year Archives - Page 3 of 3

2022 Year In Review: As conflicts rage, international dialogue remains ‘the only hope’ for peace

·December 29, 2022·11 min read

February saw a furious round of diplomacy at the UN, as it became increasingly clear that Russia was intent on invading Ukraine, a crisis which UN Secretary-General António Guterres said was testing the “entire international system”. “We need restraint and reason. We need de-escalation now,” spelled out the UN chief,...

2022 Year in Review: Amid global turmoil, UN doggedly pursues international climate agreements

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·December 28, 2022·7 min read

At the end of 2021, when the UN climate conference (COP26) wrapped up in Glasgow, none of those present could have suspected that a war in Ukraine would throw the global economy into turmoil, convincing many nations to suspend their commitments to a low carbon economy, as they scrambled to...

2022 Year In health: New Ebola and cholera outbreaks, mpox emergency, COVID-19 ‘not over’

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·December 27, 2022·8 min read

A global population weary of the chaos caused by COVID-19 pandemic had to contend with a new, highly transmissible variant at the beginning of the year: Omicron. Omicron and on This latest version swept across Europe, leading to record weekly case numbers, although the number of deaths was relatively low,...

2022 Year in Review: 100 million displaced, ‘a record that should never have been set’

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·December 26, 2022·8 min read

The 100 million figure, which includes those fleeing conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution, was announced by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in May and described by Filippo Grandi, the head of the agency, as “a record that should never have been set”. The figure is up from some...

WHO’s Tedros recaps challenging year, appeals for more information on COVID spread in China

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·December 25, 2022·1 min read

To make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu told journalists at a regular briefing in Geneva that WHO needs more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for ICU support. “WHO is supporting China to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at...

UN envoy reports ‘sharp increase’ in violence this year in Israel-Palestine conflict

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·December 20, 2022·3 min read

He reiterated deep concern over the high levels of violence in the past several months, characterized by clashes, protests, attacks, Israeli security operations and other incidents. “I am gravely concerned by the sharp increase in violence against civilians on both sides, which exacerbates mistrust and undermines a peaceful resolution to...

Libya: Help make 2023 the year of ‘free and fair elections’, Security Council urged

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·December 17, 2022·3 min read

Since his briefing last month, Mr. Bathily has continued working to advance the political process and revive the electoral track. In Türkiye, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Tunisia, he told ambassadors he had been seeking coordinated support for the UN Mission, UNSMIL, to help political leaders overcome their differences,...

Global trade growth turns negative after record year: UNCTAD

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·December 14, 2022·2 min read

That’s according to UN trade and development agency, UNCTAD, whose analysts said that global growth “turned negative” during the second half of 2022. The UN agency said that trade in goods and services is expected to reach $25 trillion and $7 trillion respectively, by the end of the year. The...

UN agencies warn again of record hunger next year in West and Central Africa

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·December 9, 2022·3 min read

More than 35 million people, including 6.7 million children, are currently unable to meet their basic food and nutrition needs, according to latest analysis from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Food Programme (WFP). Numbers could rise unless urgent and long-lasting solutions...

Act together now, to prevent ‘raging food catastrophe’ next year: Guterres |

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·November 16, 2022·3 min read

The world is on its way to “a raging food catastrophe”, Secretary-General António Guterres warned leaders gathered in Bali, alerting them that “people in five separate places are facing famine”. “Simultaneously, we are witnessing a crunch in the global fertilizer market”, he continued, highlighting once again the Black Sea Grain...

First Person: One year on from Haiti earthquake, time to return home |

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·August 13, 2022·2 min read

“When the earthquake struck, I had no idea what it was as I had never experienced something so loud and dramatic before. I thought it was an act of God and I was terrified. My whole house was shaking so I rushed outside with my daughter to see what was...

World population to reach 8 billion this year, as growth rate slows |

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·July 11, 2022·5 min read

The latest UN projections suggest that the world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050, before reaching a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s. The population is expected to remain at that level until 2100. Slowest growth rate since 1950s...