Attack on Rafah would be ‘nail in coffin’ of Gaza aid: UN chief

A full-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah would deliver a death blow to aid programmes in Gaza, where humanitarian assistance remains "completely insufficient", the UN chief warned Monday. Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Antonio Guterres said that Gaza's southernmost city, where more than 1.4 million Palestinians are

Public order in Gaza likely to break down: UN chief

The UN secretary-general, warning he expects public order in Gaza to break down completely and soon, struck a rare and powerful alarm bell in a letter Wednesday to the Security Council. Antonio Guterres said he was invoking Article 99 of the UN's charter, which states that "the Secretary-General may bring to

UN chief ‘deeply distressed’ by Israeli siege of Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned the Hamas attack against Israel but said he was "deeply distressed" by the country's subsequent imposition of a total siege on the Gaza Strip. "The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities," Guterres told reporters. "Now it will only deteriorate exponentially." Earlier

UN Chief vs Russia: A Second Battlefront in the Ukraine War

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the creature of—and subservient to — the 193 member states who largely reign supreme in the world body. But, in reality, Antonio Guterres has been defiant and openly challenged one of the five permanent members of the Security Council lambasting Russia for its 17-month-old

78m children don’t go to school at all: UN chief

A staggering 78 million girls and boys around the world today "don't go to school at all" because of conflict, climate disasters and displacement - while tens of millions more receive only sporadic teaching - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday. Calling for more funding for education in emergencies spearheaded by

Rising seas appear as ‘death sentence’ for some nations: UN chief names Bangladesh, China, India in particular

The United Nations chief warned Tuesday that global sea levels have risen faster since 1900 and their relentless increase puts countries like Bangladesh, China, India and the Netherlands at risk and acutely endangers nearly 900 million people living in low-lying coastal areas.In a grim speech to the Security Council's first-ever

Over 280m people left home for a better life: UN

More than 280 million people have left their countries to pursue opportunity, dignity, freedom, and a better life, the UN said on International Migrants Day Sunday.Secretary-General Antonio Guterres credited more than 80 percent of those who cross borders in a safe and orderly fashion as powerful drivers of economic growth,

Oceans are in dire straits: UN Chief

The UN chief has said the adoption by most nations of the world of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 40 years ago is more relevant than ever as the oceans are now in dire straits. Speaking at a major General Assembly meeting marking the 40th anniversary

Myanmar must return to democracy for regional peace, says UN chief

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the Myanmar military government to immediately return to democracy, saying the current situation in the country was a threat to peace in the region. Myanmar has spiralled into bloody conflict since the military removed Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in February last year,

Either cooperate or perish: UN chief tells climate summit

"Cooperate or perish," the United Nations chief told dozens of leaders gathered Monday for international climate talks, warning them that the world is "on a highway to climate hell" and urging the two biggest polluting countries, China and the United States, to work together to avert it. This year's annual