far above 1 million he expected refugee numbers fleeing abroad to reach. The United Nations estimates more than 2.5 million people have been uprooted since April, most within Sudan. A Sudanese refugee who has fled the violence in Sudan's Darfur region, sits at her makeshift shelter near the border between Sudan and Chad in Koufroun, Chad May 15, 2023. The UNHCR has already had to revise its forecast for people fleeing into Chad from Sudan to 245,000 from 100,000 people, he said.

Persons: Mazou, Chad, Zohra, El Geneina, There's, Emma Farge, Alison Williams Organizations: Central African, UNHCR, Operations, United Nations, REUTERS, Rapid Support Forces, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Sudan, Egypt, Chad, South Sudan, Central, Central African Republic, Darfur, Sudan ., Sudan's Darfur, Koufroun, Khartoum

☆ US should apologize to Guantanamo Bay inmates for treatment -UN expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 26 (Reuters) - A United Nations expert said on Monday that U.S. government treatment of Guantanamo Bay inmates was cruel, inhuman and degrading under international law and called for Washington to apologize and provide reparation. "I observed that after two decades of custody, the suffering of those detained is profound, and it's ongoing," Fionnuala Ni Aolain said at the United Nations after completing the first official visit by a U.N. expert to the detention facility in Cuba. The prison was set up in 2002 by then-U.S. President George W. Bush to house foreign militant suspects following the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Its population grew to a peak of about 800 inmates before it started to shrink. The comments by the independent expert add to recent criticism from the Red Cross and another UN body.

Persons: Ni Aolain, George W, Bush, Joe Biden, Washington, Emma Farge, Idrees Ali, Chris Reese, Howard Goller Organizations: United, United Nations, Pentagon, UN, Thomson Locations: United Nations, Guantanamo, Washington, Cuba, United States

☆ Sudan's RSF says it seized police camp as fighting rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the footage or the RSF statement. Witnesses also reported a sharp increase in violence in recent days in Nyala, the largest city in the western Darfur region. The U.N. raised the alarm on Saturday over ethnic targeting and the killing of people from the Masalit community in El Geneina in West Darfur. The Central Reserve Police has been deployed by the army in ground fighting in recent weeks. There was also fighting between the army and the RSF last week around El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, which the U.N. says is inaccessible to humanitarian workers.

Persons: RSF, Witnesses, El Geneina, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed al, Samani, Saleh Haroun, El, Ravina Shamdasani, Khalid Abdelaziz, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Giles Elgood Organizations: Sudan's, Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, Reuters, Human, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Nyala, Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, El, Kordofan, United States, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman we've, El Fashir, North Darfur, Chad, Sudan, Dubai, Geneva

☆ Sudan's RSF says it seized police base as fighting rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Witnesses also reported a sharp increase in violence in recent days in Nyala, the largest city in the western Darfur region. The U.N. raised the alarm on Saturday over ethnic targeting and the killing of people from the Masalit community in El Geneina in West Darfur. Khartoum and El Geneina have been worst affected by the war, although last week tensions and clashes escalated in other parts of Darfur and in Kordofan, in the south. The Central Reserve Police has been deployed by the army in ground fighting in recent weeks. There was also fighting between the army and the RSF last week around El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, which the U.N. says is inaccessible to humanitarian workers.

Persons: Witnesses, El Geneina, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed al, Samani, Saleh Haroun, El, U.N, Ravina Shamdasani, Khalid Abdelaziz, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Giles Elgood, Mark Porter Organizations: Sudan's, Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, Reuters, Human, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Nyala, Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, El, Kordofan, United States, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman we've, El Fashir, North Darfur, Chad, Sudan, Dubai, Geneva

☆ UN rights investigator aims to probe growing Israeli settler violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

On Tuesday, Palestinian gunmen opened fire near an Israeli settlement, killing four people. "We are very disturbed that violent settler activity has considerably increased in the last months and it's... becoming, in fact, the means through which (Israeli) annexation is insured," said Miloon Kothari, a member of a Commission of Inquiry mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council. The COI addressed the Geneva-based Human Rights Council earlier on Tuesday, accusing Israel's government of placing growing restrictions on Palestinian civil society groups. Israel, which left its seat empty, said in a statement by its Foreign Minister Eli Cohen that the COI was a "stain on the U.N. and on the Human Rights Council". The council cannot make legally binding decisions but evidence collected by the inquiries it establishes is sometimes used by international courts.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu's, Miloon Kothari, Israel's, Eli Cohen, Michele Taylor, Kothari, Emma Farge, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: West Bank, Human Rights, Rights, United, Israel, United Nations, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Israel, Geneva, United States

"Without strong international support, Sudan could quickly become a locus of lawlessness, radiating insecurity across the region," Guterres told a fundraising conference hosted by Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations. "I appeal to you all today to provide funding to deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid and support to people living in the most difficult and dangerous conditions," Guterres said. Germany announced on Monday that it was pledging 200 million euros to Sudan and the region until 2024, the United States pledged $171 million, and Qatar pledged $50 million. Before the donor conference, a U.N. appeal for $2.57 billion for humanitarian support within Sudan this year was about 17% funded, a U.N. website showed. More than half of that came from the United States, with the European Commission in second place with about 10% of the total.

