A United Nations envoy is urging Western and other nations to lift catastrophic sanctions that were imposed on Syria over a decade ago after the start of the war. The U.N. says the measures enacted by the United States, the European Union and others have exacerbated “the destruction and trauma” faced by the Syrian people, leading to dangerous shortages of medicine, food, water, shelter and other essential resources. At least 90% of Syria’s population lives in poverty, with sanctions severely undermining efforts of economic recovery, according to the U.N. envoy.