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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Israel-Palestine crisis: Silence the guns, UN relief chief tells Paris forum

09 Nov 2023

The UN’s top relief official Martin Griffiths travelled to the Paris humanitarian conference on Gaza on Thursday to issue an appeal for a significant break in the fighting there, urging greater protection for displaced civilians.

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Gaza: ‘Humanitarian pauses’ will need coordination with the UN

09 Nov 2023

Any plans for short-term pauses in the fighting in Gaza must be carried out in coordination with the UN and following agreement by all sides, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General said on Thursday during his regular press briefing from New York. 

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$20 million appeal to support Palestine labour market

09 Nov 2023

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is seeking $20 million to respond to the critical needs of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian workers and employers affected by the current conflict between Israel and Hamas. 

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Fossil fuel producers ‘literally doubling down’, new UNEP report warns

08 Nov 2023

Contrary to pledges to cut fossil fuel production, government policies worldwide will add up to a doubling of production in 2030, a new report from the UN environment agency (UNEP) revealed on Wednesday.

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2023 likely hottest year on record; further spike expected with El Niño

08 Nov 2023

2023 is “almost certain to be the warmest year on record” after October smashed temperature highs, while the mercury will keep rising as the warming El Niño effect continues well into next year.

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Gazans struggle for survival; north sealed off

08 Nov 2023

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still in northern Gaza face unprecedented hardship after being isolated by Israeli military operations, while a medical convoy sent by the UN and partners was fired on in Gaza City, the Organization’s humanitarians said on Wednesday.

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Israel-Palestine crisis: UN humanitarians plead for ‘access, access, access’

07 Nov 2023

A month since Hamas terrorists killed 1,400 people in Israel, taking over 240 hostage, and as the Israeli offensive into Gaza continues which has led to thousands of civilian deaths, UN humanitarians on Tuesday issued a heartfelt appeal for access to the enclave.

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World News in Brief: UNCTAD development finance call, Nepal quake update, religious freedom in Nicaragua

07 Nov 2023

The world risks failing the 880 million people living the world’s Least Developed Countries if soaring debt and a chronic lack of international funds prevent them from getting ahead.

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More action needed to write ‘final chapter’ of TB

07 Nov 2023

Tuberculosis (TB) response is bouncing back from disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but more effort is needed to end the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. 

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Sudan war turning ‘homes into cemeteries’: UNHCR

07 Nov 2023

The war between rival militaries in Sudan is growing in scope and brutality, having driven almost six million people from their homes since it erupted in April and worsening an already complex humanitarian emergency, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.

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Israel-Palestine crisis: ‘Enough is enough’ say UN humanitarians

06 Nov 2023

With the deepening Israel-Palestine crisis about to enter its second month, a dozen UN agencies have reiterated urgent appeals for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to allow more lifesaving aid into Gaza.

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FAO report reveals hidden costs of agrifood systems

06 Nov 2023

Although current agrifood systems provide nourishment and sustain economies, they also impose huge hidden costs on health and the environment - the equivalent of at least $10 trillion annually - a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has revealed. 

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World News in Brief: Sudan and South Sudan updates, Ukraine heritage under fire in Odesa

06 Nov 2023

Sudan’s children need immediate support from the international community to prevent the country from becoming “another forgotten humanitarian catastrophe” said the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Monday.

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Nepal quake: UN response continues, as aftershocks leave families traumatized

06 Nov 2023

UN agencies in Nepal continue their response to the deadly earthquake that struck western parts of the country over the weekend, claiming 153 lives, injuring over 330 and forcing thousands to spend nights in the open amid freezing temperatures.

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Gaza: ‘Unfolding catastrophe’ makes humanitarian ceasefire more urgent

06 Nov 2023

As the conflict intensifies in Gaza, with risk of spillover to the wider region, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday underlined the need to support a $1.2 billion humanitarian appeal to help nearly three million people across the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 

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WFP appeals for urgent expanded access to Gaza as food supplies ‘dangerously low’

05 Nov 2023

The head of UN’s emergency food relief agency on Sunday issued an urgent appeal from the Rafah border crossing for safe, expanded humanitarian access to Gaza as critical food supplies in the ravaged enclave reach dangerously low levels.

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Guterres ‘horrified’ by strike on ambulance convoy in Gaza

04 Nov 2023

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “horrified” by a strike on an ambulance convoy outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip on Friday, reiterating his appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire.

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UN teams respond to deadly earthquake in western Nepal

04 Nov 2023

United Nations teams in Nepal are responding to the devastating earthquake in the west of the country, amid reports that over 150 people have been killed and hundreds more injured.

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World’s diverse biospheres ‘making peace with the natural world’

03 Nov 2023

Spanning from city to savannah, and from mountaintops to mangroves, the world’s 748 biosphere reserves are being celebrated this Friday for their diversity and contribution to a green global future. 

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Humanitarian ceasefires critical to meet immense needs in Gaza

03 Nov 2023

Political negotiations to get aid into Gaza have yielded results but much more is needed, including humanitarian ceasefires to ensure safe delivery of food, fuel and other essentials, senior UN officials said on Friday in a briefing to Member States in New York. 

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Ukraine: UN condemns latest wave of Russian attacks

03 Nov 2023

Russia has bombarded more than 100 Ukrainian towns across nearly half of its regions in the past two days according to the Ukrainian Government, many near the frontlines.

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Israel-Palestine crisis: ‘It’s the innocent civilians who are losing’

03 Nov 2023

More funding is urgently needed for lifesaving aid in Gaza while concern is deepening over high numbers of civilians killed since the beginning of the crisis and human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

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Explainer: How AI helps combat climate change

03 Nov 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already making inroads worldwide in health, education and industry, but how can this cutting-edge technology help the world combat and mitigate the effects of climate change?

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Climate action: ‘Take steps to close the adaptation gap, now’

02 Nov 2023

Instead of accelerating to meet the challenge of rising emissions, progress on climate adaptation is slowing across the board, a new report published on Thursday by the UN’s environment agency finds.

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Israel-Palestine crisis: Gaza’s north cut off from aid; death toll rising

02 Nov 2023

The number of people killed in Gaza is nearing the 9,000 mark amid mounting concerns over the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on a densely-populated refugee camp near Gaza City, while a key hospital has stopped operations and UN humanitarians are unable to deliver aid to the north as the ground war intensifies.

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UPDATING LIVE: UN General Assembly debates US embargo against Cuba

02 Nov 2023

The UN General Assembly is expected to vote on its annual resolution later on Thursday in New York which calls on the United States to end its economic and trade embargo against Cuba, first imposed in 1960.

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World News in Brief: Russia pulls out of nuclear test ban treaty, climate ‘health crisis’, pushback against bullying

02 Nov 2023

Russia on Thursday announced it was revoking its ratification of the UN-backed Comprehensive Nuclear Test Bank Treaty (CTBT), after the Russian Duma passed legislation last month.  

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At UK’s AI Summit, Guterres says risks outweigh rewards without global oversight

02 Nov 2023

The UN Secretary-General on Thursday stressed that global oversight of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technology should be based on the UN Charter’s core principles and ensure full respect for human rights.

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Israel-Palestine crisis: UN welcomes first medical evacuations from Gaza

01 Nov 2023

UN health agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed Egypt’s decision on Wednesday to accept some of the most critically sick and injured from the stricken Gaza Strip for treatment.

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Rise in intimidation, settler violence in the West Bank, warns OCHA

01 Nov 2023

More than 820 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have been displaced amid settler violence and increased movement restrictions since the Hamas terror attacks of 7 October and the start of Israel’s assault on Gaza, the UN relief wing said on Wednesday.