The United Nations on Wednesday welcomed recent diplomatic talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Saudi Arabia, calling an agreement on freedom of navigation and security in the Black Sea a crucial step for global food security.

UN Member States met on Wednesday for the first of three key meetings to advance a global agreement that pledges concrete actions to achieve a safer, more peaceful, sustainable and inclusive world for generations to come. 

Marking a decade of war in Yemen, Othman Belbeisi, Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa at the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), highlights the resilience of its people, the deepening humanitarian crisis, and the urgent need for global action.

Childhood stunting from malnutrition is a global but preventable problem if adequate investment can be found, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday, amid chronic funding shortages that threaten essential feeding programmes.

It has now been three and a half weeks since Israel imposed a complete blockade on all aid into Gaza, despite daily efforts by UN humanitarians to secure fresh access, they said in an update from the shattered enclave.

As droughts reduce hydropower and clouds dim solar output around the world, experts say meteorology and climate science must be at the heart of the energy transition.