Local leadership powers Indonesia’s climate ambitions
Indonesia’s national climate strategy aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060. A key component of this strategy is for forests to absorb 140 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, equivalent to…
Air pollution is on the rise – but not everywhere, says UN weather agency
“Air quality respects no boundaries,” said Lorenzo Labrador, Scientific Officer at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). “The smoke and the pollution that issues from the wildfires in this record-breaking season…
The missing half: The urgent need for more women’s representation in the media
“When women are missing, democracy is incomplete,” said Kirsi Madi, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director with the UN gender equality agency, UN Women, responding to the latest analysis. Ms.…
World News in Brief: Afghanistan quake latest, sexual violence in Haiti, WHO medicines update, deadly floods in Pakistan
The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, has released $10 million in response to the urgent need for food, water, shelter and other lifesaving provisions following this week’s devastating earthquakes and…
A fourth generation nuclear survivor’s push for justice
“We are not prepared to inherit a legacy of complacency, nor can we continue to live in the shadow of these weapons,” she told the commemoration inside the gilded UN…
DR Congo crisis: Funding cuts curtail assistance to victims of sexual violence
The dramatic liquidity crisis currently impacting the UN and its global partners has already prevented a high-level human rights probe into the DRC emergency created in February from getting underway.…
World News in Brief: Afghanistan quake update, Guterres in Papua New Guinea, Ebola returns to DR Congo, UN condemns attack on peacekeepers in South Sudan
Since the initial earthquake on Sunday in eastern Nangarhar province, landslides and several strong aftershocks have disrupted the work of rescue teams. In an update, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF,…
UN rights office worried over escalation in Gaza City, annexation plans for West Bank
Ajith Sunghay, Head of OHCHR’s Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), told UN News that the escalation has caused extensive destruction to residential buildings in southern parts of North…
Guterres hails Papua New Guinea as an example of diversity, dialogue and climate action
António Guterres is the first serving UN Secretary-General to visit the country, which is celebrating 50 years of independence. He praised its tremendous diversity, with over 800 languages spoken and…
World News in Brief: Pakistan floods, countries lag on climate reporting, concern over attack on peacekeepers in south Lebanon, cuts hit human rights investigations
In a statement released by his Spokesperson, the UN chief noted that the disaster driven by severe monsoon conditions had been exacerbated by climate change, impacting around 1.5 million people.…