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World News in Brief: Global investment plunges, hurricane season in Haiti, rising cholera and hunger in South Sudan

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World News in Brief: Global investment plunges, hurricane season in Haiti, rising cholera and hunger in South Sudan

Their latest data shows that the outlook for international investment this year “is negative”, a sharp course correction from January, when “modest” growth seemed possible.

The reasons for this range from trade tensions and tariffs whose main effect has been a “dramatic increase in investor uncertainty”, said UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan.

She said that investment in renewable energy, water and sanitation fell by some 30 per cent and that agriculture saw a 19 per cent drop in investor confidence.

Only the health sector saw an increase of nearly 20 per cent, Ms. Grynspan said, although that only accounts for “less than $15 billion globally”.

‘Very real consequences’

“Behind those numbers are very real consequences. Jobs not created,” she said. “Infrastructure not built, sustainable development delayed. What we see here is not just a downturn. It is a pattern.”

Ms. Grynspan also cited “growing geopolitical tensions” in addition to rising trade barriers around the world as reasons for the fall in global investment for development.

In critical sectors as hi-tech industries and rare earth minerals, governments are also tightening screening measures on proposed foreign investment, the UN agency noted.

Supplies to limit hurricane impact in Haiti critically low

The Humanitarian Country Team in Haiti warned Wednesday that funding and pre-positioned contingency supplies are critically low ahead of what is forecast to be an above-average hurricane season.

Haiti is highly vulnerable to extreme weather, with 96 per cent of the population at risk. Forecasts project 12 to 19 tropical storms and up to five major hurricanes this year.

The alert comes as the fragile island nation grapples with a worsening humanitarian crisis. Armed gangs control much of the country, the collapse of essential services and growing displacement have left 5.7 million people food insecure, 1.3 million displaced and 230,000 living in makeshift shelters ill-equipped to withstand severe weather.

Limited preparations  

Humanitarian actors have pre-positioned limited stocks of essential items, but they are at a record low for a hurricane season posing such high risk.  

For the first time, Haiti will begin the hurricane season without pre-positioned food supplies or the financial resources necessary to initiate a rapid response.  

Meanwhile, UN Humanitarian Office (OCHA) is coordinating missions with UN agencies and partners to assess how to safely resume aid operations in high-need areas, following their suspension on 26 May due to insecurity.

“I am deeply concerned for communities, families, and vulnerable groups who have already been affected by violence and are living in precarious conditions,” said Ulrika Richardson, Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, calling for immediate support.

As of mid-June, the $908 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti is just 8 per cent funded.

Worsening cholera and hunger in South Sudan

OCHA raised the alarm on Thursday over rising malnutrition and cholera cases in war-torn South Sudan.

An estimated 2.3 million children under five urgently need treatment for acute malnutrition, a 10 per cent increase since last July.

This crisis is unfolding amid the world’s most severe cholera outbreak this year, with almost 74,000 cases and at least 1,362 deaths reported as of 16 June.  

The start of the rainy season and waning immunity risk a significant surge in infections.

UN response

The 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for South Sudan is only 20 per cent funded.

Despite limited resources and many challenges, the UN and partners have scaled up efforts, delivering vaccines and life-saving aid to contain the disease and protect the most vulnerable.

“This dire situation is a stark reminder that we need funding urgently to expand food assistance, to expand nutrition and expand health services to those who need it the most,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric at the daily briefing in New York. 

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Remarks by Paschal Donohoe following the Eurogroup meeting of 19 June 2025

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Remarks by Paschal Donohoe following the Eurogroup meeting of 19 June 2025

Remarks by Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe after the Eurogroup meeting on Bulgaria’s accession to the euro area, reinforcing security in Europe, removing barriers in the single market, the digital euro and the Eurogroup presidency.

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Long after the guns fall silent, conflict-related sexual violence leaves lasting scars

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Long after the guns fall silent, conflict-related sexual violence leaves lasting scars

In 2024 alone, the UN verified around 4,500 cases of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), though the real number is likely much higher. An overwhelming 93 per cent of survivors were women and girls.

Under international law, CRSV is recognised as a war crime, a crime against humanity, and an act that can constitute genocide. Its long-lasting impact undermines efforts to build lasting peace.

On Thursday, the UN marked the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, highlighting the enduring and intergenerational effects of this brutal tactic.

Tactic of war

In many conflicts, sexual violence is deliberately used to terrorise, punish and humiliate civilians.

