Undeclared chemical weapons found in Syria, including type used in notorious Ghouta massacre

© UNICEF/Amer Almohibany Destroyed buildings in Harasta, Ghouta. A suburb of Damascus, Ghouta was the site of a deadly chemical weapons attack in August 2013.This article is published in association with United Nations. Chemical weapons inspectors have uncovered a significant cache of previously undeclared chemical weapons in Syria – including rockets of the same type used in the notorious 2013 Ghouta attack – in what the UN’s top disarmament official called a “momentous discovery” for international security. Izumi Nakamitsu briefed […]

Yemen: Hunger crisis deepens as funding cuts leave millions without support

© UNICEF/Mohanad Waqqas An 18-month-old girl suffering from malnutrition is weighed at a displaced camp in Lahj, Yemen.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. Around five million people – or […]

‘We are catching up’ – WHO chief on DR Congo’s Ebola fight

This article is published in association with United Nations. 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.  Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus briefed journalists […]

Unsafe food kills 1.5 million people each year; children most at risk: WHO

This article is published in association with United Nations.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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 new insights released on Wednesday ahead of next week’s […]

Growing up with sirens: UN child rights envoy on the toll of the Ukraine-Russia war

© UNICEF Vanessa Frazier, Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict, during a visit to frontline areas in Ukraine.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. But children on both sides […]

Haiti: UN rights office welcomes new judicial units to tackle gang violence and impunity

© WFP/Odelyn Joseph People who have fled their homes carry possessions through the streets of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.This article is published in association with United Nations. The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Tuesday welcomed theopening of two specialised judicial units in Haiti, saying the move marked “a significant step toward tackling widespread impunity in the country.”  Launched by the Haitian government at the end of May, they are expected to address complex corruption cases, including the illicit trade of arms and money […]

UN urges world not to forget Rohingya refugees as aid cuts threaten vital support

© UNICEF/Ilvy Njiokiktjien A two-year-old girl suffering from malnutrition is fed by her mother at their shelter in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. […]

World News in Brief: Violence hampers Ebola efforts, aid delivery in Darfur and Gaza, Nicaraguan activist’s death in custody

© UNICEF/Carmel Ndomba Mbikayi A girl washes her hands at a primary school in Bunia during the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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.  At least seven civilians were killed in villages in Mambasa Territory, Ituri province, on Sunday, humanitarian partners reported.  The attack followed weeks of mounting violence […]

UN deplores another wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine

© UNICEF The aftermath of a Russian strike on a residential area in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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.  Matthias Schmale condemned the large-scale Russian assault on the capital Kyiv, as well as Dnipro and Kharkiv, […]

UN stresses the need for de-escalation in Ukraine war as attacks rise

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Kayoko Gotoh, Director and Officer-in-Charge for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas, addresses the Security Council meeting on Threats to International Peace and SecurityThis article is published in association with United Nations. 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.  Romania requested the urgent meeting after a Russian drone entered its airspace on Friday night, hitting an apartment building in the eastern […]

From Libyan deserts to 3D-printed guns: The weapons that never go away

© Wikipedia/Hotsauce 3D-printed guns are near impossible for authorities to trace, primarily because they are produced outside traditional manufacturing and regulatory systems.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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 issue is […]

DR Congo Ebola outbreak: Nurses discharged after full recovery

© WHO/Joël Lumbala A shipment of essential medical supplies for the Ebola response arrives at Bunia airport in Ituri province, DR Congo.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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.  “More recoveries are expected, especially when people are diagnosed early and able to access care, and […]

‘You are not alone’: WHO chief vows to stand with DR Congo through Ebola outbreak

© WHO/Joël Lumbala A health worker screens a man at the entrance of a hospital in Ituri, DR Congo.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. […]

Under fire, Kharkiv is already building for a peaceful tomorrow

This article is published in association with United Nations.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. Yet amid the destruction, Ukraine’s second-largest city is doing something that may seem almost impossible […]

Global temperatures set to stay near record levels: UN weather agency

© WMO/Muhammad Amdad Hossain A young man braves the drought in Satkhira region of Bangladesh, as he wa;ks to a reservoir to collect water.This article is published in association with United Nations. The world is heading into another period of dangerous heat, a new UN report warns on Thursday, and it’s nearly certain global temperatures over the next five years will stay “at or near record levels” as climate change accelerates across land and sea. A report produced by […]

UN warns Ukraine war risks spiralling ‘out of control’

© UNOCHA A heavily damaged apartment building in Sloviansk, eastern Ukraine.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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.” Addressing the Security Council in New York, Mr. Guterres said […]

