UN News Today 26 June 2026 |

Venezuela quake: ‘People still terrified to re-enter what were their homes’

Aid agencies have highlighted massive needs across Venezuela caused by a double earthquake disaster that has killed at least 235 people so far. 

Search and rescue for people trapped under the rubble is still the top priority.

In all, up to 6.8 million people could be impacted by the emergency, according to the UN agency for migration, IOM. 

More than 41,000 people have also been reported missing through an online portal. 

And amid reports that rescuers are digging with their bare hands in some quake-hit centres, aid teams report that people “are still terrified to re-enter what were their homes”.

Many medical needs are critical, said Dr Ciro Ugarte, Health Emergencies Director for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO):

“The overriding priority is to urgently provide lifesaving healthcare and rescue as many people as possible, because the first hours, as you know, are critical to saving lives.”

Dr Ugarte described medical teams under pressure to triage mass casualties and provide trauma care for broken bones, burns and other injuries associated with buildings collapsing, particularly in areas where search and rescue operations are ongoing. 

UN rights chief condemns deaths in custody following ICE raids

The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, expressed alarm on Friday at the reported deaths in custody of 19 people so far this year, while they were being held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

The High Commissioner has urged prompt action “to prevent further loss of life” in ICE custody, while calling for independent investigations into all deaths involving the force. 

Here’s UN human rights spokesperson Marta Hurtado:

“Detainees, who include entire families with children, and medically vulnerable people, are frequently reported to face inhuman conditions of detention and treatment, including inadequate healthcare and food, and exposure to disease outbreaks in overcrowded facilities.” 

These deaths have happened amid a broad expansion of the US immigration detention system, the UN human rights office said.

Today, ICE detains more than 60,000 people, compared to some 40,000 in early 2025, according to the latest official data. 

“There are plans to further increase the detention capacity up to 90,000 people by the end of 2026,” said Ms. Hurtado.

DR Congo: Ebola is spreading and so is a massive hunger crisis, warns WFP

To the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where humanitarians warn that in addition to the deadly spread of Ebola disease, there’s also a massive hunger crisis there, too.

Across the country, 26.5 million people – or almost one in four Congolese – do not have enough food.

That’s according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), which warns that more than 3.6 million people are already facing emergency levels of hunger. 

This increases the likelihood of them moving to find food, work and safety, “and those movements can make it much harder to stop the virus”, the agency explained.

Another longstanding problem is the active conflict in eastern DRC that’s pushing people into affected health zones. “Insecurity and access constraints are making it harder for humanitarian teams to reach the communities who need help most,” WFP said.

The agency cited the story of Jacques, whose five-year-old daughter died from Ebola, after developing a high fever and bleeding from her ears. His wife remains in an isolation centre and WFP is providing hot meals there so that patients and contacts can stay under observation.

Jacques now cares for his 13 family members with a month’s UN food ration that will only last two weeks. When it runs out, Jacques has no idea how he will feed them, WFP said, in a call for more resources.

 Daniel Johnson, UN News