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The escalating violence in the Middle East region is compounding an already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The UN Security Council is convening in New York under extraordinary circumstances: amid escalating conflict in the Middle East and repeated calls from the UN for restraint by all sides, the Council turns its attention to a long-standing but under-addressed crisis facing children in war zones. The United States, which holds the rotating presidency for March, decided to have First Lady Melania Trump chair the meeting. Usually, the UN ambassador or senior official of the country holding the presidency takes the gavel. While there have been instances of First Ladies taking part in Security C

Violent escalation in the Middle East has entered a third day as coordinated US and Israeli strikes against Iran aimed at regime change continue to cause loss of life and damage across the region, prompting Iranian missile and drone counter-strikes hitting targets in multiple countries. Explosions, airspace closures and military alerts have been reported from Tehran to the Gulf states and beyond. Follow our live coverage with updates from across the United Nations system. UN News app users can follow here.

As the violent escalation in the Middle East entered a third day on Monday sparked by the bombing of Iran by Israel and the United States, the head of the UN atomic energy agency urged a return to diplomacy, given the “increasing risk to nuclear safety” in the region.

The UN education agency, UNESCO, says that the bombing of a primary school during the US and Israeli military attacks on Iran on Saturday constitutes a grave violation of humanitarian law.

Travelling more than 200 kilometres (124 miles) from Yambio, the capital of Western Equatoria State in southwestern South Sudan, a team of justice experts escorted by United Nations peacekeepers moved slowly along rough, dusty roads, determined to reach communities that have waited years for their day in court. 

“Everything must be done” to prevent wider escalation of war across the Middle East following joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran, and retaliatory action from Tehran targeting multiple countries in the region, the UN Secretary-General told the Security Council on Saturday.

The UN Security Council met in emergency session in the aftermath of major airstrikes across Iran on Saturday by the United States and Israel. In retaliation, Tehran launched its own attacks throughout the Middle East. UN chief António Guterres told ambassadors the action risks “igniting a chain of events that nobody can control in the most volatile region of the world.” He added that “everything must be done to prevent further escalation.” Follow our live coverage from UN Web TV below. UN News app users can follow here and full meetings coverage can be found daily, here.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the heads of UN agencies have condemned Saturday’s joint Israeli and US attacks on Iran and the Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel and the Gulf Regions.

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

Four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many people are trying to overcome deep-rooted trauma and rebuild what has been lost. 

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

On Friday the General Assembly was briefed on the latest developments of the UN80 Initiative – a system-wide reform effort to make the organisation more effective and fit for the future – including progress on the New Humanitarian Compact and on training and research reforms.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned on Friday that the Epstein and Gisèle Pellicot scandals are an illustration of intensifying threats to women and girls forced to suffer in silence.

South Sudan was the focus of debate in the UN Human Rights Council on Friday as escalating violence and political tensions – alongside a massive humanitarian emergency and war in neighbouring Sudan – threaten efforts to achieve lasting peace. 

Reports on Friday that major cities in Afghanistan have been bombed by the Pakistan military in a new escalation between the two countries have raised fears for civilians already struggling under the harsh rule of the de facto Taliban authorities.

One evening in war-ravaged southern Ukraine, a group of armed men entered Maryna’s home. She had nowhere to hide.

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

Cuba’s humanitarian situation is worsening as fuel shortages deepen nearly a month after Washington took measures to block oil supplies from entering the Caribbean nation, a senior UN official warned on Wednesday.

Nearly three years of war in Sudan have been marked by killings, rape and other violations, with risk of genocidal violence spreading, the UN Human Rights Council heard on Thursday. 

The UN rights chief Volker Türk on Thursday highlighted the “human-made disaster” across the Occupied Palestinian Territory stemming from Israel’s disregard for human rights norms and serious violations also committed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Thursday appealed for dialogue between Afghanistan and Pakistan amid border clashes and deadly airstrikes, while condemning ever harsher “apartheid” edicts issued by the Afghan de facto authorities that continue to severely impact women and girls.

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

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

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

Fresh from holding the most extensive elections in its history, the Central African Republic (CAR) is entering what the UN’s top envoy in the country describes as a “decisive period” in consolidating fragile peace gains, even as security challenges persist and disarmament efforts continue.

A new UN report forecasts that the Arab region is seeing a gradual economic recovery despite continuing geopolitical uncertainties.

The lucrative, illegal trade and trafficking of waste products including many that are toxic could be set to surge across continents, thanks to patchy regulation, savvy criminal groups and corruption, UN experts said on Wednesday.

The international community must “use every diplomatic tool” to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Tuesday as Russia’s full-scale invasion entered a fifth year.

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