An urgent call to protect health and mitigate the climate crisis was issued by the UN health agency on Wednesday, to mark World Health Day on Thursday.

The UN chief issued a statement on Wednesday welcoming the transition to a new African Union (AU) mission in Somalia, pledging the Organization’s “unwavering commitment” to the country, the mission, and the Somali security forces in their ongoing fight against Al-Shabaab militants.

Thirty years after the siege of Sarajevo, the UN team in Bosnia and Herzegovina has reiterated the importance of pursuing justice and reparation for victims, survivors and their family members, the global Organization said on Wednesday.

A UN human rights expert on Wednesday called for a full and independent investigation into alleged mass crimes committed in central Mali’s Mopti region late last month, and pleaded with all parties to ensure the “absolute protection” of civilians and an end to the current vicious cycle of violence.

In Ukraine, humanitarians said on Wednesday that hundreds of people have managed to reach safety after fleeing Mariupol, where there’s also been condemnation for the killing of Lithuanian filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravicius, as he tried to escape from the besieged and battered city a few days ago.

Athletes are among the most influential people on the planet and together with their managers, fans and others involved in organized sport, must contribute to global efforts to combat climate change. 

One-in-four people do not feel valued at work, and those who do are mostly in senior positions, according to a new report launched on Wednesday by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

An estimated 6.3 million children under five, in six countries in Africa’s Sahel region, will suffer from wasting this year, UN agencies and their partners warned in a publication issued on Wednesday. 

In an impassioned address to the Security Council that evoked the ashen destruction wrought during the Second World War, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday described in stark detail what he said was the deliberate slaughter of civilians in Bucha by Russian forces, laying out an existential choice for its members, over the whole future of the world’s security architecture, founded in 1945.

Ahead of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, we spoke with the best female wheelchair racer of all time. She is now raising her voice for climate action, and she explained why global warming threatens everyone, especially persons with disabilities, and how sport can contribute to protecting our planet.

The current war in Ukraine, following the Russian invasion, has sparked all sorts of questions about the United Nations, particularly the role of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretary-General.

The introduction of a series of measures in El Salvador in response to a rise in gang killings, has prompted the grave concern of the UN human rights office, which noted on Tuesday a pattern of “unnecessary and excessive use of force” by police and military forces.

The world’s plant protection body met on Tuesday, aiming to set new plant health standards to both safeguard human wellbeing and preserve food security, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The UN chief on Tuesday together with the Security Council, strongly condemned an attack by suspected militia members, on peacekeepers serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which left one Nepali ‘blue helmet’ dead.

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Tuesday urged authorities in Sri Lanka to defuse tensions peacefully, after a state of emergency was declared in response to protests over the country’s deepening economic crisis.      

UN chief António Guterres on Tuesday added his voice to the growing international calls for a war crimes investigation into the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

Senior UN officials have echoed the Secretary-General’s call for an independent investigation into the killing of scores of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, following the emergence this past weekend of graphic images from the suburb of the capital, Kyiv. 

An astonishing 99 per cent of the world’s population breathes polluted air that exceeds internationally approved limits, with negative health impacts kicking in at much lower levels than previously thought, UN medical scientists said on Monday.

Although once again the scientific community has made clear this week that we are not doing enough to limit global warming to the crucial 1.5°C threshold, the findings of the latest Intergovernmental Panel of Experts on Climate Change report, are not all doom, and gloom.

Although more than 160 States have signed a landmark convention on banning landmines, more action is still needed to protect people from these “abhorrent weapons", UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said.

A new flagship UN report on climate change out Monday indicating that harmful carbon emissions from 2010-2019 have never been higher in human history, is proof that the world is on a “fast track” to disaster, António Guterres has warned, with scientists arguing that it’s ‘now or never’ to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, a suburb of the capital, Kyiv.

Many of the millions of refugees forced to leave Ukraine because of the Russian invasion are traumatized and need mental health support. In one Polish transit site, volunteers like Aurang Zeb Khan, have been trained by the UN refugee agency (IOM) to administer psychological first aid.

Samuel (not his real name) grew up near the Haitian Capital of Port-au-Prince, and has seen his childhood home descend into lawlessness and gang violence. Now a staff member with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in the country, he faces the daily risk of kidnapping, or worse.

Commitment will be critical to the success of the two-month truce in Yemen that began on Saturday, the UN Special Envoy for the country, Hans Grundberg, has said.

New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones, best know for the 1619 Project, which frames slavery as one of the core elements of the history of the United States, addressed the UN General Assembly during a commemoration of the transatlantic slave trade on Tuesday. She explained to UN News how the Project came about.

At the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, Member States adopted a plan of action to tackle disinformation, at the request of Ukraine and with widespread – but not universal - support.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has highlighted the need for greater support for people with autism, particularly at the community-level. 

A two-month truce in Yemen which goes into effect on Saturday must be a first step in ending the county’s devastating war, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on the eve of the ceasefire. 

Antarctica, the world’s coldest, windiest and driest continent, has often been referred to as a stable ‘sleeping giant’, but increasingly extreme temperatures, together with unusual rain and ice shelf shifts, remind us that it must not be taken for granted, the UN Weather Agency (WMO) warned on Friday.

Highlighting it as a period of compassion and empathy, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday that the holy month of Ramadan is a “time for reflection and learning, an opportunity to come together and uplift each other”.

Recent violent clashes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have forced thousands to escape to neighbouring Uganda, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Friday. 

Women and children increasingly bear the brunt of climate change, which deepens the inequalities and vulnerabilities they already face, such as poverty, violence, lack of opportunities and basic human rights. Yet women are not victims; they are survivors, innovators and solution-multipliers who deserve a real seat at the table. Two Colombian activists tell us why this is true.

Nataliia Vladimirova fled her home in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on the first day of the Russian invasion, on 24 February, with her four-year-old daughter Oleksandra and mother-in-law. They are amongst the thousands of Ukrainian refugees with temporary protection status in Portugal. She shares her heart-wrenching story of family separation and loss, with UN News.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday urged private investors businesses, cities, states and regions, to do more to cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions, launching a new group of experts to help with realizing a net zero future.