Hopes rose last week in Damascus when fuel prices dropped instantly following Donald Trump’s move to end punitive sanctions. But after more than 13 years of civil war that ended with the fall of the Assad regime last December, ordinary Syrians face an exhausting list of other problems. These include an absence of housing – […]
In a statement on Monday, the prosecutors’ office confirmed that deputies Nazhat Shameem Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang are taking the lead, ensuring continuity across all cases and operations. The transition follows Prosecutor Khan’s announcement on 16 May that he would temporarily step aside while the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) conducts an […]
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, urged Member States to remain focused on shared goals even amid global instability. “We are here to serve not our own interests, but the eight billion people of our world,” he said in his keynote address at the Palais des Nations. “To leave a heritage for […]
“We have been approached by Israeli authorities to resume limited aid delivery, and we are in discussions with them now on how this would take place given the conditions on the ground,” OCHA said in a statement. It is now 11 weeks since the Israeli authorities closed off all food, fuel and medicines to Gaza. […]
António Guterres was speaking during a wreath-laying ceremony at a memorial in Baghdad to honour the victims of the 19 August 2003 Canal Hotel bombing – the worst terrorist attack in UN history. Twenty-two people were killed, including the then UN Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. More than 100 others were injured, […]
The stakes are high for this year’s World Health Assembly, the UN’s premier health forum, where officials will tackle a sweeping agenda – from pandemic readiness and climate-related health risks to mental health, maternal care, and environmental justice. But with geopolitical tensions running high, international collaboration on these and other vital issues will be tested. Here […]
António Guterres told leaders meeting in the Iraqi capital that “the region and the world face trials and tests on all fronts,” starting with the situation in Gaza. He reiterated that neither the atrocious 7 October 2023 terror attacks by Hamas nor the collective punishment of the Palestinian people can be justified. Permanent ceasefire now […]
No aid has entered the enclave since Israel implemented a ban on 2 March and the entire population, more than two million people, is at risk of famine. “As we demonstrated during the ceasefire this year – and every time we’ve been granted access – the United Nations and our humanitarian partners have the expertise, […]
At least nine people were killed and seven injured when a Russian drone struck a minibus near the town of Bilopillia in the Sumy region, according to local authorities. HRMMU monitors are in the process of gathering additional information on the circumstances of the attack and its victims. Preliminary reports suggest that the minibus was […]
Mr. Hassan and his fellow Youth Councillors advise and actively engage with the WHO Director-General and the agency’s senior leadership, designing and expanding the agency’s programmes and strategies. In an interview with UN News ahead of the 2025 World Health Assembly – the UN’s highest forum for global health – Mr. Hassan, who was born and raised […]
A defining moment for global health is about to unfold in Geneva. The World Health Assembly is meeting next week to negotiate the Pandemic Preparedness Treaty, a document born from the catastrophic failures and fragile victories of the COVID-19 pandemic. The text of the treaty promises shared information, equitable access to vaccines and therapeutics, and […]
António Guterres issued the warning in a video message to the inaugural Sagarmatha Sambaad, or “Everest Dialogue,” convened by the Government of Nepal in Kathmandu. “Record temperatures have meant record glacier melt,” he said. “Nepal today is on thin ice – losing close to one-third of its ice in just over thirty years. And your […]
Delegations met in Istanbul for the first direct negotiations in three years, including on a potential ceasefire and large-scale prisoner exchange. The UN acknowledged the important role of Türkiye and the United States in facilitating the talks, said Stephanie Tremblay, a spokesperson for the global body in New York. “We hope this process will lead […]
“I believe in nothing right now. Our press vests are turning us into targets and it’s becoming a death sentence for us,” Christina Assi told UN News recently. On 13 October 2023, Ms. Assi – who was working as a photojournalist for Agence France Presse (AFP) – lost her right leg after two Israeli air […]
Volker Türk on Friday called the decree “draconian” and urged Mali’s Transitional President, General Assimi Goïta, to reverse the decree issued earlier this week. Signed on 13 May, the decree dissolves all political parties and “organizations of a political nature” nationwide. It was preceded by the repeal of legislation that had safeguarded political participation. “Any […]
OHCHR has urged Israel to stop all extrajudicial executions and other unlawful use of force and ensure all those responsible are brought to justice. Over the last two weeks, Israeli security forces killed two Palestinian men in planned summary executions, while seven others were killed in conditions that raise concerns over the use of unnecessary […]
It is the first time since 2017 that a famine has been declared anywhere on Earth. In the 20 months since the war between rival militaries erupted, 13 million Sudanese have been forcibly displaced and over 30.4 million are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, according to UN estimates. The inhabitants of the Zamzam camp, like […]
Updating journalists in Geneva, Dr. Margaret Harris described another night of terror in the war-torn enclave. She said that some of those injured in the attacks had sought help from the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, even though it was now “just a shell” after 19 months of war. “We’ve done our best to […]
Each called for justice under international law and for perpetrators to be held accountable. Sung-Eui Lee, daughter of a South Korean man abducted by North Korean forces during the Korean War, and Ruby Chen, father of an Israeli soldier taken by Hamas during the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel, spoke in the Security Council. […]
In addition to ongoing bombardment, Israel issued another three displacement orders over the past two days, covering seven per cent of the total area of the territory. Overall, some 71 per cent of the Gaza Strip is under displacement orders or in Israeli-militarized zones, where the Israeli authorities require humanitarian teams to coordinate their movements. […]