Category: English

30 July 2026 Climate and Environment

The warning comes from the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) which said that more than 434,000 hectares have already burned across Europe this year, according to latest available data. 

“Every summer reminds us that wildfire is no longer an exceptional event but an increasingly predictable consequence of a warming climate,” said Paola Deda, Director of UNECE’s Environment and Forests Division.  

“While emergency response remains essential, our greatest opportunity lies in prevention, sustainable forest management and building more resilient landscapes and communities.” 

Forests destroyed, homes evacuated 

In Europe, wildfires have destroyed some 42,000 hectares of pine forest in the Gironde region of France and forced tens of thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate. 

 Neighbouring Spain has recorded more than 200,000 hectares burned, or twice its historical average, making this one of the country’s worst wildfire seasons in decades. 

The European Union (EU) recently warned that the wildfire crisis is moving eastwards, with Greece and Italy facing rising risks as heat, drought and strong winds continue into early August. 

The situation across the Atlantic is equally severe.  The United States has recorded roughly 1,849,000 hectares burned so far this year, while Canada has experienced more than 4,000 wildfires that have burned 3,770,000 hectares and dozens of large fires still remain out of control. 

Far-reaching impacts

Although wildfires are often measured in the number of hectares burned, the human impact extends far beyond the forest edge. 

Homes, infrastructure and livelihoods can be lost and entire communities forced to flee at short notice. Moreover, smoke can travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometres, affecting air quality and people far away. 

The economic toll is also rising. In the EU alone, wildfires are estimated to cost around 2.5 billion Euros every year through damage to infrastructure, loss of tourism revenue and disruption to the wider economy. 

Even after the flames have been extinguished, communities must deal with ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, reduced agricultural productivity, health impacts and the expensive restorations. 

Human-driven crisis

Human activity remains the main cause of wildfires. Roughly nine out of 10 are caused by people – whether through negligence or deliberate acts.  

This shows that many fires can be prevented through greater public awareness, stronger regulations, temporary restrictions during periods of extreme fire danger and responsible behaviour in forests and natural areas. 

Meanwhile, climate change is making fires bigger and more destructive, as rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, more frequent heatwaves and changing rainfall patterns extend fire seasons and expose regions previously considered at low risk. 

Wildfires are also accelerating the climate emergency. In 2021, they released an estimated 1.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.  

Between 2001 and 2023, global carbon emissions from wildfires jumped by approximately 60 per cent, while emissions from boreal forest fires in Europe, North America and Central Asia nearly tripled. 

This creates a dangerous feedback loop, UNECE said, as climate change increases wildfire risk and larger wildfires release more greenhouse gases, further accelerating global warming. 

Invest today for a safer tomorrow 

Although extreme wildfires cannot always be stopped once they develop, their frequency and impacts can be significantly reduced. 

UNECE called for greater investments in prevention, sustainable forest management, early warning, public awareness and climate adaptation to save lives, protect forests and reduce losses.  

Technology, including artificial intelligence, is becoming an important tool in this regard, such as AI-powered detection systems in Türkiye, satellite monitoring and real-time risk mapping.  

UNECE insisted, however, that technology alone will not be enough.  

“As climate risks continue to grow, strengthening forest resilience to fire is no longer only an environmental priority – it is an investment in public safety, economic stability and climate security,” the Commission said.

29 July 2026 Peace and Security

As of 24 July, the agency reports that 76 Palestinians and one Israeli have died this year in settler attacks. Since Friday, eight Palestinians – including a boy – and two members of the Israeli military have also been killed in the region.

The number of settler attacks has increased each year since 2023 – following the brutal Hamas attacks on southern Israeli communities – rising to 1,835 last year, according to the UN’s humanitarian aid office (OCHA). 

There were about 190 attacks per month in the first four months of 2026, putting the West Bank on a trajectory to reach more than 2,000 attacks by the end of the year.

Alongside security forces, Israeli settlers in the West Bank – with financial incentives from the Government – frequently attack families, burn mosques, and destroy and confiscate property, OHCHR reported.

Movement restrictions preventing Palestinians from accessing essential services are now tighter than ever, the office added.

“We are alarmed by the Israeli Government’s announcement to further increase the number of settlements and outposts, and open calls by Israeli leaders for revenge and collective punishment against Palestinian communities, accompanied by threats to turn the West Bank into another Gaza,” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said.

Two-State solution must remain

Speaking from Jerusalem on Friday, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov called the continued loss of life in the West Bank “deeply alarming,” urging Israel to hold perpetrators accountable and all actors to pursue a two-state solution.

“There is no military or violent solution to this conflict,” Mr. Alakbarov said.

