UN News
- Conflict-related sexual violence in Sri Lanka remains largely unaddressed more than 15 years after the end of the civil war, with survivors still denied justice, recognition and reparations, according to a new report by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Tuesday.
- Amid ongoing and intensifying Russian attacks across Ukraine, the UN on Tuesday launched a $2.3 billion humanitarian appeal for 2026 to support 4.1 million of the country’s most vulnerable people.
- Airstrikes, drone attacks and hypothermia continue in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 youngsters killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
- As anti-government demonstrations continue across Iran, the UN human rights chief said on Tuesday that he was horrified at the mounting violence directed by security forces against protestors, with reports of hundreds killed and thousands arrested.
- Beverages like sugary drinks and alcohol are too accessible and cost too little in most of the world – helping fuel obesity, diabetes, cancer and injury, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
- More civilians in Sudan continue to be killed and displaced as fighting escalates in multiple parts of the country, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.
- The head of the UN’s emergency food agency has urged world leaders on Monday to end “man-made famines” and conflicts that “drive hunger and desperation”.
- The UN Security Council is meeting in emergency session in New York over Russia’s ongoing deadly missile and drone strikes targeting Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure, as frigid winter conditions grip the war-torn country. Millions have been deprived of electricity, heating and water. The UN Secretary-General has called the stepped up attacks an unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law. Follow live below and find all our in-depth meetings coverage here. UN News app users can go here.
- Public hearings opened on Monday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a landmark case brought by the Gambia against Myanmar, alleging violations of the Genocide Convention over the military’s treatment of the Rohingya minority.
- The humanitarian crisis across the Gaza Strip remains extremely serious, with harsh winter weather threatening to reverse recent gains in aid delivery, the United Nations said on Monday.
- Ukraine has entered the new year under intensifying and deadly Russian attacks which have crippled energy systems and left millions without heating, electricity or water amid freezing temperatures, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Monday.
- Top finance experts are meeting at UN Geneva this week to push for a radical shake up in the way economic growth is gauged, in response to concerns that GDP measurements provide little insight about progress on key sustainability targets that are vital to our survival.
- More than 100 political prisoners have been released in Venezuela, the Government announced on Monday, just over a week after the seizure and rendition of President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas by the United States.
- The UN Secretary-General is shocked by reports of violence and excessive use of force by Iranian authorities against protesters across the country, urging restraint and the immediate restoration of communications as unrest enters its third week.
- The UN-mandated independent human rights fact-finding mission on Iran has urged authorities to immediately restore internet access and halt the violent crackdown of the ongoing, nationwide protest.
- Sudan’s protracted conflict has spiralled into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with hunger, displacement and the collapse of basic services exacting a daily toll on civilians.
- When it comes to protecting women and girls from gender-based violence, change happens when they are “at the heart of every decision,” according to Erin Kenny, Global Coordinator of the Spotlight Initiative a United Nations–European Union partnership aimed at tackling all forms of abuse against women and girls.
- They ask heartbreaking questions: “What will happen to us?” “Is it true they will deport us?” “We don’t want to go back. How can I live in Afghanistan?” The words of Sumaiya, who staffs a helpline for refugees and asylum-seekers living in Pakistan but facing the eventuality of having to return to neighbouring Afghanistan.
- When her family moved from Somalia to London in the 1980s, Safia Jama watched women in her community help her mother navigate a new life in the UK — booking doctor’s appointments, enrolling children in school, and learning how to access everyday services in a new country.
- Aid agencies marked 1,000 days of war in Sudan on Friday with a grim reminder that the conflict has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis and largest displacement emergency. Every day, civilians have been “paying the price for a war they did not choose”, said UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
- Airstrikes, drone attacks and hypothermia continue in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 youngsters killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
- The humanitarian crisis across the Gaza Strip remains extremely serious, with harsh winter weather threatening to reverse recent gains in aid delivery, the United Nations said on Monday.
- Progress continues to be made towards eliminating remnants of the chemical weapons programme in Syria that was developed under the Assad regime, the UN Security Council heard on Thursday.
- Despite harsh winter conditions and continuing access constraints, the UN and partners are maintaining large-scale humanitarian operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, with a focus on shelter, water, health and education.
- A sweeping UN human rights report released on Wednesday concludes that in the occupied West Bank, Israel is violating international law prohibiting racial segregation and apartheid, warning that the discriminatory practices have accelerated dramatically since late 2022 amid growing violence, repression and impunity.
- At least five civilians have been killed and some 30,000 people displaced following renewed fighting in Aleppo, Syria, prompting calls from the UN for immediate de-escalation and a return to political talks.
- Some 65,000 households in the Gaza Strip were affected by the severe winter storms that whipped through the enclave last month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.
- For the first time since 2023, humanitarian assistance will provide Gazans with enough food to fulfil minimum nutritional needs.
- Yemen’s already fragile humanitarian response is being pushed to breaking point by deep funding shortfalls, the UN warned in an update Sunday highlighting mounting risks for millions across the country.
- The UN’s top human rights official on Friday called on Israeli authorities to abandon plans for new legislation that would impose mandatory death sentences exclusively on Palestinians, warning the proposals violate international law and fundamental human rights standards.
- Humanitarian partners in the Gaza Strip are struggling to reach hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people as winter storms batter damaged homes and temporary shelters.
- As 2026 begins, residents of the Gaza Strip are confronting life in displacement camps and among the ruins of destroyed neighbourhoods – facing deep uncertainty after months of war and devastation.
- A sixth child has died in Gaza this month as the enclave’s people continue to endure dire living conditions linked to freezing rains and the Israel-Hamas war, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced. The development comes as aid agencies urged Israeli authorities to reconsider revoking the licences of dozens of humanitarian partners that provide assistance across the devastated enclave from 1 January.
- The UN Secretary-General has condemned amendments adopted by Israel’s Knesset to a law aimed at ceasing the operations of the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA), saying the measures must be immediately repealed.
- Severe weather conditions have led to further casualties and heightened health risks in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) reported on Monday.
- The war in Sudan has been tearing the country apart for almost 1,000 days, putting the country’s health system under intolerable pressure. The World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting widespread disease outbreaks, severe shortages, malnutrition and rising deaths.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres “unequivocally condemns” the deadly terrorist attack on a mosque in Homs, Syria during Friday prayers, his spokesperson said in a statement
- Better access to education, the protection of the environment and good governance are some of the areas in which the United Nations helps countries improve.
- One United Nations peacekeeper was injured on Friday after heavy machine gunfire from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions south of the Blue Line, following a nearby grenade explosion, impacted close to a UN patrol in southern Lebanon.
- Although “significant restrictions and impediments” continue to hamper humanitarian operations in Gaza, teams are still responding to the population’s needs, the UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Wednesday.
- Amid ongoing and intensifying Russian attacks across Ukraine, the UN on Tuesday launched a $2.3 billion humanitarian appeal for 2026 to support 4.1 million of the country’s most vulnerable people.
- The UN Security Council is meeting in emergency session in New York over Russia’s ongoing deadly missile and drone strikes targeting Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure, as frigid winter conditions grip the war-torn country. Millions have been deprived of electricity, heating and water. The UN Secretary-General has called the stepped up attacks an unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law. Follow live below and find all our in-depth meetings coverage here. UN News app users can go here.
- Ukraine has entered the new year under intensifying and deadly Russian attacks which have crippled energy systems and left millions without heating, electricity or water amid freezing temperatures, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Monday.