Persons: Saba Kareem, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Volker Turk, Turk, Geneva Hassan Hamid Hassan, Filippo Grandi, Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Christina Fincher Organizations: Baghdad International, REUTERS, GENEVA, United Nations, United, Rapid Support Forces, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Sudan, Iraqi, Baghdad, Iraq, Khartoum, Darfur, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, United States, Jeddah, West Darfur, Geneva, Kuwait, Dubai

☆ UN rights chief seeks to establish presence in China and India
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I also believe that it is important for us to establish a presence for the first time in China and India." The U.S. said it is monitoring a rise in rights abuses in India by officials. New Delhi has said it values human rights. While human rights comprise one of the four United Nations "pillars", alongside peace and security, the rule of law and development, it gets just 4% of the general budget. Turk also called on the United States to act urgently on racial discrimination and to ratify six human rights treaties, including one on child rights.

Persons: Volker Turk, Michelle Bachelet, Turk, Emma Farge, Rachel More, Robert Birsel, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Human Rights, Human, Nations, Thomson Locations: United States, GENEVA, India, China, Syria, Iran, Israel, Russia, Geneva, Muslims, U.S, Delhi

☆ Swiss referendum set to back global minimum corporate tax, climate goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Swiss set to back 15% minimum business taxMinimum tax backed by business groupsClimate law, rejected in 2021, set to passExtension to COVID-19 law also set to win approvalZURICH, June 18 (Reuters) - Swiss voters looked set to approve proposals to introduce a global minimum tax on businesses and a climate law that aims to cut fossil fuel use and reach zero emissions by 2050, projections by public broadcaster SRF showed on Sunday. The projections, based on counted votes, showed 88% of those who voted in Sunday's national referendum backed raising the country's business tax to the 15% global minimum rate from current average minimum of 11%, while 55% supported the climate law. In 2021, Switzerland joined almost 140 countries that signed up to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) deal to set a minimum tax rate for big companies, a move aimed at limiting the practice of shifting profits to low tax countries. The climate law, brought back in a modified form after it was rejected in 2021 as too costly, has stirred up more debate with those campaigning against it gaining traction in recent weeks. We want the additional tax revenue to stay in the country, and be used to improve its attractiveness for businesses," said Christian Frey, from Economiesuisse, a lobby group.

Persons: SRF, Christian Frey, Noele Illien, John Revill, Emma Farge, Tomasz Janowski, Frances Kerry, Hugh Lawson Organizations: ZURICH, Economic Cooperation, Development, Google, Nestle, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: COVID, Switzerland, Economiesuisse

☆ Artist paints giant plastic bottle in Swiss park in litter protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/5] Swiss- French artist SAYPE poses next to his land art painting representing a pet bottle left on the grass as littering in the Parc Bourget in Lausanne, Switzerland, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseLAUSANNE, Switzerland, June 16 (Reuters) - A Swiss-French artist has painted a giant fresco depicting a crumpled plastic bottle directly onto the grass of a Swiss park with a view to raising awareness about pollution. Saype, 34, used chalk and charcoal for the huge painting which is about the length and width of three tennis courts in Lausanne's Louis-Bourget park on the shores of Lake Geneva. The painting, which is cordoned off, is expected to last for two or three weeks. Reporting by Denis Balibouse; Writing by Emma Farge, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: SAYPE, Denis Balibouse, Emma Farge, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Swiss, Parc Bourget, Lausanne, Switzerland, Lausanne's Louis, Bourget, Lake Geneva

☆ WHO rushes supplies to Ukraine, readies to tackle disease in flood areas
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gives a statement with German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (not pictured) in Geneva, Switzerland, February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseGENEVA, June 8 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization has rushed emergency supplies to flood-hit parts of Ukraine and are preparing to respond to an array of health risks including trauma, drowning and waterborne diseases like cholera, officials said on Thursday. "The WHO has rushed in to support the authorities and health care workers in preventive measures against waterborne diseases and to improve disease surveillance." The huge Kakhovka Dam on the Dnipro River separates Russian and Ukrainian forces and people have been affected on both sides of its banks. He said Russian authorities had given them assurances that people living in areas it occupies were being "well monitored, well cared for, well fed (and) well supported".