In September, the General Assembly endorsed the New York Declaration calling for a two-State solution, though Israel and the US voted against it.

The escalating violence in the West Bank comes two years after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in an advisory opinion that Israel’s occupation of Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank since 1967 is illegal and that countries should not recognize Israel’s actions related to the occupation. Israel quickly condemned the ruling.

Briefing the Security Council in New York on Tuesday, Mr. Alakbarov noted that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently announced the approval of several new settlements, which the peace coordinator called “illegal under international law.”

“I call upon all parties to take urgent steps to reverse the dangerous trajectory in the West Bank,” he said

Call to end occupation

OHCHR’s Ms. Shamdasani reiterated on Wednesday the UN’s call for countries to work together to “bring an end to the Israeli occupation” of the West Bank.

“With attacks by Israeli settlers, and the creation of settlements and outposts hitting an all-time high, third States must act urgently and in unison to halt the continuing killing and dispossession of the Palestinian people,” she said.

29 July 2026 Peace and Security

As of 24 July, the agency reports that 76 Palestinians and one Israeli have died this year in settler attacks. Since Friday, eight Palestinians – including a boy – and two members of the Israeli military have also been killed in the region.

The number of settler attacks has increased each year since 2023 – following the brutal Hamas attacks on southern Israeli communities – rising to 1,835 last year, according to the UN’s humanitarian aid office (OCHA). 

There were about 190 attacks per month in the first four months of 2026, putting the West Bank on a trajectory to reach more than 2,000 attacks by the end of the year.

Alongside security forces, Israeli settlers in the West Bank – with financial incentives from the Government – frequently attack families, burn mosques, and destroy and confiscate property, OHCHR reported.

Movement restrictions preventing Palestinians from accessing essential services are now tighter than ever, the office added.

“We are alarmed by the Israeli Government’s announcement to further increase the number of settlements and outposts, and open calls by Israeli leaders for revenge and collective punishment against Palestinian communities, accompanied by threats to turn the West Bank into another Gaza,” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said.

Two-State solution must remain

Speaking from Jerusalem on Friday, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov called the continued loss of life in the West Bank “deeply alarming,” urging Israel to hold perpetrators accountable and all actors to pursue a two-state solution.

“There is no military or violent solution to this conflict,” Mr. Alakbarov said.

In September, the General Assembly endorsed the New York Declaration calling for a two-State solution, though Israel and the US voted against it.

The escalating violence in the West Bank comes two years after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in an advisory opinion that Israel’s occupation of Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank since 1967 is illegal and that countries should not recognize Israel’s actions related to the occupation. Israel quickly condemned the ruling.

Briefing the Security Council in New York on Tuesday, Mr. Alakbarov noted that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently announced the approval of several new settlements, which the peace coordinator called “illegal under international law.”

“I call upon all parties to take urgent steps to reverse the dangerous trajectory in the West Bank,” he said

Call to end occupation

OHCHR’s Ms. Shamdasani reiterated on Wednesday the UN’s call for countries to work together to “bring an end to the Israeli occupation” of the West Bank.

“With attacks by Israeli settlers, and the creation of settlements and outposts hitting an all-time high, third States must act urgently and in unison to halt the continuing killing and dispossession of the Palestinian people,” she said.

29 July 2026 Peace and Security

António Guterres was speaking to journalists in the capital Nicosia at the end of his first official visit to the country, where he met with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders as well as stakeholders. 

Mr. Guterres said he held “frank and constructive discussions” with Nikos Christodoulides and Tufan Erhürman, both separately and together. 

Solidarity and a search for a solution 

He recalled that the UN has consistently worked to assist the communities “in their efforts to reach a comprehensive, sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue.” 

The island has been divided since July 1974. Recent UN engagement has focused on rebuilding confidence after years without a formal settlement track.  

Since 2017, six meetings have been held in Switzerland, Germany and the United States in this regard.  

“In this context, it was my duty to come to Cyprus to express my full solidarity with the people of Cyprus in their quest for a solution,” Mr. Guterres said, stressing that “this is the moment when all efforts must be made to rebuild trust.” 

He appealed to the two leaders to intensify efforts “to define and implement confidence-building measures that can make a difference in the daily lives of all Cypriots.” 

The Secretary-General said they have both assured him of their determination to continue working with his Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Holguin. 

New meeting proposed 

“Based on our discussions on the way forward, I decided that I would convene another 5+1 meeting, after adequate preparations on confidence building, methodology and substance, taking into account the convergences already achieved,” he said. 

The 5+1 format brings together the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, guarantors Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom, and the UN.  

He said the UN will consult with the two sides and the guarantors “to create the conditions for the meeting’s success.”  

