Construction work after shelling in Kharkiv (archive). Top news of the day | Tuesday: Ukraine, Lebanon, Gaza, BRICS, trade UN
Top news of the day in the UN and in the world: evacuation in the Kharkiv region, violence in Lebanon, BRICS summit, economic consequences of the war in Gaza, Ukraine’s population has decreased by 10 million people, a report on the state of maritime trade.
Civilian Casualties in Ukraine
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, citing local authorities, reported that 45 civilians, including children and medical workers, were injured and residential buildings were damaged as a result of shelling in eastern and southern Ukraine on Monday and Tuesday. In the Kharkiv region, about 1,000 people were forced to leave the city of Kupyansk as a result of fighting in recent days. Humanitarian workers are supporting those arriving at the transit center in Kharkiv, offering them food, psychological and legal assistance, and winter clothing.
Violence in Lebanon
Over the past 24 hours, skirmishes between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces have continued in Lebanon. Israeli forces have hit targets in Beirut and a number of other cities. This was reported by the UN press service, citing the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. According to the same sources, Hezbollah has struck Israeli military bases near Tel Aviv, as well as a naval base near Haifa.
UN Secretary General to attend BRICS summit
The UN press service confirmed on Tuesday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend this year’s BRICS summit in Kazan, Russian Federation. BRICS is an association of nine countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia. Last year, the UN Secretary-General also attended the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Impact of the Gaza War on Development
The war in Gaza, which has been going on for more than a year, and the escalation in the West Bank have set the development level of the State of Palestine back some 69 years, according to a UN report published on Tuesday. Unless economic restrictions are lifted and reconstruction efforts and investment in development are ensured, the Palestinian economy may not be able to recover to pre-war levels and will be entirely reliant on humanitarian aid, according to a report by the UN Development Programme and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
Demographic problems of Ukraine
The war has worsened Ukraine’s demographic problems: after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the birth rate in the country fell to one child per woman. This is the lowest rate in Europe and one of the lowest in the world. Florence Bauer, a representative of the United Nations Population Fund, cited these figures at a briefing for journalists in Geneva. Since 2022, millions of people have fled their homes, with 6.7 million finding themselves abroad as refugees. At least 11,973 civilians alone have been killed in the war, according to the UN Human Rights Office.
Sea Trade
The world economy, food security and energy supplies are increasingly at risk. The “Overview of Maritime Transport 2024,” released on Tuesday by the UN Conference on Trade and Development, shows that vital routes for international commerce such as the Panama and Suez Canals and the Red and Black Seas are under significant strain. A combination of geopolitical tensions, the impact of climate change and armed conflict has shaken global trade, threatening the functioning of trade supply chains.