News

Forests cover more than 40 per cent of Belarus. At the same time, the country recorded twice as many forest fires last year compared to the year before.

At a time when some state laws dictated where different races could live, Parkway Village, built to house some of the first UN staff in New York in 1947, led the way in eliminating racially segregated housing in the United States.

The crisis in the Middle East continues, with strikes and counter-strikes reported across the region, driving civilian casualties, displacement and rising humanitarian needs. Energy infrastructure has also been affected, with reports of an oil refinery struck in Kuwait and warnings from Qatar that liquefied natural gas export capacity could fall following an attack on the Ras Laffan facility. Oil prices remain above $100 a barrel, underscoring the growing global economic impact. UN agencies warn of mounting pressure on health systems, supply chains and essential services, as they scale up emergency assistance despite access constraints. Stay with us for live updates from across the UN system. App users can follow coverage here.

Barham Salih has spent much of his life crossing borders, first as a young Kurdish exile fleeing repression in Iraq, and now as the UN top official for refugees, confronting a world in which more than 117 million people have been forced from their homes.

More than two years of unrelenting violence, displacement and loss have pushed children and young people in Palestine into what one UN official describes as a “profound mental health emergency”, with girls facing heightened risks, including a resurgence in child marriage.

The fallout from the war in the Middle East is rippling far beyond the Gulf, disrupting fuel supplies, shipping routes and supply chains across Asia and the Pacific, with some of the region’s most vulnerable economies already feeling the strain through rising prices, rationing and threats to jobs, food security and remittances.

The Rafah crossing into Gaza reopened on Thursday for limited movement in both directions after a 20-day suspension, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The US and Israel must end their bombing campaign before it spirals out of control, while Iran needs to stop attacking Gulf neighbours who have played no direct part in the war roiling the Middle East and beyond, the UN Secretary-General urged on Thursday.

Ongoing strikes across the Middle East stemming from the US-Israeli bombing of Iran and subsequent counterstrikes in the Gulf by Tehran continue to drive humanitarian needs, civilian casualties and mass displacement. Concerns are also growing over maritime security, the economic crisis centred around the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, attacks on healthcare and the protection of critical infrastructure, including nuclear facilities. Stay with us for live updates from across the UN system. App users can follow coverage here.

The UN is mourning the loss of Nicholas Haysom, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for South Sudan, whose went from advising Nelson Mandela following the historic anti-apartheid struggle to becoming a “tireless” champion of crisis diplomacy for the UN in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Humanitarian needs are continuing to grow again across Gaza, the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said on Wednesday, amid mounting pressures on aid delivery and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. 

UN aid teams in Yemen on Wednesday warned that the situation in the war-torn nation remains dire in a call for $2 billion in aid to deliver lifesaving assistance for 12 million people.