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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UN forum: Nations must collaborate now or risk further setbacks in sustainable development

21 Feb 2024

Today’s multilateral arrangements – global and regional organizations and major development banks – are “not up to the job” of helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the deputy UN chief said on Tuesday.

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Myanmar: Mandatory conscription shows junta’s ‘desperation’, rights expert says

21 Feb 2024

Myanmar’s military government is becoming an even greater threat to civilians following the imposition of a mandatory draft this month, the UN independent expert on human rights in the country said on Wednesday. 

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US vetoes Algerian resolution demanding immediate ceasefire in Gaza

20 Feb 2024

The UN Security Council met again in emergency session in New York on Gaza Tuesday, where the United States vetoed a resolution put forward on behalf of Arab States by Algeria demanding “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire that must be respected by all parties”. 

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UN allocates $100 million for underfunded emergencies

20 Feb 2024

The UN’s top relief official on Tuesday released $100 million from the Organization’s core humanitarian emergency fund to support underfunded aid operations in seven countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.

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Climate-affected Madagascar adapts to new reality: A UN Resident Coordinator blog

20 Feb 2024

People living in Madagascar are learning to adapt to rapidly altering climatic conditions in what is said to be the fourth most climate change affected country worldwide; that’s according to the UN Resident Coordinator, the most senior UN official in the Indian Ocean island nation.

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World News in Brief: Millions battle hunger due to Sudan war, human rights essential to peace, surge in fighting along Ukraine frontline

19 Feb 2024

At least 25 million people are struggling with soaring rates of hunger and malnutrition as the crisis arising from the war in Sudan sends shockwaves around the region, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Monday. 

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Zero waste, more hope in South Sudan

17 Feb 2024

Zero energy light bulbs and sturdy bricks for schools and homes. Some innovative communities in South Sudan are reusing waste in new ways as the world rallies to ban plastic pollution by the year’s end, with help from a small team of experts led by climate and environmental scientist Shazneen Cyrus Gazdar at theUN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

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Asia-Pacific off track on path to SDGs, UN data shows

15 Feb 2024

A new UN report has revealed a concerning trajectory for the Asia Pacific region, projecting a delay until 2062 to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), overshooting the schedule by a staggering 32 years.

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Gaza: Threat of ground invasion looms over Rafah

15 Feb 2024

UPDATED: Amid ongoing airstrikes targeting Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah and reports that Israeli forces have conducted a military operation inside the Nasser Hospital Complex, concerns over a potential ground invasion of the densely populated border city are escalating. 

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Despite myriad challenges, UNRWA continues lifesaving work in Gaza

15 Feb 2024

Despite unprecedented challenges, the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) continues to provide lifesaving supplies and services to more than 1.5 million displaced people in southern Gaza.

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World News in Brief: Warmest January on record, Sudan diplomacy push, catching childhood cancer early

15 Feb 2024

In the battle to slow global warming, January was the hottest month on record according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Thursday.

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Gaza: Rafah invasion would be a disaster ‘beyond imagination’, warn UN medics

14 Feb 2024

UN medics said on Wednesday that they feared a humanitarian disaster “beyond imagination” if a full-scale incursion by the Israeli military happens in Rafah in southern Gaza.

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Gazans ‘anxious and living in fear’ of Israeli assault on Rafah, warns top UN aid official

13 Feb 2024

As international efforts continue to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, the head of UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinians, warned on Tuesday that those in the enclave remain deeply traumatised by the war with Israel and afraid of a full-scale assault on Rafah in the south.

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Civilians suffer as ‘perfect storm’ of war, disease and displacement grips Sudan

13 Feb 2024

Civilians continue to bear the brunt as the war between rival militaries in Sudan spreads into new areas, driving displacement and hunger while exposing communities to deadly diseases, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.

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World News in Brief: Rafah ‘slaughter’ fears, Ukraine energy system attacks, rights abuses against Syrian returnees

13 Feb 2024

UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Martin Griffith has reiterated his warning against a full-scale military assault on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population is now sheltered.   

