News

Chinese writer Cixin Liu is one of the world’s most highly respected science-fiction authors, known for epics such as “The Three Body Problem,” soon to be adapted as a major TV series. He shared his thoughts on the future of the planet, at an event held at UN Headquarters to mark Chinese Language Day.

The acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthew Hollingworth, has condemned a wave of deadly strikes that hit several cities early on Friday, reportedly the most intense aerial bombardment in weeks. 

Civilians in Sudan, including scores of internally displaced people and refugees, are scrambling for safety and suffering the disastrous consequences of the violence there, as many aid operations have been forced to pause, UN humanitarians said on Friday.

In a visit to Chile, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed met with Chilean Government officials and other key actors and stressed in her other activities that we need transformative change – now, and from all countries – to achieve the UN 2030 Agenda.   

Renewed diplomatic attention on Syria in the aftermath of the recent devastating earthquakes that hit the country and neighbouring Türkiye could help to unlock stalled peace efforts, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen told the Security Council on Thursday. 

The UN has been forced to essentially halt all aid operations across Sudan due to the continuing fighting between rival militaries, but humanitarians who have re-located to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast are determined to return to Khartoum “as quickly as possible”, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator said on Thursday.

Activists striving to achieve a more just and equitable future for all people and the planet, are being encouraged to apply for a UN award that celebrates initiatives and individuals working to make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality. 

The UN’s Special Representative for Sudan has called on the rival military factions which have plunged the country into chaos during 11 days of fighting to “fully adhere” to the agreed 72-hour ceasefire amid increasing concern at reports of inter-communal violence and attacks in the West Darfur region.

The on-going power struggle between Sudan’s top generals not only puts the future of the country at risk, but threatens to “detonate across borders”, fuelling widespread suffering that could go on for years, warned the UN chief on Tuesday.

Secretary-General António Guterres led tributes from across the UN on Tuesday to the legendary singer, entertainer, and civil rights activist, Harry Belafonte, who has died, aged 96.

More than half the world is being left behind at the midpoint for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told ambassadors in New York on Tuesday. 

If the world really wants to step back from the brink, it had better “walk the walk” towards a more sustainable future for all, young speakers said on Tuesday, as thousands of their counterparts from across the world gathered, in person and online, for the opening of the annual Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum at UN Headquarters in New York.

The United Nations will continue to deliver desperately needed relief for the Sudanese people, amid soaring needs, acute shortages of essentials and fast-rising prices, UN humanitarians pledged on Tuesday.

Some consumers may choose veganism, or a pescatarian diet, but meat, eggs and milk, offer crucial sources of much-needed nutrients which cannot easily be obtained from plant-based foods, a new report issued on Tuesday by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization says.

Young people are valuable agents of change and around the world they are taking matters into their own hands and championing innovative solutions to accelerate action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

India is about to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation in the coming days, the UN population data chief told reporters on Monday.

The world’s multilateral system is under greater strain than at any time since the creation of the United Nations, requiring swift action to “do better, faster” in using the UN Charter and existing tools to forge greater security and prosperity for all, the Secretary-General told the Security Council on Monday, which marks the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has issued a major call at a UN forum to find new ways to harness data today, to shape a peaceful and prosperous tomorrow, for all people and the planet.

The UN Secretary-General on Monday welcomed the temporary relocation of hundreds of staff members and their families from the Sudanese capital Khartoum, amid the continuing intense fighting between rival military factions which has now entered its second week.

Ahead of International Mother Earth Day, observed on 22 April, NASA’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Katherine Calvin, shared her terrestrial and intergalactic experiences with UN News and how viewing the Earth from outer space has driven generations to advance climate action.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan issued a strong statement on Friday calling on both sides in the military power struggle to “implement humanitarian pauses” allowing civilians and aid workers to access essential supplies.

The relentless advance of climate change brought more drought, flooding and heatwaves to communities around the world last year, compounding threats to people’s lives and livelihoods, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.

Yemen’s fragile health system is “severely overburdened” the World Health Organization’s (WHO) leading official for emergency operations in the country said on Friday, and more international funding is urgently needed to stop it deteriorating further.

If governments continue with the same environmental policies currently in place, the world will become 2.8°C hotter by the end of the century, which would be “a death sentence”, warned the UN chief on Thursday.

The UN continues to appeal for an immediate end to the military power struggle in Sudan, as Secretary-General António Guterres and leaders from the African Union (AU), the Arab League, the East African bloc IGAD, and other organizations, held a virtual meeting on the crisis on Thursday. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has carried out a month-long field mission to areas of northwest Syria devastated by the February earthquakes there, and in Türkiye, helping stem the risk of further disease outbreaks or full-blown epidemics.

Women’s bodies must not be held captive to government policies or “alarmist narratives” concerning population growth, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) said in major new report published on Wednesday.

Women’s bodies must not be held captive to government policies or “alarmist narratives” concerning population growth, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) said in major new report published on Wednesday.

Women’s bodies should not be held captive to choices made by governments or individuals, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has said, as it launched its flagship State of the World’s Population Report for 2023.

UN humanitarians have reached nearly two million Ukrainians whose lives have been impacted by Russia’s ongoing invasion with multi-purpose cash assistance in just the first three months of 2023, the UN Spokesperson said on Wednesday.