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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Sudan’s cocktail of war and flooding leaves people trapped, unable to flee

Sudan’s cocktail of war and flooding leaves people trapped, unable to flee

02 Jul 2024

Millions of people have been forced out of Sudan as the brutal civil war continues to spread, including in Sinja Town, south of the capital Khartoum, where UN humanitarians reported on Tuesday that more than 55,000 people have already fled.

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Gaza: 250,000 set to be displaced by new Khan Younis escalation

Gaza: 250,000 set to be displaced by new Khan Younis escalation

02 Jul 2024

“Chaos and panic” are spreading in southern Gaza where an estimated 250,000 people are set to be impacted by new Israeli military evacuation orders from Khan Younis in Gaza, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.

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World News in Brief: UN responds to Bangladesh floods, sports and human rights, polio vaccination in Angola

World News in Brief: UN responds to Bangladesh floods, sports and human rights, polio vaccination in Angola

01 Jul 2024

The UN emergency food relief agency is providing vital assistance to communities affected by the severe flooding in northeast Bangladesh, the agency said on Monday.

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Sudan: UN food convoy attacked, supplies looted amid worsening crisis

Sudan: UN food convoy attacked, supplies looted amid worsening crisis

01 Jul 2024

Unidentified armed men in Sudan on Sunday attacked UN World Food Programme (WFP) trucks carrying food assistance meant for thousands of civilians in need in central Darfur, the agency reported. 

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Tens of thousands displaced in new Gaza City escalation

Tens of thousands displaced in new Gaza City escalation

01 Jul 2024

Ongoing heavy fighting in northern Gaza has now forced an estimated 84,000 people to flee eastern Gaza City in a matter of days, while also cutting off access to a key aid distribution hub, UN humanitarians said on Monday.

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‘Trust and respect’ feeds interfaith rice growing success in the Philippines

‘Trust and respect’ feeds interfaith rice growing success in the Philippines

30 Jun 2024

Trust built on decades of respect for religion has fertilized the seeds of success for two communities, one Muslim the other Christian, which have joined together to build a successful rice growing cooperative in the Philippines.

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World News in Brief: Burkina Faso, refugees and climate change, Afghan women deserve seat in Doha: CEDAW

World News in Brief: Burkina Faso, refugees and climate change, Afghan women deserve seat in Doha: CEDAW

28 Jun 2024

Resources are desperately needed to ramp up aid supplies for Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, which is staring at an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis”, according to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

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World getting a ‘failing grade’ on Global Goals report card

World getting a ‘failing grade’ on Global Goals report card

28 Jun 2024

With just six years remaining to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global progress is alarmingly insufficient, with a mere 17 per cent of the targets currently on track, according to a new UN report released on Friday.

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Going back into ‘hell’: An aid worker’s journey through shattered Gaza

Going back into ‘hell’: An aid worker’s journey through shattered Gaza

28 Jun 2024

Over and above the difficulty of actually getting into Gaza, aid teams now face the crushing realization that with a shortage of fuel and dwindling supplies, there is a limit to what they can do to help all those in need, UN aid worker Louise Wateridge told UN News on Friday.

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Gaza: Aid constraints and health issues persist amid ongoing conflict

Gaza: Aid constraints and health issues persist amid ongoing conflict

27 Jun 2024

Delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza remains a difficult and frustrating task for UN and partner agencies as the conflict there grinds on amid intense civilian suffering.

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Famine risk is real for 14 areas of Sudan amid ongoing fighting

Famine risk is real for 14 areas of Sudan amid ongoing fighting

27 Jun 2024

The risk of widespread famine in Sudan caused by war there was confirmed on Thursday by leading hunger experts who warned that the country faces “the worst levels of acute food insecurity ever recorded”, with no less than 14 areas at the highest level of risk.

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World News in Brief: ICC convicts Malian extremist of war crimes, Sudan crisis update, UN Police Summit preview

World News in Brief: ICC convicts Malian extremist of war crimes, Sudan crisis update, UN Police Summit preview

26 Jun 2024

The International Criminal Court (ICC) handed down a war crimes conviction on Wednesday against an Al Qaida-linked Malian former self-styled police chief who faced a range of charges, from torture to rape.

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We’ll never abandon Gaza, pledges top UN aid official

We’ll never abandon Gaza, pledges top UN aid official

26 Jun 2024

UN aid teams and partner organizations remain deeply committed to delivering lifesaving supplies to Gazans in need, despite the increasing dangers of working there, the Organization’s top aid official said on Wednesday.

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Humanitarians are beacon of hope amidst global turmoil: Guterres

Humanitarians are beacon of hope amidst global turmoil: Guterres

25 Jun 2024

Human suffering continues to worsen against a backdrop of conflict and runaway climate change the UN chief said on Tuesday, calling on countries to step up support for those in need and protect the humanitarians who aid them.

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Over three million preventable deaths per year due to alcohol and drug use

Over three million preventable deaths per year due to alcohol and drug use

25 Jun 2024

Over three million deaths per year were attributable to alcohol consumption and drug use, a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) found. Of these deaths, 2.6 million were attributable to alcohol consumption, accounting for nearly five per cent of all deaths, with the highest numbers in the WHO European Region and African Region.