It is used to terrorise, to punish, but also to humiliate civilians, especially women and girls,” said Esméralda Alabre, coordinator of the UN reproductive health agency’s (UNFPA) response to gender-based violence in Sudan, speaking to UN News.

But the harm does not stop with the survivors. CRSV is often used to tear apart communities and undermine social cohesion. It fragments families, spreads fear and deepens societal divisions.

In Haiti, gangs have forced family members to rape their own mothers and wives, according to Pascale Solages, founder of a feminist organization in the country.

Women’s bodies are being turned into battlegrounds. Perpetrators aim to destroy community bonds, using rape as a tool of domination and control. Survivors are left to carry the burden of trauma, stigma and isolation, she told UN News.

Generational trauma

Many survivors are silenced by fears of reprisal and retaliation: “to break the cycle, we must confront horrors of the past,” said UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in a statement marking the day.

Trauma is not only immediate, but also creates deep and lasting intergenerational wounds, as the cycle of violence often impacts multiple generations.

Shunned from their communities, many survivors are forced to raise children born out of rape, on their own. “It’s almost like their cries are being ignored by the world,” said Ms. Alabre.

Survivors of CRSV and their children, often excluded from education, employment, and other essential aspects of life, are pushed into poverty – further deepening their vulnerability. 

For too many women and children, war is not over when it’s over,” said the UN Special Representative who advocates for all those who experience sexual violence in conflict settings, Pramila Patten.

Need for accountability

Survivors not only have the right to safety and support, but also to justice and redress. Yet, “too often, perpetrators walk free, cloaked in impunity while survivors often bear the impossible burden of stigma and shame,” said Mr. Guterres.

The limited availability of support services, especially following recent aid cuts, stands in the way of survivors’ healing: not only is it becoming harder for survivors to hold their attackers accountable, prevention efforts are being stymied by funding cuts in many capitals since the start of the year.

“What happened to me could have been prevented,” survivors have told Ms. Patten time and time again.  

Yet, in March alone, UNFPA’s Sudan office had to close 40 women and girls safe spaces, impeding efforts to provide both immediate and long-term care to survivors.

Community-based interventions, child-friendly support for child survivors’ education, and legislative policy changes play a crucial role in preventing CRSV.

If we undermine investment in women’s recovery, we undermine investment in conflict recovery, and we all inherit a less safe world,” said Ms. Patten. 

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The UN warns of the rise in humanitarian toll while Iranian Israeli hostilities continue

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The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on a “maximum deduction” on Thursday and reiterated that Israel and Iran are linked by international humanitarian law.

“The large -scale and continuous attacks of Israel through Iran, and missile and drone strikes launched in response by Iran, inflict serious human rights and humanitarian impacts on civilians, and Risk of fixing the whole region on fire“He said in a press release.

“” The only way to get out of this climbing spiral illogical is a maximum restraintFull respect for international law and return in good faith to the negotiating table, “he said.

Appalling collateral damage

The head of the Rights of the United Nations also expressed his deep concern about the impact on civilians.

“” It is appalling to see how civilians are treated as collateral damage in the conduct of hostilities“He said, adding that the threats and the inflammatory rhetoric of senior officials on both sides suggest a” disturbing intention “to inflict damage to civilians.

Air strikes, missiles and drone attacks – launched by Israel and Iran since June 13 – have caused heavy damage to civil infrastructure and have won hundreds of lives.

According to Iranian authorities, at least 224 people were killed, while human rights groups report significantly higher figures. In Israel, officials report 24 deaths and more than 840 injuries so far.

Generalized panic

Warnings from the two governments have also caused a widespread panic among civilians.

The call of Israel to civilians to evacuate Tuesday triggered panic through Tehran, causing heavy traffic jams on the motorways. The movement would have been hampered across the country by fuel shortages, causing queues for several hours in the service stations.

Refugee

The United Nations High Commissioner Office for Refugees (Hcr) expressed serious concerns about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, adding that he was monitoring the reports that people are in movement in Iran and that some leave for neighboring countries.

UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch warned that the situation remained fluid and difficult to verify.

“” Iran has long welcomed the largest population of Afghan refugees in the world. Now, his own people have a devastation and fear“Added Mr. Baloch.

He also underlined the principle of non-refoulement, calling for neighboring countries to give protection to anyone fleeing violence and not to return them.

HCR Baloch spokesperson on the crisis.

Iran welcomes around 3.5 million refugees and those of refugee type situations, including some 750,000 Afghans registered and more than 2.6 million undocumented people.

