Global

Sunrise in Carchi Province, Ecuador. (September 2018)
WMO/Boris Palma

Blue sky thinking: 5 things to know about air pollution

7 September 2021
Climate and Environment

Around 90 per cent of people go through their daily lives breathing harmful polluted air, which has been described by the United Nations as the most important health issue of our time. To mark the first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, on 7 September, UN News explains how bad it is and what is being done to tackle it.

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.

No Denying It, The UN climate action podcast
UN News

Climate solutions, changemakers, and celebrities: major UN podcast series launched

25 August 2021
Climate and Environment

The UN launches No Denying It, a new 10-part climate action podcast, on Thursday, featuring interviews with inspiring young activists, and the voices of internationally renowned celebrities, such as actors Ed Norton and Michelle Yeoh.

The active engagement of youth is central for stable societies and to avert the worst threats to sustainable development, including the impacts of climate change.
ICAN/Lucero Oyarzun

Youth need ‘seat at the table’ to lead struggle for better future: Guterres

12 August 2021
Culture and Education

Young people are on the “frontlines of the struggle to build a better future”, the UN chief said on Thursday, International Youth Day.

Counter-piracy operations are conducted in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Somalia. (file)
US Navy/Ja'lon A. Rhinehart

Global response needed to counter rising security threats at sea

9 August 2021
Peace and Security

Despite an overall decrease in maritime traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic, piracy and armed robbery of ships rose by nearly 20 per cent during the first half of last year, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Monday. 

Indigenous authorities in Tarapacá, Colombia, were consulted with before COVID vaccinations began.
OPS Colombia/Karen González Abr

End inequalities, recognize abuses, UN chief says on International Day of Indigenous Peoples

9 August 2021
Human Rights

Although some countries have begun to rectify their “heinous legacy” of discrimination against indigenous people, more action is still needed, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday. 

A wildfire burns in a national park in Oregon, USA.
Unsplash/Marcus Kauffman

IPCC report: ‘Code red’ for human driven global heating, warns UN chief

9 August 2021
Climate and Environment

Climate change is widespread, rapid, and intensifying, and some trends are now irreversible, at least during the present time frame, according to the latest much-anticipated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released on Monday.

The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines can help stem the pandemic, but only if everyone, everywhere is inoculated as quickly as possible.
© UNICEF/Jake Verzosa

COVID-19 vaccine equality, ‘most pressing issue of our times’ – UN chief

5 August 2021
Health

The remarkable and rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines offers “great hope” that the devastating pandemic can be overcome, the UN chief told the first International Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine Cooperation on Thursday, but everyone must be reached everywhere, “as quickly as possible”. 

South Sudanese refugee, Yiech Pur Biel, runs the 800-metres for the Refugee Olympic Team in Rio. (August 2016)
© UNHCR/Benjamin Loyseau

Olympic athletes describe the power of sport to change the world

31 July 2021
Humanitarian Aid

Leading athletes, influencers and innovators have been sharing their thoughts on the role that sport can play in building a better world for all, in UN-led online discussions held to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics.

Formula E cars at the 2021 New York race in Red Hook, Brookyln.
UN/Joon Park

From electric dreams to supercharged reality: the road race to a clean energy future

29 July 2021
Climate and Environment

The global Formula E electric race series, a partner with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP),  has grown in popularity since it launched some seven years ago, attracting the attention of major car manufacturers, changing people’s perceptions of electric vehicles, and bringing the world one step closer to a sustainable transport future.