Global

The use of leaded petrol or gasoline ended globally in July 2021.
Unsplash/Sippakorn Yamkasikorn

End of leaded fuel use a ‘milestone for multilateralism’

30 August 2021
Climate and Environment

The global phase-out of leaded fuel represents a “milestone for multilateralism”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, marking the end of a 20-year campaign to eliminate a major threat to the health of people and the planet.

In Indonesia many people rely on forest biodiversity for their livelihoods.
CIFOR/Ulet Ifansasti

Secretary-General calls for bold action to end biodiversity crisis

30 August 2021
Climate and Environment

With one million species at risk of extinction, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called for greater leadership and political will to end the biodiversity crisis.

The Community Museum for Historical Memory in Rabinal, Guatemala, dignifies the memory of victims of killings and enforced disappearances in the area. (file)
UNDP Guatemala/Caroline Trutmann Marconi

UN chief calls for action to end enforced disappearances

30 August 2021
Human Rights

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged countries to fulfil their obligations to prevent and prosecute cases of enforced disappearance, a “cowardly practice” which the COVID-19 pandemic has made even more difficult to combat.

Kaede Maegawa is competing for Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Kaede Maegawa

Tokyo Paralympics: leaping towards a more inclusive society

28 August 2021
SDGs

Innovators are joining Paralympians to discuss how sport can help to build a more inclusive society in a series of online discussions organized by the UN to coincide with the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which continues until 5 September.

Children stand outside the tent where they live in a remote desert camp in southern rural Homs, Syria.
© UNICEF/Abdulaziz Aldroubi

Pioneering report continues to help children survive conflict

26 August 2021
Peace and Security

The UN has verified 266,000 cases of grave violations against children in more than 30 conflict situations across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America over the past 16 years, two top UN officials said on Thursday – marking 25 years since the Organization released a groundbreaking report on the issue.

Cape Verde should be able to immunize 70% of its population by the end of the year
UN Cabo Verde

Coming months critical for future pandemic preparedness: WHO chief

25 August 2021
Health

The next three months will be a critical period for stepping up global collective action against future pandemics, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, pointing to three major meetings on the international agenda. 

The number of people globally living with hypertension has doubled to 1.28 billion since 1990.
Unsplash/Mufid Majnun

High blood pressure now more common in low and middle-income countries, new report finds

24 August 2021
Health

The vast majority of people with high blood pressure, or hypertension, – a serious medical condition that significantly increases the risks of heart, brain, kidney and other diseases – live in low and middle-incomes countries, a World Health Organization (WHO) report released on Wednesday has revealed.

Burundian Parfait Hakizimana will take the stage in Tokyo as part of the Refugee Paralympic Team.
© UNHCR/Anthony Karumba

Refugee Paralympic Team ‘will change people’s lives’, says Bayern Munich player and UN Goodwill Ambassador

24 August 2021
Migrants and Refugees

Ahead of the opening of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo on Tuesday, Alphonso Davies, footballer for German league champions Bayern Munich and Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), has offered words of encouragement for what he called “the world’s most courageous sports team”.

An Afghan girl was injured when a school in Kabul’s district 13 came under attack.
© UNICEF Afghanistan

‘Lifesaving’ protection for children in conflict must be central to pandemic recovery: UN official

23 August 2021
Peace and Security

Protection for children caught up in war must be at the heart of the international agenda, including COVID-19 response, a senior UN official said on Monday. 

A farmer prepares to burn crop remnants in a field in Punjab, India.
© CIAT/Neil Palmer

FROM THE FIELD: Extinguishing the practice of crop burning

22 August 2021
Climate and Environment

Around the world, people are preparing to choke their way through what is called ‘the season of smog’, when farmers burn their fields to make way for new crops.