Libya

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Joanna Wronecka (Poland):

The Security Council convened an emergency meeting today, roundly condemning a car bomb explosion in Libya that killed two United Nations staff members and injured scores of others, including civilians, in the northern port city of Benghazi.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Joanna Wronecka (Poland):

The United Nations Children’s Fund announced a partnership to build a first-of-its-kind factory to convert plastic waste in Côte d’Ivoire into modular plastic bricks, which will be used to build classrooms.  Côte d’Ivoire needs 15,000 classrooms; 500 will be constructed through the partnership in the next two years.

Several recent tragedies involving migrants and refugees in Libya have spotlighted the extreme vulnerability of those groups, the senior United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today, as he described a rapidly worsening conflict exacerbated by external support.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Honduras has declared a national health emergency due to the prevalence of dengue, with 29,000 cases registered as of 25 July. So far, 54 people have died, mostly children.  The United Nations is assisting authorities with medical supplies and equipment, door-to-door awareness campaigns and other support.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is working with the Government of Bangladesh to help more than 275,000 people affected by flooding in the country’s north-west. Some 5,000 households have received cash transfers as part of an innovative project which uses weather forecasts to trigger early action.

There have been unprecedented wildfires in the Arctic since the beginning of June, according to the World Meteorological Organization.  In June alone, they emitted 50 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, an amount equivalent to Sweden’s annual carbon dioxide emissions.