UN News - Global perspective Human stories

• World News in Brief: Displacement in South Sudan, fraud centres in the Philippines, new migration patterns in Latin America
  In South Sudan, the UN aid coordination office [OCHA] reported on Thursday that conflict and flooding continue to drive displacement and food insecurity higher throughout the country.
• Lebanon strikes deepen crisis as hunger rises and conditions worsen in Gaza
  At least nine people were reported to have been killed in southern Lebanon on Thursday, as ongoing hostilities continue to exact a heavy toll on civilians and drive a worsening humanitarian crisis marked by rising hunger and strained public services.
• Abuse of women journalists made ‘easier and more damaging’ by AI
  Reports of online violence against women journalists have doubled since 2020, with serious impacts on their health and well-being, according to a study published ahead of World Press Freedom Day marked annually on 3 May. 
• DPRK Korea: Continued militarisation a ‘serious concern’, political affairs chief warns Security Council
  The continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development by The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea remain “a matter of serious concern,” the UN’s political affairs chief told the Security Council on Thursday. 
• Hormuz crisis strangling global economy, Guterres warns, demanding solutions to end stalemate
  The escalating crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could push tens of millions into poverty, trigger a surge in global hunger and even tip the world towards recession, the UN Secretary-General warned on Thursday.
• Central Asia celebrates 20 years as a nuclear-weapon-free zone
  Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan was once the Soviet Union’s primary testing ground for nuclear weapons. Today, in an age of rising nuclear threats, the Semipalatinsk Treaty – which saw a group of Central Asian countries renounce nuclear weapons in 2006 – is more relevant than ever.
• 2015 nuclear deal ‘no basis’ for any new agreement with Iran
  The 2015 nuclear accord with Iran cannot be the starting point for a new agreement with the country, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Wednesday in New York. 
• World News in Brief: Europe warming twice as fast, acute hunger in Lebanon, peacekeepers deployed in Congo
  New data shows record heatwaves from the Mediterranean to the Arctic last year, with glaciers shrinking and snow cover declining, according to the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO). 
• UN80 Initiative: Real progress made on tackling complex issues facing the UN system
  A new guide to the UN80 Initiative, released on Wednesday, provides an overview of the progress being made so far on this ambitious, wide-ranging reform effort.
• Freedom, humanity and justice: The enduring legacy of jazz
  Jazz music can bring people together and promote freedom, humanity and love according to a contemporary musician practicing his art in New York City.
• AI in advertising risks fuelling information crisis, UN warns
  With spending on advertising topping $1 trillion a year worldwide, the United Nations on Wednesday highlighted the untapped power of major brands to shape the future of Artificial Intelligence, warning that a failure to act could deepen a global information integrity crisis.
• UN rights chief warns of escalating crackdown in Iran amid conflict
  The UN’s top human rights official warned on Wednesday that Iranians’ rights are being eroded in “harsh and brutal ways,” citing a surge in executions, mass arrests and alleged abuses amid a widening crackdown on dissent during the ongoing conflict.
• Iran crisis shows fossil fuels-based energy system ‘is inherently volatile and unstable’
  Senior UN climate leaders are getting behind countries mobilising this week for a transition away from fossil fuels at a groundbreaking event in Colombia.
• Over half of South Sudan’s population faces acute hunger crisis
  Conflict and displacement are intensifying South Sudan’s hunger crisis, with 7.8 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity while 2.2 million children are suffering from acute malnutrition, according to a joint statement on Tuesday from UN agencies.
• From Hormuz to Lebanon, crisis reverberates through trade routes, upending humanitarian networks
  Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to send shockwaves through global food systems, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has warned, as a widening crisis across the Middle East continues to strain humanitarian operations and deepen instability.
• World News in Brief: Syria human rights update, Cuba post-hurricane support still vital, impunity and violence in Myanmar
  Three mass graves were recently uncovered in northeastern Syria, including one reportedly at the site of a former detention centre run by the Kurdish-backed Syrian Armed Forces (SDF). 
• WHO calls for stepped up action to eliminate viral hepatitis
  Countries are making measurable progress in combatting viral hepatitis, but the disease remains a major global health challenge, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a new report published on Tuesday. 
• SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Gaza ceasefire is ‘increasingly fragile’, UN warns
  The Security Council turns again to the Middle East crisis in New York on Tuesday, with debate focusing on the fragile Gaza ceasefire, a worsening humanitarian crisis there and efforts to advance a US-backed peace plan.UN senior political affairs official Khaled Khiari warned of increasingly dire conditions in Gaza and the West Bank, while former UK Prime Minister and US-led Board of Peace member, Tony Blair, said the council needs to mobilise funds for recovery at this “pivotal juncture”. You can follow all the UN's meetings coverage here but follow live and in-depth updates below. 
• Darfur: Two decades on, a new generation of children faces 'horrific violence'
  Twenty years after the conflict in Darfur first sparked global outrage, children in the region are once again trapped in a catastrophic cycle of violence, hunger, and displacement – but this time, the world is failing to take notice.
• Afghanistan risks losing 25,000 women teachers and health workers
  Restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment in Afghanistan could leave the country with a deficit of over 25,000 female teachers and health workers by 2030, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday. 
• World News in Brief: Sudan drone attacks condemned, South Sudan violence, airstrikes in Ukraine, South Africa Freedom Day
  The United Nations has condemned two recent drone attacks in Sudan, one of which left seven dead, Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday during his regular media briefing in New York.
• As warheads proliferate, decades old nuclear weapons treaty must evolve, warns UN chief
  With top diplomats gathered at UN Headquarters to review the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the UN Secretary-General warned that it must evolve to survive the age of AI and other new technologies.
• Central Sahel: Millions of children in humanitarian need, UNICEF official warns
  Nearly 7.5 million children across the Central Sahel region in Africa are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance – “an emergency that remains too far from the attention of the international community,” a senior official with the UN child rights agency UNICEF has said. 
• MIDDLE EAST LIVE 27 April: Everyone’s paying the price for Hormuz closure, Guterres warns Security Council
  The recently extended ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon remains under strain as violence continues, with civilian deaths and injuries reported in Israeli strikes over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Security Council is debating maritime security with the UN chief calling on nations restricting ship movement through the Strait of Hormuz to “let the global economy breathe.” Follow in-depth meeting coverage here. Stay with us for live updates.
• Chokepoints and conflict: How the Hormuz crisis is exposing global shipping vulnerabilities
  The blockading of ships in the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the conflict between the United States and Iran has demonstrated how ships and seafarers have become “leverage in geopolitical disputes,” according to the head of the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO).