Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- Myanmar is now the world’s largest opium producer, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported on Tuesday, as the economic and political crisis following the 2021 coup and widening conflict between the military and armed groups continues to drive farmers towards illicit opium poppy production.
- Over half a million people have been displaced in Myanmar amid a surge in fighting between the military and armed groups that started in late October and has spread to over two-thirds of the country, the UN humanitarian affairs office reported on Friday.
- The recent launch of a reconnaissance satellite by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), presents a ‘serious risk’ to international civil aviation and shipping, the Security Council heard on Monday.
- The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) and humanitarian partners are providing critical aid at border crossing points between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the face of a surge in forced returns of Afghan nationals.
- The conflict between ethnic armed groups and the Myanmar military has expanded to the country’s eastern and western regions, with urban areas increasingly affected by intense fighting and aerial bombardment, UN agencies have reported.
- The world risks failing the 880 million people living the world’s Least Developed Countries if soaring debt and a chronic lack of international funds prevent them from getting ahead.
- UN agencies in Nepal continue their response to the deadly earthquake that struck western parts of the country over the weekend, claiming 153 lives, injuring over 330 and forcing thousands to spend nights in the open amid freezing temperatures.
- Opium poppy production in Afghanistan has plummeted since the de facto authorities imposed a drug ban last year, new UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) data reveals.
- United Nations teams in Nepal are responding to the devastating earthquake in the west of the country, amid reports that over 150 people have been killed and hundreds more injured.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday hailed the elimination of several life-threatening diseases in developing nations as a major breakthrough for public health.
- Standing in the sacred grounds of Lumbini, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday delivered a heartfelt message, urging the world to take inspiration from the teachings of Lord Buddha and make a commitment to peace and compassion, as crises mount.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called on the world to “stop the madness” of climate change as he visited the Everest region in Nepal where melting glaciers are putting entire communities at risk of extinction.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres began his official visit to Nepal by extending deep condolences to the families of the 10 Nepalese students killed in the terror attacks by Hamas in Israel, and once again called for the protection of all civilians in Gaza, where, he said, “the situation is growing more desperate by the hour.”