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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WFP increases response in West and Central Africa to address rising hunger

WFP increases response in West and Central Africa to address rising hunger

18 Jun 2024

The World Food Programme (WFP) will increase its food and nutrition assistance programme this month in West and Central Africa in hopes of reaching 7.3 million people as the June-August lean season is under way at a time when hunger levels are high and food resources are low.

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Gaza: UN rights chief slams ‘unconscionable death and suffering’

Gaza: UN rights chief slams ‘unconscionable death and suffering’

18 Jun 2024

As the war drags on in Gaza, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday condemned Israel’s “relentless” attacks across the war-shattered enclave, while repeating longstanding calls for the release of all remaining hostages.

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INTERVIEW: Sustainable energy offers ‘hope’ in fight against desertification and land loss

INTERVIEW: Sustainable energy offers ‘hope’ in fight against desertification and land loss

17 Jun 2024

Sustainable sources of energy, including solar and wind power, can help communities across the world to reverse desertification and land loss, according to Ibrahim Thiaw, the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. 

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Stop ‘vandalising’ Earth and help the planet thrive, UN chief urges

Stop ‘vandalising’ Earth and help the planet thrive, UN chief urges

16 Jun 2024

As nearly 40 per cent of land across the planet is degraded with more acres lost every second, governments, businesses and communities must galvanize action to reverse the damage and protect Earth, the UN chief said in a strong message for the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, marked annually on 17 June.

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Climate change fuels tensions in Nigeria

Climate change fuels tensions in Nigeria

14 Jun 2024

Despite its huge potential, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, continues to grapple with a host of challenges which are impacting people’s lives and triggering conflict over key resources, a senior UN official in the country said on Friday.

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War in Ukraine should not be ‘new normal’, warns top humanitarian there

War in Ukraine should not be ‘new normal’, warns top humanitarian there

14 Jun 2024

A surge of attacks by Russian forces on the Kharkiv area of Ukraine is causing significant civilian casualties, as well as the destruction of homes and crucial infrastructure, the top UN official in Ukraine said today, in a plea not to “normalize” the dire conditions for Ukrainian civilians.  

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Conflict and lawlessness hamper food aid delivery in Gaza: WFP

Conflict and lawlessness hamper food aid delivery in Gaza: WFP

14 Jun 2024

Escalating fighting in the south and centre of Gaza makes it near-impossible for humanitarians to deliver desperately needed food aid, the Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Carl Skau, said on Friday at the end of a two-day mission to the enclave. 

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‘Better late than never’: Gazans react to Security Council ceasefire resolution

‘Better late than never’: Gazans react to Security Council ceasefire resolution

14 Jun 2024

A cautious welcome was given by civilians in Gaza to this week’s Security Council resolution endorsing a ceasefire for hostages deal - mixed with frustration that the fighting continues with both Hamas and the Israeli Government signalling that the three phase plan falls short.

‘Without nuclear, it will be almost impossible to decarbonize by 2050’, UN atomic energy chief

13 Jun 2024

Although nuclear energy is widely used for electricity production, it has often faced an image problem, particularly in the wake of accidents such as the 1985 Chernobyl disaster, the 2011 Fukushima accident or, more recently, the occupation by Russian forces of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

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Security Council demands end to siege of El Fasher in Sudan

Security Council demands end to siege of El Fasher in Sudan

13 Jun 2024

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Thursday that calls for the paramilitary Rapid Security Forces (RSF) in Sudan to halt their siege on El Fasher, capital of North Darfur state. 

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World News in Brief: Ukraine attacks continue, education in Africa, Albinism update

World News in Brief: Ukraine attacks continue, education in Africa, Albinism update

13 Jun 2024

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown on Thursday said she was ‘appalled’ by the scale of Russia’s overnight attack on Kryviy Rih City in the Dnipro Region. 

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Gaza: 8,000 children diagnosed with malnutrition amid ongoing shelling

Gaza: 8,000 children diagnosed with malnutrition amid ongoing shelling

13 Jun 2024

Heavy shelling reported in the so-called safe zone of Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza on Thursday came despite the ongoing international push for a ceasefire and as the UN health agency reported 32 deaths from malnutrition “including 28 among children under five years old”.

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Waiting would be ‘death sentence’ for millions on brink of starvation: Relief chief

Waiting would be ‘death sentence’ for millions on brink of starvation: Relief chief

12 Jun 2024

Millions of people are teetering on the brink of starvation as conflict rages across many corners of the world. Nowhere is this more evident than in Sudan and Gaza, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said on Wednesday. 

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Guterres highlights ‘unique level of destruction’ in Gaza ahead of G7 summit

Guterres highlights ‘unique level of destruction’ in Gaza ahead of G7 summit

12 Jun 2024

UN Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his solidarity with the people of Gaza and the global body’s deep commitment to the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) on Wednesday, while also issuing a stark message to the world’s richest nations ahead of the G7 Summit in Italy to do more to help emerging economies crippled by debt repayments.

