Road barriers separating the entrance to Ramallah from the northern West Bank. Top news of the day | Wednesday: Ukraine, West Bank, Africa, measles UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: children were killed as a result of an attack in the Kharkov region, Turk called for the cancellation of measures to expand Israeli control in the West Bank, the UN Secretary General will take part in the African Union summit in Ethiopia, the incidence of measles in Europe and Central Asia has decreased, but risks remain.
Victims among Ukrainian children
Humanitarian organizations are providing emergency assistance to residents of the town of Bogodukhov in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine after an overnight drone attack that killed three children and their father. The family recently moved from another front-line area in search of safety. This was reported on Wednesday from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The day before, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also announced victims among minors in the Kharkov and Donetsk regions. Aid workers continue to support affected families.
Situation in the West Bank
Recent decisions by the Israeli Security Cabinet to expand land expropriation in the occupied West Bank violate the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said today. He warned that if these decisions were implemented, they would lead to Palestinian dispossession and displacement, as well as the creation of new illegal Israeli settlements. Turk called on Israel to reverse measures to expand control over Palestinian lands in the West Bank.
UN and African Union
Tomorrow, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union Summit. He also plans to hold a number of bilateral meetings. According to the UN press service, Guterres has been invited to take part in the second Italy-Africa summit on Friday, and on Saturday he will speak at the opening of the African Union summit. Guterres is expected to highlight the role of developing partnerships between the two organizations.
Measles incidence
The number of measles cases in Europe and Central Asia in 2025 decreased significantly compared to 2024. This is evidenced by preliminary data from 53 countries in the WHO European Region. However, the threat of new outbreaks remains, warn the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2025, there were 33,998 cases of measles reported in the region – almost 75 percent less than the year before. However, the 2025 figures are still higher than most years since 2000. In a number of countries, the number of cases was even higher than in 2024.