Ebola outbreak in DR Congo collides with conflict and hunger, WHO warns

© WHO A frontline health worker in PPE (personal protective equipment) takes part in the Ebola response in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. WHO Director-General […]

World News in Brief: Sudan and Haiti updates, Afghan women’s rights

© UNICEF/Jeremy Hartley Women gather in the shade of the high archway entrance to a mosque in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. Tweet URL The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia have been battling their former […]

Middle East update: Airstrikes and evacuation orders in Lebanon, aid restrictions in Gaza

© WHO A displaced family packs their belongings in their car at a shelter south-east of Beirut as they prepare to return home following the ceasefire.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. Following the airstrikes in Lebanon, families were seen spending the night in their vehicles in the […]

Ukraine: Russian attack destroys humanitarian food aid in Dnipro

© WFP UN WFP warehouse in Dnipro, Ukraine damaged by precision-guided, Iskander ballistic missile strike.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. “Absolutely unacceptable,” WFP chief Cindy McCain tweeted on Tuesday, a day after the airstrike. “These deliberate attacks […]

Wars and geopolitical divisions constitute ‘dangerous erosion’ of world order, warns UN chief

© UNICEF/Mohamed Dawod Temporary shelters for newly arrived displaced families from the Kordofan states at an IDP site in White Nile state. Sudan’s conflict has killed thousands of people and forced millions from their homes.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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 […]

International airlines urged to stick to safety measures in wake of Ebola outbreak

© WFP/Michael Castofas WFP staff and responders handle boxes of supplies at a logistics site in DR Congo during the Ebola outbreak.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. The outbreak of the […]

War is becoming a death sentence for women and girls

© UN Women/Samar Abu Elouf Palestinian women grieve for their relatives who were killed in Israeli bombings in Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.This article is published in association with United Nations. Thirteen-year-old Mona still remembers the moment the second airstrike hit. “We were sitting on the sixth floor when they struck the seventh – my uncle’s apartment,” she said. “My uncle’s wife was screaming, ‘My children! My children are gone!’ As I rushed to help her, they fired […]

World Urban Forum backs ‘Baku Call to Action’ on global housing crisis

This article is published in association with United Nations.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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 […]

Review of landmark nuclear treaty breaks up without consensus, raising arms race fears

United Nations Izumi Nakamitsu (l) and Ambassador Do Hung Viet (r) at the closing press conference of the 11th Review Conference of the NPTThis article is published in association with United Nations. After four weeks of negotiations at UN Headquarters in New York, the 11th Review Conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ended on Friday without consensus on a final declaration. It wasn’t until nine on Friday evening that Ambassador Do Hung Viet, the President of the conference, and Izumi […]

Ebola epidemic spreading rapidly and outpacing containment efforts

© WHO Supplies to bolster the response against the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province arrive in the town of Bunia.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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 latest outbreak of the deadly disease, which WHO has declared […]

Haitian children ‘paying the highest price’ amid surge in gang recruitment

© WFP/Maria Gallar Families displaced by violence shelter in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at a school in Port-au-Prince.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. Children now constitute around half of the gang members who have taken de facto control of large swathes of […]

Ebola risk ‘very high’ in eastern DR Congo as UN intensifies response

©UNICEF/Carmel Ndomba Mbikayi A UNICEF water and sanitation expert explains Ebola prevention measures to students at a primary school in Bunia, Ituri, DR Congo.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday raised the national risk assessment for DRC to “very high” – although […]

Massive Russian strike on Kyiv: ‘I hope my friends are alive’

UNICEF Dozens of residential buildings in Kyiv were hit in a massive Russian attack on May 23, 2026This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. Tweet URL At least four people are […]

WHO chief calls for urgent Ebola action and pandemic preparedness

This article is published in association with United Nations.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. His call came as Ugandan […]

UN agencies step up Ebola response in eastern DR Congo

This article is published in association with United Nations.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. As health authorities in both the DRC and Uganda respond to the deadly resurgence, the […]

Ebola outbreak: ‘Every epidemic begins in a community and ends in a community’

© UNICEF/Carmel Ndomba A child washes her hands at a school in Ituri Province in the DR Congo.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. The UN […]

30,000 people flee fresh violence in Haiti as hunger crisis deepens

©WFP/Odelyn Joseph People who have fled their homes carry possessions through the streets of Port-au-Prince.This article is published in association with United Nations. 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. Much of the violence has been concentrated in Cité Soleil, an impoverished […]
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