United Nations

President Aoun Vows to Hold Attackers of UN Peacekeepers Accountable

President Joseph Aoun vowed on Saturday to punish the perpetrators of an attack on a United Nations peacekeeping convoy a day earlier that wounded the force's outgoing deputy commander. Aoun "condemned the attack... and emphasized that the attackers will receive their punishment," the presidency said in a statement on X. "Security forces will ...

Lebanon: France Proposes the Deployment of UNIFIL for a Definitive Israeli Withdrawal

France has proposed that some soldiers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), including French troops, be deployed in positions in southern Lebanon to allow for a "complete and definitive" withdrawal of Israel, announced Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Thursday. "The ceasefire has been extended until February 18, the ...

Scientists warn of climate threat to chocolate

Climate change drove weeks of crop-withering temperatures last year in the West African countries that underpin the world's chocolate supply, hitting harvests and likely further stoking record prices, researchers said Wednesday. Farmers in the region -- which account for some 70 percent of global cacao production -- have struggled with heat, ...

UN Projects Gaza Reconstruction Costs to Exceed $53 Billion

More than $53 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza and end the "humanitarian catastrophe" that has gripped the war-ravaged territory, including $20 billion in the first three years, according to a United Nations estimate released Tuesday. "While it has not been possible in the current environment to fully assess the totality of needs that ...

UN Chief Urges Hamas to Proceed with Planned Hostage Releases

The UN chief called on Hamas Tuesday to proceed with planned releases of Israeli hostages, after the Palestinian militants threatened to postpone further hostage-prisoner exchanges agreed under a fragile Gaza ceasefire. "We must avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza that would lead to immense tragedy," Antonio Guterres said on X, ...

International Community Welcomes Lebanon’s New Government

The formation of Lebanon’s new government under Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has drawn international support, with key diplomatic figures emphasizing the need for reforms and stability. The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, described the government’s team announcement as a "new and brighter ...

Ortagus Reaffirms US Support for Lebanon’s Leadership and Reforms

United States Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus reiterated Washington’s support for Lebanon’s current presidency and its incoming government during a visit to Beirut on Saturday. In a meeting with Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam, Ortagus affirmed US backing for his future government, highlighting his commitment to ...

Iraq’s Famed ‘Hunchback’ of Mosul Rebuilt Brick by Brick

The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Audrey Azoulay, hailed the completion of the agency’s restoration work in Iraq’s Mosul during a visit to the country’s second-largest city, after the destruction inflicted by the Islamic State group. “What we have done here with the ...

Syria: UN Reports "Systematic" Looting During War

A United Nations commission said Thursday it had documented the systematic destruction and pillaging of displaced people's property during Syria's war, warning of demographic change nearly two months after Bashar al-Assad's ouster. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Syria has documented "pillages of such large scale that ...

M23, Rwandan Troops Launch Fresh DR Congo Offensive

The M23 armed group and allied Rwandan forces launched a new offensive on Wednesday in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, days before the Rwandan and Congolese presidents are due to attend a crisis summit. The United Nations meanwhile said the battle for the key city of Goma, which the M23 and Rwandan troops seized last week, had left at ...

Arab League Rejects Trump Gaza Proposal as 'Recipe for Instability'

The Arab League said on Wednesday that a shock suggestion by US President Donald Trump to take over Gaza and displace Palestinians would violate international law and cause further instability. While "confident in the United States and its president's desire to achieve a just peace in the region", the Arab League's secretariat said Trump's ...