
MBARALI, Tanzania, Feb 21 (IPS) - A hush had fallen over Mbarali District, but it was not the quiet of peace—it was the silence of uncertainty.

NEW YORK, Feb 21 (IPS) - The selection of the next UN Secretary-General (UNSG) will be a pivotal moment in global efforts to resist authoritarianism and work together to address shared problems. Where do UN Member States stand on appointing a feminist woman to this role?

In the nearly three years since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country’s people have endured continuous attacks, “psychological terror…displacement and hardship”, top UN aid coordinator Matthias Schmale said on Friday.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has launched a $40.4 million appeal to address the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its impact on neighbouring countries, particularly Burundi, where thousands are arriving daily in desperate conditions.

The continued occupation of North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the M23 armed group has “severely constrained” the UN stabilisation force’s ability to protect civilians and carry out lifesaving operations, the mission chief Bintou Keita told reporters on Friday.