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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Why the UN General Assembly must back the right to a healthy environment

22 Jul 2022

In late July, the UN General Assembly is expected to vote on a draft resolution recognizing the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

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Hunger still rising across East Africa, says new UN-backed report

22 Jul 2022

Over 50 million people in Eastern Africa will face acute food insecurity this year, according to a new study backed by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

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UNHCR alarmed by growing death toll among displaced in eastern DR Congo

22 Jul 2022

  As conflict grows in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the rising death toll and suffering of displaced civilians through brutal attacks, is cause for serious concern said the UN refugee agency UNHCR on Friday, which appealed for fresh funds to meet "soaring needs" across the country.

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Mega-drought, glacier melt, and deforestation plague Latin America and the Caribbean

22 Jul 2022

From the Amazon to the Andes and the snowy depths of Patagonia, extreme weather and climate change are causing mega-drought, extreme rainfall, deforestation and glacier melt across the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, according to a UN report published on Friday.

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Climate change: New approach needed to gauge animal health impact on emissions

21 Jul 2022

Animal health is important to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but greater investment is needed to evaluate the impact, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and partners said in a report published on Thursday.

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Lebanon: At ‘a crossroad between rebound or collapse’

21 Jul 2022

The dire impact of Lebanon’s unrelenting socio-economic crisis prompted the UN Special Coordinator to warn the Security Council behind closed doors on Thursday, that the country stands at “a crossroad between rebound or collapse”.

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UN envoy calls for extension and expansion of ‘transformational’ truce in Yemen

21 Jul 2022

The historic UN-brokered truce in Yemen has largely held for nearly four months, and Special Envoy Hans Grundberg on Thursday urged the Government and Houthi rebels to work towards renewing the “transformational” agreement, which expires on 2 August. 

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UN summit galvanizes action for development agendas in Africa

20 Jul 2022

The development of Africa was spotlighted at a key UN meeting on Wednesday, with attention focused on advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063.    

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Cost of living crisis hits poorest the hardest, warns UNCTAD

19 Jul 2022

Billions of people are facing the greatest cost of living crisis in a generation due to rising food and energy prices amid rapid inflation and increasing debt, leaving the most vulnerable consumers in a dire situation, said the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD on Tuesday.

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‘Moment for Nature’ essential to beat back threats, spur climate action

19 Jul 2022

With less than eight years remaining to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the President of the UN General Assembly convened a ‘Moment for Nature’ debate on Tuesday to examine the interconnected environmental threats hampering efforts to achieve sustainable development. 

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WMO warns of frequent heatwaves in decades ahead

19 Jul 2022

Extreme heat in western Europe is causing devastating wildfires in France and Spain, unprecedented drought in Italy and Portugal, and the United Kingdom recorded its highest-ever temperature of just over 40 degrees Celsius during Tuesday, at London’s Heathrow airport.

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Voluntary repatriation of refugees from Angola to DR Congo resumes

19 Jul 2022

After a two-year hiatus, the voluntary repatriation of refugees from Angola to their homeland in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has begun again, after the programme was put on hold in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic led to long-term border closures.

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UN and partners meet to address ‘critical’ state of global food crisis

18 Jul 2022

Scaling up climate resilience across food systems is among the actions needed to counter rising hunger and malnutrition, UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid said on Monday, at a special meeting to address the global food crisis. 

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Record 40°C UK temperatures linked to climate change: WMO

18 Jul 2022

The chances of seeing unprecedented temperatures of 40 degree Celsius (40°C) or more in the UK could be up to 10 times more likely in the current climate than under a “natural climate unaffected by human influence,” the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) declared on Monday.

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From the Field: Afghan earthquake survivors look to rebuild their lives

18 Jul 2022

Afghans caught up in the devastating earthquake that hit the country on June 22, killing more than 1,000 and injured over 6,000 people, are sharing their traumatic stories.

