UN: COP30 president asks for climate finance work programme on agenda (PRIV)
(Chhegu Palmuu, Kathmandu)
At the sixty-fourth session of the UNFCCC's Subsidiary Bodies (SB64), which took place on 8-18 June in Bonn, Germany, Ambassador Andre Correa do Lago (Brazil), President of COP30 , sent a letter on 12 June to the UNFCCC Executive Secretary, requesting the secretariat to include the two-year Climate Finance Work Programme (CFWP), established in Belem, Brazil, last year, as a sub-item under "matters relating to finance" on the provisional agenda of the Conference of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA).

UN: Middle East conflict fallout squeezing fiscal space in South (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
Governments have moved swiftly to blunt the ripple effects of "the most severe oil supply shock in history", but at a steep fiscal cost for many low- and middle-income economies already grappling with heavy debt, low reserves and limited access to finance, heightening the long-term economic risks even as short-term pressures ease, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Venezuela: UNHCR ramps up response as post-earthquake needs surge (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
Initial on-the-ground needs assessments from Venezuela have revealed a dramatic surge in humanitarian and protection needs in recent days following the devastating twin earthquakes that hit the country last week, according to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.