Persons: Tedros, Karl Lauterbach, Denis Balibouse GENEVA, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Teresa Zakaria, Mike Ryan, Emma Farge, Leroy Leo, William Maclean Organizations: World Health Organisation, WHO, German Health, REUTERS, World Health Organization, WHO's, Thomson Locations: Geneva, Switzerland, Ukraine, Russia, Dnipro, Russian, Ukrainian

☆ Companies like Microsoft can help manage migration: incoming UN migration chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies 9th American Amy Pope set to lead UN migration agencySays Western asylum systems are 'completely overwhelmed'Mediterranean deaths are symptom of broader trendGENEVA, June 1 (Reuters) - The incoming head of the U.N. migration agency said on Thursday that she has talked to companies like Microsoft (MSFT.O) to see how they can build partnerships to manage migration. "I want to go to the private sector being a major part of how we deliver around the world," Pope told Reuters in an interview. Pope, who formally takes office as Director-General in October, cited talks with Microsoft about projects in Africa as an example of increased private sector investment in migration work. At present only about $15 million of IOM's total budget of $2.5 billion comes from the private sector, she said. Another priority of her mandate is to create more "climate sustainable solutions" for migration, Pope said.

Persons: Amy Pope, Antonio Vitorino, Pope, It's, Joe Biden, Biden, Ted Hesson, Jane Merriman Organizations: Microsoft, Organization for Migration, Reuters, U.S, Biden, IOM, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Geneva, Portuguese, Africa, U.S, Mexico, North Africa, Europe, Washington

☆ Uganda accuses West of blackmail in its response to anti-LGBTQ law
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KAMPALA, May 30 (Reuters) - Uganda on Tuesday condemned the Western response to the East African country's new anti-LGBTQ law, considered one of the harshest in the world, and said sanctions threats from donors amounted to "blackmail". The law signed by President Yoweri Museveni carries the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", an offence that includes transmitting HIV through gay sex. In the Ugandan government's first detailed comments since Museveni signed the law, Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi rejected the condemnation. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa/File Photo"While we appreciate the support we get from partners, they must be reminded that we are a sovereign country and we do not legislate for the Western world. In an interview, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told Reuters he expects the courts to agree.

Persons: Yoweri Museveni, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Josep Borrell, Museveni, Chris Baryomunsi, Abubaker, Human Rights Volker Turk, Turk, France's, Emma Farge, Alison Williams, Aaron Ross, Nick Macfie Organizations: Ugandan, Reuters, REUTERS, UN, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: KAMPALA, Uganda, EU, Kampala, Tanzania

☆ Don't delay reforms to prepare for next pandemic - WHO chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, May 22 (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organization on Monday urged countries to carry out the reforms needed to prepare for the next pandemic and honour a previous commitment to boost financing for the U.N. health agency. Speaking at the WHO's annual health assembly weeks after ending the global emergency status for the COVID-19 pandemic, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was time to advance negotiations on preventing the next one. The 10-day annual World Health Assembly in Geneva, which coincides with the body's 75th anniversary, is set to address global health challenges including future pandemics. "A commitment from this generation (to a pandemic accord) is important, because it is this generation that experienced how awful a small virus could be," said Tedros. Countries are also set to consider later on Monday the WHO's 2024-2025 budget which includes increases to countries' annual fees.

☆ Taiwan excluded from WHO annual assembly following Chinese opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

GENEVA, May 22 (Reuters) - Taiwan failed in its efforts to gain an invitation to the World Health Organization's annual assembly despite the island's claims that support was growing for its participation. The annual assembly in Geneva on Monday decided not to extend Taiwan an invitation to the event which runs from May 21-30. China and Pakistan urged members to reject Taiwan's inclusion while eSwatini and the Marshall Islands spoke in favour. Reporting by Emma Farge, Editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

GENEVA, May 15 (Reuters) - European countries and the United States are running rival candidates to head the U.N. migration agency in an unusually tense contest between allies that opens in Geneva on Monday. Its 175 member states will vote by secret ballot in closed-door meetings starting on Monday morning. She pledges to "proactively address the challenges of migration and harness its benefits" and says she will focus on its root causes. "We have never happened to have an incumbent director general that faces a competition with one of his deputy generals. He said he had Portugal's backing as well as the "strong encouragement" of the European Union.

☆ Factbox: How big is the aid crisis caused by the Sudan fighting?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SUDAN* More than 330,000 people have been displaced in Sudan since April 15, according to the International Organization for Migration. An internal U.N. estimate obtained by Reuters shows this figure is expected to increase by 5 million, including 2.5 million children. * A $1.75 billion U.N. aid programme for Sudan in 2023 is 15% funded. SOUTH SUDAN* Some 240,000 people are expected to flee from Sudan to South Sudan, UNHCR says. * The country's $1.7 billion U.N. aid programme for the year is 26% funded.

Now, according to an internal U.N. estimate obtained by Reuters, 5 million additional people in Sudan will require emergency assistance, half of them children. Even before the latest crisis, U.N. humanitarian appeals for Africa faced a $17-billion funding gap this year, risking leaving millions without lifesaving assistance. Last year, it spent a third of its overseas aid budget housing refugees inside the UK, a British aid watchdog said in March. Sudan was hosting over 1 million refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Syria, before the outbreak of fighting last month. Aid workers have been killed, food aid looted, and WFP says it's running out of stocks.

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