UN News - Top Stories

Yasmin Al-Mashaan lost five brothers during more than a decade of conflict in Syria. Two were forcibly disappeared. Three were killed during peaceful demonstrations or by snipers loyal to the Bashar Al-Assad regime.

Two truckloads of food aid destined for hungry families in South Kordofan state, Sudan, were destroyed in an aerial attack over the weekend, the World Food Progamme (WFP) said on Wednesday.

Record heat waves, deadly flooding and extreme weather reflect an ever-warming planet poised to soon breach safe temperature limits, according to a UN report released on Tuesday, but doubling down on climate action now could avoid a climate catastrophe.

The world must move faster to contain an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is growing exponentially, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator warned on Tuesday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday urged leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to help reshape global governance for a changing world, arguing that a more multipolar international order can strengthen multilateralism, advance fairness and better serve developing countries.

Victims of Afghanistan’s decades-long armed conflict continue to suffer profound physical, psychological, social and economic consequences, often without access to justice, reparation or formal acknowledgement of the harm done to them, according to a new UN report.

Lack of funding has forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to slash aid to families in the West Bank by half even though needs have more than doubled over the past two years.

As rescue efforts continue in Nepal, humanitarians are focused on how the recent deadly flash floods have impacted women and girls, as well as access to healthcare.

The confirmed death toll from Nepal’s catastrophic floods has surged to 903, with more than 4,200 still missing as rescue crews and humanitarian workers battle blocked highways to reach the hardest-hit areas, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday.

Slavery is not just a thing of the past. Its effects continue to be felt in systemic inequality and racism. This was reiterated on Monday by the UN Committee against Racial Discrimination (CERD) as the world marks the International Day of People of African Descent. 

He was born without arms, a legacy of four decades of nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk test site in his native Kazakhstan.

On the shores of Nkondo, in Uganda’s Kikuube district, the day begins before sunrise. Fishers enter the lake to fish, while families around Lake Albert rely on its waters for food, income and daily survival.

The ocean is rising faster now than at any point in recorded history. The impacts are already being felt and the threats are growing.

Israeli attacks killed four children and destroyed humanitarian aid supplies in what turned out to be a deadly week in war-ravaged Gaza, the UN emergency relief agency, OCHA, said on Friday.

A day before a wall of ice, rock and muddy water tore through Himalayan valleys along the Nepal-China border, Dipesh Chapagain was discussing with a colleague just how devastating such a disaster could be.

Following a deadly spate of gang attacks on civilians in Haiti and amid reports of illicit weapons slipping into the Caribbean country, the Security Council has called an emergency meeting at 3pm (local time) to hear and discuss the latest developments. UN News app users can follow our coverage here.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 3,205 attacks on healthcare facilities have been carried out, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for Ukraine Jarno Habicht reported on Friday following fresh overnight strikes.

The recent earthquake in Colombia could increase the risk of child recruitment by armed groups in Chocó and Valle del Cauca, where thousands of children remain out of school in areas already affected by conflict, the UN warned on Friday.

The impact of the deadly flood in Nepal has been described as “immense” as the authorities there confirm that 538 bodies have been recovered from the disaster-stricken area.

As hunger deepens across Gaza, humanitarian agencies continue to deliver food and other essential supplies to families in need.

The seizure of a vocational training centre in occupied East Jerusalem has left hundreds of Palestinian young people without access to skills and training that could help shape their futures. 

The Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) requires “urgent” action and funding to rein in its alarming spread, the UN Secretary-General told reporters at UN Headquarters on Thursday.

Damaged roads, disrupted services and ongoing military activity continue to put civilians at risk in south Lebanon as strikes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah continue, according to the UN’s peacekeeping mission in the country (UNIFIL).

As Damascus continues to rebuild after more than a decade of war – from the recent dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to the United States’ removal of Syria from its sponsors of terrorism list – a top UN official warned the Security Council on Thursday that international support can help tackle outstanding challenges. UN News app users can follow here.

Amid reports that hundreds of people are still missing in Nepal and China after a floodwater surge slammed into towns and villages on Wednesday, aid teams have been working to reach communities cut off by the disaster.

Promising efforts to restore degraded land are now in the spotlight at a time when 40 per cent of the world’s land currently faces degradation and drought, threatening the livelihoods of over three billion people, the head of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) said Wednesday, announcing three winners of its World Restoration Flagships awards.

From piracy and migrant smuggling to disruptions affecting global shipping routes, countries bordering one of the world’s busiest waterways are seeking closer cooperation to stay ahead of fast-evolving maritime threats.

Supporting the first democratic elections after brutal civil wars in Mozambique and Cambodia. Disarming thousands of child soldiers in Sierra Leone. Helping to secure Namibia’s independence from South Africa. These are some of the contributions of UN operations around the world to help countries transition from conflict to lasting peace.

Severe flooding in the Tibet autonomous region of China and Nepal caused widespread destruction and mounting death tolls, UN agencies reported on Wednesday as aid efforts deployed to help provide emergency assistance.

Facing a projected shortage of more than six million health professionals by 2035, African countries are stepping up efforts to strengthen their workforce, with a new decade-long plan announced on Wednesday during a meeting of health ministers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.