Global

Coal mines outside of Samaca, Colombia.
World Bank

Is the world ready to end the coal era and embrace clean energy?

29 November 2019
Climate and Environment

Access to electricity has transformed the world, helping countries to develop their economies, and lifting millions out of poverty. However, this success has come at a great cost: the energy sector, heavily reliant on fossil fuels, is responsible for some 40 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions – one of the so-called greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere and warm the Earth – and almost two-thirds of these emissions come from coal.

Primary School in Afghanistan.(File)
UNAMA/Ebrahim Papal

Wednesday’s Daily Brief: Afghan child abuse, DR Congo measles deaths, Palestinian solidarity

27 November 2019
Peace and Security

A recap of Wednesday’s stories in brief: UN Afghan Mission calls for probe into school paedophile ring; thousands of children dying from measles in DRC; UN reaffirms solidarity with Palestinians; migrants send billions back home; trust and security “essential” in digital space; and FAO recommends switch to traditional diets.

DESA USG Liu Zhenmin speaks at the Berlin Internet Governance Forum
UN photo/Tobias Hofsass

Internet Forum: Prioritize technologies most needed for sustainable development

27 November 2019
SDGs

It is “critical” to prioritize technologies that are most needed for sustainable development, a high-level UN official told the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) on Wednesday in Berlin.

Passenger trains wait for people to board at the Dhanbad Junction railway station in Jharkhand, northern India, in the middle is a coal-carrying freight train. One of the busiest in the region, millions of people pass through this station every year. Railways are also a very efficient means to move large amounts of cargo over distances.
ESCAP Photo/Christian Dohrmann

Tuesday’s Daily Brief: call for emission cuts, AIDS in decline, cyber-conflict warning

26 November 2019
Climate and Environment

A recap of Tuesday’s stories in brief: UNEP calls for emissions to be cut by more than half, AIDS down but thousands of children still missing out on treatment, UN chief warns of “digital divide”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres (right) interacts with students of ReDi School for Digital Integration in Berlin, Germany.
UN Photo/Tobias Hofsaess

Guterres underscores UN role in achieving a free, secure Internet

26 November 2019
Peace and Security

Unless countries work together to address gaps in digital access, as well as related social and political divisions, this generation will be remembered as the one that “ruined the early promise of the Internet”, the UN Secretary-General has warned.

In the center of Chad, 19-year-old Achta holds up condoms during an HIV awareness-raising session in her Moussoro community. (March 2019)
© UNICEF/Frank Dejong

Empowering people living with HIV ‘will end the epidemic’, says AIDS agency chief

26 November 2019
Health

When people living with HIV actively participate in their own care, new infections decline and more affected people access treatment, according to a new report launched on Tuesday by UNAIDS, the United Nations agency leading the fight against the disease.

Emissions at a manufacturing complex in Toronto, Canada. (file)
UN Photo/Kibae Park

UN emissions report: World on course for more than 3 degree spike, even if climate commitments are met

26 November 2019
Climate and Environment

Even if countries meet commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world is heading for a 3.2 degrees Celsius global temperature rise over pre-industrial levels, leading to even wider-ranging and more destructive climate impacts, warns a report from the UN Environment Programme, released on Tuesday. 

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
UN Women

A staggering one-in-three women, experience physical, sexual abuse

24 November 2019
Human Rights

Violence against women and girls is among the most widespread, and devastating human rights violations in the world, but much of it is often unreported due to impunity, shame and gender inequality, the UN highlighted ahead of Monday’s World Day to stamp out abuse of women and girls.

An Ebola health worker signals that people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should not be scared of doctors but rathe the deadly disease itself. (August 2019)
UN Photo/Martine Perret

Friday’s Daily Brief: DRC Ebola concerns, Yemen peace hopes, more migrant boats leave Libya

22 November 2019
Health

A recap of Friday’s stories in brief: WHO raises fresh Ebola concerns, UN envoy raises hopes of Yemen political settlement, WFP makes urgent Venezuela appeal, hundreds of migrants discovered in boats off Libya coast.

Nov. 21, 2019, Harlem Globaltrotter made its debut at the UN.
DGC Visitor Center

Legendary Harlem Globetrotters slam-dunk at the UN, with message that brings families, nations together

22 November 2019
SDGs

You don’t have to be from New York or even the United States to be a Harlem Globetrotter. Yet in the team's 93-year history, less than two dozen players have been born overseas, UN News learned, during an impromptu visit by the legendary basketball role models to UN Headquarters this week.