Regional concerns

There are already regional benefits, with missile launches from Yemen to Israel and the Palestinian territory occupied and increased tensions involving armed groups in Iraq, according to Ochha.

“” This escalation takes place while the region is already struggling with growing humanitarian needs, strongly reduced funding and an operational space forced to humanitarian action“Said the office in a Flash update Posted Wednesday.

“De -escalation is vital to prevent new suffering from civilians and the displacements of the population,” said OCHA.

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

Gaza: While the last fuel supplies are exhausted, the aid teams provide a disaster

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Speaking of Gaza City in the north of the occupied territory, Olga Cherevko of the United Nations Coordination Office, Ochhasaid that the water pumps had stopped on a site for people displaced there Wednesday “Because there is no fuel”.

“We are really – unless the situation changes – A few hours before a catastrophic decline and a closure of more installations if no fuel penetrates or more fuel is not immediately recovered, “she said News News.

In its latest emergency update, OCHA said that without immediate fuel entry or access to reserves, 80% of Gaza intensive care units for births and medical emergencies will close.

More killed by looking for help

Development comes as the Gaza authorities reported that 15 people had been killed near a help center for aid center on Thursday.

On Tuesday, not verified videos from another incident circulating on social networks have shown corpses in the street near a rescue center in the southern city of Khan Younis, which would have followed an artillery fire.

Finding food is a daily challenge for increasingly desperate Gazans who are “Just wait for food and hope to find something so as not to look at their children starving before their eyes“Said Ms. Cherevko.

She added: “I spoke with a woman a few days ago when she told me that she had gone with one of her friends who was nine months pregnant in the hope of finding food.

Of course, they did not succeed because they were too afraid of entering areas where there could be incidents like those who have been reported in the past few days. »»

Search for shelter

Back in Gaza City, Ms. Cherenko of Ocha said that the conditions in the shelters in Gaza are now “absolutely horrible” and more and more congested – “there are people who come constantly from the north,” added the veteran, while others are also going north, probably closer to the entry points for aid conveyors.

The quantity of help entering Gaza today remains extremely limited and well below the 600 trucks per day which reached the enclave before the start of the war in October 2023. In its last updateOcha reported that “famine and an increasing probability of famine” are still present in the enclave. It is estimated that 55,000 pregnant women are now confronted with miscarriage, mortincy and undernourished newborns following the food shortage.

The explosions smoke rises from the Shujaia district of Gaza City.

Famine regime

“With the very limited aid volume that has entered, Everyone continues to face famine and people are constantly risking their lives to try to find something“Continued Ms. Cherevko.

“” You eat or [you’re] left with the choice to die of hunger to death. “”

After more than 20 months of war, triggered by terrorist attacks led by Hamas in Israel, 82% of the Gaza territory is either a militarized Israeli area, or affected by evacuation orders.

Three months since hostilities re -granted on March 18, more than 680,000 people were newly moved. “Without a safe place, many people have sought refuge in all available spaces, including overcrowded travel sites, makeshift shelters, damaged buildings, streets and open areas,” said Ocha.

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

EU Ecolabel: small flower, big power

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EU Ecolabel: small flower, big power

Since 1992, the EU Ecolabel has driven Europe towards a clean, competitive and circular economy and become a symbol that consumers trust. To get it, goods and services across 25 product groups must meet various environmental criteria like reuse potential and recyclability. Find out more. Source link

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EU Ecolabel: small flower, big power

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EU Ecolabel: small flower, big power

Since 1992, the EU Ecolabel has driven Europe towards a clean, competitive and circular economy and become a symbol that consumers trust. To get it, goods and services across 25 product groups must meet various environmental criteria like reuse potential and recyclability. Find out more.

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Simplification: Council agrees position to ‘stop-the-clock’ on due diligence rules for batteries

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Simplification: Council agrees position to ‘stop-the-clock’ on due diligence rules for batteries

Member states’ representatives (Coreper) approved today the Council’s position on one of the Commission’s proposals to simplify EU rules and thus boost EU competitiveness in the field of batteries. Source link

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UN relief chief calls for solidarity, with humanitarians ‘literally under attack’

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UN relief chief calls for solidarity, with humanitarians ‘literally under attack’

Tom Fletcher was speaking at the annual stock-take of his sector known as the ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment, which brings together UN Member States and organizations, humanitarian and development partners, as well as the private sector and affected communities.

He said this year’s theme – renew global solidarity for humanity – “could not be more urgent.”

“We need you right now,” he said. “We’re in a moment of conflict, of transactional politics, of selfishness, of division, of polarization. And global solidarity – the lifeblood of what we do – is in retreat.”

