Month: May 2019

UN and African Union in ‘common battle’ for development and climate change financing

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for a “quantum leap” in funding for development and climate change for Africa, speaking to journalists on Monday, following the plenary meeting of the latest United Nations-African Union (AU) Conference, which took place in New York. Mr. Guterres declared that the Organization’s work to promote peace and security, human […]

Escalation in Syria fighting cause for ‘great concern’ says UN chief, dozens more civilians dead or injured

UN chief António Guterres has said that he’s following “with great concern” intensifying clashes in north-western Syria that have claimed yet more civilian lives and displaced thousands in recent days. The Secretary-General’s comments come amid reports of aerial attacks on population centres and civilian buildings within a demilitarized zone that has been guaranteed since last […]

Deadly violence at Israel-Gaza border escalates dangerously: UN chief condemns in strongest terms

The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, is following with “deep concern” the latest developments across the Gaza-Israeli border and urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint. Over the weekend, hundreds of rockets were launched from the Occupied Palestinian Territory into southern Israel, and Israel retaliated with hundreds of airstrikes and tank fire. According to news […]

World is ‘on notice’ as major UN report shows one million species face extinction

A hard-hitting report into the impact of humans on nature shows that nearly one million species risk becoming extinct within decades, while current efforts to conserve the earth’s resources will likely fail without radical action, UN biodiversity experts said on Monday. Speaking in Paris at the launch of the Global Assessment study – the first such report […]

International Day of the Midwife: 5 things you should know

Why are midwives important? What impact have they had on mothers’ and babies’ health? As the United Nations celebrates midwives across the world on Sunday, here are five things you should know about the critical role they play in communities. 1. Midwives save millions of lives each year The world has seen a steady decline […]

‘Grave consequences’ await if new deadly escalation of violence in Gaza continues – top UN official

The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, is “deeply concerned by yet another dangerous escalation in Gaza and the tragic loss of life”. According to news reports, approximately 200 rockets were fired on Saturday from the Occupied Palestinian Territory towards Israel, and various Israeli airstrikes and tank fire were […]