The destruction of schools, universities and cultural institutions threatens Palestinian education, historical memory and future generations.
United Nations experts have warned that the systematic destruction of Gaza’s education system and the killing of Palestinian journalists are undermining Palestinian society’s ability to educate future generations, preserve its history and document events in the occupied territories.
Speaking Thursday at a briefing organized by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People at the organization’s headquarters in New York, the experts condemned the destruction of educational institutions and the growing restrictions on press freedom across the occupied Palestinian territories.
Farida Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, described the devastation in Gaza as “scholasticide,” defined as the systematic and deliberate destruction of education. She reported that 98% of schools and all 13 universities in the territory had been destroyed.
The damage extends far beyond educational facilities. According to the experts, 13 libraries, 195 heritage sites, 227 mosques, at least three churches and Gaza’s central archives have also been destroyed. The archives held 150 years of collective memory, representing a significant loss of Palestinian historical records.
Gaza’s children are losing more than classrooms and textbooks. Three years of Israel’s genocide have disrupted their education, killed teachers and classmates, and left many struggling with hunger, trauma and the basic skills they need to learn.https://t.co/Fz7cmDzbzB
The consequences for education are also evident in the occupied West Bank. Shaheed reported that 10 of the 48 schools in East Jerusalem were demolished in September. She also cited 224 security incidents during the first half of the year that affected 152 schools and 20,450 students.
The experts also raised alarm over the killing of Palestinian journalists and media workers, warning that the loss of those documenting events in Gaza has compounded the restrictions on freedom of expression.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, recalled that nearly 300 journalists and media workers had been killed in Gaza since October 2023, making the territory an increasingly deadly place for members of the press.
The most immoral army will continue to slaughter innocent people
No matter which fugitive or potential war criminal leads Apartheid Israel.
They will. Until or Unless WE THE PEOLE force it to stop.
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) October 29, 2026
Albanese warned that silencing witnesses not only allows crimes to be committed but also conceals them, allowing impunity to become part of the process.
The experts called on the international community to take immediate action by halting arms transfers, protecting journalists and sustaining humanitarian assistance through the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). They also warned that the ceasefire announced the previous year had failed to bring relief, with more than 1,500 Palestinians killed since it took effect.
Critics cite Lana Nusseibeh’s denial of accusations the UAE is fuelling Sudan war by supporting paramilitary RSF
Members of the Sudanese diaspora and international human rights monitors have denounced the candidature of an Emirati diplomat for the top job at the UN, citing her denial of accusations that the United Arab Emirates is fuelling the war in Sudan by supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The UAE nominated Lana Nusseibeh last week to replace the UN secretary general, António Guterres, as he finishes his second five-year term this year, upending a race that had become gridlocked.
The foreign ministry of El Salvador said on Wednesday that over 2,000 troops will be dispatched to Haiti to support ongoing U.N. anti-gang operations and rescue four missing Salvadoran aircraft technicians.
Tribal leaders launch effort to protect civilians; aid agencies warn health needs in besieged city are at 'breaking point' as hospitals struggle to treat wounded
The Trump administration is carrying out the most intense pressure campaign on Cuba in decades. The Cuban government says its plan is simply to endure.
The United Nations passed a symbolic resolution on Wednesday condemning the alleged American "embargo" on Cuba with the lowest number of positive votes since the tradition began in the 1990s, suggesting a dramatic turn against the communist state at the international body.
Tensions have risen between the United States and Cuba as the Trump administration tries to force the island’s Communist government to make drastic changes.
The U.N. General Assembly condemned the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba for the 34th year on Wednesday, even as Washington's campaign to influence the outcome led to a number of countries voting against the resolution or sitting out the decision for the first time.
On Wednesday, President Miguel Díaz-Canel praised the actions of the Cuban delegation at the United Nations during the annual debate on the resolution calling for an end to the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba. The president affirmed that the island will not back down in the face of Yankee pressure and dictates.
In messages posted on the social media platform X, the Cuban leader acknowledged the work of Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, Ambassador Ernesto Soberón, and the rest of the Cuban delegation, following an incident that took place during a session of the UN General Assembly.
