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Since Monday, the partners have been assessing three possible locations as temporary shelters for people who choose to leave flood-prone areas or war-damaged buildings at risk of collapse.
They also inspected more than 450 refugee camps at high risk of flooding – home to a fifth of Gaza’s population.
Land and access
Explosives must be cleared from new sites before voluntary relocations can be carried out on a large scale, Dujarric said, along with leveling the sandy soil and installing drainage, water and lighting.
“The main obstacle is the restriction of access to 65 percent of land in Gaza,” he said, adding that the remaining 35 percent of land was already overcrowded.
More Israeli approvals are needed to import engines, spare parts and engine oil, while funding for fuel and shelter is also urgently needed.
Meanwhile, health partners are training local medical staff to treat non-communicable diseases, but drug shortages limit early detection and treatment.
“Life-threatening gaps remain in specialized cancer care, including shortages in chemotherapy and radiotherapy supplies.”
Women searching for missing people in Mexico face deadly violence
Woman searching for forced disappearance in Mexico continue to face deadly violence and they are often the victims themselves, independent UN human rights experts warned on Wednesday, urging countries to protect them.
The recent attack in Sinaloa highlights the risks. On August 29, human rights defender Elisa Altagracia Bonilla was reported missing, and Alma Rosa Rojo Medina, founder of the collective Voces Unidas por la Vida, was attacked along with her daughter and two children.
On September 1, members of the collective Corazones Unidos por una Misma Causa were hit by a vehicle during a peaceful demonstration in Mazatlán.
The same group has been repeatedly targeted: one member, Rubí Gómez-Tagle, was murdered this year, and another, María de los Ángeles Valenzuela, disappeared in October 2025.
The government did not act
“The work of these women is a fundamental extension of their rights, the right to truth, justice and reparation… They carry out tasks that are primarily the responsibility of the State. The State must fully assume this responsibility and not shift the burden to the family,” the experts said.
The violence occurred amid near-total impunity, they added, calling it a “tragic example of the state’s failure to fulfill its obligations to protect human rights defenders.”
The independent experts – who are not UN staff and do not receive salaries for their work – welcomed the General Assembly’s decision to designate December 19 as the International Day for Recognition of Women Searching for Missing Persons, and urged Mexico to publicly recognize the importance of women’s work.
They have previously expressed their concerns to the Government, including in April 2026 letter about the murder of Ms. Gómez-Tagle, which one answer.
The new alcohol policy has had a devastating impact on drinking in Latvia
Finally, to Latvia, where simple public health measures to reduce alcohol consumption have been linked to “significant reductions in mortality”, just months after their implementation.
According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), deaths caused entirely by drinking fell by 27 percent, after the new restrictions were introduced.
Death rates from alcohol poisoning, liver disease and acute pancreatitis all linked to regular consumption of alcoholic beverages are “declining significantly”, the WHO said, after evaluating data submitted by Latvian health authorities.
Traditional Latvian liquor for sale in a supermarket in Riga, Latvia.
‘Alcohol is everywhere’
Karina Zalite, head of the WHO Office in Latvia, welcomed the Government’s steps to reduce the availability of alcohol, including reducing purchase times, ending instant delivery when purchased online and limiting promotions and sales in gambling venues:
“Alcohol is everywhere in our lives,” he said.
“It happens at celebrations, sports, at the checkout and in stores. It’s easy to forget what it really is, a substance that is addictive and linked to at least seven types of cancer.”
According to WHO, cancers linked to alcohol include colon cancer and breast cancer. Alcohol use is responsible for around 800,000 deaths across Europe each year.
