PODCAST: Driving the transition to zero emission vehicles – transport day at COP26
It’s looking more and more likely that electric vehicles will dominate the roads of the…
Category: UN
News in Brief 10 November 2021
COVID-19 cases see slight global increase, says WHO Landmine Monitor reports ‘exceptionally high’ use in…
New UNDP initiative shows Afghan people they ‘have not been forgotten’
In the past few weeks, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), under an agreement with the Global Fund, has…
UN steps up wheat planting support, as Afghans face catastrophe
Afghanistan may have dropped out of the news headlines since the Taliban takeover in mid-August, but the situation there is heading…
New UNESCO education report calls for ‘new social contract’
Imagining a new future for education by 2050, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)…
Tedros calls for new high-level working group to get 40% vaccinated by year’s end
With just seven weeks to go before the end of the year, the World Health Organization (WHO) is asking Member…
One in 10 children worldwide live with disabilities
Nearly 240 million children worldwide, or one in 10, live with disabilities and experience deprivation in indicators…
Salaries for Afghanistan health workers sends ‘message of hope’ to millions
By the time the Taliban took over Afghanistan in mid-August, at the main hospital in…
PODCAST: The power and energy of women and girls – gender day at COP26
Little Amal, the giant puppet of a Syrian refugee girl was, literally, the biggest figure…
News in Brief 9 November 2021
COVID-19 pandemic brings global syringe shortage into sharp focus Ethiopia: Future of Tigray and Horn…
Turn to the ICJ before going down path to war, Registrar urges countries
The Registrar of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is urging States to manage their…
COVID-19 pandemic brings global syringe shortage into sharp focus
Efforts to boost COVID-19 vaccine production should be matched by access to the syringes needed…
Uphold safety, human rights on Belarus-Poland border, UN agencies urge
With news footage showing migrants on the border between Belarus and Poland attempting to dodge…
Israeli military deauthorization of Palestine NGOs, ‘deepens concern’ of UN agencies
UN Agencies and the Association International Development Agencies (AIDA) said on Tuesday they were standing firmly behind…
PODCAST: The waters are literally lapping at our ankles – adaptation day at COP26
Even if we were to cut all the world’s greenhouse gas emissions tomorrow, we would…
News in Brief 8 November 2021
WFP warns 3 million more, now ‘teetering on the edge of famine’ Global innovation surged despite COVID-19 economic impact: WIPO…
Rights experts urge Singapore to halt execution of man with mental disability
A group of UN human rights experts appealed on Monday for Singapore to halt the execution of…
Many countries ‘unsupported and unprepared’ to address climate health risks: WHO
Although governments are prioritizing public health measures to protect their people from climate impacts, many lack the funds to take effective action, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a…
Vaccinating refugees in Indonesia, for the benefit of all
Refugees in Indonesia, many of whom have fled Afghanistan’s mounting crises, have lagged far behind…
PODCAST: Appealing to our better nature – COP26 day 6
Mankind’s impact on the planet is causing it to react against us, provoking extreme weather…
Nepalese Superintendent in DR Congo is UN Woman Police Officer of the Year
A Nepalese peacekeeper serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was on Friday…
PODCAST: Engaged, empowered, and angry – youth day at COP26
The anger of climate activist Greta Thunberg, one of the leading voices of the demonstrations…
News in Brief 5 November 2021
All regions seeing upsurge in COVID-19 cases: Tedros Sudan’s coup leaders in spotlight as…
Myanmar: Systematic attack on civilians, rights mechanism reveals
Preliminary evidence shows a widespread and systematic attack on civilians in Myanmar in the wake…
UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva: Tigray conflict, Afghans ‘broke and broken’, COP26 climate action
Packed into this week’s 15-minute show: potential war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ethiopia’s…
PODCAST: Off-grid, power on – energy day at COP26
Energy was the main theme of COP26 on Thursday, with a particular focus on ending…
News in Brief 4 November 2021
COP26 adaptation measures must increase: UNEP report Afghanistan’s people ‘broke and broken’ – UN migration…
COVID-19: Europe and Central Asia at epicentre of new rise
About 22 months since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported, and almost a year since the…
UN experts call for protection of trafficked workers from Viet Nam in Saudi Arabia
Some women and girls being recruited in Viet Nam to serve as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, are suffering…
PODCAST: ‘Here’s where we draw the line’ – a trillion dollar climate commitment at COP26
Day three of COP26 was dominated by climate finance: how to ensure that the financial…
UN rights office report: Tigray situation is unbearable
When you hear about war and conflict as a news consumer, it can be easy…
News in Brief 3 November 2021
COP26: Cities key to climate, pandemic recovery, says Guterres Ceasefire appeal for Ethiopia: UN rights…
Israel settlement expansion ‘tramples’ on human rights law, experts contend
Israel’s plan to build thousands of new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West…
‘Climate of fear’ prevails for human rights defenders in Afghanistan
Human rights defenders in Afghanistan report that they are now enduring a “climate of fear”, threats, and becoming increasingly desperate over…
Indian COVID-19 vaccine receives WHO approval
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday approved an eighth vaccine against COVID-19, which follows a slight uptick in new cases globally. …
End war now before it’s too late for Ethiopians, UN rights chief urges fighters
All parties involved in the escalating conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray must stop fighting immediately, or…
PODCAST: Seeing the woods and the trees – COP26 day 2
Several new pledges were made on the second day of COP26, the UN climate conference,…
News in Brief 2 November 2021
Deforestation deal hailed at COP26 climate conference In Madagascar, pockets of famine and children at…
Step up vaccines against Group B strep, linked to baby deaths and disability
New vaccines are urgently needed against a common bacterium which is a major cause of…
Act now to stamp out child labour by 2025: FAO chief
Effective action and strong leadership are essential to end child labour by 2025, the head…
PODCAST: Bagpipes, jetlag, and the ‘climate action army’ – COP26 begins
The 26th UN climate conference, or COP, opened with a World Leaders Summit on Monday,…
Online technologies ‘very useful’ for human trafficking
Human trafficking takes many forms and can involve forced labour or domestic servitude. But when…
News in Brief 1 November 2021
Opening COP26, António Guterres says enough of ‘treating nature like a toilet’ Five million lives lost to…
62 journalists killed in 2020, just for doing their jobs: UNESCO
In 2020 alone, according to UN cultural agency UNESCO, which works to protect media workers, 62 journalists were killed just…
UNAIDS upholds decriminalization, access to services, on International Drug Users’ Day
People who use drugs should not be criminalized, the UN agency leading the global fight…
Honor five million lives lost to COVID-19 by making vaccine equity a reality, Guterres says
As the world on Monday passed yet another sombre pandemic milestone – five million lives…
First Person: Telling the tragic story of mercury poisoning in Japan
Masami Ogata is a survivor of Minamata Disease, a debilitating illness caused by industrial mercury…
Why are astronauts growing food in space?
World leaders convene in Glasgow this weekend for the UN Climate Conference, COP26, to finalise…
News in Brief 29 October 2021
Prioritize water and climate action, WMO and partners say ahead of COP26 Rising climate could…
Ahead of Sudan protests, UN chief asks military to ‘show restraint’
With mass civil protests against this week’s military coup planned for Saturday in Sudan, the UN Secretary-General has a simple message: “I urge the military to…