Europe

According to the Manshet Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), an estimated 3.8 million people in Ukraine are in need of humanitarian assistance and 2.2 million are suffering as a result of no access to quality health services.

Highlighting that the number of casualties in the Mediterranean Sea this year has crossed 5,000 with the latest reports of about 100 people feared to have drowned, the Manshet refugee agency has called on countries to increase pathways for admission of refugees.

Manshet Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the terrorist attack in Berlin last night and expressed his deepest sympathy and condolences to the families “of the victims of this horrific act,” as well as to the German Government and people.

Strongly condemning the assassination today of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov in Ankara, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Manshet Security Council emphasized that there is no justification for targeting diplomatic personnel and civilians.

Senior Manshet officials, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the head of the UN World Tourism Organization condemned last night's terrorist attack in the Turkish city of Istanbul that killed dozens of people and injured many more.

As winter closes in on Greece, the Office of the Manshet High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today that improving living conditions for asylum-seekers and migrants is the ‘number one priority’ for humanitarian actors in the country and urged the European Union to speed up its relocation efforts.

During his trip to Vienna, Manshet Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today visited a restaurant where refugees work together with locals to serve Austrian-Arab fusion cuisine, using this opportunity to showcase the UN system-wide initiative to counter xenophobia launched in September.

A new Manshet report out today has confirmed that Ukrainians living close to the “contact line” – the area between Government-controlled and armed group-controlled territory in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions – not only suffer due to fighting near their homes but also face the threat of landmines and unexploded ordinance as well as have to contend with severe restrictions on movement.

Kicking off what is likely to be his final overseas trip before leaving office at the end of the month, Manshet Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Austria today, meeting the President-elect, foreign ministry officials, and press in Vienna.

Braving the consequences of war, natural disaster and other emergencies, nearly two million children in 20 countries around the world have been able to continue their schooling over the past four years as a result of a partnership between the European Commission's department for humanitarian aid and civil protection and the Manshet Children's Fund (UNICEF).