- When her family moved from Somalia to London in the 1980s, Safia Jama watched women in her community help her mother navigate a new life in the UK — booking doctor’s appointments, enrolling children in school, and learning how to access everyday services in a new country.
- UN agencies are supporting efforts on Friday to keep energy services up and running in Ukraine, and families warm amid freezing winter temperatures, following a large-scale overnight attack.
- Several parts of Ukraine were hit by a new wave of Russian strikes between Wednesday and Thursday morning.
- Almost four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aid teams continue to adapt to the lethal reality of working in a modern war zone.
- Ukraine’s agricultural sector remains under intense pressure as the war continues to disrupt food production and endanger civilians, the UN food security agency warned on Tuesday, as it unveiled a new three-year plan to help farmers survive and protect their livelihoods.
- Recent attacks across Ukraine have killed civilians, damaged critical infrastructure and cut heating and power supplies for millions, UN humanitarians report, as temperatures drop below freezing.
- A new wave of overnight strikes and front-line hostilities in Ukraine have caused further civilian casualties and damage to critical energy infrastructure, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.
- Hostilities in Ukraine this weekend resulted in more civilian casualties and widespread damage to critical infrastructure, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Monday.
- Imagine living through a war and not being able to make a meal or heat your home; that’s the reality today for thousands of Ukrainians who’ve seen repeated Russian attacks knock out their electricity for days at a time.
- Through her ceramics, Crimean Tatar artist Elvira Demerdzhi finds moments of calm and a sense of home amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
- The UN’s top human rights official warned on Tuesday that repression is tightening its grip in Venezuela while civilians in Ukraine face an ever-rising toll, as global attention drifts from two crises marked by deepening abuses and shrinking accountability.
- On the runway of Guatemala City’s La Aurora International Airport, ten men embraced their families before departing for Germany — the start of a bold new chapter.
- Pregnant women took shelter in a bunkerised maternity unit in the Ukrainian city of Kherson last week, after a hospital was struck just 1.5 km from the frontline.
- Civilians in Ukraine are facing almost daily attacks and growing hardship as Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches the four-year mark, UN human rights investigators said in a new report issued on Tuesday.
- With temperatures plunging below freezing and cities facing long, daily power cuts, Ukrainian civilians are again bracing for winter under fire, as UN officials warned the Security Council that intensified attacks on energy infrastructure and shrinking aid budgets are taking a major toll.
- Civilians across Ukraine endured a surge in deadly strikes over the weekend, with the UN warning of an “alarming pattern” of intensifying hostilities and mounting damage to essential services as temperatures continue to drop.
- The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) chief on Monday urged the UN Security Council to uphold core principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and human rights, warning that Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to undermine European security.
- More than 100 political prisoners have been released in Venezuela, the Government announced on Monday, just over a week after the seizure and rendition of President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas by the United States.
- Responding to the seizure of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro by the United States, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday reiterated deep concerns that the military operation undermined fundamental protections for sovereign countries.
- Venezuela’s political shock has sharpened global attention on a country already facing one of the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises. For the United Nations, the priority remains unchanged: protecting lives, sustaining basic services and supporting Venezuelans at home and across the region.
- The Security Council met in emergency session in New York to address the US rendition of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro from Caracas, a move that has sent shockwaves through the region and beyond. The UN chief António Guterres told ambassadors there must be respect for national sovereignty, “political independence and territorial integrity,” after warning on Saturday that the US had set a “dangerous precedent” for the world order. Follow the historic meeting live below from the UN Meetings Coverage team, and UN News app users can click here.
- Invoking the bedrock principle prohibiting the use of force against the territory and independence of any State, the UN Secretary-General told the Security Council on Monday there must be “full respect” for the UN Charter, in the face of the United States military intervention in Venezuela and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro.
- The UN Security Council met on Monday against a sharply altered diplomatic backdrop, following US strikes on the Venezuelan capital and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro.
- The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said he is “deeply alarmed” over the standoff between the United States and Venezuela in recent months, which culminated on Saturday morning in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro by US special forces.
- A teenage Haitian girl who was forced to flee her home in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, due to gang violence has urged adults not to “give up on children.”
- The Security Council convened earlier today for a packed agenda, adopting a resolution extending the authorisation of the African Union support mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) and hearing a briefing on Iran and the implementation of resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Members are set to reconvene at 3 pm for an emergency meeting requested by Venezuela, amid heightened tensions between Caracas and Washington. Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Khaled Khiari is expected to brief ambassadors. Follow live below and UN News app users can click here.
- Tensions between the United States and Venezuela have sharply escalated amid increased US military operations in the Southern Caribbean, prompting accusations of sovereignty violations, concerns over civilian harm and growing calls at the UN Security Council for restraint and de-escalation.
- The UN’s top human rights official warned on Tuesday that repression is tightening its grip in Venezuela while civilians in Ukraine face an ever-rising toll, as global attention drifts from two crises marked by deepening abuses and shrinking accountability.
- On the runway of Guatemala City’s La Aurora International Airport, ten men embraced their families before departing for Germany — the start of a bold new chapter.
- Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) has been implicated in a decade-long pattern of killings, arbitrary detentions, torture and sexual violence targeting protesters and opponents of President Nicolás Maduro, according to a new report from UN-appointed investigators on Thursday.
- More than a month after Hurricane Melissa slammed the Caribbean, devastated communities still require assistance, the regional director for the World Food Programme (WFP) told journalists at UN Headquarters on Thursday.
- Three women in Jamaica whose lives were upended by the destructive force of a hurricane which battered the Caribbean island are looking to rebuild their future
- A record seizure of cocaine off the coast of Haiti has underlined the island nation’s “pivotal role in trafficking routes linking South America, the Caribbean and the United States of America,” according to the United Nations.
- For more than 40 years Ivanil lived in a house raised on stilts just 20 metres from the water’s edge, in the same community where she was born, on Marajó Island where the Amazon River meets the Atlantic Ocean in northern Brazil.
- Fifty-two prisoners have died in Haiti’s overcrowded prisons between July and September this year in conditions that have been described by the United Nations as “inhuman and degrading.”
- Two weeks after Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean, governments and aid agencies are still struggling to reach communities left without homes, healthcare and basic services, as damage assessments in Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti continue to rise, the UN said on Tuesday.
- Around 1.5 million Jamaicans have been impacted by Hurricane Melissa – the worst climate disaster in the Caribbean nation’s history, said the top UN development official in the region on Thursday.
- As anti-government demonstrations continue across Iran, the UN human rights chief said on Tuesday that he was horrified at the mounting violence directed by security forces against protestors, with reports of hundreds killed and thousands arrested.
- Public hearings opened on Monday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a landmark case brought by the Gambia against Myanmar, alleging violations of the Genocide Convention over the military’s treatment of the Rohingya minority.
- The UN Secretary-General is shocked by reports of violence and excessive use of force by Iranian authorities against protesters across the country, urging restraint and the immediate restoration of communications as unrest enters its third week.
- The UN-mandated independent human rights fact-finding mission on Iran has urged authorities to immediately restore internet access and halt the violent crackdown of the ongoing, nationwide protest.
- They ask heartbreaking questions: “What will happen to us?” “Is it true they will deport us?” “We don’t want to go back. How can I live in Afghanistan?” The words of Sumaiya, who staffs a helpline for refugees and asylum-seekers living in Pakistan but facing the eventuality of having to return to neighbouring Afghanistan.
