News

A UN health centre providing medical care to Palestine refugees at a camp in Lebanon reopened on Wednesday, as a ceasefire between opposing armed groups holds.

The global average temperature for July 2023 was the highest on record and likely for at least 120,000 years, the UN weather agency WMO and partners said on Tuesday.

The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, voiced concern on Tuesday over the situation in Mexico, where refugees and migrants aspiring to get to the United States find themselves in cramped shelters, exposed to multiple risks. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has underlined his support for ongoing mediation efforts by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the wake of the 26 July attempted coup in Niger, his Office said on Monday. 

Caribbean countries have been equipped to better prepare for hurricanes and other hazards following the conclusion of a three-and-a-year project to strengthen weather, water and climate services, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported on Monday. 

Three-quarters of children in South Asia are already exposed to extreme high temperature compared to only one in three globally, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday, urging authorities to do more to help them beat the heat.

Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has said that the United Nations will support Brazil’s indigenous peoples and amplify their voices far and wide towards the full realizations of their rights.

A man living in Viet Nam has been explaining how his community has learnt to adapt to and mitigate the effects of devastating flooding caused by tropical storms.

Global food prices rose for the first time in months following the collapse of the landmark agreement to ship grain from war-torn Ukraine to the rest of the world, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday.

Two senior UN humanitarian officials have called for more funding and less bureaucratic impediments to support civilians affected by the war in Sudan, including roughly 14 million children.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has issued a grave warning regarding the deepening food crisis in Sudan, as the country grapples with conflict and economic decline.  

The threat of famine, with people slowly starving to death, must be considered a red line for international peace and security, the UN Famine Prevention and Response Coordinator said on Thursday, warning that warring groups deliberately use hunger as a tactic of war.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed on Tuesday called for urgent efforts to boost climate action, protect biodiversity, promote sustainable food systems, and ensure decent jobs and social protection.

UN food security agencies on Tuesday warned that South Sudan faces a severe humanitarian crisis, unless immediate action and investment are taken to address food insecurity, climate challenges, and insecurity.

A summer of extreme weather in the northern hemisphere is causing major damage to people’s health and the environment, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported on Monday, as countries from the United States to China battle intense heat. 

The ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine are resulting in a surge in humanitarian needs, the top UN humanitarian official for the country said on Monday, urging increased funding to ensure assistance for those in need.

Sharply rising temperatures across the globe continue to endanger the safety of workers and impact communities with the “least capacity for adaptation,” according to a senior economist at the International Labour Organization (ILO). 

The Assistant High Commissioner for Protection with the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, Gillian Triggs, concluded a four-day visit to Greece on Friday, where she addressed several critical issues concerning refugees and asylum-seekers in the country. 

Russia has not offered any free grain to the UN food relief agency so far, and its policy of buying supplies from Ukraine has been based on its competitive price and quality, a senior WFP official said on Friday.

Heads of UN peacekeeping forces on Thursday highlighted the work of ‘blue helmets’ in some of the most challenging environments, protecting those in need not only from war and terror but also increasingly from natural disasters and disinformation.

Humanitarian operations, development support and peace programmes in Niger continue in the wake of the military coup this week, the top UN official in the country said on Friday in a briefing to journalists in New York. 

As wildfires raged across Southern Europe and North Africa, top UN climate scientists said on Thursday that it was “virtually certain” that July 2023 will be the warmest on record.  

Insecurity and violence increased rapidly in the occupied West Bank over the last month, punctuated by one of the most intensive Israeli military operations in nearly two decades, the Security Council heard on Thursday.

The total number of court cases focused on climate action has more than doubled since 2017 and is growing worldwide, according to a new report published on Thursday by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) which oversees sustainable development across the UN, elected its new President on Thursday, marking the start of its new session.

Climate change impacts are increasing in Asia, which is warming faster than the global average, the World Meteorological Office (WMO) said in a new report published on Thursday. 

The UN on Wednesday launched an initiative for accelerated transformation in food systems, with the Deputy Secretary-General highlighting key objectives to help get the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track.

Half of all children in Europe and Central Asia, 92 million, are exposed to high heatwave frequency, or double the global average, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday in a new policy brief.  

After nearly two years of “political groundwork, fundraising, and project development”, in the words of UN chief António Guterres, the UN-led operation to avert environmental disaster in the Red Sea of the Yemeni coast, is fully underway.

A new UN report raised concerns on Wednesday about the excessive use of smartphones, calling for them to be banned in schools worldwide. According to the UN's education, science and culture agency UNESCO, the over-use of mobile phones impacts learning.