“Today at the UN, the international community’s overwhelming support for Cuba was on display, as they condemned the blockade and the U.S. government’s policy of maximum suffocation. Most of the speakers were clear in their denunciation,” the Cuban president wrote.
These remarks followed an intervention by Bruno Rodríguez, who interrupted U.S. representative Mike Waltz as he was blatantly presenting a series of slanders, distortions, and lies against Cuba.
“You are lying,” Rodríguez stated, while requesting that the president of the General Assembly call the U.S. representative to order.
The Cuban Foreign Minister also denounced pressure exerted by Washington on UN member states and rejected what he described as insults to the dignity of the Cuban people and the international organization itself.
El pretexto más empleado y manipulado por el gobierno de Estados Unidos para tratar de justificar su actuación es presentar a Cuba como una supuesta amenaza para la superpotencia nuclear o, incluso, para el hemisferio. Se sabe que ningún gobierno aquí representado admite o acepta… pic.twitter.com/9ADzwpPsXS
The text reads, “The most commonly used and manipulated pretext by the United States government to try to justify its actions is to present Cuba as an alleged threat to the nuclear superpower or even to the hemisphere. It is known that no government represented here admits or accepts such a crude fallacy. They lack arguments.”
Díaz-Canel maintained that this international body serves as a space for sovereign equality among states, and he asserted that Cuba will defend the rights granted to it by the United Nations Charter and its regulations, as well as the dignity of its people and its heroes. “Cuba will not back down, and certainly not in the face of Yankee pressures and orders,” emphasized the head of state, who described the U.S. stance as one of imperial arrogance and overbearing conduct.
The Cuban delegation’s protest was voiced at the start of the debate on the resolution titled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”—an initiative that has garnered broad support in the General Assembly for over three decades.
Cuba denounced a vile campaign of diplomatic pressure aimed at influencing the delegations present, with the goal of eroding support for the Cuban resolution. Nevertheless, the world once again spoke out—by an overwhelming majority—against the embargo, even in the face of pressure and blackmail from the United States intended to alter the outcome.
Díaz-Canel further noted that the U.S. representative—visibly isolated—offered no explanation for the energy blockade imposed on Cuba, nor for the intensified extraterritorial reach of the embargo.
In their remarks, Cuban authorities presented verifiable data demonstrating that the tightening of the embargo—particularly since 2025—has caused severe economic and social hardship on the island. This confirms that the U.S. policy amounts to collective punishment of the population; the authorities warned that the international community must not become complicit in such measures.
“Because we believe in the truth and in global solidarity, we know that the U.S. embargo against Cuba and the energy blockade will be condemned once again in the General Assembly,” Díaz-Canel stated on X.
On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signed the papers to expel the Cuban diplomat “who shoved and tried to assault one of
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz on Tuesday posted a video depicting a confrontation between U.S. and Cuban officials while he spoke at the podium of the U.N. General Assembly chamber. The video shows Cuban officials standing and speaking to Waltz, who can be heard saying one of them needs “to back away…
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz on Tuesday posted a video depicting a confrontation between U.S. and Cuban officials while he spoke at the podium of the U.N. General Assembly chamber. The video shows Cuban officials standing and speaking to Waltz, who can be heard saying one of them needs “to back away…
"Diplomats" representing the brutal Cuban communist regime, among them Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, organized a mob to shout down U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz on Tuesday as the American presented an exposé on the corruption of the ruling Castro family.
Cuba Presses Case Against Six-Decade Blockade as Washington Applies Pressure on Sovereign States.
On Oct. 27 and 28, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) holds, for the 34th time, the debate and vote on the resolution presented by Cuba titled: “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.”
Under the slogan “Cuba is not a threat, the blockade is,” the island defends its right to exist without the criminal weight of the blockade, while it considers “unfounded pretexts” the arguments put forward by Washington to maintain and intensify the siege in recent years, as well as denouncing the efforts deployed by the White House to condition Wednesday’s debate, with the use of direct threats and pressures against sovereign states to change their voting intention.
