Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- On Thursday, the Republic of Korea recorded no locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, prompting praise from UN Secretary-General António Guterres. UN News has been finding out, from two UN colleagues based in the capital, Seoul, how life is changing for the better.
- Women around the world can act as “agents of change” and find solutions to the challenges provoked by the global climate crisis, according to the UN’s specialized gender agency, UN Women.
- The UN is working closely with the authorities, civil society and the private sector in Bangladesh, as the south Asian country braces for the COVID-19 pandemic. For the latest in our occasional series of blogs from the UN's network of Resident Coordinators who lead the Organization's Country Teams, here's Mia Seppo, in Bangladesh.
- A World Health Organization (WHO) worker has been killed while driving a vehicle carrying COVID-19 samples in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, the United Nations country office confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
- The UN human rights office (OHCHR), is calling for compassion for people desperately seeking shelter, after 30 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar died on a boat in the Bay of Bengal that had spent nearly two months at sea.
- The United Nations stands ready to support four Pacific island nations devastated by the passing of Tropical Cyclone Harold last week.
- Pervasive challenges remain for hundreds-of-thousands of migrant workers in India whose lives were upended by the sudden lockdown across the country, in response to the threat of the coronavirus pandemic, said the UN human rights chief on Thursday.
- With the COVID-19 pandemic as a backdrop, political parties in Afghanistan are being urged to prioritize national interests and come together for peace talks with the Taliban, the UN Deputy Special Representative for the country told a videoconference meeting with Security Council members on Tuesday.
- The 17 goals agreed by the global community to reduce poverty and create a sustainable planet are the responsibility of all people, wherever they are in the world, according to the United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs represent a boundary-pushing blueprint for the future of the Earth and it’s anticipated they will be realized by 2030. UN News joined the International Labour Organization on a visit to Hawaii where many people are already living or studying aspects of the goals in their everyday work.
- United Nations agencies are working together to provide vital support to Pacific Island countries as they rally to combat COVID-19 outbreaks across the region.
- The 17 goals agreed by the global community to reduce poverty and create a sustainable planet are the responsibility of all people, wherever they are in the world, according to the United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs represent a boundary-pushing blueprint for the future of the Earth and it’s anticipated they will be realized by 2030. UN News joined the International Labour Organization on a visit to Hawaii where many people are already living aspects of the goals in their everyday work.
- Xiang Lu is one of the thousands of Chinese doctors who was dispatched to fight the COVID-19 outbreak in the hardest-hit province of Hubei, as it reached its peak. When UN News spoke to him on 23 March, he said that the situation is vastly improved and he may, at last, be able to return home.
- Migrants are playing an increasingly important role in the provision of health care around the world. The number of doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who move from developing countries to take up posts in developed countries is expected to rise as the global population of older persons and children continues to grow.