Middle East crisis: Live updates from the Security Council and UN across the region
We will be following the latest breaking news over the day, including from UN staff on the ground, dispatches from Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region, and the Israeli Knesset’s vote to outlaw the work of UN Palestine refugee agency…
Gaza: No let-up in Israeli military offensive, situation ‘only getting worse’
UNRWA, the largest UN aid agency in Gaza, reported “no improvements” at Kerem Shalom, the main crossing point for lifesaving food, fuel and medicine. “One of our biggest concerns now is people not having enough to eat,” the agency said,…
Sudan trapped in a ‘nightmare of violence’, UN chief tells Security Council
“The suffering is growing by the day, with almost 25 million people now in need of humanitarian assistance,” Mr. Guterres told ambassadors at the Security Council, emphasizing the dire conditions civilians are enduring 18 months into the conflict. He described…
France: Hijab ban during sports, ‘discriminatory and must be reversed’ say experts
The UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts criticised the decision by the French football and basketball federations to exclude players wearing the hijab from competitions, including at amateur level, and the French Government’s decision to prevent French athletes wearing the hijab from…
UN chief ‘shocked’ at harrowing death and destruction in north Gaza
Since the offensive began earlier this month, hundreds of people have been killed, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, with more than 60,000 others displaced again, many fearing they may never return. Civilians are reportedly trapped under rubble, while the…
‘Entire population of north Gaza at risk of dying,’ warns UN’s top humanitarian official
“What Israeli forces are doing in besieged north Gaza cannot be allowed to continue,” said Joyce Msuya, acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, in a statement posted on the social media platform X. Hospitals have been…
UN chief urges halt to escalation after Israeli strikes on Iran
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN chief, said in a statement that António Guterres is “deeply alarmed” by the continued escalation across the region. “All acts of escalation are condemnable and must stop,” the statement read. The Secretary-General reiterated his…
Sudan: UN official decries attacks against civilians in Al Jazirah state
Preliminary reports indicate that between 20 and 25 October, fighters from the paramilitary RSF launched major attacks across eastern parts of the Al Jazirah state (also spelled Gezira), indiscriminately shooting at civilians and committing sexual violence against women and girls….
Drought or flooding? No match for this climate-friendly bean
As COP16 wraps up its global biodiversity meeting in Colombia this week, we are taking you to a frontline in the battle against climate change, where for centuries the Wayúu have navigated challenges in one the world’s most inhospitable environments. When…
UN alarmed by Israeli strike in southern Lebanon that killed journalists
The strike occurred in Hasbaya in Nabatiyeh, outside the area of operations of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The building housed several journalists and other media personnel. Expressing concern, Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq, stressed: “When journalists, protected…