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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Humanity’s survival ‘depends on our cooperation’: Outgoing General Assembly President

05 Sep 2023

The 77th session of the UN General Assembly closed on Tuesday morning in New York, with outgoing President Csaba Kőrösi underscoring that amid geopolitical rivalries, cooperation among countries is indispensable.

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Afghanistan: WFP forced to cut food aid for 2 million more

05 Sep 2023

Food assistance to two million people in Afghanistan will have to be cut later this month, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday. 

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Guterres leads call to make Africa ‘a renewable energy superpower’

05 Sep 2023

The flame of injustice is “scorching hopes and possibilities” across Africa as the world grapples with the climate crisis, with the continent suffering some of the worst impacts of global warming said the UN chief on Tuesday.

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Urgent call for $1 billion to support millions fleeing Sudan conflict

04 Sep 2023

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and 64 humanitarian and national civil society organisations on Monday appealed for $1 billion to provide essential aid and protection to more than 1.8 million people fleeing the ongoing conflict in Sudan who are expected to arrive in five neighbouring countries by the end of 2023.

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Philippines: Indigenous knowledge takes on climate crisis

03 Sep 2023

In the mountainous province of Bukidnon in the southern Philippines, local indigenous groups are being forced to adapt to the alarming impacts of climate change. With UN support, communities are making significant strides, using centuries-old knowledge to forge sustainable solutions.

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African children bearing the brunt of climate change impacts

01 Sep 2023

Children in Africa are among the most at risk from climate change impacts but are being woefully deprived of the financing necessary to help them adapt, survive and respond to the crisis, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a new report on Friday. 

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UN ready to assist people affected by deadly blaze in South Africa

01 Sep 2023

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has underlined support for South Africa in the wake of the deadly fire in Johannesburg on Thursday which killed at least 74 people, including 12 children. 

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Niger: IOM calls for humanitarian corridor to help stranded migrants

01 Sep 2023

The UN migration agency (IOM) called on Friday for the setting up of a humanitarian corridor in Niger to enable voluntary returns of stranded migrants, after July’s military takeover triggered border & airspace closures

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200,000 children at risk of starvation in Mali, warn UN agencies

01 Sep 2023

A nexus of protracted armed conflict, internal displacement and limited humanitarian access threatens to plunge nearly one million children under the age of five into acute malnutrition by the end of this year – with at least 200,000 at risk of dying of hunger if life-saving aid fails to reach them, UN agencies said on Friday.

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UN expert urges international support for The Bahamas amid climate crisis

01 Sep 2023

A UN-appointed human rights expert on Friday urged the international community to increase assistance to The Bahamas and other small island States that face elevated threats from natural disasters resulting from climate change. 

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First Person: Caught in the crossfire in Ukraine

31 Aug 2023

Ugochi Daniels, Deputy Director General for Operations with the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), vividly describes what it was like spending a week in Ukraine and Moldova, meeting some of those most affected by Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion.

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UNESCO World Heritage Sites often ‘last line of defence against extinction’

31 Aug 2023

Some of the world’s most iconic natural and cultural sites are also a haven for thousands of endangered species, the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on Thursday. 

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UNICEF urges support for children, as wildfires rage across Greece

30 Aug 2023

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday called for urgent assistance for children caught up in wildfires in Greece, considered to be the worst Europe has seen since the turn of the century.

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‘Not the time to forget’ Central African Republic

30 Aug 2023

Attacks by armed groups against security forces in the Central African Republic (CAR), combined with increased food and fuel prices and an influx of refugees from Sudan, have aggravated an already fragile humanitarian situation there UN officials said on Tuesday.

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Syria-Türkiye: UN completes 200th cross-border aid mission since February quakes

29 Aug 2023

The United Nations on Tuesday announced that it has conducted 200 cross-border missions delivering aid into northwest Syria from Türkiye since the devastating earthquakes that struck the two countries in February. 

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Sudan: ‘Civilians need life-saving assistance now,’ says UN relief chief

29 Aug 2023

Amid the deepening crisis driven by warring militaries in Sudan, the UN announced on Tuesday an additional allocation of $20 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to aid civilians caught up in the turmoil.

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Niger spiralling into ‘protection crisis’ following takeover: UNHCR

29 Aug 2023

The political crisis in Niger has created uncertainty for scores of vulnerable displaced people, with restrictions on humanitarian operations limiting aid and protection, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.

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Yemen oil tanker: ‘Pivotal chapter’ concludes but important work remains

28 Aug 2023

The specialist team that safely stabilized and transferred over one million barrels of crude oil from a decaying supertanker off the cost of Yemen, left the site on Monday, marking the end of a pivotal chapter in the UN-led operation to prevent a potentially disastrous oil spill in the Red Sea.

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New UN guidance affirms children’s right to a clean, healthy environment

28 Aug 2023

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued new guidance on Monday that calls for governments to take action to protect boys and girls in the face of the deepening climate crisis.

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Malawi: Truck drivers learn about risks of human trafficking

27 Aug 2023

Truck drivers in southern Africa who have been recruited to traffic or smuggle people illegally are learning about the risks involved thanks to the UN drugs and crime agency, UNODC.

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New global fund ‘welcome boost’ to safeguarding biodiversity

25 Aug 2023

A new global environmental fund marks a major step towards securing the wellbeing of biodiversity in developing countries and will help to ensure sustainable utilization of their natural resources, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday.

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Sudan: ‘lost generation’ of children amid war, hunger, disease: UN humanitarians

25 Aug 2023

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said on Friday that the spread of fighting and hunger in Sudan could destroy the country, as the future of a “lost generation” of children lies in the balance.

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Pakistan: Flood waters have gone but horror continues for children, UNICEF warns

24 Aug 2023

Millions of children in Pakistan remain dependent on humanitarian assistance as recovery and rehabilitation efforts from last year’s catastrophic floods lack sufficient funding, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday.

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More than two million children displaced by Sudan war: UNICEF

24 Aug 2023

The conflict in Sudan has uprooted more than two million children – an average of more than 700 newly displaced every hour, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Thursday. 

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Japan: IAEA monitoring treated water release from Fukushima nuclear plant

24 Aug 2023

Japan has begun discharging treated radioactive wastewater from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear Power Station into the Pacific Ocean, 12 years on from the major meltdown there, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed on Thursday. 

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At BRICS Summit, Guterres global unity call in face of ‘existential’ challenges

23 Aug 2023

The UN chief on Thursday underscored the urgent need for unity and justice to tackle humanity’s pressing challenges, which range from the climate crisis to economic disparities and conflicts with global implications. 

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Syrians suffer as political stalemate persists: UN Special Envoy

23 Aug 2023

The only path out of the war in Syria is a political process, which would also help to address the many crises affecting the country, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen told the Security Council on Wednesday. 

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Top UN aid official in Ukraine deplores latest wave of ‘massive Russian attacks’

23 Aug 2023

Russian strikes on at least 10 regions in Ukraine have left a path of death and destruction over the past 24 hours, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country said on Wednesday. 

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Don’t let wastewater opportunities flow down the drain

23 Aug 2023

Wastewater, long seen as an environmental and health hazard, possesses untapped potential as an alternative energy and clean water source to offset fertilizer use, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Wednesday.

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AI tools like ChatGPT likely to complement jobs, not destroy them: ILO

22 Aug 2023

ChatGPT is not coming for your job and might even enhance it, experts from the International Labour Organization (ILO) said in a new report published this week.