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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Displacement misery continues for Gazans, UN humanitarians warn

24 Jan 2024

The UN Security Council will hold a second day of debate on Wednesday in search of an end to the devastating conflict in Gaza amid growing tensions in the Middle East, as UN humanitarians reiterated grave concerns for extremely vulnerable Palestinians forced once again to flee the war and evacuation orders.

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Nine killed in direct hit on UNRWA shelter in Gaza

24 Jan 2024

Nine people were killed and 75 injured on Wednesday in a direct hit on a training centre turned shelter in southern Gaza run by UNRWA, the UN agency that assists Palestinians, according to initial reports.

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World News in Brief: Houthis order US-UK staffers to leave, cholera response scales up in Somalia, teachers vital to fight against hate speech

24 Jan 2024

Houthi authorities in Yemen on Wednesday have ordered UN and other humanitarian staff holding US and UK passports to leave the country within a month.

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'High-risk mission' delivers fuel to Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza

23 Jan 2024

The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners have delivered 19,000 litres of fuel to Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, the UN agency said late on Tuesday.  

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Gaza fighting spreads into hospitals where there’s ‘no way in and out’

23 Jan 2024

Amid continuing heavy fighting in Gaza on Tuesday morning including reported attacks on hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis, UN humanitarians expressed deep concern for patients and others seeking treatment who had “no way in and out”.

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Biodiversity: What is it, and how can we protect it?

22 Jan 2024

The UN and its global partners will grapple with the massive loss of animal and plant species, and how to avoid further extinction, at a major conference beginning 23 January. Here’s a primer on what, exactly, biodiversity is, and how the UN can help support efforts to enable nature to survive and thrive.

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Gaza: ‘The siege is the silent killer’

22 Jan 2024

In Gaza, bombs and bullets are far from the only threat to life. Residents lack food and clean water, health facilities are practically nonexistent and communication with the outside world is patchy at best. 

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25,000 killed in Gaza war as humanitarian needs go on rising

22 Jan 2024

“Intense” Israeli bombardment in Gaza continued on Monday along with rocket fire into Israel by Palestinian armed groups as UN humanitarians reported that more than 25,000 have died in the enclave since war began on 7 October.

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Guterres urges G-77 and China to drive momentum for global governance reform

21 Jan 2024

Developing countries must lead efforts to reform outdated international institutions and frameworks, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in remarks to the third summit of the Group of 77 (G-77) and China, which opened on Sunday in Kampala, Uganda.

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World News in Brief: Congo flood response, tourism bounces back, alert over Sudan’s ancient pyramids

19 Jan 2024

Unprecedented flooding in the Republic of the Congo has left more than 350,000 people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, the UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Friday.

Gaza crisis: Babies being born ‘into hell’ amid desperate aid shortages

19 Jan 2024

Babies are being “delivered into hell” in Gaza with many others likely dying as a result of conflict with Israel and increasingly dire conditions in the enclave, UN humanitarians warned on Friday.

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UN aid official urges increased support for Niger

18 Jan 2024

A senior UN humanitarian official on Thursday called on the international community to step up support for communities in need in Niger, warning that limited funding and access challenges have put lives at risk.

Women’s rights key for Afghanistan’s economic recovery

18 Jan 2024

Economic recovery in Afghanistan hinges on international support for boosting productivity and reinstating women’s rights, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said in a new report released on Thursday. 

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Gaza aid obstacles continue to delay vital relief

18 Jan 2024

Medicines for Israeli hostages were reportedly allowed into Gaza for the first time on Thursday along with a consignment of relief supplies for Palestinians, under an agreement brokered by Qatar and France.

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Gaza health system collapsing, as UN agencies renew ceasefire call

17 Jan 2024

The World Health Organization (WHO) is continuing to do all it can to deliver critical medicines, supplies and fuel to Gaza hospitals, where the health system is collapsing, an agency official said on Wednesday. 

