UNFICYP/P. Shulgan UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at a press conference in Cyprus. Top news of the day | Wednesday: Cyprus, West Bank, Ebola, Haiti UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: following his visit to Cyprus, the UN Secretary General will convene a new meeting on a settlement on the island, attacks on Palestinians continue in the West Bank, residents of the Ebola-affected areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo face the risk of famine, the scale of gender-based violence has sharply increased in Haiti.
Visit of the Secretary General to Cyprus
Following his first visit to Cyprus, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced his intention to convene a new settlement meeting on the island with the participation of leaders of both Cypriot communities, as well as representatives of the guarantor countries and the UN. According to Guterres, the moment has come when every effort must be made to restore trust between the parties. He stressed the importance of developing and implementing confidence-building measures that can improve the lives of the island’s population, and called on the two leaders to intensify work in this direction.
The situation in the West Bank
The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has expressed concern about the deteriorating security situation in the occupied West Bank. OHCHR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said today that the Israeli government continues to approve the construction of new settlements, and settlers and Israeli security forces “frequently” collaborate in attacks against Palestinian communities, according to the Office. In the first four months of 2026, an average of about 190 attacks were recorded per month, and if this trend continues, their number by the end of the year could exceed two thousand. urgently provide additional funding, warning that growing hunger is undermining efforts to combat the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The number of cases in the country has already exceeded 3.2 thousand people. Experts say more than 2.65 million people in Ebola-affected areas face severe food shortages. WFP needs $293.6 million to continue operations in DR Congo over the next six months.
Violence in Haiti
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns of a sharp rise in gender-based violence in Haiti. More than three thousand such cases were reported from April to June. During the first half of the year, the number of documented incidents reached 5.5 thousand. Almost 70 percent of them involve rape, including by armed groups. Humanitarian organizations provide medical, psychosocial and legal assistance to victims, and open safe spaces for women and girls. At the same time, the needs in the country significantly exceed the available resources.