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.

News
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Gaza: WHO and partners provide lifesaving treatment following deadly Israeli strikes in Al Mawasi

Gaza: WHO and partners provide lifesaving treatment following deadly Israeli strikes in Al Mawasi

13 Jul 2024

The UN health agency and partners are responding to help the hundreds hurt during Saturday’s airstrikes by Israeli forces on Gaza’s Al Mawasi area which have reportedly left at least 90 dead and around 300 injured, according to figures from the war-torn enclave’s health ministry.

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UN humanitarians report severe displacement and critical needs in Gaza City

UN humanitarians report severe displacement and critical needs in Gaza City

12 Jul 2024

Humanitarians from the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) witnessed severe civilian displacement, a lack of fuel and dire humanitarian needs in three areas in Gaza City while on a mission trip on Friday, according to Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric.  

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Top official warns of weakened regional security following withdrawal from West African economic bloc by Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger

Top official warns of weakened regional security following withdrawal from West African economic bloc by Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger

12 Jul 2024

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger’s decision to pull out of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) “even as terrorism and transnational organized crime remain a pervasive threat”, will be damaging to regional relations all round, said the UN’s top official in the region on Friday.

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Gaza: There is no alternative to UNRWA, Guterres declares

Gaza: There is no alternative to UNRWA, Guterres declares

12 Jul 2024

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, standing alongside top officials in New York on Friday, underscored the essential need to bolster the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) across the Middle East amid continued attacks on its mandate, staff, premises and operations.

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World News in Brief: Sand and dust storm scourge, Mali humanitarian update, moving education online

World News in Brief: Sand and dust storm scourge, Mali humanitarian update, moving education online

12 Jul 2024

Dust levels worldwide decreased slightly in 2023 the UN’s weather and climate agency said on Friday, but they are still well above the long-term average in the worst-hit areas.

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Top aid officials call for greater solidarity and support for Haiti

Top aid officials call for greater solidarity and support for Haiti

12 Jul 2024

Three senior humanitarians  appealed on Friday for more support for Haiti, where ongoing gang violence in the capital, Port-au-Prince, is affecting the entire population. 

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DR Congo: Conflict escalation linked to deadly Mpox threat

DR Congo: Conflict escalation linked to deadly Mpox threat

12 Jul 2024

At least 25 million people have been caught up in the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where a neglected health emergency continues to unfold at an alarming rate, the UN health agency said on Friday.

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Sudan: UN-hosted talks on local ceasefires to continue in Geneva

Sudan: UN-hosted talks on local ceasefires to continue in Geneva

12 Jul 2024

UN-led talks between Sudan's warring parties were set to continue in Geneva on Friday focusing on brokering “possible local ceasefires” to help deliver aid and protect civilians across the country.

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Growing or shrinking? What the latest trends tell us about the world’s population

Growing or shrinking? What the latest trends tell us about the world’s population

11 Jul 2024

The global population reached nearly 8.2 billion by mid-2024 and is expected to grow by another two billion over the next 60 years, peaking at around 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s.

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UN chief calls for ‘dramatic shift’ to transform education worldwide

UN chief calls for ‘dramatic shift’ to transform education worldwide

11 Jul 2024

The global crisis in education needs a “dramatic shift” to shape a more peaceful, sustainable and just world, the UN Secretary-General said on Thursday.

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UN humanitarians warn against Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza City

UN humanitarians warn against Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza City

10 Jul 2024

Israel’s order for people to leave Gaza City on Wednesday “will only fuel mass suffering for Palestinian families", many of whom have been displaced multiple times, the UN relief coordination office, OCHA, has warned. 

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UN emphasizes gender-sensitive approach in response to Hurricane Beryl

UN emphasizes gender-sensitive approach in response to Hurricane Beryl

10 Jul 2024

The United Nations has announced a regional response plan to support communities in the islands worst affected by Hurricane Beryl, which swept through the Caribbean last week, leaving a trail of devastation.

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Digital boom could well be a bust for the environment, warns UN trade agency

Digital boom could well be a bust for the environment, warns UN trade agency

10 Jul 2024

Did you know that producing a computer weighing two kilogrammes (kg) requires a staggering 800kg of raw materials? Or that the energy required for data mining for bitcoins reached 121 terawatts last year – more than the amount consumed by most small countries?

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Schools ‘bombed-out’ in latest Gaza escalation, says UNRWA chief

Schools ‘bombed-out’ in latest Gaza escalation, says UNRWA chief

10 Jul 2024

Amid reports of intensified heavy shelling in north, central and southern Gaza, the head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, confirmed on Wednesday that schools-turned-shelters have been “bombed-out” as a result of the latest escalation.

