20260411

Her Rhythm: Women in Jazz | United Nations



Women in jazz are reshaping the future of the music industry through leadership, education, and advocacy, while navigating and challenging long-standing gender barriers within the field.  Convened during the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the UN Office for Partnerships hosted a dedicated convening in collaboration with WBGO, a leading non-profit arts and cultural institution and jazz radio station, and JAZZ HOUSE KiDS, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and education organizations. The event featured a panel discussion and live performance, spotlighting the leadership of women in jazz as a creative force for cultural participation, artistic heritage and social change. You can watch the full performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcT7G9RzEfA


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Is UN Peacekeeping relevant? | United Nations



In its nearly 80-year history, the relevance of peacekeeping has been questioned repeatedly. In today’s complex conflict environment, UN peacekeeping is being asked to do more with less amid 25% cuts to its global personnel and finds itself at a crossroads. Should the international community find another solution to address challenges to peace? Hear from Lieutenant General Mohan Subramanian, former Force Commander of the UN Mission in South Sudan (2022–2026), who currently serves as the Director of the Office for Peacekeeping Strategic Partnership. The 'Invest In Peace' video series features voices from across United Nations peace and security, highlighting how peacekeeping protects civilians and aids political solutions, and why sustained investment in peace is essential to building a safer future. Find out more: peacekeeping.un.org/


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Haiti: Half of population in need of humanitarian aid - OCHA Press Conference | United Nations



“The very ground I was walking on, the very place people were sleeping on at night,” the UN's top humanitarian official said Friday, describing conditions inside overcrowded displacement shelters in Haiti as she warned the country is facing one of the most severe and rapidly deteriorating crises in the Western Hemisphere. Edem Wosornu, Director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Crisis Response Division, said more than half the country's population now in need of assistance and donors having funded just a fraction of last year's appeal. "We only received 27 percent of what we asked for last year," Wosornu said at a press briefing at UN headquarters in New York today (10 Apr), calling on the international community to meet an 880 million dollars appeal for 2026. Wosornu said 6.4 million people - over half of Haiti's population of roughly 11.9 to 12 million - are in need of humanitarian assistance, with 5.7 million acutely food insecure. The humanitarian community is seeking 880 million dollars to reach 4.2 million people, including a hyper-prioritized 680 million dollars plan targeting 3.3 million people. She described Haiti as gripped by a deepening protection crisis driven by gang violence, mass displacement and widespread gender-based violence. Ninety percent of Port-au-Prince is under gang control, she said, leaving residents confined to the remaining ten percent of the city. Wosornu also said 1.45 million people - 12 percent of the population - are currently displaced, with 2,800 people sheltering in a school built for 400 in the Labitrie neighbourhood. She said residents told her directly where she was standing was where they slept at night, describing terrible living conditions. “Vermin, roaches coming out, rashes on skin of children, people showing you things that they said, "In our homes we were fine, and here we are displaced" - the very ground I was walking on, the very place people were sleeping on at night,” Wosornu shared. The Director also said 1,600 schools across the country remain closed due to insecurity, leaving 250,000 children without access to education - a figure she called "a big, huge deal" in a country where schooling is deeply valued. On gender-based violence, she said 8,100 survivors were recorded last year, a 25 percent increase from the prior year, with half of reported cases involving rape and one in six survivors under the age of 18. Wosornu concluded, “Humanitarian assistance alone cannot change the fate of the people of Haiti and the trajectory of Haiti. Political solutions - you know that - improved security, urgent, sustained investment in essential services can create solutions for the people. Haiti's courage undeniable. Our support ever so necessary.”


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The Tragic DOWNFALL of MAGA (Trump TURNED AGAINST Them)


The Kavernacle: The Tragic DOWNFALL of MAGA (Trump TURNED AGAINST Them)

The Kavernacle is a YouTube Channel covering internet culture and politics.
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20260410

Sudan, Lebanon, Iran & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (10 April 2026) | United Nations



Highlights: - Sudan - Iran - Lebanon/Humanitarian - Occupied Palestinian Territory - Afghanistan - UN Women - Financial Contribution ------------------------------------- SUDAN The Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, is concluding today his visit to Nairobi, in Kenya, where he held productive engagements with Sudanese armed groups and civilian political actors, as well as with civil society representatives, members of the diplomatic community and Kenyan authorities. In his meetings, Mr. Haavisto stressed the urgent need to pursue practical measures to deescalate the conflict and ensure the protection of civilians. Mr. Haavisto reiterated that the conflict cannot be resolved through military means and highlighted the importance of achieving swift, tangible progress toward peace, given the devastating impact the ongoing violence is continuing to have on Sudan and its people. The Personal Envoy echoed statements by the Secretary-General and the Security Council reaffirming the need to safeguard the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan, rejecting the establishment of any parallel authorities and underscoring the commitment of the United Nations to engaging with all relevant stakeholders to advance peace. Mr. Haavisto will next travel to Berlin ahead of the ministerial-level meeting of the International Sudan Conference, which is scheduled next week, on 15 April. IRAN The Secretary-General welcomes the U.S.-Iran talks that are mediated by Pakistan, scheduled to start in Islamabad over the weekend. He calls on the parties to seize this diplomatic opportunity to engage in good faith toward a lasting and comprehensive agreement, with a view to deescalation and the prevention of a return to hostilities. His Personal Envoy, Jean Arnault, continues to be in the region to support diplomatic efforts. The Secretary-General reiterates that there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of international disputes, in full accordance with international law, including the UN Charter. LEBANON/HUMANITARIAN In Lebanon, the situation continues to deteriorate and essential services for people in need are under extreme strain. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health reported that the strikes on Wednesday across the country killed more than 300 people and injured over 1,100 others. This brings the total number of people killed since 2 March to nearly 1,900, with more than 6,000 people injured. This is according to numbers given to us by the Lebanese Government. Our humanitarian colleagues continue to be seriously concerned over attacks on health and emergency services. Today, a strike on an ambulance killed two first responders in the province of Tyre. Full Highlight: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-04-10


