I KNOW I speak for so many people here in Ireland and throughout the world when I say John Ging, director of operations in Gaza for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, is an Irishman of whom we should all be proud.

A US congressional committee has drafted a Bill that threatens to withhold tens of millions of pounds from the United Nations unless the world body launches wide-ranging reforms, possibly setting the stage for a funding battle like the one that plunged the UN into financial crisis a decade ago.