NEWS

Addressing a Security Council briefing on the 18 August intermediate-range cruise missile test conducted by the US, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu said the recent collapse of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) “removed one of the few constraints on the development and deployment of a destabilizing and dangerous classes of missiles.” UNIFEED

"State of religious freedom worldwide is alarming,” Poland's Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz told reporters in New York today, following a Security Council meeting on safety and security of religious minorities in armed conflict. UNIFEED

The World Health Organization (WHO) said accelerated research and development (R&D) in new tools for malaria prevention and treatment is key if the world is to eradicate malaria in the foreseeable future: today less than 1 percent of funding for health R&D investment goes to developing tools to tackle malaria. WHO

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar said the country’s military must stop using sexual and gender-based violence to terrorise and punish ethnic minorities. UNIFEED

A UN spokesperson said that the Organization is concerned about the recent fires in the Amazon forest, adding that “sustaining forest is crucial in our fight against climate change.” UNIFEED

Africa today reached a milestone threshold, three years with no case of wild poliovirus detected. This three-year landmark sets in motion a comprehensive evaluation process by the Africa Regional Certification Commission to determine if the entire WHO African Region of 47 countries indeed can be declared to have eradicated wild poliovirus. WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) today released an analysis of current research related to microplastics in drinking-water, calling for a reduction in plastic pollution to benefit the environment and reduce human exposure. WHO

In his first address to the Security Council since taking office, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan, noted the progress Somalia has made towards constitutional and security sector reform, among other priorities, but warned that the “window to achieve further necessary” progress is “narrowing.” UNIFEED

Marking the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to Victims of Terrorism, UN chief António Guterres said “traumatic memories cannot be erased, but we can help victims and survivors by seeking truth and justice, lifting their voices and upholding their dignity." UNIFEED

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in South Sudan on Tuesday destroyed a pile of unexploded ordnance discovered some 40 kilometres away from the capital, Juba. UNMISS