Kenya’s Kuruwitu corals are back, thanks to local conservation drive

17 Jul 2022

A small, quiet village in Kenya has found a new purpose in the fishing industry through a successful marine coral conservation project, the first of its kind in the Marine Protected Areas of the western side of the Indian Ocean.

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Haiti: UN sounds alarm over worsening gang violence across Port-au-Prince

16 Jul 2022

The UN human rights office said on Saturday it was deeply concerned by worsening violence in and around the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince and rising abuse at the hands of heavily armed gangs, against vulnerable local communities.

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A safe space for Venezuela’s indigenous women

16 Jul 2022

Venezuela's rural, remote, indigenous communities have been particularly affected by COVID-19 and the country's socio-economic crisis; community gardens help Wayúu women from Rio Negro to make ends meet, and provide a haven from violence.

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Key UN forum closes with ‘enthusiasm, passion and high-energy’ to reach the SDGs

15 Jul 2022

Following two years of virtual meetings due to COVID-19, the 2022 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) closed on Friday at UN Headquarters in New York with delegates showing “enthusiasm, passion and high-energy” for reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

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Ensure peaceful and constitutional transfer of power in Sri Lanka, urges UN Resident Coordinator

15 Jul 2022

The head of the UN Country Team in Sri Lanka has urged senior politicians to ensure a peaceful transfer of power in line with the national Constitution, following weeks of protests that finally saw the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday.

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Champion young people as ‘drivers of change’, UN chief urges

15 Jul 2022

Young people must be recognized around the world as “drivers of change” and empowered to become “fully engaged in decisions affecting their future,” said Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday, World Youth Skills Day.

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COVID-19 fuels slowest rate of childhood vaccination in three decades, leaving millions at risk

15 Jul 2022

Official data published by UN agencies on Friday shows the largest sustained decline in childhood vaccination rates in approximately 30 years, with 25 million infants missing out on lifesaving shots.

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Ukraine: Guterres condemns deadly missile attack on Vinnytsia; more than 20 killed

14 Jul 2022

The UN Secretary-General is appalled by the deadly missile attack on Thursday against the city of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, that reportedly killed at least 22 people, far from the frontline of the main fighting in the east, including three children and wounded more than 100 others, his Spokesperson said in a statement. 

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Nigeria: New UN resilience project paves ‘pathway to peace and sustainable development’

14 Jul 2022

Over 500,000 conflict-affected people in northeast Nigeria will be tossed “a lifeline,” thanks to a new UN humanitarian and development package, launched on Thursday.

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Guterres hails ‘critical step forward’ on resuming Ukraine grain exports

13 Jul 2022

The UN chief on Wednesday described progress between Russia and Ukraine on allowing the resumption of grain exports during UN-brokered talks in Türkiye, as a “ray of hope to ease human suffering and alleviate hunger around the world.”

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Sustainable Development Goals can be reached ‘despite our grim times’: ECOSOC President

13 Jul 2022

Despite two years of a “surreal struggle” against the COVID-19 pandemic, and amidst rising global challenges, optimism for achieving sustainable development persists, a senior UN official declared on Wednesday. 

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Syria: Security Council extends cross-border aid delivery for six months

12 Jul 2022

The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution to extend lifesaving aid deliveries into northwest Syria from Türkiye for a further six months following a vote on Tuesday. 

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Gang violence in Port-au-Prince threatens more than a million food-insecure Haitians

12 Jul 2022

Surging and deadly gang violence in the Haitian capital has contributed to runaway food insecurity for well over one million people there, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.

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UN report: Value of nature must not be overridden by pursuit of short-term profit

11 Jul 2022

The values that we ascribe to nature are vital parts of our cultures, identities, economies, and ways of life, all of which should be reflected in policy decisions surrounding our natural world, according to a new UN-backed report released on Monday.

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Yemen: UN envoy outlines achievements and challenges in truce implementation

11 Jul 2022

Although the UN-brokered truce between the Yemeni Government and Houthi rebels continues to hold, the key issue of road openings remains outstanding, while the country’s “humanitarian catastrophe” is set to worsen, the Security Council heard on Monday.