News

Our news page provides you with a round up of UN news related to economic development, humanitarian aid, climate change, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). You will find the summary of news articles together with a link to the news source.

News
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India urged to lead global push for clean energy, climate action

28 Aug 2020

India has a crucial role to play in promoting clean energy and climate action as the world looks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday. 

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UNESCO launches Beirut recovery fund for culture, heritage and education

27 Aug 2020

To support the rehabilitation of schools, historic heritage buildings, museums and the creative economy, which suffered extensive damage in the deadly explosions that shook Beirut earlier this month, the head of the UN cultural agency on Thursday launched an international fund-raising appeal.  

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‘Widespread’ COVID-19 transmission, limited testing, deepen Syria’s humanitarian woes

27 Aug 2020

COVID-19 is having a dramatic impact on health services in Syria, where limited testing is obscuring the real extent of the pandemic, the UN’s Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator said on Thursday.

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Digital economy can put citizens in control of finance, says UN taskforce

26 Aug 2020

A UN taskforce set up to look into the risks and benefits of the digital economy, has concluded that it could have a transformational impact on sustainable development, and empower citizens, both as taxpayers and investors.

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Refugees at risk of hunger and malnutrition, as relief hit in Eastern Africa

26 Aug 2020

UN World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to reduce its food and cash assistance for refugees in Eastern Africa by up to 30 per cent, the agency has said, voicing fears that the reductions could worsen in the coming months unless urgent additional funding is received in time. 

UNICEF works to ease suffering of children whose lives have been ‘turned upside-down’ after Beirut blast

25 Aug 2020

Following a deadly explosion earlier this month, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has delivered some 67 tons of critical humanitarian supplies to affected children and families in Beirut.

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First Person: tourism in Hawaii grounded during pandemic

25 Aug 2020

Tourism is Hawaii’s biggest industry, with some 10 million visitors to the lslands ever year. But that has all changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, and many businesses on the archipelago have been forced to shut down for good, according to a helicopter pilot who flies pleasure trips for tourists.

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FROM THE FIELD: Ugly veggies in Kenya destined for lunch not landfills

23 Aug 2020

Hundreds of tons of fresh and edible vegetables which are typically dumped because they do not meet the aesthetic requirements for export are ending up on the plates of hungry Kenyan students thanks to the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP).

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As Burkina Faso grapples with COVID-19, new UN data reveals ‘alarming deterioration’ in food security

21 Aug 2020

An estimated 3.3 million people in Burkina Faso are facing acute food insecurity, two United Nations agencies warned on Friday.  

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Rohingya crisis needs lasting solutions, renewed commitment amid COVID-19 pandemic, UN refugee agency

21 Aug 2020

Three years after violence in Myanmar forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas to seek refuge in Bangladesh, the international community must adapt its assistance to the critical needs of those displaced and the host communities supporting them, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday. 

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UN refugee chief underlines continued support to Lebanon

21 Aug 2020

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Friday urged the international community to continue to stand by the people of Lebanon as they recover from the blast that devastated the capital, Beirut, earlier this month. 

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Mauritius oil spill highlights importance of maritime laws: UN trade body

20 Aug 2020

The devastating oil spill off the east coast of Mauritius has highlighted the need for global adoption of international legislation that govern the seas and protect small island states and their vulnerable marine ecosystems against ship pollution, UN trade body UNCTAD has stated. 

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Use COVID lessons to ‘do things right’ for the future, urges UN chief

20 Aug 2020

Lessons learnt from efforts to address the global pandemic must be used to “do things right for the future”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said, addressing a gathering of leading parliamentarians. 

How can the UN help prevent another Beirut disaster?

20 Aug 2020

The devastation caused by the Beirut explosions on 4 August has focused attention on the risks involved in the transportation and storage of dangerous goods around the worldwide. The UN is at the forefront of international efforts to reduce these risks and save lives. 

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UN salutes real-life heroes doing ‘extraordinary things, in extraordinary times’, commemorating World Humanitarian Day

19 Aug 2020

Marking the World Humanitarian Day, top UN officials are honouring humanitarian workers who are overcoming “huge challenges” to save and improve the lives of millions of women, men and children, hit hard by crises and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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Bridging Asia-Pacific ‘digital divide’ vital to realize tech benefits

18 Aug 2020

Countries across Asia and the Pacific are using new technologies to contain the global pandemic and mitigate its impact, the UN’s regional socio-economic development arm has said, as governments and experts work together to identify ways to innovate further, and build back better, after COVID-19.

