© OCHA/V. Andrievskaya A man walks into a destroyed building in Kiev, Ukraine. Top news of the day | Thursday: Ukraine, DRC, heat, genocide in Srebrenica UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Ukraine, the scale of violence is growing in the east of the DR Congo, last month became the hottest June in history in Western Europe, the Secretary General urged not to forget the lessons of the genocide in Srebrenica.
Meeting on Ukraine
Following a series of large-scale Russian strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, the UN Security Council met on Thursday for an emergency meeting on Ukraine. UN Deputy Chief of Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo again called for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. Acting Deputy UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Indrika Ratwatte recalled that over the past week, the strikes have killed and injured hundreds of Ukrainian civilians. He also expressed concern over reports of casualties and damage to infrastructure on Russian territory.
Violence in the DRC
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed deep concern about the impact of recent clashes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and called for concerted efforts by the parties to reduce tensions. Fighting has intensified in South Kivu province over the past two weeks, with both sides using drones, heavy artillery and other types of explosive weapons in populated areas. Turk also called on regional players and the international community to take immediate action to prevent further violence.
Record Heat
Last month was the hottest June on record in Western Europe and the second warmest globally. Experts say the main factor is unprecedentedly high sea surface temperatures. This was reported by the World Meteorological Organization. The heat wave broke records in several countries, leading to severe health consequences, including deaths. The extreme heat continued into July. Thus, on July 8, the Fabre Observatory in Barcelona recorded a temperature of 40.5 degrees Celsius, which became a record for more than a century of data collection. year in Srebrenica, which is celebrated on July 11, the UN Secretary-General called for protecting historical truth and preventing the recurrence of such tragedies. The text of the statement on behalf of António Guterres was read out at a special meeting of the General Assembly on Thursday by the head of the UN Office of the Head of the UN, Courtenay Rattray. He recalled that in July 1995, more than 8 thousand Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed. The Secretary General also expressed concern about the growing number of manifestations of hatred, extremism and glorification of war criminals.