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Gazans reeling from closed hospitals, malnutrition and heat risks, warns UN health agency

Gazans reeling from closed hospitals, malnutrition and heat risks, warns UN health agency

09 Jul 2024

In Gaza, overwhelmed hospitals, soaring temperatures, hunger and a lack of even basic sanitation present an ever more deadly threat to a population under constant attack, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.

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UN deputy chief demands bold policies, innovative solutions for SDGs

UN deputy chief demands bold policies, innovative solutions for SDGs

08 Jul 2024

The international community must urgently summon the commitment and investments needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline, the UN Deputy Secretary-General stressed on Monday.

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Hurricane Beryl highlights need for robust early warning systems

Hurricane Beryl highlights need for robust early warning systems

08 Jul 2024

Hurricane Beryl, which left a trail of destruction from the Caribbean to Mexico – and now the United States – has once again underscored the urgent need for robust early warning systems, the UN meteorological agency (WMO) said on Monday.

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Earth’s hottest June on record

Earth’s hottest June on record

08 Jul 2024

Last month was the hottest June since records began and the thirteenth month in a row to set a temperature record, according to new data released on Monday from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

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After nine months of war in Gaza, another UN school suffers Israeli airstrike

After nine months of war in Gaza, another UN school suffers Israeli airstrike

08 Jul 2024

The war in Gaza passed the nine-month mark on Sunday with humanitarians left assessing the damage of a fresh Israeli airstrike on a UN school.

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Guterres commends Turkmenistan’s ‘policy of neutrality’ amid troubled times

Guterres commends Turkmenistan’s ‘policy of neutrality’ amid troubled times

06 Jul 2024

Cooperation between the United Nations and Turkmenistan, and regional developments in Central Asia, were the focus of a meeting between UN Secretary-General António Guterres and President Serdar Berdimuhamedov held in the capital, Ashgabat, on Saturday.

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UN official describes total devastation in Carriacou following Hurricane Beryl

UN official describes total devastation in Carriacou following Hurricane Beryl

05 Jul 2024

The island of Carriacou in Grenada has been virtually “flattened” by the devastating Hurricane Beryl, a senior UN official there reported on Friday, as humanitarian teams ramp up their support to communities affected across the Caribbean.

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UNESCO designates 11 new biosphere reserves

UNESCO designates 11 new biosphere reserves

05 Jul 2024

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Friday designated 11 new biosphere reserves, recognizing their importance for conserving biodiversity and cultural heritage.

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Time running short as 2030 deadline looms for UN blueprint for a fairer future

Time running short as 2030 deadline looms for UN blueprint for a fairer future

05 Jul 2024

How can we get closer to achieving UN Member States’ detailed plans to make the world a better place within the next six years? A two-week event starting on 8 July at UN Headquarters will attempt to answer that crucial question.

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UN mobilizes $4 million for Hurricane Beryl response in the Caribbean

UN mobilizes $4 million for Hurricane Beryl response in the Caribbean

04 Jul 2024

The UN Secretary-General has reiterated his solidarity with countries affected by Hurricane Beryl, releasing $4 million from the Organization’s emergency response fund to kickstart relief efforts.

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UN chief to leaders of regional bloc: end wars, deal with existential crises

UN chief to leaders of regional bloc: end wars, deal with existential crises

04 Jul 2024

Deep global divisions and conflicts must end to clear a path to tackling world’s two existential threats: climate change and the negative impacts of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, UN chief António Guterres told the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Astana on Thursday.

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Gaza war grinds on as forcibly displaced run out of space to shelter

Gaza war grinds on as forcibly displaced run out of space to shelter

04 Jul 2024

Bombing continued overnight into Thursday in Gaza where some of the tens of thousands of people uprooted in response to Israeli evacuation orders have had to turn back after finding nowhere to shelter, UN humanitarians reported.

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China-based inventors lead on global GenAI patents: UN report

China-based inventors lead on global GenAI patents: UN report

03 Jul 2024

China-based inventors are filing the highest number of generative artificial intelligence patents, a new report from the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) shows.

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Gaza ‘split in two’ as civilians, humanitarians reset lives, aid efforts

Gaza ‘split in two’ as civilians, humanitarians reset lives, aid efforts

03 Jul 2024

The Gaza Strip is virtually “split in two”, with blockades not only restricting the movement of displaced people seeking shelter, but also aid workers trying to assist civilians in desperate need, a UN relief official said on Wednesday.

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UN urges international solidarity as Hurricane Beryl devastates Caribbean islands

UN urges international solidarity as Hurricane Beryl devastates Caribbean islands

02 Jul 2024

The United Nations has called for international solidarity with Grenada, the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and other Caribbean islands hit hard by Hurricane Beryl.

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Tens of thousands displaced in fresh violence in DR Congo

Tens of thousands displaced in fresh violence in DR Congo

02 Jul 2024

Millions of displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are suffering amid one of the world’s most neglected crises, the UN International Organization of Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.