UN News

A UN peacekeeper serving in Lebanon died early Thursday after mortar fire on his position near Marjayoun in the country’s southeast, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has announced.

A closely watched Security Council election delivered a mix of continuity and change on Wednesday, as Austria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, Zimbabwe – and first-time member Kyrgyzstan, secured seats around the iconic horseshoe table.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed alarm on Tuesday over reported overnight exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran, as well as reports that Iran targeted Kuwait and Bahrain.

Children in Ukraine have been profoundly impacted by years of war, sheltering in underground schools – or forced to study online – and living with the psychological strain of constant air raid sirens that could spell death for them and their families.

As World Cup fever rises in the Americas, countries are urged to strengthen measles surveillance and vaccination amid ongoing outbreaks across the region. 

Nearly half of the population in Government-controlled areas of Yemen are facing high levels of acute food insecurity with the crisis set to deepen further if international aid cuts continue, according to the latest analysis by the leading UN-backed global food security platform.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is showing signs of progress – but significant challenges remain in testing, surveillance, vaccine development and building community trust. 

Months since Gaza’s nominal ceasefire began, Palestinians continue to be killed and maimed in drone and airstrikes, including the enclave’s police force which is crucial to peace and reconstruction efforts, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Wednesday.

Unsafe food causes an estimated 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths every year worldwide, highlighting the often-overlooked toll of contaminated food on health, development and fragile economies, according to new data from the UN health agency.

The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman was elected President of the UN General Assembly’s 81st session on Tuesday after defeating Andreas Kakouris of Cyprus in a closely contested vote, positioning himself to steer the world body through a pivotal year marked by intensifying global crises, UN reform efforts and major leadership transitions.

As the world approaches nine years since the mass displacement of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar into Bangladesh, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has appealed to the international community not to abandon the 1.2 million refugees living in the country, most of them in camps in Cox’s Bazar.

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Tuesday welcomed the opening of two specialised judicial units in Haiti, saying the move marked “a significant step toward tackling widespread impunity in the country.” 

Monday’s hastily convened meeting of the UN Security Council at the request of France in response to escalating violence in Lebanon between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants has underlined deepening international concern as the conflict intensifies, despite ongoing US mediation efforts.

Escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to impact civilians and efforts to fight Ebola, UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Tuesday. 

Women and girls in Lebanon are paying an increasingly devastating price as violence and displacement continue despite a ceasefire, the UN reproductive health agency (UNFPA) warned on Tuesday.

The UN urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems after confirming the onset of El Niño, warning that the Pacific Ocean-warming phenomenon will bring above-average temperatures “nearly everywhere” and fuel more extreme weather.

Overnight attacks in three key cities in Ukraine have left several civilians dead, scores more injured, and homes, hospitals and shops destroyed or damaged, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country said on Tuesday. 

Four nurses who fell ill with Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been discharged from hospital after recovering from the often-fatal illness that sparked an international health alert. 

As hostilities escalate in Lebanon despite a recent ceasefire extension, the United Nations continues to push for peace and support displaced civilians by providing food, protection and other assistance.

A UN peacekeeper serving in Lebanon died early Thursday after mortar fire on his position near Marjayoun in the country’s southeast, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has announced.

Months since Gaza’s nominal ceasefire began, Palestinians continue to be killed and maimed in drone and airstrikes, including the enclave’s police force which is crucial to peace and reconstruction efforts, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Wednesday.

The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.

Monday’s hastily convened meeting of the UN Security Council at the request of France in response to escalating violence in Lebanon between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants has underlined deepening international concern as the conflict intensifies, despite ongoing US mediation efforts.

Women and girls in Lebanon are paying an increasingly devastating price as violence and displacement continue despite a ceasefire, the UN reproductive health agency (UNFPA) warned on Tuesday.

As hostilities escalate in Lebanon despite a recent ceasefire extension, the United Nations continues to push for peace and support displaced civilians by providing food, protection and other assistance.

The Security Council meets late on Monday at France’s request, as concern grows over escalating violence in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah amid warnings of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, and confusion over the status of US-Iran peace talks linked to the faltering ceasefires. Follow live here from New York. 

Matches organised by a former professional player are providing a brief respite from the harsh reality of life for the thousands living in overcrowded tents, schools or damaged buildings in the shattered Occupied Palestinian Territory of Gaza.

The dire conditions in the Gaza Strip are trapping children “in an endless cycle of suffering” and their heartbroken parents can only look on, an official with the UN child rights agency UNICEF said on Friday in a fresh appeal for greater humanitarian access to support families in the war-ravaged enclave. 

At least 26 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip since Tuesday – the eve of one of the most important holidays in Islam – the UN human rights office, OHCHR, reported on Friday.

Intensified Israeli airstrikes overnight in Lebanon forced people to again flee their homes, while humanitarians in the Gaza Strip report continued restrictions in bringing aid into the enclave, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

In front of a simple tent in Gaza that offers no protection from the cold or the heat, in a crowded camp where tents lack privacy and basic services, Umm Ahmad sat down to speak to UN News about her life in Gaza before the war and what it has become now. 

Dire conditions in Gaza marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of infectious disease are being made worse by blockages of essential medical supplies, UN agencies warned on Friday.

The Security Council is discussing the stalled progress in Gaza as the fragile ceasefire there limps on, and deteriorating conditions across the West Bank amid continued civilian casualties and mounting humanitarian needs. Discussions are likely to focus on who governs Gaza, and how – with no disarmament in sight, together with efforts to support recovery.

As Gaza’s fragile ceasefire frays and humanitarian conditions deteriorate, a senior UN envoy warned the Security Council on Thursday that delays in implementing the Council-backed transition plan for the enclave will only increase suffering and undermine recovery.

Before heading to strike sites in war-torn Lebanon, rescue workers and paramedics often say goodbye to one another – a ritual captured in widely shared videos reflecting the growing dangers faced by aid workers since hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel erupted on 2 March.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday strongly condemned Israel’s decision to establish military facilities at a seized UNRWA compound in occupied East Jerusalem, calling the move “wholly unacceptable”.

The UN Security Council is meeting in emergency session in New York to discuss the situation in the Middle East following reports of a drone strike near the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi briefed members as concerns grow over nuclear safety and security in the region. Follow our live coverage below for updates and for coverage of all key meetings at UN Headquarters, go here.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has reduced the scale of violence in the Gaza Strip but killings and destruction continue, while forced displacement in the occupied West Bank has reached a rate “unseen in decades”, a senior official with the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Monday in Geneva.

The head of the UN atomic watchdog on Monday underscored the need to safeguard nuclear security in wartime, a day after a drone strike near a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Children in Ukraine have been profoundly impacted by years of war, sheltering in underground schools – or forced to study online – and living with the psychological strain of constant air raid sirens that could spell death for them and their families.

Overnight attacks in three key cities in Ukraine have left several civilians dead, scores more injured, and homes, hospitals and shops destroyed or damaged, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country said on Tuesday. 

The United Nations continues to warn against the dangerous escalation in the war in Ukraine, a senior official told the Security Council on Monday, underlining the need for restraint and dialogue. 

Every day in Kharkiv begins with uncertainty: air raid sirens interrupt sleep; missiles strike residential neighbourhoods, industrial sites, and roads. Anxious citizens rush into metro stations during bombardments and children study underground.

