UN News Today 29 April 2026 |

Iran: UN rights chief condemns ongoing deadly repression 

We start in Iran, where the UN’s human rights chief has condemned a surge in executions and mass arrests, which are part of a widening crackdown on dissent, linked in part to the ongoing war with Israel and the United States.

At least 21 people have been executed and more than 4,000 arrested on national security-related charges since late February, said Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

Those executed included individuals linked to protests, alleged opposition group members and others accused of spying, said spokesperson for his office, OHCHR, Ravina Shamdasani:

“Dozens of prisoners have been transferred to unknown locations with no information on their fate. Among them human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. Conditions of detention are dire, with severe overcrowding, acute shortages of food, water and medicine. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nargis Mohammadi remains imprisoned under high-risk conditions, with her health reportedly worsening.” 

OHCHR said that in Chabahar Prison in southern Iran, detainees who protested at food shortages were reportedly killed and injured. 

Two additional detainees died in custody, in a different prison, with indications that they had been subjected to torture. 

Mr. Türk stressed that fundamental protections must be upheld even during wartime, when threats to human rights “increase exponentially”.

Core rights such as protection against arbitrary detention and the right to a fair trial “must be respected absolutely, at all times”, he said.

Climate: Europe is heating up at twice the global rate

Climate news now, and new data shows record heatwaves from the Mediterranean to the Arctic last year, with glaciers shrinking and snow cover declining.

Those are the latest worrying findings from the UN World Meteorological Organization – WMO – whose latest report with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts spotlights key changes across Europe, which is the world’s fastest warming continent.

Key results from the latest European State of the Climate study show that at least 95 per cent of Europe experienced above-average annual temperatures in 2025. 

There was also a record three-week heatwave affecting sub-Arctic peninsulas in Scandinavia, with temperatures near to and within the Arctic Circle exceeding 30°C.

Annual sea surface temperatures for Europe were also the highest on record, with 86 per cent of the region experiencing “strong” marine heatwaves – or worse. 

Back on land, wildfires burnt more than one million hectares, the largest area on record, while river flows were below average for 11 months of the year across Europe.

Lebanon: global food security experts warn that 1 in 4 people face acute hunger 

To Lebanon now, where one in four people face being pushed into acute hunger as clashes continue in the south of the country between Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces.

The alert from experts at UN-partner the IPC – or Integrated Food Security Phase Classification platform – indicates that all population groups in Lebanon now face a “sharply deteriorating” situation, driven by renewed hostilities and widespread displacement since early March. 

In total, it’s feared that around 1.2 million people could encounter high levels of acute food insecurity between now and August.

That’s worse than previous forecasts and includes 725,000 Lebanese residents in what the IPC describes as “crisis” – where households face high acute malnutrition or are forced to sell their assets to obtain a minimum amount of food.

Also in crisis are more than 460,000 Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and 50,000 people arriving from Syria since December 2024.

The latest snapshot of hunger in Lebanon marks a “substantial increase” compared with the 874,000 people who were in “crisis” or worse between late 2025 and March this year.

Daniel Johnson, UN News