united nations

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 ...

Sudan Paramilitaries Shell Hospital as Violence Rages Nationwide

Shelling by Sudanese paramilitaries killed five people outside one of the last functioning hospitals in Khartoum's twin city Omdurman Tuesday, with medical sources reporting escalating violence across the war-torn country. A medical source in Al-Nao Hospital in Omdurman, requesting anonymity for safety reasons, said volunteers were among the ...

Qatari Prime Minister Calls for Implementation of Resolution 1701

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, emphasized on Tuesday the necessity of implementing UN Resolution 1701 “to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty.” Speaking at a press conference following his meeting with President Joseph Aoun at the Presidential Palace, Bin Abdulrahman ...

Rubio to make debut in Panama as Trump threatens to take canal

Marco Rubio heads Saturday to Panama on his debut trip abroad as US Secretary of State as he looks for how to follow up on President Donald Trump's extraordinary threat to seize the Panama Canal. Rubio's travel comes the same day that Trump's promised tariffs on the three largest US trading partners -- Canada, Mexico and China -- are set to come ...