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Syria: Security Council highlights escalating crisis and civilian suffering

Syria: Security Council highlights escalating crisis and civilian suffering

25 Jun 2024

Syria continues in a state of “grave crisis” with civilian suffering on the rise, the UN Security Council heard during a briefing on Tuesday.

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New famine alert for Gaza where families go days without food

New famine alert for Gaza where families go days without food

25 Jun 2024

Gaza remains on famine alert after food security experts warned on Tuesday that more than one in five households “go entire days without eating”.

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Half the world now following doctors’ orders on cutting trans fats: WHO

Half the world now following doctors’ orders on cutting trans fats: WHO

24 Jun 2024

A total of 53 countries had best practice policies in place for tackling industrial trans fats in food as of last year, vastly improving the food environment for 3.7 billion people, or 46 per cent of the world’s population, according to a milestone report published by the UN World Health Organization on Monday.

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Sudan: WHO appalled by horrific attack on El Fasher’s maternity hospital

Sudan: WHO appalled by horrific attack on El Fasher’s maternity hospital

24 Jun 2024

Heavy fighting in Sudan hit a new low over the weekend when a maternity hospital in besieged El Fasher city came under attack, killing a pharmacy worker and prompting new calls on Monday from the head of the UN health agency for the violence to stop.

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Chief of key UN agency in Gaza warns ‘entire generation’ could be lost

Chief of key UN agency in Gaza warns ‘entire generation’ could be lost

24 Jun 2024

The head of the main UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, issued a stark warning on Monday that it “will crumble” unless funding is found quickly, with an “entire generation” of children at risk of being condemned to “poverty…hatred, resentment and future conflict”. 

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Record levels of displacement amid global conflict and natural disasters

Record levels of displacement amid global conflict and natural disasters

21 Jun 2024

There are twice as many internally displaced people today as there were ten years ago - the largest numbers ever recorded, said Special Advisor on Solutions to Internal Displacement Robert Piper, on Friday.  

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Officials highlight massive poverty, humanitarian despair in Afghanistan

Officials highlight massive poverty, humanitarian despair in Afghanistan

21 Jun 2024

The humanitarian needs in Afghanistan are “alarmingly high” and the international community is in “crisis management mode”, the UN Security Council heard on Friday.

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World News in Brief: UNHCR rushes support to Rohingyas, end ‘normalisation’ of prostitution, Zambia’s devastating drought

World News in Brief: UNHCR rushes support to Rohingyas, end ‘normalisation’ of prostitution, Zambia’s devastating drought

21 Jun 2024

Deadly monsoon landslides in southern Bangladesh have destroyed over 1,200 shelters and displaced around 2,000 ethnic Rohingya from neighbouring Myanmar who need urgent assistance, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has said.

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Gaza is more than two million stories of loss: UN agencies

Gaza is more than two million stories of loss: UN agencies

21 Jun 2024

Gaza is “a world of devastation” and still in the grip of war after nearly nine months of conflict, UN humanitarians just back from the enclave reported on Friday, as they described widespread destruction and stories of pregnant mothers forced to request preterm C-sections out of desperation and fear.

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Global foreign investment declines for second year as geopolitical tensions rise, UN trade body reports

Global foreign investment declines for second year as geopolitical tensions rise, UN trade body reports

20 Jun 2024

Foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by two per cent to $1.3 trillion in 2023 amid global economic slowdown and rising geopolitical tensions, according to a report released on Thursday by the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD.

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Global survey reveals ‘truly astonishing’ consensus for stronger climate action

Global survey reveals ‘truly astonishing’ consensus for stronger climate action

20 Jun 2024

The overwhelming majority of people around the world want an end to geopolitical differences when it comes to fighting climate change, the results of a landmark public opinion poll conducted by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has shown.

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Gaza today: Scorching heat, visible signs of wasting and heavy fighting

Gaza today: Scorching heat, visible signs of wasting and heavy fighting

20 Jun 2024

Desperate shortages of essentials in Gaza have left the enclave’s most vulnerable individuals struggling to carry on amid stifling heat, heavy fighting, disease spread and a breakdown in law and order, UN humanitarians warned on Thursday.

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World News in Brief: Women doing ‘inspirational’ work in Gaza, huge increase in Haiti displacement, Uyghur rights in China

World News in Brief: Women doing ‘inspirational’ work in Gaza, huge increase in Haiti displacement, Uyghur rights in China

19 Jun 2024

UN aid coordination office (OCHA) said on Wednesday that Gazans continue to be displaced due to active fighting and bombardment.

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Independent rights probe highlights Israeli ‘destruction and dislocation’ tactics in Gaza

Independent rights probe highlights Israeli ‘destruction and dislocation’ tactics in Gaza

19 Jun 2024

High-level independent human rights investigators reiterated serious concerns on Wednesday about the legality of the Israeli army's conduct in Gaza and pushed back at claims that their inquiry has done too little to highlight the ongoing ordeal of hostages captured by Palestinian militants.

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Laws of war likely 'consistently violated' in Israeli strikes on Gaza: UN rights office

Laws of war likely 'consistently violated' in Israeli strikes on Gaza: UN rights office

19 Jun 2024

A UN probe into the Israeli military’s bombing of Gaza has pointed to the laws of war being “consistently violated” with regard to the use of hugely powerful bombs and an alleged lack of distinction between combatants and civilians, the Organization’s human rights chief said on Wednesday.