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Rising hunger: UN chief identifies wars, climate chaos as aggravating factors

13 Feb 2024

Countries must act now to break the deadly links between conflict, climate and food insecurity, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, addressing a Security Council meeting focused on these challenges. 

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Gaza: Relief over rescued hostages as Tedros warns of ‘ocean of need’

12 Feb 2024

Amid reports on Monday that two hostages have been rescued during a raid by Israeli special forces in Rafah City, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza is still not being met with anywhere near sufficient aid relief. 

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World News in Brief: Syria aid lifelines, Sudan telecoms blackout, increased patrols in Abyei, preventing terrorism

12 Feb 2024

Two critical lifelines for millions of people in northwest Syria have been extended for an additional three months, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday.   

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First-ever UN report on migratory species reveals complex threats

12 Feb 2024

Migratory species globally are facing critical challenges, with nearly half in decline and over 20 per cent threatened with extinction, a landmark UN report has pointed out.

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First Person: ‘My eggs are too expensive to eat’ (and that’s a good thing)

11 Feb 2024

Small-scale chicken farmers in the south of Madagascar are hatching a plan to boost their incomes and improve the stock of local poultry breeds, thanks to support from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

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Gaza: UN health agency warns over continuing attacks on healthcare

09 Feb 2024

The unrelenting war in Gaza hasn’t spared hospitals, their staff or the people sheltering there, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday as it unveiled data indicating more than 350 attacks on healthcare in the enclave since hostilities erupted.

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World News in Brief: Rafah escalation fears, Gaza war’s unprecedented death rate, Pakistan terrorist attacks condemned

09 Feb 2024

The unprecedented population density in Rafah in southern Gaza makes it nearly impossible to protect civilians in the event of ground attacks, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, warned on Friday. 

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Mongolian dzud: Extreme weather puts 90% of country at ‘high risk’

09 Feb 2024

The ongoing “white and iron” dzud in Mongolia has reached a “critical” level, with over 90 per cent of the country facing high levels of risk from the unique weather phenomenon, UN agencies have reported.

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Gazans ‘stalked by hunger, disease and death’, warns UN’s top aid official

08 Feb 2024

Amid further fighting across Gaza on Thursday, including reports of deadly airstrikes in the Rafah governorate, the UN’s top aid official, Martin Griffiths, echoed widespread international fears about a further escalation of the conflict.

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World News in Brief: Ukraine nuclear power plant update, DR Congo flood response, impact of US terrorism designations

08 Feb 2024

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) this week undertook his fourth visit to the beleaguered Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine, his office said on Thursday. 

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Gaza war enters fifth month amid reports of potential ceasefire deal

07 Feb 2024

As the devastating Gaza-Israel war entered its fifth month on Wednesday leaving a reported 27,585 Palestinians dead and nearly 70,000 injured, the UN’s top humanitarian official welcomed early indications of a “potential breakthrough” in negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of all remaining hostages.

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UN appeals for $4.1 billion in aid for war-torn Sudan and refugee-hosting countries

07 Feb 2024

The United Nations on Wednesday urged countries not to forget millions of people caught up in the war between rival militaries in Sudan, calling for $4.1 billion to help stave off famine and assist those who have fled into neighbouring countries.

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UN Middle East envoy upholds need for Gaza ceasefire

07 Feb 2024

The top UN official in the Middle East underscored the importance of a ceasefire in Gaza during a briefing to journalists at UN Headquarters on Wednesday. 

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UN food agency ramps up deliveries amid worsening food security in Ethiopia

06 Feb 2024

As severe hunger ripples across northern Ethiopia, the World Food Programme (WFP) is ramping up efforts to deliver lifesaving assistance to three million people in the coming weeks to avert “a major humanitarian catastrophe”, the agency announced on Tuesday.

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One year on, for survivors of Türkiye-Syria quakes the suffering is far from over

06 Feb 2024

Tens of thousands of families that survived last year’s devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria have yet to recover on multiple fronts, the UN’s top humanitarian official warned on Tuesday.