Freetown, Sierra Leone (PANA) - Oxfam is providing clean water and hygiene kits to survivors of Monday’s mudslide on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone, the international humanitarian agency said Tuesday, indicating that it initially plans to help almost 2,000 households. Full text...

Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - The United Nations migration agency on Tuesday released US$150,000 in emergency, first-response aid relief for Sierra Leone following devastating floods and mudslides which on Monday left hundreds of people dead in the West African country. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - A new weather forecasting model, developed by Rwandan meteorologists and their partners, purports to improve the quality of the climate and weather data provided to citizens and make it available to as many people as possible, PANA learn Thursday from an official source in Kigali. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, on Friday received a notification from the delegation of the United States expressing America's intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change as soon as it is eligible to do so, his spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, confirmed. Full text...

Mogadishu, Somalia (PANA) – In the wake of a severe drought in Somalia that has displaced more than 800,000 people, the United Nations migration and development entities are helping the Horn of Africa country enhance its national drought response capacity. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – The head of the United Nations entity on protection of endangered species said on Monday that park rangers across the world face increasing challenges and risks due to a surge in poaching and illicit trafficking in wildlife, as he honoured the work of park rangers in protecting wild animals, plants and culture. Full text...

London, UK (PANA) - As UK government announced its commitment to ban all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040, human rights group Amnesty International has cautioned that child labourers must not pay the price for the shift. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) – UNESCO is engaged deeply in supporting the conservation of mangroves, while advancing the sustainable development of local communities who interact closely with them and depend on their goods and services, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Ms Irina Bokova, said on the occasion of the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – As part of his 47th birthday celebrations, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador and the actor playing the role of Jaime Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones, is calling on his friends, family and fans to help him raise funds to support UN climate action programmes. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) – The European Union (EU) is ready for formal ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol that will ensure the protection of the climate from the powerful greenhouse gases hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the European Council said on Monday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – Even though investments towards sustainable development in developing countries have fallen short by nearly US$2.5 trillion each year, emerging financial products and encouraging policies illustrate that both public and private sectors are serious about correcting that trend, the United Nations environment arm has said. Full text...

Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - Some 3 in 10 people worldwide, or 2.1 billion, lack access to safe, readily available water at home, and 6 in 10, or 4.5 billion, lack safely-managed sanitation, according to a new joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – Eleven major financial institutions around the globe, representing over US$7 trillion, have joined forces with the United Nations to promote climate transparency in financial markets, the Organization’s environment wing said on Tuesday. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - The Government of Mozambique, the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have announced a new project that will strengthen sustainable forest management and contribute to Mozambique achieving Sustainable Development Goal 15 on forests. Full text...

Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) - The Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF), housed in the Climate Change and Green Growth Department of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has called for more proposals aimed at scaling up access to climate finance and support to climate resilient and low carbon development in African countries. Full text...

Maputo, Mozambique (PANA) - The World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Monday signed a US$6 million agreement to support the Government of Mozambique in its efforts to strengthen the sustainable management of its forest sector, promote good governance, improve forest concession systems, and enable private sector participation. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - UNESCO's World Heritage Committee on Saturday inscribed cultural sites in Angola, Eritrea and South Africa. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Worried that sea level change is already impacting coastal communities globally and will continue to do so, the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) is organizing a five-day international conference in New York, US, to address existing challenges in describing and predicting regional sea level changes, and in quantifying the intrinsic uncertainties. Full text...

Vienna, Austria (PANA) - With the support of its Investment and technology promotion office (ITPO) in Tokyo, Japan, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has arranged a study tour for African food processing industry representatives to demonstrate to them adaptation technologies for better climate resilience and low-carbon growth. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - East Africa faces one of the biggest humanitarian crises in its history, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned in a new report published on Friday. Full text...

Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) – In a year already marked by heatwaves and new daily temperature records, the United Nations weather agency and television weather anchors have joined forces to create video forecasts that explore how climate change would make future summers even hotter in major cities of the world. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - An estimated 761,000 Somalis have been internally displaced by drought between November 2016 and June 2017, with more than 22,000 displacements recorded between 1 and 23 June this year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa reported on Tuesday. Full text...

Rabat, Morocco (PANA) - Morocco has received approval for a US$ 25 million loan from the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund (CIF CTF) for a project to generate solar power through an innovative hybrid Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Photovoltaic (PV) solution. Full text...

New Orleans, US (PANA) – Global entertainer and humanitarian Beyoncé has teamed up with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) through her BeyGOOD philanthropic arm to announce the launch of BEYGOOD4BURUNDI, a multi-year partnership to provide safe water to the most vulnerable children in Burundi. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – The majority of the world’s most vulnerable communities are in the Tropics, and will be most affected by environmental threats, according to the United Nations, which on Thursday marked the International Day of the Tropics. Full text...