- The UN human rights chief has called for an independent and transparent investigation into reports of deaths and widespread arrests during ongoing nationwide protests in Iran, amid mounting concerns over the use of force by security forces.
- An independent human rights expert has urged the international community to reject the electoral process organised by Myanmar’s military government, after the first round of voting revealed widespread coercion, exclusion and violence.
- As protests in the Iranian capital, Tehran – sparked by increasing economic hardship and a cost-of-living crisis – continued for a ninth day, the UN Secretary-General said he was “deeply saddened by the reported loss of life and injuries,” resulting from clashes between security forces and protesters.
- Nearly a month after Cyclone Ditwah tore across Sri Lanka, more than a million people – including over half a million children – remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, as floods, landslides and renewed rainfall continue to compound one of the country’s worst disasters in decades.
- The Security Council convened earlier today for a packed agenda, adopting a resolution extending the authorisation of the African Union support mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) and hearing a briefing on Iran and the implementation of resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Members are set to reconvene at 3 pm for an emergency meeting requested by Venezuela, amid heightened tensions between Caracas and Washington. Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Khaled Khiari is expected to brief ambassadors. Follow live below and UN News app users can click here.
- At a meeting to discuss nuclear non-proliferation on Tuesday, the Security Council’s stance on Iran’s nuclear activities remained divided on the issue, split between those who support the reinstatement of sanctions, and the members who believe the sanctions should be permanently lifted, whilst questioning the legality of the meeting itself.
- As Myanmar approaches elections scheduled for 28 December, the UN’s top human rights official has said that civilians are being coerced from all sides – forced by the military to vote and threatened by armed opposition groups to boycott – in a climate of fear, violence and mass repression.
- The United Nations has urged calm in Bangladesh after the killing of a prominent youth protest leader sparked fresh unrest, raising concerns about political violence and the safety of civic space as the country prepares for elections early next year.
- Intensifying air strikes and heavy artillery fire across Thailand and Cambodia have left civilians increasingly at risk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned on Thursday.
- Fifty days have passed since Hurricane Melissa ravaged Jamaica, leaving behind an unprecedented trail of destruction.
- It’s a win-win recipe: schoolchildren eat a free, nutritious meal every day and local farmers gain reliable access to local markets.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned the “heinous deadly attack” on Sunday against Jewish families gathered in Sydney, Australia, to celebrate Hanukkah.
- Despite widespread suffering driven by conflict, displacement and disasters, Myanmar’s humanitarian emergency has become “almost invisible” to the world, the UN’s senior official in the country has warned.
- A social media ban for children under 16 came into effect in Australia on Wednesday, marking a global first.
- Afghanistan’s worsening humanitarian crisis is being driven by the accelerating erosion of fundamental rights – especially for women and girls – alongside mass displacement, economic decline and shrinking aid, senior UN officials warned on Wednesday.
- Sudan’s protracted conflict has spiralled into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with hunger, displacement and the collapse of basic services exacting a daily toll on civilians.
- When her family moved from Somalia to London in the 1980s, Safia Jama watched women in her community help her mother navigate a new life in the UK — booking doctor’s appointments, enrolling children in school, and learning how to access everyday services in a new country.
- Aid agencies marked 1,000 days of war in Sudan on Friday with a grim reminder that the conflict has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis and largest displacement emergency. Every day, civilians have been “paying the price for a war they did not choose”, said UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
- Despite reductions in the overall number of conflict-related incidents in South Sudan, a rise in abductions and sexual violence is concerning, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, UNMISS, said on Friday.
- Thirteen more lives – including children – were reportedly lost on Tuesday in another drone attack on Sudan’s North Kordofan region.
- Voting proceeded largely as planned in the Central African Republic’s first-ever combined presidential, legislative, regional and municipal elections, and ballot counting is now complete, the UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA) said on Wednesday, with results expected to be announced on 5 January.
- Sudan’s deepening war is driving unprecedented levels of hunger, child malnutrition and displacement, UN agencies report, as new data from Darfur and a renewed refugee influx into Chad underscore the rapidly deteriorating situation.
- Sexual violence against children ‘entrenched, systemic and widespread’ across DR Congo, UNICEF warnsSexual violence against children has become entrenched, systemic and increasingly widespread across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with new data showing a sharp rise in cases since 2022, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
- The UN Security Council meets today to hear a briefing on threats to international peace and security following Israel’s recent recognition of the northern region of Somalia as an independent and sovereign state. Follow live below and UN News app users can click here and go here for all our in-depth meeting coverage.
- The UN has urged Sudan’s warring parties to pursue compromise and an immediate ceasefire, even as drone attacks, displacement and the killing of peacekeepers underscore the growing risks to civilians and humanitarians.
- With Central Africans set to vote in presidential, legislative, regional and long-delayed municipal elections this weekend, the United Nations has appealed for calm and restraint, warning that the credibility of the process will be critical to consolidating peace after years of conflict and instability.
- The Security Council convened earlier today for a packed agenda, adopting a resolution extending the authorisation of the African Union support mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) and hearing a briefing on Iran and the implementation of resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Members are set to reconvene at 3 pm for an emergency meeting requested by Venezuela, amid heightened tensions between Caracas and Washington. Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Khaled Khiari is expected to brief ambassadors. Follow live below and UN News app users can click here.
- An estimated 500,000 people have been forced from their homes since fighting erupted in South Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), at the beginning of December.
- Brutal slashes to aid budgets are hampering efforts to assist millions of people in Somalia affected by drought, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Monday.
- The war in Sudan is entering a deadlier phase, the United Nations has warned, as intensified fighting in the Kordofan region, mounting civilian casualties from drone strikes and growing risks of regional spillover push the conflict toward the 1,000-day mark.
- Senior UN political and humanitarian officials are set brief the Security Council this afternoon as members meet to discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan, where intensified fighting – including in the Kordofan region – has driven widespread civilian harm and displacement. The region has seen a sharp escalation, including a deadly drone attack on a UN peacekeeping base that killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers. The meeting was requested by Sudan and Transitional Prime Minister, Kamil Eltayeb Idris, is expected to attend. Follow live below and UN News app users can click here.
- As fighting escalates in Sudan, “people are scared, people are fleeing their homes”, the UN migration agency, IOM, said on Friday, noting that more than 50,000 people have been uprooted since late October in the Kordofans region alone.
- The United Nations on Friday condemned the killing of a civilian staff member serving with its peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), calling on the authorities to swiftly bring those responsible to justice.
- The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for another year, as fighting in the country’s east intensified amid renewed offensives by the M23 rebel group.
- The path to long-awaited elections in Libya is paved with complications but they can be overcome, the UN Special Representative for the country said on Friday in a briefing to the Security Council.
- Beverages like sugary drinks and alcohol are too accessible and cost too little in most of the world – helping fuel obesity, diabetes, cancer and injury, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
- Sudan’s protracted conflict has spiralled into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with hunger, displacement and the collapse of basic services exacting a daily toll on civilians.
- A flood of questions drowned Jeanette in thought after she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Would she be unable to conceive a child? Would she have to enter menopause at the early age of 31?
- Up-to-date vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent severe COVID-19 illness, new research from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows, even as the pandemic has officially ended.
