The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is deeply concerned by news of a boat carrying migrants adrift off the Canary Islands for almost a month before it was found. Spanish authorities recovered 44 survivors. More than 80 people are believed to have died or gone missing. Monitoring and rescue capacity along the West Africa Atlantic route remain limited.
There is “no safe space left” in Ukraine as every part of the country “has been a target”, the General Assembly heard today, as Member States expressed alarm over reports that Kyiv had come under attack for the sixth consecutive day.
In Ukraine, nearly 60 civilians were killed and 240 injured in attacks over the weekend, according to authorities. Kyiv and its surrounding region, were the hardest hit, with drone strike on an ammunition depot triggering an explosion that killed 38 people, including residents of an elder care facility.
In Nepal, over 500 people have been confirmed dead due to mass flooding, hundreds remain missing and over 3,700 have so far been rescued. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher said the UN and its aid partners are moving at speed, helping national authorities to deliver urgent, life-saving support.
2025 saw the highest number of armed conflicts since the Second World War and some of the highest levels of acute hunger on record, the UN Secretary-General told the Security Council today. It was also the first time this century that two famines were confirmed simultaneously, in Sudan and in Gaza - a shameful milestone.
Two anniversaries converged as the Security Council met to discuss the situation in Ukraine today — with that country marking both 35 years of independence and four-and-a-half years of invasion — as peace remains elusive amidst soaring civilian casualties.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the Ebola outbreak has caused nearly 2,500 deaths as of 18 August, the Government and aid partners are expanding the response with five operational priorities. The World Health Organization (WHO) has allocated 70,000 doses of the Ebola Zaire vaccine to front-line health workers.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $5 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to support the humanitarian response in Colombia following the devastating earthquake there. The UN is also deploying teams to assess needs in most impacted areas, in coordination with local authorities.
