Damaged house in Kiev (archive). Top news of the day | Monday: Ukraine, Lebanon, UNDP, internet UN
The main news of the day in the UN and the world: new victims of the war on the territory of Ukraine, shelling of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, the appointment of a new head of UNDP, an increase in the number of Internet users.
Ukraine: civilian casualties
Officials from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported from Ukraine that fighting over the weekend had caused civilian casualties and further disrupted vital services amid cold weather. Heavy shelling from Saturday until Monday morning killed at least twelve civilians. More than 60 people were injured, including five children. In the city of Balakleya, Kharkov region, three civilians were killed and 15 more were wounded, including five girls, as a result of a missile attack. Killed and injured were reported in Chernigov, Dnieper, Donetsk, Kharkov, Kherson, Sumy and Zaporozhye.
Incident with peacekeepers in Lebanon
A foot patrol of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon was attacked by an Israeli Merkava tank located on Lebanese territory. The explosion occurred just five meters from the peacekeepers, who had to urgently seek shelter. Representatives of the mission contacted the Israel Defense Forces and demanded a ceasefire. The patrol was able to safely leave the area half an hour after the incident, when the tank withdrew to Israeli positions. “Fortunately, no one was injured,” the mission said in a statement. The document also states that the attack is a serious violation of Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 for a peaceful settlement between Israel and the Hezbollah movement. requesting the confirmation of Alexander De Croo from Belgium as the new Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for a four-year term. Today the General Assembly approved this candidacy. De Croo succeeded Achim Steiner from Germany, to whom António Guterres expressed gratitude for his work. As highlighted at today’s press briefing at UN headquarters in New York, Alexander De Croo has dedicated much of his career to public service, “promoting global solidarity, combining political leadership, development cooperation and innovation.” (ITU) unveiled a new report on Monday that documents impressive growth in the number of Internet users while pointing to a widening digital divide. According to the organization, during the year more than 240 million people connected to the global network, and now about six billion people on the planet are online – three quarters of the entire population of the Earth. Yet 2.2 billion remain outside the digital space, highlighting the scale of the challenge to achieve universal and equitable digital inclusion.