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UN agency urges ‘all possible support’ for Sudanese civilians

17 Jan 2024

The head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Wednesday appealed for the international community to provide an urgent boost in funding and commitment to address Sudan’s escalating humanitarian crisis, now entering its tenth month.

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New UN coordinator for Gaza in Egypt to ‘expedite all areas’ of aid

17 Jan 2024

The UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza is in Egypt this week in efforts to scale-up assistance to the enclave, where more than 100 days of war between Israel and Hamas militants have left most of the population in dire need of food, water, medicines and other basic items. 

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Gaza crisis: UN chief calls for two-State solution, ‘once and for all’

17 Jan 2024

Unremitting conflict in Gaza has already sparked regional insecurity and is clear evidence that the international community needs to throw its weight behind a two-State solution in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to resolve the enduring crisis “once and for all”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday.

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Gaza: Fewer than 1 in 4 aid missions given green light, says OCHA

16 Jan 2024

The Israeli authorities have continued to block lifesaving aid from reaching northern Gaza 102 days since Hamas-led terror attacks triggered the war, UN humanitarians have insisted, just as UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that “the long shadow of starvation” stalks the people of Gaza.

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World News in Brief: Emergency funds for Sudan refugees, democracy prevails in Guatemala, climate change in Iraq

15 Jan 2024

Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has allocated $10 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support men, women and children fleeing the conflict between rival militaries in Sudan, across the border into neighbouring South Sudan.

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WHO appeals for $1.5 billion to deliver healthcare in crises

15 Jan 2024

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday launched a $1.5 billion emergency appeal to provide care to more than 87 million people this year in 41 ongoing crises, including in the occupied Palestinian territory, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria and the Horn of Africa. 

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Ukraine war: UN humanitarians launch $4.2 billion appeal for most vulnerable

15 Jan 2024

Nearly two years since Russian forces launched a “full-blown war and occupation” of Ukraine, UN relief chief Martin Griffiths on Monday issued an urgent appeal together with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) for $4.2 billion.

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UN urges radical change to aid relief access in Gaza amid fresh famine fears

15 Jan 2024

After more than 100 days of war in Gaza and no let-up in sight, senior UN humanitarians issued a rare joint appeal for greater aid access on Monday, expressing renewed fears of death due to famine and disease unless there is a “fundamental step change” in procedures. 

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How is the UN helping civilians in Gaza?

13 Jan 2024

Despite the immense dangers and obstacles, the UN continues to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid in Gaza. Here is an overview of the humanitarian efforts in the occupied territory.

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WMO confirms 2023 as warmest year on record ‘by a huge margin’

12 Jan 2024

With the annual average global temperature fast approaching the critical threshold of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, last year officially smashed the global temperature record, the UN weather agency (WMO) confirmed on Friday.

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World News in Brief: Deep concern over Afghan arrests, UN commits to stay and deliver in Mali, new migrant support plan

11 Jan 2024

The UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Thursday that it is “deeply concerned” over a recent spate of arbitrary arrests and detentions of women and girls by Taliban officials for alleged non-compliance with the Islamic dress code.

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Recurring denials hamper aid delivery to north Gaza

11 Jan 2024

Recurring denials and severe access constraints continue to paralyze aid teams trying to respond to the immense needs in northern Gaza, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, has warned. 

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‘No end in sight’ to Ukraine war, UN political chief warns

10 Jan 2024

The new year has brought no respite to Ukraine, with recent weeks seeing some of the worst attacks of the nearly three-year war, the UN political affairs chief told the Security Council on Wednesday. 

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Global unemployment to increase in 2024, warns ILO report

10 Jan 2024

Global unemployment is expected to rise this year, with growing inequality and stagnant productivity also a cause for concern on the economic horizon, the UN labour agency ILO said on Wednesday.

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Aid mission denials are latest threat to Gaza’s hospitals: OCHA

10 Jan 2024

Repeated refusals by Israeli authorities to allow UN aid teams to deliver desperately needed humanitarian relief inside Gaza have effectively cut off five hospitals in the north from access to “lifesaving medical supplies and equipment”, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) has warned.