In this forum, Washington’s diplomatic isolation on this question is evidenced year after year, with the majority of the international community demonstrating its support for Cuba’s demand for the immediate cessation of this policy, a global will that is systematically ignored by the North American nation.
Against this backdrop, Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez recently warned of the brutal deployment of extreme pressures against numerous states to force them to change their position regarding the draft resolution against the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba, particularly with intense coercive efforts by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
He explained that the U.S. has been engaged for months in efforts to coerce other governments. He showed several documents that attest to intimidating messages against those nations, which contain lies such as that the U.S. blockade is legal and that the U.S. allows trade with Cuba.
In the documentation presented, the Cuban Foreign Ministry detailed that “the accumulated damages during more than six decades of application of this policy reach US$178.7 billion,” an accounting impact that hinders the obtaining of foreign currency and slows cross-border trade.
The total amount of damages to Cuba derived from the blockade in the period from March 1, 2025, to Feb. 28, 2026, shows a record figure of US$8.083 billion.
The Cuban Foreign Affairs Ministry stressed that “the persecution of oil tankers and banking institutions worsened the electricity generation crisis,” by causing continuous failures in the national interconnected system, and blocked the purchase of “medicines for hospital use.”
The consequences derived from this policy of maximum asphyxiation are identified by Havana as the main brake on the country’s economic and social development, while generating invaluable harm to the population, which suffers the hardships caused by a stance of collective punishment described by the highest authorities of the Caribbean archipelago as a “silent genocide.”
The Cuban delegation in New York asserted that “the international community will again choose truth, dignity and international solidarity,” while it will reject “diplomatic maneuvers aimed at fracturing the historical support for the island.”
Cuban FM Rodriguez highlighted that what is unusual in this case is the extreme and unprecedented intensification of the U.S. blockade, to which has been added, under the excuse that the archipelago is a threat to U.S. national security, an energy siege that prevents the arrival of fuel to the country under the risk of sanctions and tariff reprisals, extraterritorial actions that violate international law and free maritime trade.
This will then be the first time that the UNGA pronounces itself as a whole against the energy blockade and the collective punishment against our country, with serious humanitarian damages. In addition to the energy blockade, all Cuban commercial operations are pursued, he noted, as part of a policy to cause deliberately planned damages and destabilize the country by generating suffering and desperation.
The U.S. Permanent Representative Mike Waltz is a disgrace to what it means to be a diplomat.
The man talk, walks, and acts like a character from the film Idiocracy.
Cuba will not stay idly as this person eviscerates the principles of the United Nations.…
Cuban FM Rodriguez urged the United Nations General Assembly to call to order the U.S. representative, Mike Waltz, for offensive statements that lie to distract attention from the consequences of the blockade they impose on the island.
He asked the speaker to prepare better and stop ignoring the serious humanitarian repercussions that the North American siege entails. Finally, he wished Waltz a better performance in his future political positions after describing his current performance as “disastrous.”
Eritrea Calls for Compliance with International Law
The representative of Eritrea, on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, urged compliance with international law regarding the question of the blockade against Cuba with respect to United Nations rules.
The African diplomat affirmed that, furthermore, the siege against Cuban medical collaboration with third countries, in which Washington’s stance has persisted, is a cruel maneuver, when this has allowed saving millions of lives around the world, while the U.S. promotes ongoing international conflicts.
Namibia and Africa: With Cuba, Solidarity Over Silence
Namibia joined previous declarations of support for the Cuban resolution while recalling Cuba’s support and participation in the struggle for national liberation on the continent and against Apartheid.
The regional representative noted that these positions are contrary to the rules of free trade among nations. The diplomat announced his vote in favor of the Cuban draft resolution, then recalled that respect for sovereignty and non-interference should be the compass of bilateral relations.
He lastly appealed to the United Nations to assume the responsibility of responding to these injustices and to put solidarity above silence toward Cuba.
