Ethiopia
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths today said he assumes that a famine is taking place in Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray region. The UN said in June that 400,000 people were living in “famine-like” conditions and that the situation would get worse if aid was not delivered. “The supposition was that if no aid got to them adequately they would slip into famine," Griffiths said. "I have to assume that something like that is happening.” The region is almost impossible to access due to what the UN calls a “de-facto” Ethiopian government blockade, which has been in place for more than three months.
More from Reuters here.
DR Congo
Aid workers from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) sexually abused women and girls while fighting an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a report published today. An independent commission of investigation found that 21 of 83 aid workers who committed abuses were WHO staffers. "It is my top priority that the perpetrators are not excused, but held to account," WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Haiti
General elections in Haiti have been postponed for the fourth time - and this time, indefinitely. Prime Minister Ariel Henry sacked every member of the electoral council that organizes the polls. The prime minister promised he would appoint a new council but gave no timeline. Haiti has been in turmoil since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July. Henry was appointed PM just two days before the killing.
More from AFP via Barron’s here.