NASA’s historic Boeing flight set to launch
The Boeing Starliner spaceship is set to launch astronauts to the International Space Station on Monday night, ten years after its commission by NASA. NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams will pilot the flight test to the space station,…
Russia announces nuclear drills in response to perceived Western threats
Russia plans to perform drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, in response to what it called “provocative statements and threats from France, Britain and the United States regarding the Russian Federation,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, a warning…
UN pledges to stand with Gazans amid reports Hamas has accepted ceasefire deal
Multiple news outlets have reported that Hamas’s supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had confirmed the militant group’s acceptance of what it stated were Israel’s ceasefire terms in a phone call with Qatar’s Prime Minister and a senior Egyptian minister. The two…
UN and partners issue urgent funding appeal for Yemen
Nine years of war have left over half the population – 18.2 million people, mainly women and children – in need of assistance and protection services. The humanitarian response in Yemen is among the largest in the world, yet a…
Unexploded ordnance leaves dark legacy for Gaza, warn mine action experts
Briefing reporters late last month, UN Mine Action Service officers said the war has already left behind around 37 million tonnes of debris, and it could take 14 years to make Gaza safe from unexploded bombs. The development comes amid…
Russia says Ukrainian drone attack killed 6 in Belgorod
Officials in western Russia said a Ukrainian drone attack killed at least six people Monday in the Belgorod region near the Russia-Ukraine border. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor in Belgorod, said on Telegram the drone struck several vehicles and that…
Russian airstrikes kill 3, injure 17 in Ukraine on Orthodox Easter Sunday
Russian airstrikes hit the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv killing three people and injuring at least 17, officials said Sunday, as the two countries observed Orthodox Easter Sunday. Russia had used a guided aerial bomb in the strike…
First Person: Women in Madagascar too ashamed to seek help giving birth
The predominantly rural region of Androy has been beset by a series of humanitarian crises which have affected the most vulnerable people there, including mothers-to-be, however the delivery of simple, inexpensive maternity kits is encouraging more women to access a…
Trafficking in the Sahel: Cracking down on illicit drugs
In this feature, part of a series exploring trafficking in the Sahel, UN News focuses on the illicit drug trade. According to a new report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), drug trafficking in the Sahel continues to hinder…
US Air Force leader takes AI-controlled fighter jet ride in test vs human pilot
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — With the midday sun blazing, an experimental orange and white F-16 fighter jet launched with a familiar roar that is a hallmark of U.S. airpower. But the aerial combat that followed was unlike any…