At the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Singapore condemned the severe human and economic impact of the U.S. blockade on Cuba. 🇸🇬🇨🇺
Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, speaking on behalf of ASEAN, noted that unilateral sanctions caused critical shortages, affecting more than 60% of… pic.twitter.com/AeeiyiWPEg
Uruguay Highlights Cuba’s Weight in South-South Cooperation
Uruguay’s representation praised Cuba’s weight as a key link for South-South cooperation, and therefore proposed not only immediately ceasing the North American siege, but also removing it from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The South American diplomat expressed concern about the humanitarian consequences of the application of these sanctions and the brake on the achievement of sustainable development goals. She exemplified how these actions constitute an unsustainable threat to the laws of free trade and relations among nations.
She thus extended the solidarity of the group, and in particular of Uruguay, with the Cuban population, while reiterating the unjustifiability of imposing this type of relations between states for political reasons.
NAM Urges Respect for the Cuban People’s Rights
To Cuba’s cause for the lifting of the U.S. blockade was added the representation of Uganda, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). In accordance with the bloc’s position, the African nation expressed particular concern about the measures adopted by Washington, which amount to an unprecedented naval blockade without basis in international law.
Uganda also condemned the weight of this measure in expanding the extraterritorial effects of the blockade that affect not only Cubans but also third countries, for which it is not only a bilateral question. Likewise, it urged the international body to mobilize efforts to prevent a military intervention, in violation of the current world order.
Ugandan diplomacy concluded by reiterating the country’s and the bloc’s commitment to cooperate in maintaining multilateralism and in defense of international forums where differences can be settled peacefully.
The United Nations General Assembly will hold its 34th annual debate +vote on October 27–28, 2026, regarding the Cuban blockade
— Movement for African Emancipation (@Arise4freedom) October 27, 2026
ASEAN: Lifting the Blockade Is a Position of Coherence
At the opening of the debate, the representative of Singapore, on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), noted that demanding the immediate cessation of the U.S. blockade against the island represents a collective act of coherence in line with the multilateral order based on rules and not on the use of force and coercive pressure.
The regional bloc expressed particular concern about the situation of the Cuban people, who are subjected to effects on the energy sector that hinder the exercise of basic human rights.
It forcefully mentioned the wait for more than 100,000 surgical operations for patients, with a high proportion of children, threatened by the current restrictions.
ASEAN added its voice to the international call of the body’s 81st General Assembly to end the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba.
6-year-old among those killed in past 2 days; UN investigators accuse Israel of continuing genocide despite ceasefire; 'Sexual violence has been used with the intent to displace & subjugate the Palestinian people'
Russian authorities committed war crimes and crimes against humanity through attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said in a report to the UN General Assembly on 26 October.
International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, issued in June 2024, already covered alleged crimes linked to Russia’s 2022–2023 strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The UN commission’s new report reaches into last winter, 2025–2026, and the cumulative toll since 2022, documenting what the attacks did to civilians living through outages in freezing temperatures.
“As the cold season approaches, the attacks have intensified once again, raising serious concerns about the threats to civilians’ lives and health,” commission chair Erik Møse said.
Russian commanders knew heating facilities were vital
The commission said Russian commanders knew that heating facilities in large cities were indispensable to civilians, particularly during winter. Russian authorities also made official declarations about further attacks and referred to a plan to carry them out, it said. It found that Russian authorities intentionally directed attacks against civilian objects, constituting war crimes.
The commission also concluded that the attacks were carried out under a state policy aimed at depriving civilians of electricity and other essential energy-dependent services and causing suffering. It classified these acts as crimes against humanity in the form of “other inhumane acts.”
Minus 21°C, weeks without heat, and shelters out of reach for older people
Last winter, temperatures fell to minus 21°C as millions of Ukrainians endured prolonged disruptions to heating, electricity, water, and gas, the commission said.
The commission relied on the accounts of 255 people from Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, and Zhytomyr Oblasts, alongside officials, doctors, and nongovernmental organizations.
Older people and those with limited mobility were particularly affected. Fear of becoming trapped in elevators during blackouts prevented some residents from reaching shelters during air raid alerts. They remained in unheated homes, sometimes without access to life-support equipment.
A 53-year-old Kyiv resident told investigators he tried to stay awake at night because he feared he might not wake up if he fell asleep in the cold.
Meanwhile, school closures disrupted children’s education, and children fell ill in unheated homes, the report said.