- From eliminating deadly infections to expanding access to lifesaving vaccines, 2025 delivered meaningful progress for global health, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), offering cautious optimism at the close of a year marked by both breakthroughs and strain.
- The war in Sudan has been tearing the country apart for almost 1,000 days, putting the country’s health system under intolerable pressure. The World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting widespread disease outbreaks, severe shortages, malnutrition and rising deaths.
- Meditation, which has its roots in religious, yogic and secular traditions from various civilisations, calls for living in the present moment.
- Ginger and cinnamon are more than just ingredients. Along with other spices, their medicinal value is gaining both attention and legitimacy.
- While the Asia and Pacific region has made notable progress in reducing hunger, persistent challenges remain in addressing malnutrition, food insecurity and unequal access to healthy diets, a new UN report published on Wednesday concludes.
- Amid an early start to the Northern Hemisphere influenza season a new variant of the virus is rapidly gaining ground – but vaccination remains the “most effective defence”, the UN health agency said on Tuesday.
- World leaders meeting at the UN General Assembly have adopted a historic global declaration to tackle noncommunicable diseases and mental health conditions together, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday.
- A World Health Organization (WHO) expert committee has again confirmed that there is no causal link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), following a new review of global scientific evidence.
- Gaza’s health system for mothers and newborns has been “decimated”, the UN said on Thursday, with Israeli attacks destroying almost all hospitals, cutting off medical supplies and driving sharp rises in maternal deaths, miscarriages and newborn fatalities amid mass displacement and hunger.
- The vast majority of World Health Organization (WHO) member States say 40 to 90 per cent of their populations now use traditional medicine.
- Supporting colleagues facing potential sexual exploitation or abuse (PSEA) in the workplace, may start with small acts of recognition but can have lasting positive impacts, according to a UN member of staff working in the Southeast Asian country, Lao People's Democratic Republic.
- The authoritative World Health Organization (WHO) World Malaria Report, published on Thursday, shows that resistance to antimalarial drugs now poses one of the most acute risks to control efforts across Africa and beyond.
- Six African football legends are urging the continent to unite and step up efforts to vaccinate every child against the life-threatening polio virus.
- The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has issued its first guideline on the use of a new class of weight-loss medicines, marking a significant shift in global health policy as obesity rates continue to rise.
- Pooja Mishra’s health kept worsening until she began treatment for HIV at age 19, two years after her diagnosis. From wondering if she’d ever be able to live a normal life, today she is youth coordinator at a coalition for people with the disease in India.
- A woman living with disabilities in a camp for displaced people in Nigeria is demonstrating why it is essential that people like her are included in society and how dignity can be protected even in the harshest places.
- The United States’ intention to withdraw from a host of UN bodies announced this week targets programmes and initiatives focusing on a wide range of crucial areas, including the climate crisis, trade, gender and development.
- Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed regret over the decision by the United States to withdraw from a number of UN entities, while underscoring that the system will continue to deliver on all its mandates.
- From deploying peacekeepers to conducting quiet – but at times heated – diplomacy, the UN Security Council sits at the heart of global decision-making on war and peace. As of January, five new countries will have a seat around the iconic horseshoe table.
- Follow our live coverage as the General Assembly and its Fifth Committee meet today to finalize negotiations and vote on the United Nations’ regular budget for 2026. The Fifth Committee is responsible for administrative and budgetary matters, including the Organization’s finances and staffing. UN News app users can click here and go here for all our in-depth meeting coverage.
- The General Assembly has approved a $3.45 billion regular budget for the United Nations for 2026, following weeks of intensive negotiations and one of the Organization’s most important reform initiatives, UN80.
- As the world enters 2026 amid mounting crises, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres has issued a stark but hopeful New Year appeal, urging global leaders to shift resources away from destruction and towards development, peace and people.
- At a meeting to discuss nuclear non-proliferation on Tuesday, the Security Council’s stance on Iran’s nuclear activities remained divided on the issue, split between those who support the reinstatement of sanctions, and the members who believe the sanctions should be permanently lifted, whilst questioning the legality of the meeting itself.
- The United Nations on Friday condemned the killing of a civilian staff member serving with its peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), calling on the authorities to swiftly bring those responsible to justice.
- The UN Secretary-General on Friday condemned the arbitrary detention of 10 more UN personnel by Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen, warning that the growing crackdown is crippling humanitarian operations and putting millions of lives at risk.
- Moving goods around the world could soon become cheaper, faster and far more flexible, following the adoption of a new United Nations-backed agreement that modernises the paperwork behind global shipping.
- Gathered around the Security Council’s iconic horseshoe table, ambassadors were urged on Monday to find ways of working together – drawing lessons from past periods when, despite deep rivalry and distrust, the body was able to support UN leadership in steering the world away from catastrophe.
- The 11th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations opened in Riyadh on Sunday with a blunt message for a world riven by distrust: dialogue is not a luxury – it’s a survival strategy.
- As 2025 draws to a close, geopolitical divides are deepening – North and South, East and West. Against this backdrop, the UN Alliance of Civilizations marks two decades of bridging divides as its Riyadh Forum takes on intolerance, hate speech, and the fight for mutual respect in a multipolar world.
- The UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said that Israeli police raided its compound in East Jerusalem early on Monday, representing “a new challenge to international law.”
- With nearly $1.6 billion in unpaid dues, the UN Secretary-General warned on Monday that chronic late payments are hampering the world body’s ability to function, even as sweeping cuts move forward through the General Assembly’s main budget committee.
- The United Nations Peacebuilding Fund on Wednesday announced a major milestone, with the approval of more than $1 billion in support to global peacebuilding and conflict-prevention initiatives since 2020.
- A South African flag-coloured King Protea flower – symbolising hope and regeneration – is the chosen logo for this year’s G20 Leaders’ Summit, taking place on African soil for the first time.
- The United Nations outlined how it intends to advance one of its most comprehensive system-wide reform efforts in decades, as Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Ryder presented the UN80 Initiative Action Plan. The plan brings the Secretary-General’s major UN80 reform proposals into a single, coherent structure to streamline efforts that will make the UN system deliver better.
- General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock warned on Thursday that repeated deadlock in the Security Council has become the “poster child” for wider global gridlock, undermining trust in multilateral institutions.
- The UN Security Council met on Friday for its annual debate over how it operates – including the process to select the next Secretary-General in 2026.
- Past geopolitical tensions related to the synthetic drug “captagon” are now being mitigated with the Syrian authorities’ commitment to dismantle illicit manufacturing, says the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
- Last year, one in five people who dealt with a public official were asked to pay a bribe, according to a UN report. The world is doing something about it.
- In Gaza, as airstrikes, shelling and gunfire continued to kill and maim Palestinians, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Wednesday rejected suggestions by the Israeli military that the so-called “Yellow Line” of concrete blocks it has erected inside the enclave represented a new border.
- A social media ban for children under 16 came into effect in Australia on Wednesday, marking a global first.
- The world is witnessing an alarming erosion of respect for international law, with conflicts increasingly targeting civilians and heightening the risk of atrocity crimes, warns the United Nations’ newly appointed Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.
- Opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar has surged to a ten-year high, the United Nations reported on Wednesday, underscoring how prolonged conflict and economic collapse are driving farmers deeper into the illicit economy.
- A record seizure of cocaine off the coast of Haiti has underlined the island nation’s “pivotal role in trafficking routes linking South America, the Caribbean and the United States of America,” according to the United Nations.
