World News in Brief: Korea tensions mount, UN demands answers over staff death in Yemen, Guterres in Spain, Nepal alert ahead of COP31
The Secretary-General encouraged the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and neighbouring Republic of Korea – more commonly known as North and South Korea – to resume communication channels, including on the military-to-military level, to avoid unintended accidents or miscalculations, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York.
“Diplomatic engagement and renewed dialogue remain the only pathway to reduce tensions and to achieve sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he said.
Yemen: UN calls for investigation into staffer’s death
The circumstances surrounding the death of UN staff member Mohammad el Shami, who was arbitrarily detained by the Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen, “raise serious concerns about possible ill-treatment”, the UN said on Thursday.
Theses include the Houthis’ prolonged failure to disclose reliable information about his fate and well-being, Mr. Dujarric said.
He called for a prompt, independent, impartial and transparent investigation into the exact time, cause and circumstances of Mr. el Shami’s death.
It should cover the conditions of his detention, whether he received adequate and timely medical care, and why his family and the UN were not promptly informed, Mr. Dujarric continued.
Those responsible must be identified and held to account, he added.
Mr. el Shami is the second UN colleague to die while arbitrarily detained by Houthi forces, raising grave concerns for all other UN and humanitarian personnel held in similar conditions – particularly those with serious medical conditions.
The UN called on Houthi leadership to provide verifiable information on all detainees’ whereabouts and health, and to release all arbitrarily detained UN personnel immediately and unconditionally.
Displacement grows
Meanwhile, nearly 135,000 people are now displaced within Taiz, more than 40 per cent of all those recently uprooted across Yemen.
On Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delivered four trucks of essential medical supplies, including surgical kits, to hospitals in the encircled city.
The World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners launched an emergency meals initiative using locally sourced ingredients, initially aiming to reach 2,000 vulnerable families across three districts.
Shelter partners have so far provided emergency shelter to about 5,600 displaced families, just over one in ten of the more than 51,000 families displaced since August.
Guterres warns of AI shaped by ‘a handful of companies’
Addressing the 30th Ibero-American Summit in Madrid on Thursday, Mr. Guterres called for artificial intelligence “that speaks with all our voices – without a handful of companies deciding what we see, read and believe.”
“The more capable machines become, the more we will need what makes us human,” he said, urging more arts and humanities in education to cultivate critical thinking.
‘Cultural superpower’
The summit brings together the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries of Latin America and Europe, and was first held in Guadalajara, Mexico, 35 years ago.
“Ibero-America is not a military or economic superpower, but it is a cultural superpower,” the Secretary-General said.
Mr. Guterres hosted the summit in Porto 28 years ago, and used this year’s address to bid farewell, thanking leaders for their friendship and support during his 10-year term.
Nepal floods: UN urges global support ahead of COP31
Nepal needs international solidarity to recover from catastrophic floods that struck 10 weeks ago, the top UN official in the country said on Thursday, ahead of the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye.
On 26 August, a glacier collapsed on the border with China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. UN Resident Coordinator Lila Pieters Yahia described the “awful wall of water, mud and heavy rock” which tore through 150 kilometres of Himalayan valleys.
More than 1,450 people were killed, nearly 5,000 remain missing and over 84,000 were affected. Homes, schools, power grids and 115 bridges were damaged.
$4.7 billion recovery cost
The World Bank puts the damage at $2.7 billion, and recovery will cost an estimated $4.7 billion. The authorities say the $21.5 million Nepal expects from the loss and damage fund falls far short.
Ms. Pieters Yahia said many women who lost their husbands now support whole households, often while facing heavy debt.
Nepal and Bhutan want the needs of mountainous countries put on the COP31 agenda.
