Myanmar elections marked by fear as UN warns civilians are coerced from all sides

Unsplash/Kyle Petzer A pagoda at dawn in downtown Yangon, the commercial hub of Myanmar.

This article is published in association with United Nations. Peace and Security As Myanmar approaches elections scheduled for 28 December, the UN’s top human rights official has said that civilians are being coerced from all sides – forced by the military to vote and threatened by armed opposition groups to boycott – in a climate of […]

Commission announces strategic approach to strengthen Europe’s economic security

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission and the High Representative presented a Joint Communication on strengthening Economic Security. It outlines concrete steps to reinforce the EU’s strength and resilience in the face of growing external economic threats, while retaining our openness and commitment to international trade […]

Gaza: Two children killed every day during fragile ceasefire, says UNICEF

This article is published in association with United Nations. Ongoing attacks and airstrikes attributed to Israeli forces in Gaza continue to kill and maim people of all ages in the shattered enclave despite an agreed ceasefire, UN agencies said on Friday. “Yesterday morning, a baby girl was reportedly killed in Khan Younis by an airstrike, while […]

UN chief condemns Gaza killings, urges full respect for ceasefire

This article is published in association with United Nations. The UN Secretary-General has strongly condemned the killing of civilians, including children, in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight into Wednesday, calling for all parties to uphold their commitments to the fragile ceasefire “The Secretary-General strongly condemns the killings due to Israeli airstrikes of civilians in Gaza yesterday, […]

Sustainability reporting and due diligence: simpler rules for fewer companies 

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. The new draft rules would reduce the required amount of sustainability reporting and simplify due diligence requirements for companies. With 17 votes for, 6 against and 2 abstentions, the Legal Affairs Committee approved its position on a series of changes to sustainability reporting and […]

EBRD, EU back new customs and logistics centre for Armenian capital

This article is brought to you in association with EBRD. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is financing a new customs and logistics centre on the outskirts of Yerevan, Armenia, with a €39 million sovereign loan, complemented by a €6 million grant from the European Union (EU). The new facility will replace several fragmented […]

Global Debt Remains Above 235% of World GDP

This article is published in association with IMF. Vitor Gaspar, Carlos Eduardo Goncalves, Marcos Poplawski-Ribeiro Global debt has stabilized, though it remains at an elevated level, as a continued reduction in private-sector lending offset greater borrowing by governments. Total debt was little changed last year, just above 235 percent of global gross domestic product, according to […]

Ukraine: Guterres greatly concerned over reported Russian incursion into Polish airspace

This article is published in association with United Nations. The UN Secretary-General is closely monitoring reports that Russian drones violated Polish airspace overnight into Wednesday, resulting in damage to some residential areas. Speaking at the regular news briefing in New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said António Guterres is following the ensuing diplomatic fallout across the […]

Joint statement on the humanitarian situation in Gaza

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Joint statement on behalf of 27 partners on aid to Gaza and restrictions facing NGOs The humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels. Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation. Humanitarian space must be […]

Gaza: Hospitals ‘at near-total collapse’, staff overwhelmed by the injured

This article is published in association with United Nations. Exhausted UN aid workers in Gaza on Thursday continued to report a lack of food across the enclave, while medical teams warned that hospitals are overwhelmed by a daily influx of injured people and close to “near-total collapse”. Meanwhile, UN agencies confirmed the deaths of three Palestinians […]

Aid cuts leave refugee agency unable to shelter six in 10 fleeing war in Sudan

This article is published in association with United Nations. Major cuts to aid budgets have already left people fleeing wars in Sudan and beyond without the assistance and protection they need, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. Globally, $1.4 billion of the agency’s programmes are being shuttered or put on hold, UNHCR said in a […]

The first cry: Echoes in a Mother’s soul

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Shola Muzaffarli is a 20-year-old medical student from Shabran, Azerbaijan. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the […]

Ukraine: MEPs encourage EU reforms and urge opening of negotiation clusters 

MEPs approve “enhanced cooperation” for €90 bi

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. MEPs encourage the Ukrainian government to maintain its pace on implementing EU-related reforms while reaffirming the EU’s commitment to a just and lasting peace. The report by the Foreign Affairs Committee, which reviews Ukraine’s EU accession preparations against the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing war […]

‘An unending horror story’: Gangs and human rights abuses expand in Haiti

This article is published in association with United Nations. Between October 2024 and June this year, Haiti has been caught in a vicious and unending cycle. First, gang violence expanded westward into the Artibonite and Centre Departments. Left vulnerable, communities then formed self-defence groups and Haitian security forces reinforced their operations and made small gains only […]

Landless and locked out: Young farmers struggle for a future

This article is published in association with United Nations. Agricultural land is more than just a resource to produce food – for many older adults around the world, a land deed is the only safety net they have as they enter their old age. As a result, they hold onto it tightly.   However, this creates challenges […]

Gaza: Health system crumbles amid growing desperation over food, fuel

This article is published in association with United Nations. The first delivery earlier this week of urgently needed medical goods to enter Gaza in months will provide scant relief to the enclave’s people, who continue to be shot and killed in their search for food, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “Definitely, people […]