Russia rejects the findings
Russia’s UN mission said Moscow did not recognize the commission’s mandate and dismissed its findings as “falsified data,” the Associated Press reported.
The commission also examined Ukrainian attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine. It said it could not investigate their impact fully because Russia denied access and did not respond to its requests.
Foreign recruits trafficked to the front
The same report found “compelling evidence” that Russian authorities trafficked men from 29 countries into the Russian armed forces through deception and coercion.
Recruitment agents arranged visas and travel, presenting themselves as legitimate businesses. After arriving in Russia, the men were forced to sign military contracts in Russian and were sent to the front, where many were killed or went missing, the commission said.
The Trump administration has encouraged former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to run for UN secretary-general and discussed a joint US-Russia-China candidacy with Moscow and Beijing, the Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) editorial board wrote on 25 October, citing sources in three countries. Russia’s biggest ally in the EU, Orbán has been out of office since May, when Péter Magyar became Hungary’s prime minister.
The UN secretary-general can influence the war through diplomatic negotiations, mediation, and by drawing the Security Council’s attention to Russia’s aggression. António Guterres’s term ends on 31 December, so the council has to settle on a successor within weeks.
According to the WSJ, US officials discussing the next UN chief kept saying they wanted “someone like Orbán,” and their Russian and Chinese counterparts agreed. The US then brought the idea to Orbán himself. Russia and China are believed to support his bid based on those earlier talks with Washington, and the plan is for him to be the three countries’ joint candidate.
Ukraine warns of Orbán’s veto tactics at the UN
Orbán is receptive but has not decided, and he does not want to enter the race unless he is sure he can win, the editorial board wrote. A State Department official counted eight Security Council votes as safe for him and 10 within reach. A candidate needs nine of the 15 votes and no veto from a permanent member. The editorial board asked whether Britain and France, typically cautious in using their veto, would stand in the way. Any announcement is being held until after the 3 November US midterm elections.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X that Orbán as secretary-general would put to good use “the masterful veto and blackmail skills” he developed over years of derailing major EU decisions. Ukraine, he added, could share its “great experience of taking him out for coffee at the right moment,” a reference to the December 2023 EU summit, where Orbán left the room so the other leaders could open accession talks with Ukraine without his veto.
Orbán ran Hungary for 16 years as Putin’s closest EU partner
Orbán’s 16 years of “illiberal democracy” eroded democratic values in Hungary. Since 2010, Fidesz has built an enormous partisan media ecosystem. Before the vote, it amended the electoral law twice and gerrymandered more than a third of the electoral districts, so the opposition might need around 55% of the popular vote to win a simple majority. Orbán still lost the 12 April election. Magyar’s Tisza won 138 of 199 seats, a two-thirds majority in parliament.
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Voted out and facing investigators, Orbán could reach for UN cover, sources say
Orbán kept close ties with Moscow throughout the full-scale war. When he met Putin in Beijing in October 2023, he spoke of “the military operations and the sanctions” rather than a war. In summer 2024, while Hungary held the EU Council presidency, he flew to Moscow on what he called a peace mission, and the EU distanced itself from the trip. In November 2025, he went back to Moscow, seeking to keep Hungary’s access to Russian oil and gas. He is widely considered Putin’s closest partner among EU leaders. After that visit, he said the only solution was for Ukraine to become a buffer state again, and that the longer peace was delayed, the more people and territory Ukraine would lose.
Then-Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, 17 October 2023. Photo: Radio Free Europe
He used Hungary’s veto against Ukraine until his last weeks in office. In February, Orbán vetoed a €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine amid the disruption of Russian oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia. Hungary lifted its veto in April after repairs to the pipeline were announced. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó phoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov from EU meetings for years with “live reports on what’s been discussed,” a European security official told The Washington Post. Szijjártó did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.
Svitlana Zinoviyeva, left, and her daughter, Oleksandra Buzko, mounted a tent above the bed last winter to stay warm at home amid subzero temperatures, power outages and minimal to no heat in buildings across the city in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Commission also alleges crimes against humanity, including torture and rape, by Israeli forces in West Bank; Israel blasts report as effort to demonize and delegitimize it
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