UN News - Top Stories

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

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

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. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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. 

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.