The UN Security Council is meeting in emergency session on Ukraine, with Secretary-General António Guterres telling ambassadors following what Kyiv describes as the most devastating attack on its capital to date, that “the time for peace is now.” In the early hours of 23-24 May, Russia launched a massive barrage of missiles and drones against multiple Ukrainian cities. Moscow has since threatened further sustained strikes. Sharp divisions among Council members are expected, with European nations demanding an immediate ceasefire while Russia insists its strikes target only military infrastructure.

The United Nations on Thursday warned of a dangerous escalation in the war in Ukraine after a wave of large-scale Russian strikes and threats of further attacks, with Secretary-General António Guterres saying “the death spiral must stop.”

The World Food Programme (WFP) has deplored a Russian attack on a warehouse in Dnipro, Ukraine that destroyed “a significant quantity” of food aid destined for thousands in frontline areas.

The overnight Russian attack on Ukraine, which centred on the capital, Kyiv, reportedly involved some 90 missiles, including a powerful hypersonic ballistic missile and 60 drones. The senior UN official in the country called for an end to civilian harm.

On 23 February 2022, in her home city of Kharkiv, Dr Inna Soldatenko finished work, collected her daughter from school, cooked dinner and prepared a lecture for her students. The next morning, she awoke to explosions.

The Security Council is meeting at the request of Russia which on Friday accused Ukraine of targeting a student dormitory overnight in the occupied Luhansk region, reportedly killing six people – including children – and injuring dozens. Kyiv has denied targeting the civilian building, saying it had struck a Russian military drone command headquarters, according to news reports. Follow live coverage below and for full meetings coverage of the council, click here.

The United Nations voiced alarm on Friday over reports of an overnight attack on a vocational school and dormitory in the town of Starobilsk in Ukraine’s Luhansk region which killed and injured multiple civilians, including children.

The war in Ukraine, now well into its fifth year, “is becoming deadlier by the day”, a senior UN official warned in a briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday. 

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. in Ukraine, Bernadette Castel-Hollingsworth, has reacted strongly to Russian military strikes on a civilian area of Kyiv on Thursday. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has verified more than 3,000 attacks on healthcare in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, the UN agency reported on Friday.

At least 70 civilians have been killed and more than 500 injured across Ukraine since the start of May, UN human rights monitors said on Wednesday, as waves of attacks hit cities across the country and humanitarian workers struggled to reach communities near the frontline.

The Security Council meets in emergency session at 3pm to address the escalating conflict in Ukraine. The open briefing follows a formal request from Kyiv citing a surge in Russian aerial bombardments, including devastating strikes on the city of Dnipro. Ukraine has reported that between late March and mid-April, more than 5,000 drones and missiles were launched, killing dozens of civilians and injuring hundreds more. Follow full meetings coverage below and UN News app users can follow here.

New data shows that nearly three in four countries in Europe now use Artificial Intelligence in their health services to make a diagnosis.

The latest wave of Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians in Dnipro, Kyiv and Odesa, which killed and injured scores of civilians, was roundly condemned by Matthias Schmale, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country.

A senior United Nations official on Monday hailed the European Union (EU) as “a major economic and diplomatic actor and a strong advocate of multilateralism.”  

Despite successful legislative elections in Kosovo late last year, a “delicate equilibrium” persists as deep divisions remain over the future of the United Nations presence in the region.

As World Cup fever rises in the Americas, countries are urged to strengthen measles surveillance and vaccination amid ongoing outbreaks across the region. 

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Tuesday welcomed the opening of two specialised judicial units in Haiti, saying the move marked “a significant step toward tackling widespread impunity in the country.” 

As gangs continue to “terrorise” communities in Haiti, children are the ones paying the highest price, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict warned on Thursday.

Around 30,000 people have had to flee their homes in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas following a new wave of violent attacks and atrocities perpetrated by armed gangs over the past ten days.

Record-breaking temperatures, deadly floods, worsening drought and intensifying hurricanes are placing millions of people across Latin America and the Caribbean at growing risk of hunger, displacement and water shortages, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). 

Hospitals across Cuba are suspending surgeries, struggling to keep lifesaving equipment running and facing severe medicine shortages as blackouts and fuel shortages push the country’s healthcare system deeper into crisis, senior UN officials warned on Friday.

Journalists working in Haiti are under constant threat of death or injury from rapidly expanding criminal gangs, as they continue to report news and information which they hope will help keep fellow citizens safe.

The Security Council is addressing the deepening crisis in Haiti on Thursday, centered on the Secretary-General’s latest report which highlights a security landscape of both intensified enforcement and rising civilian risk. While operations including by the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) between December and February resulted in the deaths of 1,343 suspected gang members, the humanitarian cost remains staggering. The UN Special Representative told ambassadors elections are the “only legitimate path” back to political stability, while his counterpart with the GSF said its success depends on “effective coordination”. Follow full meetings coverage below.

Mexican authorities must intensify efforts to end impunity, protect journalists and human rights defenders, and address the country’s “painful” crisis of disappearances, UN human rights chief Volker Türk has said.

While hope for peace is alive in Colombia as the country prepares for presidential elections, the Security Council on Tuesday heard that achieving it – and making it last – still requires the full implementation of a peace accord signed almost 10 years ago.

Six weeks since war erupted in the Middle East, the shockwaves have spread to the Caribbean region, already pushed to the brink, amid fears of a looming El Niño-linked climate disaster.

5.8 million Haitians, or roughly 52 per cent of the population, are facing crisis levels of food insecurity, or worse. Of those, more than 1.8 million are dealing with emergency levels, which means they are exhausting their last assets and unable to meet even basic food needs.

UN independent human rights experts called on Thursday for justice and accountability for young women and girls who were trafficked systematically as part of allegations contained in the so-called Epstein files.

Six-time Trinidad and Tobago archery champion, Anthurium Lewis, has told UN News how sport helped her overcome age barriers in environmental advocacy and how in the future it can contribute to reaching globally agreed poverty and sustainability goals.

Katerine Avella is a former combatant in Colombia’s decades-long civil war, a peace signatory and a community leader. After the guns fell silent, she created the fashion brand Ixora but, with violence returning to the region, Ms. Avella is now focusing on trying to keep the project afloat in the face of new challenges.

Haiti is facing “one of the most severe and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crises in the Western Hemisphere,” a senior UN aid official warned on Friday, underscoring the need for continued global attention to alleviate suffering there. 

The UN has issued an urgent call for international support as Cuba grapples with a ‘worsening’ humanitarian crisis fuelled by a prolonged energy blockade and the lingering devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa last year.

Deadly gangs in Haiti are expanding their reach to include control over key sea and road routes as police in the beleaguered Caribbean island nation are being accused of using “unnecessary and disproportionate lethal force and summary executions.”

At a time when some state laws dictated where different races could live, Parkway Village, built to house some of the first UN staff in New York in 1947, led the way in eliminating racially segregated housing in the United States.

The liberation of territory from gangs and a more “motivated and visible” police presence has provided a “glimmer of hope” for Haiti as the Caribbean island nation continues to struggle with violence, insecurity and poverty.