- Recent months have seen progress towards accountability in Libya, the Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday in a briefing to the UN Security Council.
- What was once hailed as a vehicle for empowerment has, for millions of women and girls, become a source of fear.
- A 12-year-old boy and his grandmother cut the ribbon at UN Headquarters on Monday to inaugurate a flower-shaped memorial to the victims of the Srebrenica genocide – a permanent reminder of the 1995 massacre and the United Nation’s failure to stop it.
- The illicit trade in cultural property is one of the world’s oldest and most profitable forms of criminal activity – but now efforts by the UN and law enforcement agencies across the world are helping to bring down these global operations.
- Fifty-two prisoners have died in Haiti’s overcrowded prisons between July and September this year in conditions that have been described by the United Nations as “inhuman and degrading.”
- Coercion and sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) are “assaults on the very principles of international law itself,” the President of the UN General Assembly warned on Tuesday.
- Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has fallen by 20 per cent compared to last year, continuing a dramatic decline since the introduction of a nationwide ban under the Taliban in 2022 – but synthetic drugs and shifting trafficking routes are posing new challenges.
- The UN Special Adviser on genocide prevention has raised concerns over widespread allegations of war crimes committed in Sudan’s El Fasher last month, and plans to meet his African Union counterpart on Friday to discuss a coordinated response.
- Journalists risk their lives every day to bring facts to light, yet most attacks against them go unpunished.
- Sixty-five nations have signed a landmark United Nations treaty in Hanoi aimed at tackling cybercrime – a move Secretary-General António Guterres hailed as a historic step toward a safer digital world.
- Imagine this: you visit the familiar website of your local hardware store. Everything looks the same — the same design, the same brand name, the same interface.
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) says that Israel must uphold its responsibilities as the “occupying power” by ensuring aid can flow freely and by respecting the rights of the UN and other humanitarian agencies working in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
- Two decades after the scorched-earth campaign that left hundreds of thousands dead in Sudan’s Darfur, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has delivered its first conviction linked to the conflict, finding Janjaweed commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman “Ali Kushayb”, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- Amid ongoing and intensifying Russian attacks across Ukraine, the UN on Tuesday launched a $2.3 billion humanitarian appeal for 2026 to support 4.1 million of the country’s most vulnerable people.
- As anti-government demonstrations continue across Iran, the UN human rights chief said on Tuesday that he was horrified at the mounting violence directed by security forces against protestors, with reports of hundreds killed and thousands arrested.
- More than 100 political prisoners have been released in Venezuela, the Government announced on Monday, just over a week after the seizure and rendition of President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas by the United States.
- Public hearings opened on Monday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a landmark case brought by the Gambia against Myanmar, alleging violations of the Genocide Convention over the military’s treatment of the Rohingya minority.
- The UN Secretary-General is shocked by reports of violence and excessive use of force by Iranian authorities against protesters across the country, urging restraint and the immediate restoration of communications as unrest enters its third week.
- The UN-mandated independent human rights fact-finding mission on Iran has urged authorities to immediately restore internet access and halt the violent crackdown of the ongoing, nationwide protest.
- The UN human rights chief has called for an independent and transparent investigation into reports of deaths and widespread arrests during ongoing nationwide protests in Iran, amid mounting concerns over the use of force by security forces.
- Despite reductions in the overall number of conflict-related incidents in South Sudan, a rise in abductions and sexual violence is concerning, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, UNMISS, said on Friday.
- The UN Human Rights Council – the world’s principal defender of vulnerable people worldwide – has elected an Indonesian diplomat to be President for 2026 in a first for the country.
- An independent human rights expert has urged the international community to reject the electoral process organised by Myanmar’s military government, after the first round of voting revealed widespread coercion, exclusion and violence.
- A sweeping UN human rights report released on Wednesday concludes that in the occupied West Bank, Israel is violating international law prohibiting racial segregation and apartheid, warning that the discriminatory practices have accelerated dramatically since late 2022 amid growing violence, repression and impunity.
- Responding to the seizure of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro by the United States, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday reiterated deep concerns that the military operation undermined fundamental protections for sovereign countries.
- As protests in the Iranian capital, Tehran – sparked by increasing economic hardship and a cost-of-living crisis – continued for a ninth day, the UN Secretary-General said he was “deeply saddened by the reported loss of life and injuries,” resulting from clashes between security forces and protesters.
- The UN’s top human rights official on Friday called on Israeli authorities to abandon plans for new legislation that would impose mandatory death sentences exclusively on Palestinians, warning the proposals violate international law and fundamental human rights standards.
- Sexual violence against children ‘entrenched, systemic and widespread’ across DR Congo, UNICEF warnsSexual violence against children has become entrenched, systemic and increasingly widespread across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with new data showing a sharp rise in cases since 2022, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
- As Myanmar approaches elections scheduled for 28 December, the UN’s top human rights official has said that civilians are being coerced from all sides – forced by the military to vote and threatened by armed opposition groups to boycott – in a climate of fear, violence and mass repression.
- The United Nations has urged calm in Bangladesh after the killing of a prominent youth protest leader sparked fresh unrest, raising concerns about political violence and the safety of civic space as the country prepares for elections early next year.
- Harrowing new details emerged on Thursday in a UN report detailing targeted sexual violence and summary executions in Sudan’s North Darfur region, attributed to paramilitary fighters who overran the city of El Fasher in late October.
- The UN’s top human rights official warned on Tuesday that repression is tightening its grip in Venezuela while civilians in Ukraine face an ever-rising toll, as global attention drifts from two crises marked by deepening abuses and shrinking accountability.
- The UN human rights chief said on Monday the antisemitic attack on the Jewish community in Sydney which left fifteen dead at the weekend, including a 10-year-old girl, was “a moment of deep sadness.”
- Amid ongoing and intensifying Russian attacks across Ukraine, the UN on Tuesday launched a $2.3 billion humanitarian appeal for 2026 to support 4.1 million of the country’s most vulnerable people.
- Airstrikes, drone attacks and hypothermia continue in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 youngsters killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
- More civilians in Sudan continue to be killed and displaced as fighting escalates in multiple parts of the country, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.
- The head of the UN’s emergency food agency has urged world leaders on Monday to end “man-made famines” and conflicts that “drive hunger and desperation”.
- The UN Security Council is meeting in emergency session in New York over Russia’s ongoing deadly missile and drone strikes targeting Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure, as frigid winter conditions grip the war-torn country. Millions have been deprived of electricity, heating and water. The UN Secretary-General has called the stepped up attacks an unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law. Follow live below and find all our in-depth meetings coverage here. UN News app users can go here.
- Ukraine has entered the new year under intensifying and deadly Russian attacks which have crippled energy systems and left millions without heating, electricity or water amid freezing temperatures, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Monday.
- When it comes to protecting women and girls from gender-based violence, change happens when they are “at the heart of every decision,” according to Erin Kenny, Global Coordinator of the Spotlight Initiative a United Nations–European Union partnership aimed at tackling all forms of abuse against women and girls.
- Sudan’s protracted conflict has spiralled into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with hunger, displacement and the collapse of basic services exacting a daily toll on civilians.
- Aid agencies marked 1,000 days of war in Sudan on Friday with a grim reminder that the conflict has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis and largest displacement emergency. Every day, civilians have been “paying the price for a war they did not choose”, said UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
- UN agencies are supporting efforts on Friday to keep energy services up and running in Ukraine, and families warm amid freezing winter temperatures, following a large-scale overnight attack.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres continues to be gravely alarmed by escalating hostilities in Aleppo, Syria, and mounting reports of civilian casualties, his Spokesperson said on Thursday.
