News from the United Nations
- World News in Brief: Malnutrition in Somalia, hunger crisis in DR Congo, energy shortages in Cuba May 14, 2026Nearly six million people in Somalia – almost a third of the population analysed – are projected to face acute hunger between April and June, with 1.9 million expected to experience emergency levels, UN-backed food security experts warned on Thursday.
- ‘Stop’: Sandy Walker uses art to confront the legacy of Hiroshima May 14, 2026Eighty years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, artist Sandy Walker believes art still has the power to cut through abstraction and confront people with the human reality of nuclear violence. Inspired by the writings of Hiroshima survivor Tamiki Hara, Walker’s work seeks to transform historical catastrophe into intimate acts of memory, grief and attention.
- Gaza reconstruction envisages building ‘islands’ out of rubble May 14, 2026A feasibility study is underway to examine whether Gaza’s war debris could be recycled to reclaim coastal land and build artificial islands, as part of reconstruction.
- Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians are a clear violation of humanitarian law, says senior UN official May 14, 2026The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Bernadette Castel-Hollingsworth, has reacted strongly to Russian military strikes on a civilian area of Kyiv on Thursday.
- Yemen parties agree under UN mediation to release 1,600 detainees May 14, 2026More than 1,600 conflict-related detainees in Yemen will be released under a UN-brokered agreement reached after months of negotiations in Jordan, marking the largest prisoner release deal since the country’s civil war began and offering a rare sign of progress in stalled peace efforts.
- UN welcomes $1.8 billion US boost for humanitarian operations May 14, 2026An additional $1.8 billion in US humanitarian funding will allow the United Nations and its partners to expand emergency relief operations reaching millions of people worldwide, as rising global needs and funding shortfalls force aid agencies to scale back assistance.
- HIV prevention and treatment services faltering, warns UNAIDS May 14, 2026Decades of gains in the fight against AIDS are under growing threat as donor funding declines and community-based health services collapse in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, the head of the joint UN programme on HIV/AIDS warned on Thursday.
- Recycled plastics for food use require stronger safeguards, warn UN food security experts May 13, 2026Recycled plastics could help reduce the world’s growing waste crisis, but only if food packaging is carefully regulated to prevent contamination, according to a new analysis from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
- Funding shortfalls force deep cuts to Syria food assistance: WFP May 13, 2026Millions of Syrians are at growing risk of hunger after severe funding shortages forced the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to halve emergency food assistance, cutting support for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people across the country.
- Afghanistan crisis deepens as record returns, drought and aid cuts strain economy May 13, 2026Afghanistan’s humanitarian and economic crisis is deepening despite modest economic growth, with nearly three in four people unable to meet basic needs, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said on Wednesday.