Earth Day has become a worldwide call to action to address the many critical consequences of climate change and global warming: deforestation, species extinction, ocean acidification, rising seas, extreme weather. The impacts of climate change are also acutely felt in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Africa – over 40% of the continent. While residents of these regions are accustomed to extended dry seasons, the cycles of drought are now more severe. ​

Nigeria’s northeast is facing a tightening hunger gap, say aid organisations, pointing to two years of missed crop harvests in what was once a breadbasket for the country, and the high likelihood of missing a third. [...] The UN says it needs $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion) in humanitarian aid this year for the Lake Chad region – which spreads across parts of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad – and $457 million had been pledged for 2017 by late February.

Underlining the importance of sustainable finance for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, senior United Nations officials today called for stronger partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholders to ensure that resource requirements are met. In her opening remarks at the high-level event, SDG Financing Lab – How to finance the SDGs, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed recalled the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, which was adopted in 2015 at the UN Third International Conference on Financing for Development.

Teenager Malala Yousafzai — who earned a Nobel Peace Prize for promoting the rights of girls — now holds the highest honor bestowed by the U.N. chief on a global citizen. “It is important for girls to realize that their action and their voice is important, and it is needed right now,” the 19-year-old said after an April 10 ceremony where she was officially designated a U.N. Messenger of Peace. She is the youngest person to be so honored.

With global leaders heading to the United Nations for a major conference in June on the protection and sustainable use of the planet's oceans, the UN today announced that the inaugural World Ocean Festival will kick off the week-long event, with activists and enthusiasts taking to the streets - and waterways - of New York City to raise their voices to reverse the declining health of our oceans.

“Think globally, act locally.’’ This isn’t just a slogan. It’s a deep conviction shared by a growing number of elected officials, experts and citizens around the world: Cities — especially the large ones — can and must play a leading role in solving the complex problems of our time. This new mission is driven by growing urbanization, which is happening world-wide; more than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas.

“I believe this operation was a response which must now be followed up at an international level within the United Nations if possible, so we can go all the way with sanctions against Bashar al-Assad, and prevent this regime from using chemical weapons again to crush its own people,” François Hollande added in an announcement to the press.

The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday appointed Rasha Atamny, 31, to represent the Jewish state in Ankara, Turkey, making her Israel’s first female Muslim diplomat [...] “This time I listened to the speeches from Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Egypt condemning Israel’s ‘systematic violations of women’s rights’ while I, an Arab-Muslim woman of Palestinian origin represent Israel at the UN General Assembly,” she said.