As the world approaches nine years since the mass displacement of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar into Bangladesh, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has appealed to the international community not to abandon the 1.2 million refugees living in the country, most of them in camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Cambodian activist Panha Theng, a 2025 UN Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals, says visibility and safe spaces remain critical for LGBTQI+ youth across Southeast Asia amid continuing stigma and discrimination.

Afghanistan’s deepening malnutrition crisis is pushing mothers and children to the brink, the UN World Food Programme has warned, as mass returns from neighbouring countries and severe funding shortfalls overwhelm already strained humanitarian operations.

Afghanistan’s humanitarian and economic crisis is deepening despite modest economic growth, with nearly three in four people unable to meet basic needs, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said on Wednesday.

Serious human rights violations continue in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and must not be allowed to fade from international attention, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned on Wednesday.

More than 150,000 people have been affected by Tropical Cyclone Maila, the latest storm in the Pacific area, which continues to drive what the UN relief coordination office OCHA has described as “significant humanitarian needs” across the Solomon Islands.

A Thai woman who spent more than 20 years in prison after being found guilty of drugs trafficking – including eight on death row – has told the UN how learning to sew helped her find meaning in life behind bars, and a job when she was released.

Indonesia is expecting a “strengthened multilateral system that delivers real impact on the ground,” as one of the key outcomes of the ongoing reform of the United Nations, that’s according to the country’s outgoing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Cooperation, Tri Tharyat.

Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan was once the Soviet Union’s primary testing ground for nuclear weapons. Today, in an age of rising nuclear threats, the Semipalatinsk Treaty – which saw a group of Central Asian countries renounce nuclear weapons in 2006 – is more relevant than ever.

The continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea remain “a matter of serious concern,” the UN’s political affairs chief told the Security Council on Thursday. 

As the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu battles rising sea levels that threaten to put large parts of the island entirely underwater by the end of this century, its citizens are making efforts to safeguard their future while preparing for the worst impacts of climate change. 

In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, making it the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.

For Pacific Island countries, the Middle East crisis is not a distant geopolitical event. It is already showing up in higher fuel prices, electricity uncertainty and fears that communities sitting at the far end of global supply chains could be pushed into deeper economic insecurity.

A “new wave of global instability is hitting Myanmar at the worst possible moment,” a UN official in the country warned on Friday, as increases in fuel, food, and fertilizer prices due to the ongoing Middle East conflict push vulnerable families closer to hunger one year after a devastating earthquake.  

Domestic violence was not something people spoke about openly in Kyrgyzstan in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but after a long road of dedicated efforts, there are now laws addressing family abuse, crisis centres and hotlines while human rights defenders tackle such new challenges as sexual slavery.

The fallout from the war in the Middle East is rippling far beyond the Gulf, disrupting fuel supplies, shipping routes and supply chains across Asia and the Pacific, with some of the region’s most vulnerable economies already feeling the strain through rising prices, rationing and threats to jobs, food security and remittances.

Top UN officials condemned on Tuesday Pakistan’s overnight strike on a rehab centre that reportedly killed at least 400 people in Kabul, according to Taliban authorities, and injured more than 250 others.

The Sawyers from Australia were never really interested in volatile investing. As their retirement age approached, the idea of a low-risk investment for their pension seemed attractive. But one day, after clicking on a seemingly legitimate online advert that offered a reasonable risk-averse plan, they unlocked a process that would lead them to lose over $2.5 million.

More than five years after Myanmar’s military coup, international resolve to hold the junta accountable must not weaken, an independent human rights expert warned on Friday, as escalating violence and growing humanitarian needs push millions of civilians deeper into crisis.

Crises in the region on both Afghanistan’s longest borders are undermining the country’s stability, a senior UN official warned the Security Council on Monday as concerns over Middle East crisis grow amid clashes with Pakistan and a worsening humanitarian crisis.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is showing signs of progress – but significant challenges remain in testing, surveillance, vaccine development and building community trust. 

Nearly half of the population in Government-controlled areas of Yemen are facing high levels of acute food insecurity with the crisis set to deepen further if international aid cuts continue, according to the latest analysis by the leading UN-backed global food security platform.

Four nurses who fell ill with Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been discharged from hospital after recovering from the often-fatal illness that sparked an international health alert. 

Community trust will be decisive in bringing the rapidly evolving Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo under control, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday, as health teams race to contain the emergency that has spread across multiple provinces and into neighbouring Uganda.

Two weeks into the latest deadly Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are now 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) headed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Thursday as the country continues to combat a deadly resurgence of Ebola in its volatile eastern region where instability is rife. 

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday warned that eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo faces a “catastrophic collision of disease and conflict” as a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak outpaces containment efforts in a region already battered by armed violence, mass displacement and acute hunger.

As a deadly Ebola strain continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with cases confirmed in neighbouring Uganda, the UN aviation agency is urging governments and flight operators to closely follow guidelines put in place following the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are more than 900 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and 220 suspected deaths, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, said on Monday.

The UN is rushing emergency personnel, funding and supplies into eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to counter the fast-growing Ebola outbreak spreading through conflict-ravaged provinces.

United Nations agencies have moved swiftly to support efforts to contain the latest Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), delivering emergency medical supplies, protective equipment and logistics support.

The deadly Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda does not represent a global pandemic emergency, although the risk is high at a regional and national level, the UN health agency chief said on Wednesday.

Facing a fast-moving Ebola outbreak caused by a rare strain of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) is relying on a rapid, community-centred response to halt transmission in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, a senior official has told UN News.

A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has health workers rushing to stop transmission while the roll out of any potential vaccine is months away, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. 

A day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo an international emergency, top global disease transmission experts stressed that the chances of another global pandemic similar to the 2019 coronavirus emergency are increasing all the time.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, citing rising cases, cross-border spread and significant uncertainties about the scale of the epidemic.

At least six million people in Somalia are going days without enough food, UN aid teams warned on Friday, highlighting that nearly two million of this number are young children “at high risk of illness or death”.

Ten-year-old Shadrac Anyazaka does not hesitate when asked about his future. “After finishing my studies, I would like to become President of the Republic one day,” he tells visitors to his school in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Nearly 20 million people across Sudan are facing acute hunger and more than 800,000 children risk severe malnutrition this year, UN agencies warned on Friday, as civil war, mass displacement and collapsing food and health systems deepen one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and push parts of the country closer to famine.

Africa’s rising influence is being constrained by outdated global institutions, unfair borrowing costs and cascading global crises, UN Secretary‑General António Guterres warned in Addis Ababa, as the United Nations and African Union reaffirmed their strategic partnership.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is showing signs of progress – but significant challenges remain in testing, surveillance, vaccine development and building community trust. 

As World Cup fever rises in the Americas, countries are urged to strengthen measles surveillance and vaccination amid ongoing outbreaks across the region. 

Nearly half of the population in Government-controlled areas of Yemen are facing high levels of acute food insecurity with the crisis set to deepen further if international aid cuts continue, according to the latest analysis by the leading UN-backed global food security platform.

Unsafe food causes an estimated 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths every year worldwide, highlighting the often-overlooked toll of contaminated food on health, development and fragile economies, according to new data from the UN health agency.

The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.

Four nurses who fell ill with Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been discharged from hospital after recovering from the often-fatal illness that sparked an international health alert. 

Community trust will be decisive in bringing the rapidly evolving Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo under control, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday, as health teams race to contain the emergency that has spread across multiple provinces and into neighbouring Uganda.

Two weeks into the latest deadly Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are now 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) headed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Thursday as the country continues to combat a deadly resurgence of Ebola in its volatile eastern region where instability is rife. 

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday warned that eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo faces a “catastrophic collision of disease and conflict” as a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak outpaces containment efforts in a region already battered by armed violence, mass displacement and acute hunger.

As a deadly Ebola strain continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with cases confirmed in neighbouring Uganda, the UN aviation agency is urging governments and flight operators to closely follow guidelines put in place following the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are more than 900 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and 220 suspected deaths, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, said on Monday.

The recent Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks demonstrate that the world is still vulnerable to rapidly spreading infectious diseases, Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), warned on Saturday at the close of the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva.

The UN is rushing emergency personnel, funding and supplies into eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to counter the fast-growing Ebola outbreak spreading through conflict-ravaged provinces.

United Nations agencies have moved swiftly to support efforts to contain the latest Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), delivering emergency medical supplies, protective equipment and logistics support.

Before heading to strike sites in war-torn Lebanon, rescue workers and paramedics often say goodbye to one another – a ritual captured in widely shared videos reflecting the growing dangers faced by aid workers since hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel erupted on 2 March.

The deadly Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda does not represent a global pandemic emergency, although the risk is high at a regional and national level, the UN health agency chief said on Wednesday.

Facing a fast-moving Ebola outbreak caused by a rare strain of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) is relying on a rapid, community-centred response to halt transmission in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, a senior official has told UN News.

A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has health workers rushing to stop transmission while the roll out of any potential vaccine is months away, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. 

A day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo an international emergency, top global disease transmission experts stressed that the chances of another global pandemic similar to the 2019 coronavirus emergency are increasing all the time.

A closely watched Security Council election delivered a mix of continuity and change on Wednesday, as Austria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, Zimbabwe – and first-time member Kyrgyzstan, secured seats around the iconic horseshoe table.

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman was elected President of the UN General Assembly’s 81st session on Tuesday after defeating Andreas Kakouris of Cyprus in a closely contested vote, positioning himself to steer the world body through a pivotal year marked by intensifying global crises, UN reform efforts and major leadership transitions.

Peacekeepers are serving in a dangerous era of mounting global tensions and tight resources. UN chief António Guterres is now calling for greater political backing and reliable financial support for ‘blue helmets’ who put themselves in harm’s way.

UN chief António Guterres has outlined further progress in the wide-ranging UN80 Initiative, a major reform and restructuring project aimed at making the global body more effective, agile and better equipped to respond to global challenges.

The UN Charter is facing one of its gravest tests in decades, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Tuesday, warning that wars, arms races, climate shocks and the erosion of international law are placing intense pressure on the multilateral system established to prevent a third world war.

A landmark gathering of more than 57,000 participants – the largest in the history of the World Urban Forum – closed on Friday in Baku with an urgent call to rethink how the world houses its people, as a new roadmap urges governments, cities and communities to act collectively on a crisis affecting billions.

From AI-powered transit systems to digital twins and flood-proof parks, cities are embracing technology at an unprecedented scale. But as innovation accelerates, experts warn that inclusion, trust and security will determine who truly benefits.

The UN Secretary-General on Wednesday underscored the need to effectively re-open the Strait of Hormuz and expand UN Security Council membership to curb the impunity of veto-wielding “superpowers”.

From Thailand to Jordan, from Brazil to Germany, new approaches to housing are quietly taking shape. Residents of informal settlements once facing eviction are rebuilding their communities with State support. Refugees and host communities are reclaiming neglected spaces, turning them greener and safer. In Brazil, favelas are being upgraded rather than torn down, while in Germany, rent controls are helping to steady the market.

A missed warning sign. A forged cheque. A passport confiscated in a foreign country. Within months, the life Latyr Thioye had built began to unravel.

Now is the time to place housing at the heart of sustainable development. That was the message delivered on Monday by UN Secretary General António Guterres to participants at a global forum on urban sustainability under way this week in Baku.

Ministers, mayors, international organisations, urban planners and experts are in Baku, Azerbaijan, to tackle one of the world’s fastest-growing challenges: the global housing crisis, which, according to the United Nations, affects nearly 2.8 billion people worldwide.

Africa’s rising influence is being constrained by outdated global institutions, unfair borrowing costs and cascading global crises, UN Secretary‑General António Guterres warned in Addis Ababa, as the United Nations and African Union reaffirmed their strategic partnership.

The United Nations on Monday launched a major expansion of its Nairobi headquarters, with Secretary-General António Guterres and Kenyan President William Ruto marking what officials described as a significant milestone for the Organization’s presence in Africa.

The United Nations Victims’ Rights Advocate has called for stronger and sustained action on behalf of the people she serves across the UN system.

The American businessman, media mogul and philanthropist Ted Turner is being remembered by the United Nations for his long-standing support for the Organization and its values. 

With spending on advertising topping $1 trillion a year worldwide, the United Nations on Wednesday highlighted the untapped power of major brands to shape the future of Artificial Intelligence, warning that a failure to act could deepen a global information integrity crisis.

A new guide to the UN80 Initiative, released on Wednesday, provides an overview of the progress being made so far on this ambitious, wide-ranging reform effort.

The four candidates so far in the running to be the next UN Secretary-General will each have the chance to show why they are the best choice during a series of “interactive dialogues” taking place at UN Headquarters in New York this week.

The choice of the tenth UN Secretary-General, who will take office in January 2027, could shape global diplomacy, the response to crises across the world and the direction of the multilateral system for the next decade.

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Tuesday welcomed the opening of two specialised judicial units in Haiti, saying the move marked “a significant step toward tackling widespread impunity in the country.” 

As gangs continue to “terrorise” communities in Haiti, children are the ones paying the highest price, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict warned on Thursday.

The UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday ruled that the right to strike is protected under a core International Labour Organization (ILO) convention, in a landmark advisory opinion settling a long-running dispute between workers and employers worldwide.

A Thai woman who spent more than 20 years in prison after being found guilty of drugs trafficking – including eight on death row – has told the UN how learning to sew helped her find meaning in life behind bars, and a job when she was released.

The United Nations Victims’ Rights Advocate has called for stronger and sustained action on behalf of the people she serves across the UN system.

The world is at a “moment of crisis” and countries must reaffirm commitment to international law amid rising violations and geopolitical tensions, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at an event on Friday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). 

Syria has made “remarkable progress” on transitional justice within the past year, raising hopes for accountability and recovery after more than a decade of civil conflict.

Domestic violence was not something people spoke about openly in Kyrgyzstan in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but after a long road of dedicated efforts, there are now laws addressing family abuse, crisis centres and hotlines while human rights defenders tackle such new challenges as sexual slavery.

She woke up to messages flooding her phone. Doctored images of her, sexualised and viral, had spread while she slept.

The Sawyers from Australia were never really interested in volatile investing. As their retirement age approached, the idea of a low-risk investment for their pension seemed attractive. But one day, after clicking on a seemingly legitimate online advert that offered a reasonable risk-averse plan, they unlocked a process that would lead them to lose over $2.5 million.

Haiti remains mired in a multidimensional crisis marked by weak institutions, political uncertainty, widespread gang violence and overwhelming humanitarian needs, but a recent new agreement by political groups offers “a moment of hope and progress for the Haitian people”, according to the UN’s most senior official in the Caribbean country.

An international early warning system blocked a shipment of chemicals used to make fentanyl that could have produced up to 1.6 billion potentially lethal doses, the UN narcotics control body said on Thursday.

A 16-year-old Haitian boy has been talking about how he was lured into working for a criminal gang but then threatened with death when he said he would not fight against the police.

There has been an “alarming increase” in the number of children being recruited into gangs in Haiti with “devastating consequences” for children, families and society as a whole, the UN reported on Friday.

A sprawling online scam industry worth an estimated tens of billions of dollars a year is being powered by trafficked workers subjected to torture, sexual abuse and forced labour inside heavily guarded compounds in Southeast Asia, a new UN human rights report has found.

A majority of parliamentarians worldwide are facing threats and abuse from voters, according to a new report released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which found that 71 per cent of lawmakers surveyed experienced violence from the public – whether offline, online or both.

Fish fraud is widespread in markets, grocers and restaurants around the world, but a growing number of innovative tools are turning the tide, according to a new report published on Tuesday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Haiti is facing one of the world’s most acute humanitarian crises, driven by escalating gang violence, political paralysis, and deep economic distress.

In 2011, a trafficker in Chile was convicted for recruiting economically vulnerable Peruvian citizens and arranging for them to be brought into the country – destined to become victims of sexual exploitation. 

Atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region are spreading from town to town in an organized campaign of violence that includes mass executions, rape and ethnic targeting, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court told the UN Security Council on Monday.

Children in Ukraine have been profoundly impacted by years of war, sheltering in underground schools – or forced to study online – and living with the psychological strain of constant air raid sirens that could spell death for them and their families.

Escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to impact civilians and efforts to fight Ebola, UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Tuesday. 

Years after conflicts fade from the headlines, the weapons used to fight them often continue to circulate – crossing borders, fuelling crime and undermining an often-fragile peace. Now, ghost guns, 3D-printed firearms and increasingly sophisticated trafficking networks are creating new challenges for governments worldwide.

Families in Gaza living on or near the so-called Yellow Line controlled by the Israeli military have told the UN they live in constant fear of being killed or injured.

Blocking children from social media is no substitute for making platforms safe in the first place, the UN human rights office warned Friday, as it issued a 10-point framework urging governments and tech companies to go further and faster to protect children online.

At least 26 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip since Tuesday – the eve of one of the most important holidays in Islam – the UN human rights office, OHCHR, reported on Friday.

In front of a simple tent in Gaza that offers no protection from the cold or the heat, in a crowded camp where tents lack privacy and basic services, Umm Ahmad sat down to speak to UN News about her life in Gaza before the war and what it has become now. 

The UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday ruled that the right to strike is protected under a core International Labour Organization (ILO) convention, in a landmark advisory opinion settling a long-running dispute between workers and employers worldwide.

Violence and discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people are widespread, including at school, where 45 per cent of LGBT youth report being bullied.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has reduced the scale of violence in the Gaza Strip but killings and destruction continue, while forced displacement in the occupied West Bank has reached a rate “unseen in decades”, a senior official with the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Monday in Geneva.

Cambodian activist Panha Theng, a 2025 UN Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals, says visibility and safe spaces remain critical for LGBTQI+ youth across Southeast Asia amid continuing stigma and discrimination.

Afghanistan’s deepening malnutrition crisis is pushing mothers and children to the brink, the UN World Food Programme has warned, as mass returns from neighbouring countries and severe funding shortfalls overwhelm already strained humanitarian operations.

The Secretary-General is alarmed that a clearly marked United Nations vehicle was struck twice in Kherson city in Ukraine on 14 May, his spokesperson said in a statement.

Serious human rights violations continue in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and must not be allowed to fade from international attention, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned on Wednesday.

More than 26.5 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are facing acute hunger, according to a new analysis from UN-backed food security experts published Tuesday.

Israeli military operations and surging settler attacks in the occupied West Bank are killing and maiming a growing number of Palestinian children, while in Gaza tens of thousands with life-changing injuries lack access to treatment and rehabilitation, UN agencies warned on Tuesday.

Drones caused more than 80 per cent of civilian deaths in Sudan’s war during the first four months of 2026, killing at least 880 people, the UN human rights chief said on Monday, warning that escalating drone warfare could push the conflict into an even deadlier phase. 

UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Monday praised Mongolia’s recent human rights progress during a visit to the country, which recently adopted the region’s first law protecting human rights defenders.

A Thai woman who spent more than 20 years in prison after being found guilty of drugs trafficking – including eight on death row – has told the UN how learning to sew helped her find meaning in life behind bars, and a job when she was released.

In Somalia’s Puntland region, dried out watering holes, animal carcasses and old pots filled with ash have become part of the landscape as worsening drought conditions deepen a growing hunger crisis.

Months since Gaza’s nominal ceasefire began, Palestinians continue to be killed and maimed in drone and airstrikes, including the enclave’s police force which is crucial to peace and reconstruction efforts, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Wednesday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed alarm on Tuesday over reported overnight exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran, as well as reports that Iran targeted Kuwait and Bahrain.

Nearly half of the population in Government-controlled areas of Yemen are facing high levels of acute food insecurity with the crisis set to deepen further if international aid cuts continue, according to the latest analysis by the leading UN-backed global food security platform.

The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.

Overnight attacks in three key cities in Ukraine have left several civilians dead, scores more injured, and homes, hospitals and shops destroyed or damaged, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country said on Tuesday. 

As the world approaches nine years since the mass displacement of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar into Bangladesh, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has appealed to the international community not to abandon the 1.2 million refugees living in the country, most of them in camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to impact civilians and efforts to fight Ebola, UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Tuesday. 

As hostilities escalate in Lebanon despite a recent ceasefire extension, the United Nations continues to push for peace and support displaced civilians by providing food, protection and other assistance.

Families in Gaza living on or near the so-called Yellow Line controlled by the Israeli military have told the UN they live in constant fear of being killed or injured.

Two weeks into the latest deadly Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are now 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.

The dire conditions in the Gaza Strip are trapping children “in an endless cycle of suffering” and their heartbroken parents can only look on, an official with the UN child rights agency UNICEF said on Friday in a fresh appeal for greater humanitarian access to support families in the war-ravaged enclave. 

At least 26 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip since Tuesday – the eve of one of the most important holidays in Islam – the UN human rights office, OHCHR, reported on Friday.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has deplored a Russian attack on a warehouse in Dnipro, Ukraine that destroyed “a significant quantity” of food aid destined for thousands in frontline areas.

Intensified Israeli airstrikes overnight in Lebanon forced people to again flee their homes, while humanitarians in the Gaza Strip report continued restrictions in bringing aid into the enclave, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

The United Nations is raising alarm over continued drone attacks in Sudan’s Darfur region after multiple strikes reportedly killed civilians and intensified fears for communities already trapped by the brutal conflict between rival militaries.

In front of a simple tent in Gaza that offers no protection from the cold or the heat, in a crowded camp where tents lack privacy and basic services, Umm Ahmad sat down to speak to UN News about her life in Gaza before the war and what it has become now. 

Dire conditions in Gaza marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of infectious disease are being made worse by blockages of essential medical supplies, UN agencies warned on Friday.

Before heading to strike sites in war-torn Lebanon, rescue workers and paramedics often say goodbye to one another – a ritual captured in widely shared videos reflecting the growing dangers faced by aid workers since hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel erupted on 2 March.

Around 30,000 people have had to flee their homes in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas following a new wave of violent attacks and atrocities perpetrated by armed gangs over the past ten days.

The Representative of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, in Ukraine has strongly condemned the deadly and destructive Russian missile and drone strikes in Dnipro on Tuesday night. 

Matches organised by a former professional player are providing a brief respite from the harsh reality of life for the thousands living in overcrowded tents, schools or damaged buildings in the shattered Occupied Palestinian Territory of Gaza.

With the World Cup just days away, 16 greats of the game have been appointed Football for the Goals (FFTG) Champions, using their profiles to raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and advocate for a better future for people and the planet.

A symbolic team of famous footballers with first hand experience of life as a refugee was announced on Tuesday by UNHCR, just weeks ahead of the world’s biggest sporting event – the FIFA Men’s World Cup.

Ten-year-old Shadrac Anyazaka does not hesitate when asked about his future. “After finishing my studies, I would like to become President of the Republic one day,” he tells visitors to his school in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Eighty years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, artist Sandy Walker believes art still has the power to cut through abstraction and confront people with the human reality of nuclear violence. Inspired by the writings of Hiroshima survivor Tamiki Hara, Walker’s work seeks to transform historical catastrophe into intimate acts of memory, grief and attention. 

War in the Middle East has made Lebanon the deadliest country for media workers so far this year, but practically no country offers a safe environment in which to be a journalist, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

A month after completing their historic flyby of the Moon, the astronauts from NASA’s Artemis II mission landed at UN Headquarters in New York this week with a message that sounded like a reminder: humanity is capable of extraordinary things when it acts together.  

An independent organization for journalists in Sudan has been honoured for its commitment “to deliver accurate, lifesaving information” amid the ongoing civil war, the UN educational and cultural agency UNESCO announced on Thursday. 

Jazz music can bring people together and promote freedom, humanity and love according to a contemporary musician practicing his art in New York City.

Since the Middle East war started on 28 February, several sites of major cultural significance have come under attack in Israel, Iran and Lebanon. Ensuring their protection is the task of the UN agency for education, science and culture, UNESCO. 

The world of football met the world of diplomacy this week as Brazilian World Cup legend Zico touched down at UN Headquarters in New York. 

The 2026 World Cup final will take place at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, a few miles away from UN Headquarters where, on Wednesday, elite athletes and sports administrators spoke about the power of football and other international sports to change the world for the better.

The number of children and young people out of school worldwide has climbed for the seventh consecutive year, reaching 273 million, according to a new report from the UN education agency, UNESCO. 

Since the outbreak of war on 28 February, several unique sites of cultural significance have been damaged in Iran, Israel and Lebanon, alongside immense suffering, displacement and death.

Around two-thirds of children worldwide report an increase in cyberbullying, with one in two say they don’t know how to get the right support, according to a recent poll carried out by the UN’s top official who works to end violence against children. 

From delivery couriers compelled to follow the demands of online platform algorithms to content moderators who confront pornography and death every day while training artificial intelligence (AI) systems, the impact of new technologies on working conditions is becoming increasingly obvious.

16-year-old Raul John Aju – dubbed the “AI Kid of India” at home – is a business prodigy who advises government and industry and has created several innovative AI tools. 

Children in Gaza are voicing their demands for the future through a UN-run initiative that seeks to amplify their voices and restore the “fundamentals of childhood”.

Creators worldwide are facing mounting financial pressures as rapid advances in digital technologies and artificial intelligence continue to transform the cultural and creative industries, according to a new global report released by the UN culture agency, UNESCO, on Wednesday. 

Even as the world fixates on ever‑brighter screens and sprawling digital feeds, radio endures with a quiet resilience, shaping how we share experience and understand one another. Its waves travel where sight cannot, pairing with cutting‑edge innovation in some places and acting as a lone, indispensable lifeline in others when technology fails to keep pace.

Every day in Kharkiv begins with uncertainty: air raid sirens interrupt sleep; missiles strike residential neighbourhoods, industrial sites, and roads. Anxious citizens rush into metro stations during bombardments and children study underground.

A landmark gathering of more than 57,000 participants – the largest in the history of the World Urban Forum – closed on Friday in Baku with an urgent call to rethink how the world houses its people, as a new roadmap urges governments, cities and communities to act collectively on a crisis affecting billions.

From AI-powered transit systems to digital twins and flood-proof parks, cities are embracing technology at an unprecedented scale. But as innovation accelerates, experts warn that inclusion, trust and security will determine who truly benefits.

From Thailand to Jordan, from Brazil to Germany, new approaches to housing are quietly taking shape. Residents of informal settlements once facing eviction are rebuilding their communities with State support. Refugees and host communities are reclaiming neglected spaces, turning them greener and safer. In Brazil, favelas are being upgraded rather than torn down, while in Germany, rent controls are helping to steady the market.

A missed warning sign. A forged cheque. A passport confiscated in a foreign country. Within months, the life Latyr Thioye had built began to unravel.

The fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran may have eased fears of a wider regional war, but persistent instability around the Strait of Hormuz continues to disrupt global trade, drive up energy costs and fuel a growing jobs and cost-of-living crisis.

The global economy is entering a more fragile period as geopolitical conflicts, rising energy costs and financial instability threaten global growth and trade. 

Now is the time to place housing at the heart of sustainable development. That was the message delivered on Monday by UN Secretary General António Guterres to participants at a global forum on urban sustainability under way this week in Baku.

Ministers, mayors, international organisations, urban planners and experts are in Baku, Azerbaijan, to tackle one of the world’s fastest-growing challenges: the global housing crisis, which, according to the United Nations, affects nearly 2.8 billion people worldwide.

Soaring housing costs, climate shocks and conflicts are leaving millions without adequate shelter – but what can be done? As the 13th UN World Urban Forum opens on Sunday in Baku, Azerbaijan, participants will grapple with solutions to a deepening global housing crisis.

Disruptions to global energy supplies and trade corridors are driving up the cost of food, transport and essential goods worldwide, slowing economic growth and increasing pressure on vulnerable households and debt-strapped developing countries.

A feasibility study is underway to examine whether Gaza’s war debris could be recycled to reclaim coastal land and build artificial islands, as part of reconstruction.

Afghanistan’s humanitarian and economic crisis is deepening despite modest economic growth, with nearly three in four people unable to meet basic needs, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said on Wednesday.

Economic inequality is leaving a deep mark on children’s health, learning and future opportunities – with effects felt well beyond the classroom, the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF and the UN education agency UNESCO warned on Tuesday. 

Africa continues to advance and demands investment at scale, justice in global systems, and partnerships grounded in respect, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.

As global electricity demand grows, so does the popularity of nuclear energy. In the Middle East, several countries are evaluating or advancing nuclear power projects, balancing weighty issues such as regional security, climatic conditions and international cooperation.

For decades, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been used as a benchmark of society’s progress. Yet, as the GDP figures keep ticking up, so too does a profound disenchantment with the political and economic systems tasked with serving the public. Is it time to find a new way to measure what really matters?

It can be annoying when the wifi signal is cut, but what about if everything digital we rely on were to crash suddenly – from satellites to life-support systems in hospitals?

The escalating crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could push tens of millions into poverty, trigger a surge in global hunger and even tip the world towards recession, the UN Secretary-General warned on Thursday.

With spending on advertising topping $1 trillion a year worldwide, the United Nations on Wednesday highlighted the untapped power of major brands to shape the future of Artificial Intelligence, warning that a failure to act could deepen a global information integrity crisis.

Women and girls in Lebanon are paying an increasingly devastating price as violence and displacement continue despite a ceasefire, the UN reproductive health agency (UNFPA) warned on Tuesday.

Nearly 10,000 cases of conflict-related sexual violence were recorded worldwide last year – more than double the previous year's figure – as rape, sexual slavery and abduction were deployed as weapons of war across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Caribbean.

Thirteen-year-old Mona still remembers the moment the second airstrike hit.

Afghanistan’s deepening malnutrition crisis is pushing mothers and children to the brink, the UN World Food Programme has warned, as mass returns from neighbouring countries and severe funding shortfalls overwhelm already strained humanitarian operations.

Many women in eastern Chad are being forced to give birth in overcrowded clinics with limited medicine, minimal equipment and severe shortages of anesthesia, as a worsening humanitarian crisis overwhelms the country’s fragile healthcare system, the UN reproductive health agency, UNFPA, warned on Tuesday.

Reports of online violence against women journalists have doubled since 2020, with serious impacts on their health and well-being, according to a study published ahead of World Press Freedom Day marked annually on 3 May. 

Restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment in Afghanistan could leave the country with a deficit of over 25,000 female teachers and health workers by 2030, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday. 

On a red running track in eastern Uganda, coach Zuena Cheptoek is doing more than training runners. For many girls in the Sebei subregion, she is also a confidante, a mentor and first line of protection against female genital mutilation, child marriage and abuse.

The war in Gaza has inflicted a far higher toll on women and girls than in previous conflicts in the Palestinian enclave, with more than 38,000 killed by Israeli air bombardment and land military operations since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in October 2023, UN Women said on Friday.

Across war-torn Sudan, women and girls “are telling a consistent story of continued experience of danger, and risks for gender-based violence” whether when fleeing to safety or arriving at displacement camps, a senior official with the UN reproductive and sexual health agency UNFPA said on Friday.

UN independent human rights experts called on Thursday for justice and accountability for young women and girls who were trafficked systematically as part of allegations contained in the so-called Epstein files.

For 25 years, the world has made significant progress in advancing women’s right to health, particularly in sexual and reproductive care. Women are living longer than ever before – but they are not living better.

The Secretary-General’s commitment towards women leadership in the United Nations was recognized at a pivotal moment marked by global uncertainty, economic volatility and increasing pressure on hard-won rights.

Domestic violence was not something people spoke about openly in Kyrgyzstan in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but after a long road of dedicated efforts, there are now laws addressing family abuse, crisis centres and hotlines while human rights defenders tackle such new challenges as sexual slavery.

More than two years of unrelenting violence, displacement and loss have pushed children and young people in Palestine into what one UN official describes as a “profound mental health emergency”, with girls facing heightened risks, including a resurgence in child marriage.

UN Women will continue delivering for Afghan women and girls despite sweeping restrictions and ongoing instability, a senior official said on Tuesday.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Thursday he was appalled by the devastating impact on civilians of increasing drone attacks in Sudan, amid reports that more than 200 civilians have been killed by drones since 4 March alone, in the Kordofan region and White Nile state.

The UN chief on Tuesday applauded civil society groups for “shaking the foundations of privilege” in a male-dominated world, addressing a range of questions during a townhall meeting on the margins of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) at UN Headquarters.

Welcome to our live coverage of International Women’s Day 2026 and the opening of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women at UN Headquarters in New York. Throughout the day, we will bring you updates, reactions and key moments from global leaders, diplomats and advocates gathering at the UN, alongside stories and reports from the field across the UN system, as communities around the world mark International Women's Day and advance the theme “Rights. Justice. Action” for all women and girls. UN News app users can follow the coverage here.

Access to justice for women and girls dominated the agenda on Monday as the Commission on the Status of Women opened its 70th session at UN Headquarters in New York. Government officials, civil society representatives and UN leaders called for renewed efforts to dismantle the discrimination and legal obstacles that continue to limit women’s and girls’ rights worldwide.

A UN peacekeeper serving in Lebanon died early Thursday after mortar fire on his position near Marjayoun in the country’s southeast, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has announced.

Children in Ukraine have been profoundly impacted by years of war, sheltering in underground schools – or forced to study online – and living with the psychological strain of constant air raid sirens that could spell death for them and their families.

Months since Gaza’s nominal ceasefire began, Palestinians continue to be killed and maimed in drone and airstrikes, including the enclave’s police force which is crucial to peace and reconstruction efforts, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Wednesday.

A closely watched Security Council election delivered a mix of continuity and change on Wednesday, as Austria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, Zimbabwe – and first-time member Kyrgyzstan, secured seats around the iconic horseshoe table.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed alarm on Tuesday over reported overnight exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran, as well as reports that Iran targeted Kuwait and Bahrain.

The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.

Overnight attacks in three key cities in Ukraine have left several civilians dead, scores more injured, and homes, hospitals and shops destroyed or damaged, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country said on Tuesday. 

Monday’s hastily convened meeting of the UN Security Council at the request of France in response to escalating violence in Lebanon between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants has underlined deepening international concern as the conflict intensifies, despite ongoing US mediation efforts.

Women and girls in Lebanon are paying an increasingly devastating price as violence and displacement continue despite a ceasefire, the UN reproductive health agency (UNFPA) warned on Tuesday.

Four nurses who fell ill with Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been discharged from hospital after recovering from the often-fatal illness that sparked an international health alert. 

As hostilities escalate in Lebanon despite a recent ceasefire extension, the United Nations continues to push for peace and support displaced civilians by providing food, protection and other assistance.

Years after conflicts fade from the headlines, the weapons used to fight them often continue to circulate – crossing borders, fuelling crime and undermining an often-fragile peace. Now, ghost guns, 3D-printed firearms and increasingly sophisticated trafficking networks are creating new challenges for governments worldwide.

The Security Council meets late on Monday at France’s request, as concern grows over escalating violence in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah amid warnings of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, and confusion over the status of US-Iran peace talks linked to the faltering ceasefires. Follow live here from New York. 

The United Nations continues to warn against the dangerous escalation in the war in Ukraine, a senior official told the Security Council on Monday, underlining the need for restraint and dialogue. 

The UN Secretary-General has expressed alarm after a drone struck a residential building in the Romanian city of Galați overnight into Friday, reportedly injuring two people.

Peacekeepers are serving in a dangerous era of mounting global tensions and tight resources. UN chief António Guterres is now calling for greater political backing and reliable financial support for ‘blue helmets’ who put themselves in harm’s way.

Nearly 10,000 cases of conflict-related sexual violence were recorded worldwide last year – more than double the previous year's figure – as rape, sexual slavery and abduction were deployed as weapons of war across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Caribbean.

The UN Security Council is meeting in emergency session on Ukraine, with Secretary-General António Guterres telling ambassadors following what Kyiv describes as the most devastating attack on its capital to date, that “the time for peace is now.” In the early hours of 23-24 May, Russia launched a massive barrage of missiles and drones against multiple Ukrainian cities. Moscow has since threatened further sustained strikes. Sharp divisions among Council members are expected, with European nations demanding an immediate ceasefire while Russia insists its strikes target only military infrastructure.

The UN has expressed deep concern over escalating hostilities in Lebanon following intensified Israeli airstrikes in southern Beirut and across southern parts of the country.

The United Nations on Thursday warned of a dangerous escalation in the war in Ukraine after a wave of large-scale Russian strikes and threats of further attacks, with Secretary-General António Guterres saying “the death spiral must stop.”

As the world approaches nine years since the mass displacement of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar into Bangladesh, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has appealed to the international community not to abandon the 1.2 million refugees living in the country, most of them in camps in Cox’s Bazar.

The UN has expressed deep concern over escalating hostilities in Lebanon following intensified Israeli airstrikes in southern Beirut and across southern parts of the country.

On 23 February 2022, in her home city of Kharkiv, Dr Inna Soldatenko finished work, collected her daughter from school, cooked dinner and prepared a lecture for her students. The next morning, she awoke to explosions.

A symbolic team of famous footballers with first hand experience of life as a refugee was announced on Tuesday by UNHCR, just weeks ahead of the world’s biggest sporting event – the FIFA Men’s World Cup.

What do more than half of all doctors in Australia, over 40 per cent of Nobel laureates from the United States, and most of the workforce in some Gulf States have in common? 

Civilians who have fled the war in Sudan and sought shelter in neighbouring Egypt could potentially face a new battle – the loss of critical services that ensure their survival, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has warned. 

Restricting migration does not stop people from moving. It often pushes them into more dangerous routes.

In South Sudan, the UN aid coordination office [OCHA] reported on Thursday that conflict and flooding continue to drive displacement and food insecurity higher throughout the country.

UN-led efforts are continuing to ensure that all countries can benefit and regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it increasingly shapes our economies, societies and daily lives.

On the outskirts of the Ugandan town of Biale, tents are scattered along dirt roads that give way to open fields. The Kriandongo camp sits between a shattered past and a life tentatively being rebuilt. Here, the story does not end with fleeing war. Another phase begins, one where days are measured not in hours, but in the weight of loss and the effort to carry on.

An Ethiopian man describes how he was tortured by human traffickers as he went in search of his nephew on a now infamous migration route from the Horn of Africa through Yemen to Saudi Arabia.

Barham Salih has spent much of his life crossing borders, first as a young Kurdish exile fleeing repression in Iraq, and now as the UN top official for refugees, confronting a world in which more than 117 million people have been forced from their homes.

A 2018 agreement that aims to strengthen international cooperation on migration management must become reality, the UN Secretary-General said on Friday in New York. 

The UN on Thursday condemned the latest attacks against civilians in Ukraine by Russian forces, reiterating that they always constitute a violation of international law “and must stop immediately.” 

Funding shortfalls are putting the lives of more than 1.9 million displaced people in South Sudan at risk amid rising humanitarian needs, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday. 

Concerns have been raised about the “coercive” repatriation from Tanzania of Burundian refugees, many of whom do not want to return to their home country.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has received credible reports of civilian casualties following airstrikes carried out by Pakistan inside Afghanistan late on 21 February and into the early hours of the next day.

As the war in Sudan approaches a fourth year, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and 123 partners appealed on Tuesday for $1.6 billion to support millions of people forced to flee the country in pursuit of safety. 

Fifty-three migrants including two babies are dead or missing after a large rubber dinghy capsized off the coast of Libya, the UN migration agency said on Monday.

Amid the ongoing war in Sudan, Chad, the country receiving the most refugees in Central Africa, saw slight improvements in its humanitarian situation last year, but as one of the most vulnerable nations on the African continent, it is still struggling to support four million people in need.

With the World Cup just days away, 16 greats of the game have been appointed Football for the Goals (FFTG) Champions, using their profiles to raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and advocate for a better future for people and the planet.

Disruptions to global energy supplies and trade corridors are driving up the cost of food, transport and essential goods worldwide, slowing economic growth and increasing pressure on vulnerable households and debt-strapped developing countries.

It can be annoying when the wifi signal is cut, but what about if everything digital we rely on were to crash suddenly – from satellites to life-support systems in hospitals?

Indonesia is expecting a “strengthened multilateral system that delivers real impact on the ground,” as one of the key outcomes of the ongoing reform of the United Nations, that’s according to the country’s outgoing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Cooperation, Tri Tharyat.

With spending on advertising topping $1 trillion a year worldwide, the United Nations on Wednesday highlighted the untapped power of major brands to shape the future of Artificial Intelligence, warning that a failure to act could deepen a global information integrity crisis.

As we confront increasingly complex and interconnected crises – from climate change to the AI revolution – the leadership and voices of young people have never been more vital, says the UN. 

Six-time Trinidad and Tobago archery champion, Anthurium Lewis, has told UN News how sport helped her overcome age barriers in environmental advocacy and how in the future it can contribute to reaching globally agreed poverty and sustainability goals.

The world of football met the world of diplomacy this week as Brazilian World Cup legend Zico touched down at UN Headquarters in New York. 

For 25 years, the world has made significant progress in advancing women’s right to health, particularly in sexual and reproductive care. Women are living longer than ever before – but they are not living better.

The Secretary-General’s commitment towards women leadership in the United Nations was recognized at a pivotal moment marked by global uncertainty, economic volatility and increasing pressure on hard-won rights.

An estimated 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2024, including 2.3 million newborns, according to new United Nations estimates released on Tuesday – highlighting a worrying slowdown in global progress on child survival.

Despite global progress in strengthening land tenure and governance, more than a billion people worldwide – nearly one in four adults – fear they could lose the rights to some or all of their land and housing within the next five years. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted the key role science has in international governance of artificial intelligence during an event on Friday held on the margins of the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, India. 

Climate inaction, biodiversity loss and rising emissions are pushing Asia and the Pacific further off course on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the region set to miss nearly nine out of ten targets by 2030, the United Nations has warned.

The future of artificial intelligence “cannot be decided by a handful of countries or left to the whims of a few billionaires,” the UN Secretary-General told the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Thursday, calling for a global fund to help developing nations to better access these technologies.  

After a year that saw heavy monsoon floods, prolonged drought and dry spells, and a surge in violence, 7.5 million people in Pakistan face high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition according to a report from the global hunger monitor. 

Rising food prices and declining farm incomes are putting increasing pressure on the global food system, with up to 720 million people facing hunger last year, and billions more struggling to afford healthy diets.

With inequality deepening and trust in public institutions under strain, the UN’s main forum on social policy wrapped up its annual session on Tuesday with a renewed push to turn global commitments on social justice into action.

Towns and cities are home to more than half of the world’s population and responsible for around 70 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions driving the climate crisis, which is why urban planners in Brazil are leading a design revolution that could point the way to creating built-up areas with a dramatically smaller carbon footprint.

With global tensions rising and “reckless actions” triggering dangerous consequences, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday called for renewed efforts on peace, justice and sustainable development as he outlined his priorities for 2026 – the final year of his tenure.