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.

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Syria war: executions condemned as violence continues ‘on both sides’ of border with Turkey

15 Oct 2019

Amid ongoing fighting in northern Syria and disturbing reports that extrajudicial killings have been streamed online, the United Nations and their partners are continuing to deliver humanitarian supplies to tens of thousands of people displaced by the violence, UN agencies stressed on Tuesday.

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Military operation in northeast Syria could see unintentional release of ISIL affiliates: UN chief

14 Oct 2019

The ongoing Turkish military incursion in northeast Syria could unintentionally lead to the release of scores of people associated with the terrorist group ISIL, the UN Secretary-General fears.

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Stop the waste: UN food agencies call for action to reduce global hunger

14 Oct 2019

With one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted, and millions still going hungry, the UN’s food-related agencies are shining a spotlight on the issue: on Monday, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published its annual State of Food and Agriculture report with findings that could lead to a reduction in food loss and waste, and, earlier in October, the World Food Programme (WFP) launched its awareness-raising #StopTheWaste campaign.

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UN chief condemns deadly Burkina Faso mosque attack

13 Oct 2019

UN chief António Guterres has strongly condemned Friday’s attack on a mosque in northern Burkina Faso, in a statement released on Saturday.

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Reducing disaster risk is a good investment, and ‘the right thing to do’, says Guterres

13 Oct 2019

There is a strong economic case for climate resilience and reducing the risk of disasters, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a message to mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, which falls on Sunday.

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After this year’s Climate Action Summit, what happens next?

12 Oct 2019

People across the world need to embrace “fundamental change” in order to combat climate change and meet the target of restricting the increase in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, Claudio Forner, from UN Climate Change in Bonn, told UN News in an interview that took place following the Climate Action Summit.

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UN migration agency launches $10 million appeal to support hurricane recovery in The Bahamas

11 Oct 2019

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched a $10 million appeal to assist The Bahamas as the country continues to recover from the devastation brought on by Hurricane Dorian just over a month ago.

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Friday’s Daily Brief: Day of the Girl Child, mayors lead on climate emergency, Turkey Syria offensive, new statelessness pledges, extremism in social media

11 Oct 2019

Our top stories for Friday: Day of the Girl Child celebrated around the world; city mayors lead on climate fight; humanitarian alarm rising over Turkey’s Syria offensive; history’s made as countries step forward to tackle global statelessness; Burkina Faso violence forces 500,000 from their homes; 'white extremist’ use of social media in attacks must be curbed.

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Climate emergency: City mayors are 'world's first responders', says UN chief

11 Oct 2019

City bosses are “the world’s first responders to the climate emergency” UN chief António Guterres declared on Friday, at an international mayors’ summit in Copenhagen.

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Turkey’s Syria offensive could spark another catastrophe, warn humanitarians

11 Oct 2019

Airstrikes and a ground offensive by Turkey in northern Syria against Kurdish forces have left civilians dead and forced tens of thousands to flee, UN agencies said on Friday, amid fears of another “humanitarian catastrophe” in the war-torn country. 

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Wednesday’s Daily Brief: Mistreatment rife during childbirth, UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund, Synagogue attack in Germany, World Post Day

09 Oct 2019

A recap of Wednesday’s stories: Alarming accounts of women mistreated in childbirth; UNICEF enters new world of cryptocurrency funding; UN chief condemns synagogue attack in Germany; mission chief calls on DR Congo political class to build on progress; UN celebrates mail services around the world.

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One billion people have preventable eye conditions, increasingly linked to lifestyle choices: UN health agency

08 Oct 2019

A staggering 2.2 billion people already suffer from eye conditions and visual impairment today, but the global need for eye care is set to increase “dramatically”, with lack of exercise a key factor, the UN health agency said on Tuesday, unveiling its first ever report on vision across the world.

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Turning waste into wealth: World Habitat Day focus on cleaning up cities

07 Oct 2019

Waste can have a devastating effect on public health, the environment, and the climate, but cutting-edge innovation and technology can provide improved, cheaper solutions to the challenge, and help cities and communities to see waste as a business opportunity. This was the message marking World Habitat Day, on Monday, with a focus on waste management.

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UN commits to help Pacific island agriculture adapt and survive climate crisis

04 Oct 2019

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) pledged on Friday to work hand in hand with the people of the Pacific to improve nutrition, and mitigate the worst effects of climate change, which pose an existential threat to many island nations across the region. 

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Can we feed the world and ensure no one goes hungry?

