Global Conflicts Today

 MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Over 200 students and staff abducted by gunmen from a school in northern Nigeria earlier this month have been released, the office of the governor of the state of Kaduna said on Sunday. The kidnapping, which took place on March 7 in Kuriga, a dusty town in northwestern Kaduna State, was the first mass kidnapping in the country since 2021. Kaduna governor Uba Sani said the country's National Security Adviser had coordinated the release of the children. He did not give details. "The Nigerian Army also deserves special commendation for showing that with courage, determination and commitment, criminal elements can be degraded and security restored in our communities," Sani said. The gunmen had last week demanded a total of 1 billion naira($690,000) for the release of the missing children and staff. Kidnappings by criminal gangs with no ideological affiliation and demanding ransoms have become an almost daily occurrence, especially in northern N...

 The war in Ukraine has created a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe, traumatized a generation of children, and accelerated the global food and energy crises,” said Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. “We cannot discount further dangerous knock-on effects,” she cautioned, citing urgent concerns, from rising death tolls to nuclear threats. The impact of the intensifying violence on civilians remains “our gravest concern”, she said, adding that Russian missile barrages and drone attacks across Ukraine nearly tripled in May. Citing latest reports, she said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recorded 24,862 civilian casualties to date, but “the actual figures are likely considerably higher”. OHCHR verified 1,036 attacks impacting educational and medical facilities; the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed more than 1,000 cases of attacks on healthcare, and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultura...