Week in Review

Russia’s bombardment of Ukrainian ports along the Black Sea could have far-reaching impacts on global food security, UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said on Friday in a briefing to the Security Council. 

A UN-appointed independent expert expressed deep concern on Friday over the distressing treatment of children being held apparently indefinitely in prison-like conditions in northeast Syria, where they are forcibly separated from their mothers.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday that he deeply regrets Russia’s decision to terminate the Black Sea Initiative, in effect ending a “lifeline” for hundreds of millions worldwide facing hunger and spiralling food costs. 

For 96 hours, the orders kept coming. By the end, 287 people were dead, 387 women and children had been raped, and 13 villages in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had been robbed of any sense of normalcy.

The UN’s multimedia news service has launched a new online survey to get feedback from its readers, listeners and viewers on what you think of our service, and how we can better serve your needs.

The artificial sweetener aspartame that’s widely used in fizzy drinks has just been classified as “possibly” cancer-causing by UN scientists – but there’s no cause for alarm.

That’s the key message from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), whose assessment of aspartame was carried out on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO), by an expert panel of nutritional epidemiology and nutritional toxicology scientists.

With more details on what these findings mean for all of us, UN News’s Daniel Johnson spoke to IARC’s Mary Schubauer-Berigan, who’s head of the agency’s Monographs Programme.

The UN Secretary-General addressed the Security Council on Tuesday, emphasizing the potential of artificial intelligence to accelerate human development while also cautioning against the malicious use of what is revolutionary new technology. 

The mayor of a city in southern Ukraine has described its inhabitants as “heroes” and has pledged the city will emerge from the full-scale invasion of his country as a model for other urban areas devastated by the war, even as residents cope with an overnight attack on Thursday.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday expressed concern over the continuing spread of false claims and conspiracy theories concerning the new global pandemic accord, currently being negotiated by Member States.

UN Women and FIFA have come together just ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand to advance gender equality in football, and help end abuse and discrimination on and off the pitch.

The UN celebrated the second ever annual International Moon Day on Thursday, promoting ongoing international cooperation in the peaceful use of outer space while also honouring historic achievements in space exploration.

The United Nations on Thursday held its annual ceremony to honour the life and legacy Nelson Mandela, the first black President of post-apartheid South Africa who died in 2013. 

The United Kingdom parliament has passed a bill inconsistent with the country’s obligations under international human rights and refugee law that could have profound consequences for people seeking international protection, warned the UN rights chief and the head of refugee agency UNHCR on Tuesday.

New data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Children’s Fund UNICEF, reveal signs of immunisation services rebounding in some countries, but coverage still falls short of pre-pandemic levels, particularly in low-income countries, putting children at grave risk of disease outbreaks.

The world is “woefully off track” to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline, top United Nations officials said on Monday, as ministers and policy makers gathered in New York to examine how countries can get back on track and make the transformative development agenda a reality.