03 Oct 2019

Enough food is produced today to feed everyone on the planet, but hunger is on the rise in some parts of the world, and some 821 million people are considered to be “chronically undernourished”. What steps are being taken to ensure that everyone, worldwide, receives sufficient food?

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Athens urged to fast track asylum seekers amid island shelters crisis – UNHCR

01 Oct 2019

A spike in the number of refugees reaching Greek island reception centres is likely to worsen the situation in already “dangerously overcrowded” facilities there, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday.  

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Despite grappling with Rohingya crisis, Bangladesh is ‘development miracle’

27 Sep 2019

Despite global turbulence and economic uncertainty, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh told the General Assembly on Friday evening that her country has often been cited as a “development miracle”.

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At UN, Modi outlines development successes, says India gave world ‘Buddha, not war’

27 Sep 2019

In his address to the UN General Assembly’s general debate on Friday, the Prime Minister of India outlined how the world’s largest democracy has embodied the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its work towards “peace, development and progress in the world”.

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#UNGA NEWS ROUNDUP: Funding plea for UNRWA, Burkina Faso and CAR updates, Guterres praises climate change ‘pioneer’ Chirac

26 Sep 2019

A short roundup of events and statements making the news at UN Headquarters on this Thursday, of General Assembly high level week.

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Security Council: Two draft resolutions, zero consensus on ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib

19 Sep 2019

The UN Security Council on Thursday failed to reach consensus on either of two competing resolutions on a cessation of hostilities in Idlib, Syria: the last province in the war-torn nation that is still largely held by rebel forces.

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Safe drinking water, sanitation, are ‘basic human rights’: new UN Water Development report

19 Mar 2019

Safe water and access to proper sanitation are essential to eradicate poverty, build peaceful societies and ensure that no one is left behind on the path towards sustainable development, according to the 2019 UN World Water Development Report, launched on Tuesday in Geneva. 

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UN launches ‘South-South Galaxy’ knowledge-sharing platform in Buenos Aires

19 Mar 2019

When countries of the Global South forged an historic technical cooperation deal among themselves 40 years ago, digital technology was a thing of the future, but developing nations have come a long way since then.

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Make this the year of ‘transformative solutions’ to avert disastrous climate change: UN Deputy Chief

14 Mar 2019

It is within our power to make 2019 the “year of transformative solutions” and “avoid the disastrous effects of climate change“, which threaten ecosystems, the global economy, health and security, the UN Deputy Secretary-General told delegates gathered in Nairobi for the UN Environment Assembly, on Thursday.

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Annual UN women activists’ summit opens with focus on services, infrastructure

11 Mar 2019

A wheelchair-bound Pakistani mother who yearned to visit a park without worrying about ramp access, and a young South Sudanese woman who dreams of having affordable health care, were among the speakers opening the United Nation’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s rights on Monday.

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International Women's Day: Empowering more women decision-makers ‘essential’, says Guterres

08 Mar 2019

Under the theme “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change”, the United Nations hosted its flagship event celebrating International Women’s Day on Friday to recognize unsung women from across the world, and encourage innovation to transform lives.

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Women’s empowerment ‘essential to global progress’ says Guterres, marking International Day

07 Mar 2019

Women’s empowerment and gender equality are “essential to global progress”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stressed in his message for International Women's Day which this year puts “innovation by women and girls, for women and girls”, at the heart of efforts to achieve gender equality.

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Without tackling ‘gross inequalities’ major issues will go unsolved, warns UN rights chief Bachelet

06 Mar 2019

Inequality continues to drive rights violations everywhere, but some countries have made significant progress in tackling the problem, not least in women’s rights, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Wednesday.

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Education remains an impossible dream for many refugees and migrants

06 Mar 2019

The older refugee and migrant children get, the less likely it is that they will get a quality education: less than a quarter of the world’s refugees make it to secondary school, and just one per cent progress to higher education. Even for migrants who settle in wealthy, developed host countries, accessing university is an uphill struggle.

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UN’s AIDS agency ‘greatly encouraged’ by latest scientific breakthrough showing cure is possible

05 Mar 2019

The UN agency leading the global effort to end AIDS, said on Tuesday that a new case of a patient who has been “functionally cured” of HIV infection, is greatly encouraging, but there is still a long way to go before the illness can be eradicated.

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93 million children with disabilities ‘among the most likely to be left behind’: UN rights chief

04 Mar 2019

States should do more for an estimated 93 million children with disabilities who are “among the most likely to be left behind and the least likely to be heard”, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said on Monday.