Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)
National Qualifications Framework (NQF) partners – the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), Council on Higher Education (CHE), and Umalusi addresses media on areas of common interest with specific reference to the following key topics:
* New developments in the NQF space
* The persistent challenge of unaccredited institutions
* Steps to verify institutions and certificates
* Latest measures to combat fraud and protect students
Remarks by Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, on behalf of António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, at the Informal meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day against Unilateral Coercive Measures.
Press conference by Matthias Schmale, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine on the situation in the country.
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Matthias Schmale, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine said, “At the moment, I don’t sense any optimism that we’re getting closer to ending this terrible tragedy.” Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters, he cautioned that earlier “moments of cautious optimism” had faded as Ukraine enters another winter under bombardment.
Schmale warned that continued strikes on energy infrastructure pose one of the gravest risks. “We are particularly worried about the winter,” he said, noting that the “big worry is people potentially getting stuck in high rise buildings in cities.”
He pointed to a recent close call in the northeast, saying a city of 40,000 people in Sumy region “was cut off for several days.” Authorities had begun considering evacuations, he said, adding that the worst was fortunately avoided. But he warned that the winter months could bring “a catastrophe within a catastrophe.”
Despite ongoing strikes, Schmale said Ukraine is living through a dual reality in which “development and recovery work goes on” even as fighting continues. In Kherson, he noted that “every day there’s been shelling this year,” leaving the streets desolate and largely empty. Yet beneath that devastation, he visited an underground maternity ward, a setting he described as a stark counterpoint to the destruction above. Schmale said, “And you couldn’t experience a starker contrast: above ground the horror of war, below ground in the same place people helping women give birth to new life. And it sort of characterizes the defiance of the Ukrainians.”
He also highlighted “innovative work” combining de-mining with agricultural recovery, with NGOs and UN agencies clearing fields and helping farmers return to their land. He said such efforts keep alive the hope of a better future.
Still, he cautioned against “romanticiz[ing] resilience.” After nearly four years of war, he said “the population is getting weary and more tired,” even as red lines remain firmly in place. That fatigue, he added, will shape “the receptiveness to whatever deal might come out in the future.”
Schmale said the conflict is becoming increasingly technological, with drone warfare reshaping conditions for civilians and aid workers alike. On a recent trip to Donetsk region, he observed “kilometers of the road being covered by fishnets” to disrupt drone surveillance. Humanitarian groups, he said, report that their biggest worry is “drone attacks targeting them very directly.”
As the war in Ukraine continues with no ceasefire in sight, civilians face mounting risks amid ongoing strikes and harsh winter conditions. Matthias Schmale, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, describes the deepening challenges for communities and outlines how UN agencies and partners are supporting people through winterization efforts.
Reporting from the war-torn maternity hospital at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, Nestor Owomuhangi, UNFPA representative in Palestine, says the agency is working to keep maternity care alive amid the ruins. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the UN agency responsible for reproductive health worldwide, supporting safe childbirth, maternal care and services for women and girls. Despite the destruction of hospitals across the Gaza Strip, UNFPA continues to deliver medicines and equipment and deploy trained midwives, ensuring that women in Gaza can still access essential maternity services even in the most difficult conditions.
Source: United States Department of Justice (video statements)
Brian J. Cole, Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, was arrested this morning and charged for transporting and planting two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on January 5, 2021, at the headquarters of both the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee in Washington D.C., announced Attorney General Pamela Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Cole is charged in a complaint unsealed today with transporting an explosive device in interstate commerce with the intent to kill, injure, or intimidate any individual or unlawfully to damage or destroy any building, vehicle, or other real or personal property. He is also charged with attempted malicious destruction by means of fire and explosive materials.
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Sudan
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Central African Republic
– South Asia Floods
– Hurricane Melissa
– International Days
– Senior Appointment
– Mic Browne
SUDAN
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that civilians across the Kordofan region face growing dangers as violence intensifies. Earlier today, the Operational Humanitarian Country Team in Sudan issued a statement condemning in the strongest terms the escalating violence across Kordofan and the ongoing sieges that have cut off multiple cities. OCHA notes that the people in Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan State remain trapped, facing extreme hardship, severe restrictions on movement, and limited access to essential services and protection. Famine conditions have been identified in Kadugli, while sustained attacks have been reported in Babanusa, in West Kordofan, State in recent days.
The humanitarian community in Sudan also expressed deep concern over continued attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in the region, noting that the violence is restricting access to food, medicine and essential supplies and limiting farmers’ access to their fields and to markets for their products. This is increasing the risk of famine spreading across the Kordofan states.
The statement urged that all those involved in the fighting to protect civilians, including medical and humanitarian workers, particularly those fleeing besieged areas and local front-line responders delivering life-saving aid wherever they can.
Aid workers in Sudan face extraordinary risks as they work to deliver basic assistance to 1.1 million human beings across the Kordofan region. They require safe, and they requite unimpeded access to reach all those in need.
The humanitarian community in Sudan also stressed that sexual violence, abductions and the recruitment of children must end, and that all civilian sites, including hospitals, shelters, markets must be respected and protected in line with international humanitarian law.
Meanwhile, in North Darfur State, our partners at Save the Children tell us that more than 43,000 people displaced from El Fasher following the escalation of conflict in late October have now arrived in Korma town and Silk camp, placing immense strain on an already a fragile community. An assessment last week in Korma, which is located about 70 kilometres north-west of El Fasher, found critical shortages of food, healthcare, nutrition, water and sanitation services, as well as education and protection.
An OCHA team also visited Korma yesterday, noting that people fleeing violence continue to arrive in the area.
And you will recall, last month, Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, also visited Korma, where he heard from survivors who escaped the violence in El Fasher.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that the humanitarian scale-up is well underway, even as insecurity persists, with frequent reports of attacks across the Gaza Strip causing casualties, including among civilians, and of course, causing further destruction.
On Monday, UN partners leading on shelter and protection support distributed critical items to thousands of households, including thousands of winter clothing items, hundreds of bedding kits, tents, tarpaulins and kitchen sets. About 1,100 people were provided with services ranging from psychological support to legal consultations. Also on Monday, UN partners set up 30 activity tents in different locations across Gaza to provide safe spaces where children can access psychosocial support and structured activities.
During November, the UN and its partners distributed monthly food parcels to more than 60 per cent of Gaza’s population. That’s about 1.3 million people out of 2.1 million. The UN is also supporting community kitchens, bread production, and other activities critical to addressing food insecurity.
Throughout last month, UN mine action partners conducted over 130 assessments of explosive hazards across priority humanitarian locations, including warehouses, distribution points, major transport corridors and key infrastructure. This mapping exercise has been essential to enable we and our partners across all sectors to scale up operations based on our plan for the initial period of the ceasefire.
UN mine action partners also continue to educate people, especially children, on how to stay safe around explosive hazards, and they are reaching a lot of people every week doing that.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2025-12-04
Source: International Criminal Court (video statements)
On 4 December 2025, the #ICC Office of the Prosecutor launched its Policy on Addressing Environmental Damage through the #RomeStatute, on the sidelines of the Assembly of States Parties in The Hague #ASP24.
The new policy addresses the environmental dimension of crimes within #ICC jurisdiction, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
Environmental exploitation and degradation can be both a driver and a consequence of #RomeStatute crimes.