Pointe-aux-Piments, Mauritius (PANA) - A two-day meeting for a global high-level panel on water opened Wednesday in Mauritius with the participation of delegates from Australia, Bangladesh, Hungary, India, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru and South Africa. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - The African Development Bank (AfDB), in collaboration with members of the Nairobi Framework Partnership (NFP), is showcasing the 9th African Carbon Forum (ACF) in Cotonou, Benin, from 28-30 June, 2017. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - More than 2,500 cities have now listed climate-change pledges on the Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA) portal, launched as part of the 2014 Lima-Paris Action Agenda, HSBC notes, the UN said Friday. Full text...

Bonn, Germany (PANA) - An environmental group on Friday said that the future of natural gas is limited, even as a bridging fuel, and warned that continued investments into the sector create the risk of breaching the Paris Agreement's long-term temperature goal and will result in stranded assets. Full text...

Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) – Extremely high May and June temperatures have broken records in parts of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the United States, the United Nations weather agency has reported, warning of more heatwaves to come. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) - The European Council on Tuesday reached a political agreement with the European Parliament on new rules for the sustainable management of external fishing fleets. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - Investing in preparedness and building the resilience of farmers is fundamental to facing situations of extreme drought, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva said on Monday. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) - The Council of the European Union on Monday said it has deeply regretted the unilateral decision by the United States Administration to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change, but at the same time welcomed the numerous strong statements of commitment to the deal from countries ranging from major economies to small island states. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – With hundreds of millions of people around the globe directly affected by desertification – the degradation of land ecosystems due to unsustainable farming or mining practices, or climate change – United Nations agencies have called for better management of land so that it can provide a place where individuals and communities “can build a future”. Full text...

Lyon, France (PANA) - Illegal wildlife traders may be turning their attention to the Darknet, a new INTERPOL research report has found. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The first-ever United Nations summit on oceans wrapped up on Friday with a global agreement to reverse the decline of the ocean's health, just as more than 1,300 stakeholders pledged actions for protecting the blue. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The UN Migration Agency (IOM) is appealing to the international community for USS60 million to help displaced people and the communities hosting them in four of the worst affected countries in East Africa and the Horn of Africa. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The world's oceans offer both challenges and solutions to the world's Sustainable Development Agenda, and managing them more carefully is essential for global food security today and tomorrow as well as the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said at the United Nations Ocean Conference. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – The future of the planet’s oceans is burdened by threats such as climate change, pollution and destructive fishing practices – and the lack of capacities to address these threats, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said, calling for joint global action to ensure “that our oceans are peaceful, safe and bountiful, and remain healthy as our blue home.” Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - Members of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme will designate new biosphere reserves when they hold their annual meeting at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, from 12 to 15 June. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – A healthy ocean requires robust global knowledge of ocean science, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has said, marking World Oceans Day with a strong call to nurture, mobilize and harness the best scientific knowledge to protect our planet's vital oceans. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – The world is now adding more green energy capacity each year than it adds in new capacity from all fossil fuels combined, a United Nations-backed report revealed on Wednesday, showing that the “renewables train has already left the station” and those who ignore this will be left behind. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - To mark World Oceans Day, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will name Australian musician Cody Simpson as its first-ever Ocean Advocate to help raise awareness of the crucial role the ocean plays in the health of the planet and people. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) – Zambia and Madagascar have reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change due to the devastating adverse effects that the the two countries, including the Southern African Development Community (SADC) sub-region and the entire African continent, have experienced. Full text...

Gaborone, Botswana (PANA) – Botswana’s Department of Meteorological Services (DMS) has announced that a cold front is expected to sweep through the country shortly. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – Stressing the importance of diplomacy to prevent and resolve trans-boundary disputes over water resources, Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday told the United Nations Security Council that water serves as “a catalyst” for cooperation among nations, even those that are not on good terms. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – As the international community focuses this week on preserving the health of global oceans and seas, the United Nations agencies on agriculture, environment and trade are committing to the sustainable trade of fisheries. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – Opening a “game-changing” international conference on the health of the world’s oceans and seas, top United Nations officials on Monday urged coordinated global action to protect the planet. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – With the theme of this year's World Environment Day – 'Connecting People to Nature' – aimed at highlighting the well-documented physical and mental health benefits of being in nature, the United Nations is on Monday flagging the vast benefits of such engagement, from food security and improved health to reliable water supply and climatic stability. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – Warming oceans, depleting sea life and plastic pollution are on the agenda for this week's ocean summit at the United Nations, which will call for urgent action to improve the health of the oceans, while also creating jobs and raising people out of poverty. Full text...