Report: Biden Admin Held Secret Talks Involving US Troops Being Stationed in Gaza, Now Denying ☞ RedState
“Talks are underway to establish a multinational force in Gaza after Israel uproots Hamas, two senators confirmed Wednesday, the clearest sign yet that the U.S. and its partners are seriously weighing deploying foreign troops to the enclave.”
UN suspends eight peacekeepers in the DRC on allegations of sexual exploitation ☞ Africanews – France
“A U.N. official, who was not authorized to speak about the specifics of the case, told The Associated Press the eight peacekeepers are from South Africa and that they were detained in the city of Beni in North Kivu province after being caught with prostitutes at an unauthorized bar after curfew.”
U.N. Security Council to Send a Kenya-Led Force to Haiti ☞ Time
“The resolution drafted by the United States and Ecuador was approved with 13 votes in favor and two abstentions from China and the Russian Federation.”
UN condemns Iran for expelling nuclear inspectors ☞ RT World News – Russian Federation
“International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi has condemned Iran’s ‘disproportionate and unprecedente’” expulsion of senior UN inspectors from its nuclear facilities. Tehran made the move in response to accusations from the West that it was covertly enriching uranium.”
Afghanistan Is Fastest-Growing Maker of Methamphetamine, UN Says ☞ VOA
“A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, Abdul Mateen Qani, told the AP that the Taliban-run government has prohibited the cultivation, production, sale and use of all intoxicants and narcotics in Afghanistan…”
“A U.N. report published in November said that opium cultivation since the Taliban takeover increased by 32% over the previous year, and that opium prices rose following authorities’ announcement of a cultivation ban in April 2022. Farmers’ income from opium sales tripled from $425 million in 2021 to $1.4 billion in 2022.”
Niger junta bans UN agencies and global NGOs from ‘military zones’ ☞ RFI – France
“Niger’s Interior Ministry has announced it’s stopping UN agencies and international NGOs from working in military “operation zones” as the country experiences a security crisis following a military coup.
A statement broadcast on national radio did not specify which regions in Niger were affected.”
Taliban order bars Afghan women from working with UN ☞ UN News
“Answering questions from reporters, Mr. Dujarric said an official communication coming from the Taliban leadership, had indicated that the order would apply to the whole country.”
UN hears Africa, its Sahel region, are new terrorism targets ☞ ABC News
“One global terrorism index shows that 48% of terror victims last year were African, Nyusi said, ‘and the Sahel region is the new epicenter of terrorist attacks’ Many speakers said they were deeply concerned by terror groups’ operations in the vast, semi-arid expanse below the Sahara Desert.”
Image Source:
Sahel ☞ Wikipedia
M. Bitton– Own Work
Russia’s Call for International Probe into Nord Stream Blast Fails ☞ VOA
“Russia’s draft resolution received only three votes in favor – from itself, China and Brazil. The other 12 Security Council members abstained. A draft resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by permanent members to be adopted.”
Global population could fall to six billion with ‘unprecedented investment’ in tackling poverty, researchers say ☞ Sky News – UK
“The forecasts in the report are in contrast to UN predictions which show the population reaching 9.7 billion in 2050 and peaking at 10.4 billion in the 2080s.”