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Supporting communities and refugees in Lebanon a ‘top priority’: UNHCR chief

18 Aug 2020

The head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is in Lebanon to drive home the message of solidarity with all those affected by the devastating blast a fortnight ago, reaching out to both Lebanese and the many refugees and migrants sheltering in the country.     

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Death Valley temperature, likely highest since 1931: UN weather agency

18 Aug 2020

“All indications” suggest that the extreme temperature reading of 54.4 degrees Celsius recorded in California’s Death Valley on Sunday, is legitimate, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday.

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FROM THE FIELD: Protection among the mangroves

17 Aug 2020

The rehabilitation and replanting of mangrove forests in Cuba’s coastal regions is helping to protect the lives of people living on the Caribbean island, and reduce the effects of climate change, thanks to a UN Development Programme project. 

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Real Life Heroes: building trust, and saving lives

17 Aug 2020

Marie-Roseline Bélizaire, a doctor and epidemiologist with the World Health Organization (WHO), is using her passion for community medicine to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the Central African Republic (CAR).

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Real Life Heroes: delivering aid under fire

16 Aug 2020

Working from a field office in Yemen, Sonia Almassad ensures that UN relief aid reaches those who need it, in the war-torn country. She was previously posted in her home country, Syria, where she negotiated with armed groups on both sides of the conflict, sometimes at great personal risk.

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Virtual Concert unites Pacific with the world in battling COVID-19

15 Aug 2020

The first-of-its-kind televised and digitally streamed Pacific Unite: Saving Lives Together concert called on regional leaders and citizens to unite in the global fight against COVID-19, the United Nations said on Saturday.

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Uganda looks online for answers to COVID economic crisis

15 Aug 2020

From banking, to food delivery, and taxi bookings, Uganda is rapidly becoming accustomed to many of the online tools that are commonplace in developed economies, and which don’t rely on face-to-face interactions. The UN is supporting this shift, as a way to help developing economies recover from the global economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Real Life Heroes: the Syrian film-maker cleaning COVID wards or in the UK

15 Aug 2020

Hassan Akkad, an award-winning Syrian film-maker, fled the war in his country four years ago and now lives as a refugee in the United Kingdom. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, he decided to help those affected by the pandemic, by becoming a cleaner at a London hospital.

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UN and partners launch $565 million appeal for Lebanon

14 Aug 2020

The UN and aid partners are seeking $565 million to address the overwhelming needs in Lebanon following the deadly explosions that flattened large areas of the capital, Beirut, nearly two weeks ago.

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Millions ‘on the edge’ in DR Congo, now in even greater danger of tipping over: WFP

14 Aug 2020

Millions of lives could be lost to hunger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), amid escalating conflict and worsening COVID-19 transmission, the UN emergency food relief agency has warned, urging the international community to step up support for the African nation.

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Interception, no solution to address migrants crossing English Channel

14 Aug 2020

Intercepting boats full of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel, is not the solution to deter them from attempting to reach the United Kingdom, UN agencies have stressed, warning that deployment of large naval vessels to block small, flimsy dinghies could lead to fatal incidents.

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Real Life Heroes: ‘a simple word can mean a lot to a refugee’

14 Aug 2020

After leaving Gaza as a refugee, Shadi Mohammedali decided to dedicate himself to helping others in a similar situation. Today, he is working for an NGO in a Greek camp for asylum seekers, explaining how they can protect themselves from COVID-19.

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Deaths of children in northeast Syria ‘could have been averted’: UNICEF

13 Aug 2020

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has expressed “deep alarm” over reports that eight children – all under the age of five – have died in Syria’s Al Hol camp, where several thousand children are languishing in dire conditions.

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Real Life Heroes: on a journey towards quality healthcare

13 Aug 2020

In the remote Lamu region, on the northeast coast of Kenya, quality healthcare is hard to come by. Every month, medical staff from Safari Doctors, an NGO founded by Umra Omar, set sail on a boat filled with medicines, to provide free basic medicines to hundreds of marginalized inhabitants in several coastal villages.