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Launch of the 2026 Financing for Sustainable Development Report - Press Conference | United Nations



A new UN report warns that global financing for development is under growing pressure, threatening decades of progress. At the launch of the 2026 Financing for Sustainable Development Report: Implementing the Sevilla Commitment (FSDR 2026), Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said, “Development progress is imperiled by global fragmentation, geopolitical tensions and conflict. Developing countries are trapped in a catastrophic financing squeeze from compounding shocks.” Many developing countries, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, are struggling with a severe financing squeeze. Debt payments are at their highest level in two decades, development aid is declining, and foreign investment has dropped for the second year in a row, making it harder for countries to invest in health, education and climate resilience. Li Junhua reported, “Development aid is falling sharply. In 2025, 25 countries decreased their Official Development Assistance (ODA), leading to a 23 percent overall drop from 2024 to 2025, the largest annual contraction on record. Only four countries met the 0.7 per cent target – Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden. Based on preliminary data, ODA is expected to further decline by another 5.8 percent in 2026. Developing countries, especially the poorest, face mounting debt, with debt service burdens hitting 20-year highs.” Geopolitical tensions and global fragmentation are also making cooperation and financial reforms harder to achieve. Li Junhua said, “Pressures have intensified, with a financing squeeze and increasing fragmentation exacerbated by conflicts. The recent conflict in the Middle East, for instance, has triggered a significant shock to an already fragile global economy. While the ultimate impact will depend on the conflict’s duration and severity, and the resulting arrangements for shipping and trade, we are already seeing clear repercussions for developing countries in relation to energy, food, trade and debt sustainability.” The report urges stronger international collaboration and investment to close the $4 trillion annual development financing gap. Despite challenges, progress in renewable energy, South-South cooperation, and early implementation efforts offers a path forward.


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Kosovo: 'Let us hope that differences can be bridged' - UNMIK's Chief Presser | United Nations



Briefing by Peter Due, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMIK, on the Secretary-General's latest report on UNMIK. ----- “Let us hope that differences can be bridged, a new President can be elected and that new legislative elections can be avoided,” the new chief of UNMIK said, briefing the Security Council on the situation in Kosovo. Peter Due, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) noted the return of Kosovo Serb mayors to local institutions in the north as a positive step but said “this process has not been without challenges,” citing “incomplete handovers, administrative gaps and language barriers” raised by mayors he had met with. He also said UNMIK had “implemented a contingency plan reducing encumbered positions by almost 30 per cent” in response to the UN's broader financial difficulties. Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić said UNMIK remained “indispensable,” noting that its mandate under resolution 1244 had “not been fully implemented.” He said Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija were “increasingly marked as the other” and that their identity was being used “as a basis to limit the rights of Kosovo Serbs, restrict their movement and target their homes, property and religious sites.” Glauk Konjufca said “the obstacle to peace and normalization of relations remains Serbia, which is neither interested in normalizing relations with Kosovo nor joining the EU.” He called on Belgrade to “come to terms with reality and recognize Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state,” saying it was “holding its society and entire region hostage to aspirations of regaining regional hegemony.” Konjufca said Kosovo had “one of the most advanced minority protection frameworks in Europe” and said Serbia and “other malign actors continue to weaponize minority rights” to “promote division, disorder and undermine our democratic institutions.” US Deputy Representative Tammy Bruce said the Council “should not measure effectiveness by how long a mission survives,” pointing to the capabilities of local institutions and the EU presence on the ground. “The UN mission has reached the end of the road,” she said. Russia's Permanent Representative Vasiliy Nebenzya said it was “unacceptable to reduce the frequency or to change the format of Security Council meetings on Kosovo,” adding that any reduction in UNMIK’s budget or staffing was equally unacceptable. The mission, he said, continued “to perform the essential task of contributing to the maintenance of stability in the province.”


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We Need to Talk about Nuclear War HYSTERIA (and why it doesn't help)


The Kavernacle: We Need to Talk about Nuclear War HYSTERIA (and why it doesn't help)

The Kavernacle is a YouTube Channel covering internet culture and politics.
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20260409

Attacks on UN Personnel - Security Council Briefing | United Nations



Briefing by Gilles Michaud, Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, on the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and the protection of United Nations and associated personnel. Michaud noted, “Regrettably, all these perpetrators are rarely held accountable. They are rarely named and shamed, let alone prosecuted.” He highlighted, “This is not the right forum to describe the range of measures we have implemented to keep colleagues safe. But it is the right place and time to tell you: we have stretched the security system to its limit.” Michaud said, “We ask you to take real, consequential measures against anyone, any party, any group, any Member State that compromises the safety and security of women and men whose work saves lives.” He also said, “We ask you to invest, politically, financially, legally, in the safety and security of these women and men, the one noble cause that should unite us all.”


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Lebanon: Urgent Needs of Women and Girls - Press Conference | United Nations



Press conference by Laila Baker, Regional Director for Arab States at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), on the situation in Lebanon and the urgent needs of women and girls in the country.


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Lebanon: Sound of ambulances dominating Beirut - Press Conference | United Nations



Press Conference by Imran Riza, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, on the humanitarian situation in the country.


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Her Rhythm: Women in Jazz | United Nations

Women in jazz are reshaping the future of the music industry through leadership, education, and advocacy, while navigating and challenging...