A clear message 

The Secretary-General noted that throughout the visit he also had the opportunity to hear from many Cypriots, and their clearest message was a desire for progress.  

“They want to see their leaders make compromises and to walk that last mile towards a settlement of the Cyprus issue,” he said. 

“They want a future in which this island is defined not by division, but by cooperation, opportunity, and peace.” 

Respect UN force 

Regarding the situation on the ground, the Secretary-General emphasised the need to respect the mandated authority of the UN peacekeeping operation UNFICYP, both in the buffer zone and UN-delineated ceasefire lines. 

The force, which has deployed since 1964, “has helped maintain calm and stability in a sensitive environment” and “its continued effectiveness depends on the cooperation of all sides.” 

He also commended the work of the Committee on Missing Persons as well as the bicommunal Technical Committees working to bridge the gap between political negotiations and the everyday concerns of the people, in addition to highlighting his engagement with civil society. 

A ‘crucial moment’ 

The Secretary-General concluded his remarks by recognising the significant contributions of the UNFICYP staff and his Mission of Good Offices for their critical roles in supporting peace and stability. 

He stressed that “the United Nations cannot impose peace” but “remains fully committed to supporting the people of Cyprus in this crucial moment for the island and the wider region.” 

Responding to a journalist’s question, he pointed to the “important geopolitical movements” and persistent and unending conflicts in a region “where we have seen how conflicts can be enlarged.” 

He expressed the belief that “a solution in Cyprus is absolutely crucial not only to preserve the interests and the peace of the Cypriot people but also as a factor of stability in what is becoming a dangerously unstable region.” 

29 July 2026 Health

“Ebola feeds on delay, fear and hunger,” said Carl Skau, acting Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP). “Stopping this outbreak requires all hands on deck and communities at the centre.”

Declared in eastern DRC on 15 May, the Ebola outbreak is the fastest growing on record. Full-blown Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus is marked by severe bleeding and a fatality rate of around 40 per cent.

What you need to know

• This is the largest Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus to date, according to the latest update from the World Health Organization (WHO)
• 48 health zones across five provinces in eastern DRC are affected: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo and Haut-Uele
• Ituri, the outbreak’s epicentre, remains one of the country’s most severe hunger hotspots, with 1.9 million people facing crisis levels of food insecurity or worse
• More than 2.65 million people in the 48 Ebola-affected health zones face acute food insecurity, including more than 628,000 people in emergency conditions, according to the UN-backed global monitor Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)

‘Food is frontline Ebola containment’

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) issued a stark warning that food assistance and logistics are critical to containing the outbreak.

“Food assistance is frontline Ebola containment,” Mr. Skau said. “It helps families stay home, supports safe isolation, builds trust with communities and keeps health teams moving. We know what works. What we need now is the speed and resources to scale it before this outbreak outruns the response.”

Such efforts also help reduce movement of people in search of food, supports safe isolation, lowers the risk of harmful coping strategies and creates the social conditions for health actors to operate safely and effectively, the agency said.

What’s the UN doing?

The UN is actively helping authorities respond to the outbreak, including through its food agency, WHO and its children’s fund, UNICEF.

Here are highlights of some WFP efforts in DRC:

• Since the onset of the outbreak, the agency’s UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) has operated 495 flights, transported 3,395 humanitarian responders and delivered 56 metric tonnes of essential cargo to frontline locations, including newly affected provinces such as Haut-Uele and Tshopo
• WFP has delivered more than 160,000 hot meals to patients, contacts and frontline workers in 17 treatment and isolation centres
• WFP has also provided dry food rations to 23,000 people in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, including 14,000 people under quarantine with monthly food assistance
• An additional 36,000 people in Ebola-affected zones have been reached with general food assistance

Challenges ahead

Speed and resources are the main challenges, and every delay gives Ebola more room to spread, while gaps in logistics, food assistance and community support risk weakening containment efforts, according to WFP.

At the same time, insecurity, access constraints, community unrest and limited operational capacity in newly affected areas continue to complicate surveillance, supply movements and response scale up.

To sustain all operations in DRC for the next six months, WFP requires $293.6 million, which includes funding emergency logistics and food assistance in Ituri and other affected areas.

Learn more about the UN Ebola response here.

Watch now

Watch the daily noon news briefing at UN Headquarters in New York, where WFP’s Mr. Skau and UN Senior Ebola Coordinator Julien Harneis share the latest updates on response efforts on the ground via videoconference from Bunia, DRC, and answer questions from the press:

28 July 2026 Climate and Environment

“The climate alarm is blaring from every direction,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell in a statement.

“With the mercury set to soar again this week, the awful costs of this climate crisis – both human and economic – are now reaching national emergency levels.”