Gaza: As last fuel supplies run out, aid teams warn of catastrophe

This article is published in association with United Nations. More than 100 days into Israel’s complete fuel blockade in Gaza, UN agencies still in the shattered enclave warned on Thursday that vital services are only “hours away” from shutting down. Speaking from Gaza City in the north of occupied territory, Olga Cherevko from the UN aid […]

UN ocean summit in Nice closes with wave of commitments

This article is published in association with United Nations. Ships in the port of Nice sounded their fog-horns on Friday, a brassy crescendo to a rare moment of global unity as the Third UN Ocean Conference drew to a close. Moments earlier, more than 170 countries had adopted by consensus a sweeping political declaration promising urgent […]

EBRD and Unibank to support trade finance in Azerbaijan

This article is brought to you in association with EBRD. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a trade finance line of up to US$ 5 million (€4.4 million) for Unibank under its Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP). This trade finance agreement with a systemically important lender in Azerbaijan was signed at the EBRD’s […]

Guterres welcomes India-Pakistan ceasefire

This article is published in association with United Nations. Following pronouncements of an end to hostilities between India and Pakistan, neighbouring nuclear powers, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, said that the organisation stands ready to support efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability in the region. The UN chief’s statement, released on Saturday, came shortly after news […]

Portugal: EIB provides €400 million loan to Santander to boost financing for SMEs and mid-caps and the agricultural sector

Commission greenlights Portugal's eighth payment request for €1.1 billion under NextGenerationEU

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Santander have signed a €400 million financing operation to boost investment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps, as well as to support the agricultural sector in Portugal. The operation aims to improve access to finance for companies operating in […]

The Commission adopts positive preliminary assessment of €58 million to Luxembourg under NextGenerationEU

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The Commission issued a positive preliminary assessment of Luxembourg’s second payment request for €58 million under NextGenerationEU, the centrepiece of Europe’s recovery efforts to build a greener, more digital and competitive Union. The Commission preliminarily concluded that Luxembourg has fulfilled the milestones and targets required for this second […]

Record hunger in Haiti amid rising needs

This article is published in association with United Nations. Escalating armed violence, displacement, economic turmoil and disruptions to local food production are fueling hunger in Haiti and leaving millions at risk, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday.  The UN agency is sounding the alarm following the release of the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification […]

Spare developing countries from new US tariffs: UN trade chief

This article is published in association with United Nations. As governments and global markets struggle to deal with the deep concerns and disruptions caused by volatility overtrade tariffs, Rebeca Grynspan, the head of the UN trade and development agency (UNCTAD), told UN News on Thursday that the poorest countries – whose activities have a negligible effect […]

The Cost of Conflict: A Precarious Future for Sudan’s Health Workforce

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Mr. Mohammed Seifuldin Younis, a third-year medical student at AlFaisal University, having transferred from Khartoum Medical School after the war in Sudan. He is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to […]

MEPs travel to Washington DC to discuss transatlantic relations with US counterparts

Statement by the European Commission on the U.S. decision to impose travel restrictions on certain EU individuals

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. The European Parliament’s delegation for relations with the United States will travel to the US capital from Wednesday to Friday for talks with representatives of the US Congress. The visit by MEPs takes place against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement […]

Myanmar quake: UN calls for urgent protection for vulnerable women and girls

This article is published in association with United Nations. Friday’s devastating earthquakes in Myanmar not only caused mass casualties and widespread destruction, they also deepened long-standing gender inequalities – leaving millions of women and girls at heightened risk, UN aid agencies warned on Wednesday. As emergency aid trickles in, women and girls who were already vulnerable […]

UN chief affirms solidarity with Bangladesh amid political transition

This article is published in association with United Nations. On a visit to Bangladesh, UN Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the pivotal moment the country is facing as it navigates a period of significant transition and reform. Speaking to the media on Saturday, the Secretary-General praised Bangladesh’s progress and highlighted the role of the international community in […]

Bangladesh: Rohingya children’s acute hunger surges amid funding cuts

This article is published in association with United Nations. In Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee settlements, child malnutrition has surged and cuts to aid funding risk creating a humanitarian “catastrophe”, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday. “Children in the world’s largest refugee camp are experiencing the worst levels of malnutrition since the massive displacement that […]

Haiti: Over one million displaced by gang violence

This article is published in association with United Nations. Ongoing gang violence in Haiti has displaced more than a million people, nearly a tenth of the population, or three times more than last year, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country said on Thursday.  The “unprecedented crisis” in Haiti means that every number presented “is a […]

Medical education: where do we go now? 

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Mr. Khalil Bilani, a 4th-year medical student at Saint George’s University of Beirut. He is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view […]

Gaza: 10,000 aid trucks reached enclave since ceasefire began

This article is published in association with United Nations. The humanitarian community’s plan to flood Gaza with lifesaving aid passed an important milestone on Thursday with the news that more than 10,000 relief lorries have entered the enclave since the ceasefire began on 19 January. Announcing the development, the UN’s top aid official, Tom Fletcher, said […]

Accrual Accounting and Transition Economy Countries

This article is published in association with United Nations.

This article is published in association with IMF. Accounting reform is a ‘hot topic’ and pressure exists from international organisations like the World Bank and IMF and consultants, for countries to adopt the international accrual standards of public sector accounting (IPSASs). Countries are attracted by the broad promises of accrual accounting, including increased transparency, better decision […]

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