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This is the News in Brief, from the United Nations.
Ukraine: UN rights office condemnation for wave of missile attacks
In Ukraine, at least 12 civilians were killed and more than 100 were injured in Monday morning’s wave of missile attacks by Russian forces, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, has said.
Cities hit included Kyiv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, and happened as people were going to work and taking children to school.
OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said that dozens of residential buildings had been damaged or destroyed, along with at least 12 energy facilities in eight regions.
“Attacks targeting civilians and objects indispensable to the survival of civilians are prohibited under international humanitarian law. We urge the Russian Federation to refrain from further escalation.”
Attacks on civilian infrastructure may be a violation of internationally agreed rules of war, Ms. Shamdasani told journalists in Geneva.
She said that damage to key power stations and lines as winter approaches, raises further concerns for the protection of civilians, before urging Russia “to take all feasible measures to prevent civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure”.
DR Congo sees deadly surge in intercommunal violence
An alert now from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where more than 140 people have been killed in intercommunal violence in the far west of the country.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said that thousands have been displaced since July in Kwamouth, near the border with the Republic of Congo.
Clashes over land taxes between the Teke and Yaka communities reportedly resulted in victims being beheaded.
Many had to leave their farms and abandon their harvests, and walk for days to reach Bandundu town, 245 kilometres – or 152 miles away.
Aid teams who have reached displaced communities report that people had to flee for their lives, seeking safety in the forest.
Latest data indicates that 27,000 mainly women and children have been displaced and need urgent assistance in Kwilu and Mai Ndombe provinces.
Another 2,600 people have sought refuge in the Republic of the Congo after crossing the Congo River in canoes. Many have become separated from family members while fleeing for safety.
WMO report urges swifter action on transition to clean energy
An urgent appeal now from UN weather agency WMO to governments everywhere to switch to cleaner forms of energy, such as solar, wind and hydro-electric power.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, the supply of electricity from clean energy sources needs to double within the next eight years if we’re to limit global temperature increase.
The problem is, that energy demand has increased 30 per cent in the last decade alone.
Without strong measures, there is a risk that climate change, more extreme weather and water stress will undermine our energy security – and jeopardize renewable energy supplies, the WMO said, in its State of Climate report.
Today, 85 per cent of the energy we produce, comes from fossil fuels and only 15 per cent comes from nuclear and renewables.
“Time is not on our side, and our climate is changing before our eyes,” said WMO Secretary-General Peterri Taalas, who called for a “complete transformation of the global energy system”.
Daniel Johnson, UN News.
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