- Despite harsh winter conditions and continuing access constraints, the UN and partners are maintaining large-scale humanitarian operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, with a focus on shelter, water, health and education.
- Almost four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aid teams continue to adapt to the lethal reality of working in a modern war zone.
- At least five civilians have been killed and some 30,000 people displaced following renewed fighting in Aleppo, Syria, prompting calls from the UN for immediate de-escalation and a return to political talks.
- Venezuela’s political shock has sharpened global attention on a country already facing one of the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises. For the United Nations, the priority remains unchanged: protecting lives, sustaining basic services and supporting Venezuelans at home and across the region.
- Responding to the seizure of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro by the United States, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday reiterated deep concerns that the military operation undermined fundamental protections for sovereign countries.
- Some 65,000 households in the Gaza Strip were affected by the severe winter storms that whipped through the enclave last month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.
- Ukraine’s agricultural sector remains under intense pressure as the war continues to disrupt food production and endanger civilians, the UN food security agency warned on Tuesday, as it unveiled a new three-year plan to help farmers survive and protect their livelihoods.
- In Sudan, civilians continue to bear the brunt of escalating violence, particularly in the Darfur and Kordofan regions.
- For the first time since 2023, humanitarian assistance will provide Gazans with enough food to fulfil minimum nutritional needs.
- A teenage Haitian girl who was forced to flee her home in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, due to gang violence has urged adults not to “give up on children.”
- In a region long overshadowed by conflict narratives, a new kind of leadership is emerging – quiet, insistent, and unmistakably women-centred.
- The UN cultural agency, UNESCO, is preparing to celebrate the first ever World Turkic Language Family Day on Monday, following a decision by UNESCO’s General Conference in Samarkand to establish 15 December as an annual observance.
- It’s a win-win recipe: schoolchildren eat a free, nutritious meal every day and local farmers gain reliable access to local markets.
- The 11th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations opened in Riyadh on Sunday with a blunt message for a world riven by distrust: dialogue is not a luxury – it’s a survival strategy.
- In a world shaped by conflict and digital noise, the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) called for young people to make the 21st century the last century in which humanity witnesses war.
- Drums and celebration filled a hall in New Delhi, India, as communities from across the world saw their traditions recognised, from Panama’s Quincha homes built by collective hands, to Yemen’s Hadrami Dan gatherings where poetry and music are created in the moment.
- As 2025 draws to a close, geopolitical divides are deepening – North and South, East and West. Against this backdrop, the UN Alliance of Civilizations marks two decades of bridging divides as its Riyadh Forum takes on intolerance, hate speech, and the fight for mutual respect in a multipolar world.
- Despite major gains in access to schooling since 1960, widening inequalities driven by the climate crisis, conflicts and rapid technological change are leaving millions behind.
- From salt made by hand on a Philippine island, to ceremonial dances in Kenya and ancient textile traditions in Belarus, the UN cultural agency has added a diverse range of living traditions to its global lists of culture at risk, highlighting both the richness of expression and the urgent need to safeguard heritage.
- The UN Deputy Secretary-General voiced deep alarm on Saturday over the latest mass abduction from a school in Nigeria, calling for the immediate release of those taken.
- Sport has always been more than a contest of strength or skill. At its best, it becomes a rare space where people meet as equals – a reminder, as the President of the UN General Assembly put it on Wednesday, that “even in times of division, humanity can find common ground through sport – and an enduring hope.”
- The boat ride from Belém to Barcarena is a journey through shimmering waterways and emerald forest, where the Amazon meets the Atlantic in a sweep of beauty. But beneath the postcard-perfect scene, climate change is quietly rewriting the rules of life.
- The illicit trade in cultural property is one of the world’s oldest and most profitable forms of criminal activity – but now efforts by the UN and law enforcement agencies across the world are helping to bring down these global operations.
- Education took centre stage on the opening day of the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, where leaders, educators and youth advocates underscored that learning is the foundation of inclusive and resilient societies.
- After two years of war that kept them out of classrooms, Gaza’s children are finally returning to the classroom, surrounded by devastation – but determined to learn.
- Journalists risk their lives every day to bring facts to light, yet most attacks against them go unpunished.
- India’s eastern state of Bengal transformed this week into the world’s largest public art festival – an immersive blend of worship, artistic expression, and social messaging, thanks to an annual Hindu festival known as Durga Puja.
- Fifteen-year-old Reyyan Demiriz from Türkiye has been awarded first prize in a UN young writers’ competition which garnered a staggering 1.6 million entries from 65 different countries.
- Aid agencies working in war-torn Sudan issued an alert on Friday over the particular harm faced by children there, the longer the conflict goes on.
- Top finance experts are meeting at UN Geneva this week to push for a radical shake up in the way economic growth is gauged, in response to concerns that GDP measurements provide little insight about progress on key sustainability targets that are vital to our survival.
- The global economy has shown resilience amid turbulence during the past year, including shifting trade policies – yet growth remains subdued and far below pre-pandemic levels, the UN said in a landmark report published on Thursday.
- Since the 19th century, industrialisation has had a transformative effect on the world, both positive and negative. It has created jobs and lifted millions out of poverty. But it has also had devastating consequences; destroying ecosystems, polluting the air, and driving the climate crisis that threatens to make large parts of the planet uninhabitable.
- UN Member States on Wednesday pledged to narrow widening digital divides and put stronger safeguards around artificial intelligence (AI), as the General Assembly concluded a major review of how the world manages the Internet and fast-evolving digital technologies.
- Moving goods around the world could soon become cheaper, faster and far more flexible, following the adoption of a new United Nations-backed agreement that modernises the paperwork behind global shipping.
- On the runway of Guatemala City’s La Aurora International Airport, ten men embraced their families before departing for Germany — the start of a bold new chapter.
- A major UN meeting in Doha wrapped up on Thursday with a renewed drive to help the world’s poorest countries move towards long-term stability and prosperity, as senior officials urged stronger global partnerships to ensure that development gains are not lost once States exit the Least Developed Country (LDC) category.
- Millions of jobs across Asia could be at risk as the AI industry booms at the expense of poorer nations still struggling to provide basic digital access and literacy, UN economists said on Tuesday.
- Global economic growth will slow to 2.6 per cent in 2025, down from 2.9 per cent in 2024, as global trade and investment face growing pressure from financial volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, according to a new report by the UN Trade and Development body (UNCTAD).
- The world moved closer to ensuring that industrial development is a net positive for people and the planet on Thursday, with the adoption of the Riyadh Declaration on the closing day of the Global Industry Summit, a week-long UN event in the Saudi capital.
- Defying the odds: Young entrepreneurs vow to take their chances and build the industries of tomorrowYoung people make a vital contribution to the creation of industries that benefit people and the planet. Their role was recognised on Wednesday at Generation Future day of the Global Industry Summit in Riyadh, with commitments to ensure that their voices are heard and their ideas shared more widely.
- The Occupied Palestinian Territory is now in its deepest economic crisis ever recorded, with Gaza suffering an “unprecedented and catastrophic” collapse, according to a new report from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) presented in Geneva on Tuesday.