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Ukraine Recovery Conference: UN sounds alarm over humanitarian funding

Ukraine Recovery Conference: UN sounds alarm over humanitarian funding

12 Jun 2024

The UN is becoming increasingly concerned over falling levels of humanitarian funding for civilians across war-torn Ukraine, the head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) told delegates to the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin on Wednesday.

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Guterres hails 60 years of UN trade and development action

Guterres hails 60 years of UN trade and development action

12 Jun 2024

The right to development is inextricably linked with trade which the world’s poorest countries - now “mired in debt” through no fault of their own - have every right to pursue on much fairer terms, UN chief António Guterres insisted on Wednesday.

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Yemen: UN chief demands release of aid workers held by Houthis

Yemen: UN chief demands release of aid workers held by Houthis

11 Jun 2024

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Tuesday for the immediate release of all United Nations staff held in Yemen by the de facto Houthi authorities, following the arrest of 13 of the Organization’s personnel. 

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Gaza: ‘high time’ for ceasefire and hostage release, says Guterres

Gaza: ‘high time’ for ceasefire and hostage release, says Guterres

11 Jun 2024

A comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza linked to the release of all remaining hostages cannot come too soon, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, as he welcomed the Security Council resolution adopted a day earlier seeking an end to the war there.

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Gaza: Security Council adopts US resolution calling for ‘immediate, full and complete ceasefire’

Gaza: Security Council adopts US resolution calling for ‘immediate, full and complete ceasefire’

10 Jun 2024

The UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution aimed at reaching a comprehensive ceasefire deal in three phases to end the war in Gaza, with US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield telling members "today, we voted for peace."

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Youth in Haiti remain optimistic amid worsening instability

Youth in Haiti remain optimistic amid worsening instability

10 Jun 2024

The crisis in Haiti has left children among the most vulnerable to extreme violence, malnutrition, poverty, and collapsing social systems there, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). 

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Sudan crisis: UN health agency alerts over attack on key hospital

Sudan crisis: UN health agency alerts over attack on key hospital

10 Jun 2024

Further deadly violence in Sudan’s besieged Al Fasher city has forced a major hospital to shut over the weekend after soldiers stormed the facility, prompting alarm on Monday from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) about the serious impact on sick and injured patients.

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World Oceans Day event highlights immediate action to protect oceans

World Oceans Day event highlights immediate action to protect oceans

07 Jun 2024

UN World Oceans Day, celebrated on Friday at UN Headquarters in New York, focused on “opening minds, igniting senses, and inspiring possibilities” to protect marine life worldwide. 

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Terrorism, humanitarian crises threaten stability of West Africa: UN deputy chief

Terrorism, humanitarian crises threaten stability of West Africa: UN deputy chief

07 Jun 2024

Rapidly evolving global political, social, environmental and security challenges risk undermining peace and economic development across West Africa, the UN deputy chief said on Friday, reiterating the importance of a multilateral and inclusive response.

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Ukraine: Security Council hears of escalating toll of Kharkiv attacks

Ukraine: Security Council hears of escalating toll of Kharkiv attacks

07 Jun 2024

A recent escalation in fighting in Ukraine, particularly in the Kharkiv region, has left nearly 200 people dead, displaced thousands more and further crippled critical infrastructure, with implications for global food security, a senior UN humanitarian said on Friday. 

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WFP expands emergency response to avert famine in war-torn Sudan

WFP expands emergency response to avert famine in war-torn Sudan

06 Jun 2024

Escalating hunger and violence in Sudan are reaching unprecedented levels as it teeters on the verge of becoming the world’s largest hunger crisis and faces increasingly violent attacks by paramilitary groups, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Thursday.

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Dozens feared dead in Israeli airstrike on UNRWA school in Gaza

Dozens feared dead in Israeli airstrike on UNRWA school in Gaza

06 Jun 2024

Amid early reports that an Israeli strike on a UN-run school in Gaza overnight into Thursday left dozens dead, humanitarians warned that cholera and other potentially deadly diseases stalk people uprooted by the war, forced to live among “mountains of rubbish”.

Michael Bloomberg spotlights best steps now for urgent climate action

05 Jun 2024

Michael Bloomberg is a business leader, the former three-time mayor of New York City and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for climate ambition and solutions. He is also an undisputed leader in combatting climate change.

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Stories from the UN Archive: BBC legend and UN Earth Champion

Stories from the UN Archive: BBC legend and UN Earth Champion

05 Jun 2024

As communities across the planet celebrated World Environment Day on 5 June, we are taking you back to the 1950s when broadcaster extraordinaire Sir David Attenborough went from zoologist to climate activist, winning the UN’s highest environmental award.

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New UNICEF report reveals severe child food poverty amid world crises

New UNICEF report reveals severe child food poverty amid world crises

05 Jun 2024

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a new report on Thursday that highlights alarming levels of child food poverty due to inequity, conflict, and climate crises. 

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Orlando Bloom describes ‘devastating impact’ of DR Congo violence on women and children

Orlando Bloom describes ‘devastating impact’ of DR Congo violence on women and children

05 Jun 2024

As violence escalates and millions of people continue to be displaced in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), grave violations against children are reaching an all-time high, said UN Children’s Fund UNICEF on Wednesday.