Moreover, “at this moment, when the needs are at their highest, the funding is also in retreat.”

Crises, climate and cutbacks

Mr. Fletcher reminded participants of “some uncomfortable truths,” noting that the Middle East currently “teeters on the edge of a wider war.”  

At the same time, people in Gaza are starving as food aid rots at border crossings, girls in Afghanistan are banned from school, women in war-torn Sudan are experiencing horrific violence, and gangs are terrifying families in Haiti.

This is happening amid the climate crisis “which will drive more humanitarian needs in the coming years than any other factor that we discuss today,” he said.

“Meanwhile, our teams, our humanitarian staff, the bravest of us, are not hesitating to go towards the sound of gunfire, the sound of danger to drive those convoys through those checkpoints and they are being killed in record numbers, while those responsible for killing them roam free.”

‘Life and death decisions’

Just six months ago, Mr. Fletcher launched a $44 billion appeal to reach 190 million people worldwide this year.  

In the wake of the deepest cuts ever to humanitarian operations globally, the plan was this week “hyper-prioritized” to focus on the most critical areas, with $29 billion in funding to support 114 million.

He acknowledged that “we’re left with the cruelest of equations when we make those life and death decisions, literally, about who to save.” 

Humanitarians “will save as many lives as we can with the resources that you give us,” and they are asking world leaders to give only one per cent of what they spent on defense last year.

“This isn’t just a call for money, of course. It is a call for global responsibility, for a shared commitment to end the suffering,” he said.

New humanitarian pact

“We also make this call that all of us find a moment to come off our talking points and to find the individual moment of courage and creativity to support this effort.”

Mr. Fletcher said the humanitarian movement will continue and is being re-designed from the ground up

“We’ll find new allies, we’ll find new sources of funding, we’ll find new ideas, we won’t just patch up the old model. We will also forge a new one. A bold humanitarian pact with the people we serve,” he said.

Women at the forefront

The pact will be “more local, more lean, more green,” and will include people on the frontlines of crisis who “know better than anyone what they need.”

Furthermore, the UN’s highest-level humanitarian coordination forum – the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) – has voiced unequivocal commitment that women and girls will lead this humanitarian reset and will back women humanitarian leaders in this work.

 “These leaders, the real leaders of our movement, don’t work for the UN or international NGOs. They are not part of the logos, and egos, and silos of our systems,” he said.

“They have something much more powerful – they are rooted in their communities with the trust of their communities and an unshakeable belief that even in these darkest moments we can choose to help each other. They are there for us and we must be there for them.”

Boosting effectiveness

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the six main UN organs.

Since 1998, it has held the Humanitarian Affairs Segment to strengthen the coordination and effectiveness of UN humanitarian efforts.

Previous meetings have focused on issues such as addressing food security and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative Reaches 1 Million Talents Trained

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EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative Reaches 1 Million Talents Trained

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is proud to announce that the EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative has achieved its goal of training one million people in deep tech fields.

This major milestone strengthens the EU’s competitiveness by equipping its workforce with the advanced skills needed to lead in emerging technologies.

Under the Initiative, the EIT and its Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), together with partner organisations, are delivering training and skills programmes across Europe. These are open to learners of all ages – from school pupils through higher education students to professionals and entrepreneurs. The EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative provides funding for learning materials, while the EIT leverages its network of partners to build a strong alliance of training providers, companies, universities, public authorities, and financiers. 

Training the talents behind tomorrow’s innovations is central to our mission. By connecting people and organisations across Europe, we are building a community that will give us the skills to boost Europe’s competitiveness and tackle major challenges.

Martin Kern, Director of the EIT

To reach the goal of training one million talents, the EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative worked with over 600 partner organisations who signed the Pledge, alongside the KICs and other EIT Community initiatives offering courses. Among the top contributors in terms of talent trained are Pledgers such as JA Europe, Intel Corporation, Generation Italy, Generation UK, UiPath, Helixconnect Europe, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, MinnaLearn, Kodluyoruz (We Code), and Generation Spain. The countries with the highest number of talents trained include Norway, Austria, Greece, Ukraine, and France.

The Initiative has built a catalogue of over 210 deep tech courses, with 16% focused on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Other popular topics include Advanced Computing and Quantum Computing, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Deep Tech, Advanced Materials, and Advanced Manufacturing. Most courses are geared towards professional training and academic programmes, with an average duration of 705 hours. Women make up 36% of all trained talents.

Press Release

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