- Exceptional women business leaders such as African engineer-turned-entrepreneur Norah Magero are demonstrating how lived experience and ingenuity, backed by United Nations support, can turn promising ideas into successful companies, even in societies where their voices have long been sidelined.
- The UN’s Global Industry Summit underlined the benefits of partnerships for companies in the Global South on Monday, demonstrating ways that AI – if used responsibly – can provide solutions to some of the most intractable problems faced by business leaders.
- The UN Secretary-General says the world is shifting fast towards a multipolar system – where power is spread across several regions instead of concentrated in one or two.
- Leaders from across the world are debating how industry can help tackle some of the world’s most urgent challenges – from climate change and food insecurity to the need for fairer supply chains – at the Global Industry Summit, which opened on Sunday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Ministers and leaders from the world’s 44 least developed countries have pledged to accelerate industrialisation that benefits all, and strengthen resilience in the face of global challenges, at an international UN conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Do higher living standards in developing countries have to mean more polluting, fossil-fuel dependent industries? Or is a low-carbon alternative possible? As the world grapples with climate change, economic inequality, and rapid technological shifts, next week’s Global Industry Summit will tackle these questions, bringing together governments, business leaders, and innovators to shape solutions that balance prosperity with sustainability.
- Combu Island – Ilha do Combu in Portuguese – rises like a wall of living green from Brazil’s Guamá River. It is a testament to centuries of shared existence between the forest and its riverside communities. Here, cupuaçu, taperebá, pupunha, araçá and cacao are more than fruits; they are threads in the fabric of local culture, livelihoods and identity.
- In Belém, Brazil, as the world turns its eyes to the Amazon where COP30 has been underway for the past week, one question looms large: can climate finance move from pledge to lifeline?
- When it comes to protecting women and girls from gender-based violence, change happens when they are “at the heart of every decision,” according to Erin Kenny, Global Coordinator of the Spotlight Initiative a United Nations–European Union partnership aimed at tackling all forms of abuse against women and girls.
- When her family moved from Somalia to London in the 1980s, Safia Jama watched women in her community help her mother navigate a new life in the UK — booking doctor’s appointments, enrolling children in school, and learning how to access everyday services in a new country.
- In a region long overshadowed by conflict narratives, a new kind of leadership is emerging – quiet, insistent, and unmistakably women-centred.
- Gaza’s health system for mothers and newborns has been “decimated”, the UN said on Thursday, with Israeli attacks destroying almost all hospitals, cutting off medical supplies and driving sharp rises in maternal deaths, miscarriages and newborn fatalities amid mass displacement and hunger.
- In Afghanistan, where sweeping restrictions have pushed most women out of public life, thousands are refusing to give up on work.
- Supporting colleagues facing potential sexual exploitation or abuse (PSEA) in the workplace, may start with small acts of recognition but can have lasting positive impacts, according to a UN member of staff working in the Southeast Asian country, Lao People's Democratic Republic.
- Three women in Jamaica whose lives were upended by the destructive force of a hurricane which battered the Caribbean island are looking to rebuild their future
- Women in Gaza are ensuring their families’ survival “with nothing but courage and exhausted hands” while violence continues and essentials remain in short supply, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.
- Exceptional women business leaders such as African engineer-turned-entrepreneur Norah Magero are demonstrating how lived experience and ingenuity, backed by United Nations support, can turn promising ideas into successful companies, even in societies where their voices have long been sidelined.
- For three years, thousands of angry messages poured into American actress Azie Tesfai’s phone from a man she’d never seen nor met.
- More than one in four children globally – around 610 million – live with mothers who have experienced physical, emotional or sexual abuse by an intimate partner in the past year, making violence a part of their everyday lives, according to new data released by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday.
- Scolded for wanting to go to school as a girl and dismissed or ignored as an adult, Awrelia from Wau in South Sudan has learnt to advocate for herself, her children and for the women in her community.
- On the scheduled final day of COP30 in Belém, tense negotiations are stretching into Friday afternoon as divisions persist. Amid the ongoing talks, one message is cutting through the noise: there is no climate justice without gender equality.
- What was once hailed as a vehicle for empowerment has, for millions of women and girls, become a source of fear.
- Between January and September, over 7,400 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) were reported in Haiti – an average of about 27 per day, according to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
- When Salma* was just 15, she was forced to get married, even though she wanted to stay in school and become a doctor someday.
- In Somalia, where six out of ten births take place without a doctor, childbirth is often a matter of survival.
- Despite measurable gains in protecting women and girls from violence, recent progress is at risk of reversal unless global action accelerates, a new UN-backed report has revealed.
- Since 1990, the number of people using modern contraception methods has doubled globally but despite this, nearly 224 million women in mainly developing regions still do not use safe and effective family planning methods, according to the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA.
- In the late afternoon light, about 20 kilometres from Doha, the Al-Thumama complex looks like any quiet residential neighbourhood: paved pathways, rows of apartment blocks, the hum of air-conditioning carrying through the warm desert air.
- Amid ongoing and intensifying Russian attacks across Ukraine, the UN on Tuesday launched a $2.3 billion humanitarian appeal for 2026 to support 4.1 million of the country’s most vulnerable people.
- Airstrikes, drone attacks and hypothermia continue in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 youngsters killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
- The UN Security Council is meeting in emergency session in New York over Russia’s ongoing deadly missile and drone strikes targeting Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure, as frigid winter conditions grip the war-torn country. Millions have been deprived of electricity, heating and water. The UN Secretary-General has called the stepped up attacks an unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law. Follow live below and find all our in-depth meetings coverage here. UN News app users can go here.
- The humanitarian crisis across the Gaza Strip remains extremely serious, with harsh winter weather threatening to reverse recent gains in aid delivery, the United Nations said on Monday.
- Ukraine has entered the new year under intensifying and deadly Russian attacks which have crippled energy systems and left millions without heating, electricity or water amid freezing temperatures, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Monday.
- Sudan’s protracted conflict has spiralled into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with hunger, displacement and the collapse of basic services exacting a daily toll on civilians.
- Aid agencies marked 1,000 days of war in Sudan on Friday with a grim reminder that the conflict has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis and largest displacement emergency. Every day, civilians have been “paying the price for a war they did not choose”, said UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
- UN agencies are supporting efforts on Friday to keep energy services up and running in Ukraine, and families warm amid freezing winter temperatures, following a large-scale overnight attack.
- Despite reductions in the overall number of conflict-related incidents in South Sudan, a rise in abductions and sexual violence is concerning, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, UNMISS, said on Friday.
- The UN has raised serious concerns ahead of Uganda’s elections scheduled for 15 January, warning they will take place in an environment marked by widespread repression, intimidation and shrinking civic space.
- Progress continues to be made towards eliminating remnants of the chemical weapons programme in Syria that was developed under the Assad regime, the UN Security Council heard on Thursday.
- Several parts of Ukraine were hit by a new wave of Russian strikes between Wednesday and Thursday morning.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres continues to be gravely alarmed by escalating hostilities in Aleppo, Syria, and mounting reports of civilian casualties, his Spokesperson said on Thursday.
- An independent human rights expert has urged the international community to reject the electoral process organised by Myanmar’s military government, after the first round of voting revealed widespread coercion, exclusion and violence.
- At least five civilians have been killed and some 30,000 people displaced following renewed fighting in Aleppo, Syria, prompting calls from the UN for immediate de-escalation and a return to political talks.
- Almost four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aid teams continue to adapt to the lethal reality of working in a modern war zone.
