Category: Pacific

Three-quarters of children in South Asia are already exposed to extreme high temperature compared to only one in three globally, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday, urging authorities to do more to help them beat the heat. Source UN News Read More

A man living in Viet Nam has been explaining how his community has learnt to adapt to and mitigate the effects of devastating flooding caused by tropical storms. Source UN News Read More

The lead-up to, and the results of, the recent elections in Cambodia are “extremely disconcerting”, UN human rights experts said on Wednesday, adding that the credibility of the entire electoral process was affected. Source UN News Read More

At least 54 people were killed, and 83 injured, in the attack, which occurred in Bajaur district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. International media reported on Monday that the Islamic State has claimed responsibility.  Speaking that day in New York, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said the Secretary-General extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wished a… Read More

His message marked the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement that ended the hostilities and established a demilitarized zone, about 240 kilometres long and 4 kilometres wide, as a buffer. The conflict however never officially ended because the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Republic of Korea – more commonly known as North and South Korea, respectively… Read More

Melting ice and glaciers and rising sea levels threaten more socio-economic disruption in future, according to the agency’s latest State of the Climate report for the region.   The mean temperature over Asia for 2022 was the second or third warmest on record and was about 0.72 degrees Celsius (°C) above the 1991–2020 average, which was itself roughly 1.68°C above the… Read More

The task of transferring a million barrels of oil from the stricken supertanker Yemen, will take some 19 days – preventing what would be the fifth largest spill in history, were the rusting tanker to break apart.  But this process will not end with the oil transfer, because the FSO Safer will continue to pose an environmental threat, the UN… Read More

In a news release issued by his Office, Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, denounced “constant shrinkage” in Cambodia’s democratic space in recent years, which he said is undermining citizen’s fundamental freedoms and their right to participate in the public square. In the lead up to the elections, Cambodia’s National Election Committee disqualified two leading opposition political parties… Read More

According to a new report from the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in 2022 alone, over 140 disasters struck the region, leading to over 7,500 deaths. They impacted 64 million people, and caused economic damage estimated at $57 billion. Under a 2°C warming scenario, the ESCAP projects an increase in deaths and potential economic… Read More

The Thai authorities are working alongside UN agencies to not just improve the availability of services following the change in the way people are sentenced for drugs crimes, but also reduce the stigmatization of people who use drugs and ensure they have access to services where they feel comfortable. UN News spoke with the UNAIDS Country Director, Patchara Benjarattanaporn, and Karen… Read More