Why it matters

• Over 250,000 hectares of land in Europe has burned, with 1,254 fires detected since the start of 2026
• Record-breaking wildfires are tearing through France, Spain and other parts of Europe, forcing mass evacuations and hammering regional and national economies, follow brutal heatwaves that have dried out landscapes
• In North Africa, temperatures are approaching 49°C, putting lives and livelihoods in grave jeopardy, and putting hospitals and power systems under severe strain
• In Chile, deadly storms have destroyed homes and lives
• In Japan, records are tumbling as temperatures soar, now reaching the longest 40°C heat streak ever recorded.

Clear solutions 

Mr. Stiell said these “spiralling disasters” are now the lived reality for billions in a world getting rapidly hotter as humanity moves too slowly from fossil fuels to clean energy – and fails to sufficiently protect forests. 

The science on the cause is unequivocal, he explained, emphasising that global heating, driven by humanity burning “colossal amounts” of coal, oil and gas, is making protracted heatwaves, severe floods and violent mega-storms more frequent, more intense and more costly.

“What needs to be done is equally clear: leave coal, oil and gas behind faster, scale up renewables and protect people where the impacts are already hitting hardest,” Mr. Stiell said.

Many vulnerable countries on the frontlines need support to move at the speed and scale necessary, to avert disaster.

Wildfires’ far reach

In 2023, dangerous smoke from Canadian wildfires wafted across the northeastern United States and then across the Atlantic Ocean, causing health threats while demonstrating their far reach. 

This summer, Canada’s wildfires have again cast a pall of orange smoke pollution across the skies of New York state, leading to air quality warnings across the region.

Indeed, smoke from wildfires can travel thousands of kilometres, crossing borders, oceans and continents. Understanding where it will go next has become an increasingly important scientific challenge, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has reported.

Understanding and addressing the threat wildfire smoke poses is paramount. Advance warning is important so governments and communities can implement timely protective measures.

Read the full story here.

Early warnings are key

WMO said that reliable monitoring, forecasting, cross-border data sharing and early warnings are critical to protect lives, livelihoods and ecosystems.

Through the Early Warnings for All initiative, WMO is advancing these efforts by promoting standardised frameworks, enhancing interoperability and fostering international collaboration on fire weather services.

Learn more about the initiative here.

28 July 2026 Culture and Education

The announcement on Tuesday came during the World Heritage Committee’s meeting in Busan, Republic of Korea, being held from 19 to 29 July. 

The List includes first-time inscriptions from three African countries: Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe, and South Sudan. 

Here are a few of the sites “considered to be of outstanding value to humanity”: 

Mount Olympus, Greece 

The wider area of Mount Olympus – Greece’s highest mountain and the mythical home of Zeus and other ancient gods – was added to the UN list. 

Situated in the country’s north, the mountain is an enduring emblem of Greek civilisation.  

UNESCO said its proximity to the sea and abrupt elevation produces a remarkable diversity in terrain, climate and vegetation. 

The property features striking landforms, including limestone cliffs, karstic sinkholes and cirques, which are bowl-shaped amphitheatre-like valleys carved by glacial erosion. 

D-Day beaches, France 

Six sites associated with the Allied forces landings in Normandy, France, on 6 June 1944 – marking a major turning point in the Second World War – also were recognised. 

The five “D-Day” beaches and Point du Hoc stretch along roughly 80 km of coastline. From there, hundreds of thousands of American, British and Canadian troops launched one of the largest military operations ever, ultimately liberating Western Europe and defeating Nazi Germany. 

UNESCO noted that the property preserves significant remains of the German Atlantic wall alongside battlefield traces and original wartime equipment as well as commemorative landscapes such as the American Cemetery at Colleville‑sur‑Mer. 

“Together, these elements form an exceptional cultural landscape shaped both by the events of 1944 and by their enduring remembrance,” the agency said.

Amazonia theatres, Brazil 

Two theatres in Brazil’s Amazon region are now on the World Heritage List.  

The Theatro da Paz in the city of Belém and Teatro Amazonas in Manaus were built during the so-called Amazonian “Golden Age”, which resulted from the period of economic prosperity known as the Rubber Cycle, between 1879 and 1912. 

The buildings were inspired by European architecture, particularly French, and are decorated with Amazonian motifs. They were “designed as symbols of political and urban ambition”. 

The Theatro da Paz, in the historic centre of Belém in Pará, was inaugurated in 1878. It is part of developments that highlighted the strategic role of the city as a port and state capital in addition to celebrating the recently founded Brazilian Republic. 

The Amazonas Theatre opened its doors in 1896 and marked part of a large-scale urban development in Manaus, symbolising the wealth and prestige of the future capital of the Amazon.