- Some two decades after a shaky political transition, Iraq today is a country “at peace, with increased security and a clear determination to win the battle of development,” says the UN resident coordinator for Iraq on Wednesday.
- Responding to the seizure of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro by the United States, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday reiterated deep concerns that the military operation undermined fundamental protections for sovereign countries.
- Thirteen more lives – including children – were reportedly lost on Tuesday in another drone attack on Sudan’s North Kordofan region.
- Thousands of displaced people in northern Syria are struggling to cope with freezing conditions after a severe snowstorm struck dozens of displacement sites, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) said on Tuesday.
- They ask heartbreaking questions: “What will happen to us?” “Is it true they will deport us?” “We don’t want to go back. How can I live in Afghanistan?” The words of Sumaiya, who staffs a helpline for refugees and asylum-seekers living in Pakistan but facing the eventuality of having to return to neighbouring Afghanistan.
- Sudan’s deepening war is driving unprecedented levels of hunger, child malnutrition and displacement, UN agencies report, as new data from Darfur and a renewed refugee influx into Chad underscore the rapidly deteriorating situation.
- The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) will evacuate its logistics base in Kadugli, Sudan, in the wake of the “heinous attack” this past weekend that killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers and seriously injured eight others.
- Through her ceramics, Crimean Tatar artist Elvira Demerdzhi finds moments of calm and a sense of home amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
- On the runway of Guatemala City’s La Aurora International Airport, ten men embraced their families before departing for Germany — the start of a bold new chapter.
- The UN refugee agency’s (UNHCR) prestigious Nansen Award is shining a light on the people proving that compassion and solidarity with displaced communities remain strong – even in some of the most difficult places on earth.
- A woman living with disabilities in a camp for displaced people in Nigeria is demonstrating why it is essential that people like her are included in society and how dignity can be protected even in the harshest places.
- Soaring inflation, fragile job markets and shrinking access to healthcare and education are pushing millions of people in South and South-East Asia onto risky migration paths, the UN human rights office said on Thursday, as regional migration reaches historic highs.
- The lives of people living in Ukraine on the frontline of the war with Russia are becoming more tenuous and support is being provided for those who want to leave as well as those who want to stay in their homes.
- The UN refugee agency has welcomed aspects of the United Kingdom’s proposed changes to its asylum system, while emphasising the importance of fair, efficient protection for those fleeing conflict and persecution.
- Lack of sufficient funds is jeopardizing the ability of the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) to operate, the head of the agency said on Thursday.
- Floods, heatwaves, droughts and storms are forcing millions from their homes every year. Most never cross a border; they remain internally displaced yet uprooted all the same. But experts warn that in the not-so-distant future, entire nations could disappear beneath rising seas or become uninhabitable through drought.
- Forty-two people are missing and presumed dead following a shipwreck off Libya – the latest fatal crossing in the Central Mediterranean, where more than 1,000 lives have been lost this year.
- World News in Brief: Refugee boat tragedy in Andaman Sea, Gaza vaccinations, farmers’ lending schemeAt least 21 Rohingya refugees, including two teenage girls, have died after a boat carrying up to 70 people capsized in the Andaman Sea off the coasts of Malaysia and Thailand, according to UN agencies.
- The UN aid coordination office (OCHA) on Monday warned of a deepening crisis in Sudan’s North Darfur as violence spreads beyond the city of El Fasher.
- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees appealed on Thursday for more solutions to address forced displacement in his final address to the General Assembly.
- Hopes for a peaceful future in post-war Syria are at risk as funding for basic services dries up, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
- More details continued to emerge on Friday of atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in Sudan’s Darfur region.
- A shipwreck off Tunisia that claimed the lives of at least 40 African migrants has once again exposed the lethal risks of irregular sea crossings on routes to Europe, the UN migration agency said on Thursday.
- More than a million people have returned to Sudan’s war-ravaged capital in the past ten months, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday, warning that basic services remain shattered amid continuing disease outbreaks.
- Top finance experts are meeting at UN Geneva this week to push for a radical shake up in the way economic growth is gauged, in response to concerns that GDP measurements provide little insight about progress on key sustainability targets that are vital to our survival.
- Some two decades after a shaky political transition, Iraq today is a country “at peace, with increased security and a clear determination to win the battle of development,” says the UN resident coordinator for Iraq on Wednesday.
- A paediatrician by training, Felipe Paullier has long been an advocate for youth. Formerly Director of the Uruguayan Government's Youth Institute, a role which involved several joint actions with various UN agencies, he was appointed to run the UN Youth Office in 2023, the youngest senior appointment in United Nations history.
- Better access to education, the protection of the environment and good governance are some of the areas in which the United Nations helps countries improve.
- It’s a win-win recipe: schoolchildren eat a free, nutritious meal every day and local farmers gain reliable access to local markets.
- Pressure on freshwater resources is growing as demand increases in regions marked by scarcity, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a report published on Friday.
- A major UN meeting in Doha wrapped up on Thursday with a renewed drive to help the world’s poorest countries move towards long-term stability and prosperity, as senior officials urged stronger global partnerships to ensure that development gains are not lost once States exit the Least Developed Country (LDC) category.
- In the rolling hills of Indonesia’s West Java province, thousands of farmers are reaping tangible benefits from the digitization of their businesses and improved access to finance, thanks in part to a United Nations‑supported project.
- Ministers and leaders from the world’s 44 least developed countries have pledged to accelerate industrialisation that benefits all, and strengthen resilience in the face of global challenges, at an international UN conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- More than 19 per cent of children worldwide live in extreme poverty, surviving on under $3 a day, according to a new UNICEF report.
- Forty-five per cent of the 8.2 billion people on the planet live in cities, which is only going to increase as the world becomes increasingly urban.
- UN News just tested a new way to cover big international meetings – by reporting straight from the conference floor.
- The Second World Summit for Social Development concluded in Doha on Thursday with calls for countries to move swiftly from commitments to implementation, ensuring that the Doha Political Declaration delivers measurable progress on poverty reduction, decent work and social inclusion.
- Tropical forests, vital allies in the fight against climate breakdown, are vanishing at an alarming rate. On Thursday, in a bid to help reverse this trend, Brazil launched a new initiative at a summit of world leaders in Belém, the gateway to the Amazon.
- The Second World Summit for Social Development wrapped up on Thursday with nations warning that global progress on poverty and inequality will stall unless countries move faster from promises to implementation.
- Leaders, policymakers and civil society representatives have gathered in Doha for the Second World Summit for Social Development, with the aim of renewing global commitments to inclusion, dignity and social justice. UN News is on the ground, bringing you live updates, key highlights and human stories from inside the conference halls and beyond. App users can follow the coverage here.
- Despite measurable gains in protecting women and girls from violence, recent progress is at risk of reversal unless global action accelerates, a new UN-backed report has revealed.
- The push to put social justice at the heart of global policymaking took centre stage at the Second World Summit for Social Development on Wednesday, as leaders gathered for a high-level forum to drive coordinated action in delivering the newly adopted Doha Political Declaration.
- Civil society networks and private sector leaders crossed paths in the buzzing corridors of the Qatar National Convention Centre, a reminder that social development is not just debated in meetings rooms – it touches jobs, families and futures.
- As the Second World Summit for Social Development continued in Doha on Wednesday, governments warned that global progress risks stalling unless social protection, equality and peace are prioritised – and backed with political and financial commitment.
