News

New and unprecedented forms of natural disasters are most heavily felt in the agricultural industry, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday.

The UN and its humanitarian partners are seeking $3.85 billion to reach 16 million people in Yemen this year, or nearly 80 per cent of the population, as the country descends deeper into crisis. 

As hunger levels continue to deepen in South Sudan due to a combination of violence, climate change and COVID-19, the 2021 South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan was launched on Tuesday aiming to reach 6.6 million people – including 350,000 refugees - with life-saving assistance and protection.

Rising food and fuel prices present a looming threat to the poorest and most vulnerable communities in Myanmar, as supply chains and markets are starting to feel the impact of the ongoing political crisis, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday. 

In eastern Sudan, renewable energy is being trialled as a power source in UN-run refugee camps, where an influx of thousands of people fleeing conflict in Ethiopia is putting a strain on local resources, and host communities.

The pain and deprivation of individual Syrians and the widespread destruction, a decade of conflict has wrought on Syria, has been documented in a series of images taken by 17 photographers working in the country.

Two years after Tropical Cyclone Idai and Cyclone Kenneth swept through Mozambique in March 2019, killing hundreds and leaving more than two million people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, UN chief António Guterres has recalled the devastation he witnessed first-hand, in the aftermath of one of the worst weather-related disasters ever to hit the southern hemisphere.

Although the world’s indigenous peoples live in areas that contain around 80 per cent of the planet’s biodiversity, many still struggle to maintain their legal rights to lands, territories and resources, according to a new UN report published on Friday. 

Ten numbers for each year of Syria’s seemingly interminable conflict: the UN’s Humanitarian agency (OCHA) has marked this tragic milestone by highlighting in figures the country’s miserable decade of suffering and loss.

The world’s largest crime prevention and criminal justice gathering wrapped up on Friday, rejecting “the divisions and inequalities” exposed by COVID-19, according to the top UN crime-fighting official.   

The grim ten-year anniversary of the war in Syria has left 90 percent of the country’s children in need of help, as a triple crisis of violence, economic misery and the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed families to the brink of despair, UNICEF reported on Friday.  

Poor rain forecast for the next few months threatens to exacerbate the plight of tens of thousands of Somalis displaced from their homes and villages due to “extreme” water shortages since last November, the UN humanitarian office said on Friday. 

Conflict drives hunger, and when that turns to famine, that then drives conflict, the UN chief told the Security Council on Thursday, adding that “if you don’t feed people, you feed conflict”.

Countries, on Wednesday, adopted a new statistical framework that takes into account the contributions of nature, when measuring economic prosperity and human well-being. 

The UN chief urged countries to make sure they invest the funds necessary to prevent and manage disasters, in a solemn message of remembrance on Wednesday for the 18,400 people who died or are unaccounted for, due to the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan exactly ten years ago.

Over half the Yemen population is facing acute food shortages “with millions knocking on the door of famine”, the UN food relief agency chief said on Wednesday, wrapping up a two-day visit to the country with an urgent plea for peace and funding to help feed vulnerable families.

The world is at a critical moment to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Wednesday, during a virtual discussion with European Parliament Vice-President Heidi Hautala. 

Renewable energy is “crucial for building a sustainable, prosperous and peaceful future”, the UN chief said on Wednesday, launching an accelerated drive for clean energy and climate action. 

Countries have fallen short in their commitments to build back better after the COVID-19 pandemic, with just 18 per cent of announced recovery spending going towards ‘green’ investment, according to a new report published on Wednesday by the UN and Oxford University. 

More than one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity can be attributed to the way we produce, process and package food, a UN-backed study published on Tuesday has revealed. 

A “polar vortex” was responsible for the freezing conditions in the US state of Texas last month, UN weather experts said on Tuesday, before warning of a worrying increase in global carbon dioxide levels.

Around a third of 217 world travel destinations surveyed remain completely closed to international tourists, as concerns grow over the impact of new coronavirus variants, and some governments reverse efforts to ease restrictions, according to a new report released by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on Monday.

The UN migration agency (IOM) on Monday called for “urgent humanitarian access” to an overcrowded migrant detention centre in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, where a deadly fire reportedly led to multiple deaths at the facility at the weekend. 

It will take around 130 years to reach gender parity in key areas such as politics and the boardroom, but 13 extraordinary women, who have been profiled in a UN exhibition are showing how opportunities can be created for all women and girls.

Women in Europe should be given “greater economic independence” through equal pay, childcare support and the sharing of domestic duties to ensure that they do not fall into poverty, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.

More than 930 million tonnes of food sold in 2019 landed in waste bins, according to new UN research, released on Thursday, in support of global efforts to halve food waste by 2030. 

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has called for temporary basic income for millions of the world’s poorest women, to help them cope with effects of coronavirus pandemic and alleviate the economic pressures they face every day. 

Trapping and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil power generation and industry is needed urgently to achieve carbon neutrality, the UN’s Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said in a report published on Wednesday.

Regional disparities in engineering, especially in Africa, must be addressed if the world is to realize a common future where no one is left behind, according to a report issued on Wednesday by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and partners. 

The United Nations Secretary-General on Wednesday called on people and governments everywhere to step up efforts to protect forests and support forest communities, under increasing threat from unsustainable use of forest resources and wildlife trafficking.