Shaping a better world at Expo 2025 in Japan

Shaping a better world at Expo 2025 in Japan

The UN is taking part alongside more than 150 countries and organizations at the global gathering, which carries the forward-looking theme: Designing Future Society for Our Lives. The UN Pavilion is divided into four areas; a timeline in the first area explains the history of the UN and its agencies, whilst the second – the […]

World News in Brief: ‘Indifference and impunity’ in Sudan, ICC judges speak out against sanctions, respiratory diseases overlooked in Europe

World News in Brief: ‘Indifference and impunity’ in Sudan, ICC judges speak out against sanctions, respiratory diseases overlooked in Europe

Tom Fletcher noted that over 30 million people require humanitarian assistance. Moreover, with famine declared in multiple places and over 14.6 million people displaced, Sudan represents the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. “Again and again, the international community has said that we will protect the people of Sudan. The people of Sudan should ask […]

The world pledged to end child labour by 2025: So why are 138 million kids still working?

The world pledged to end child labour by 2025: So why are 138 million kids still working?

There are 10,000 children in Madagascar who, like Tenasoa, work in the largely unregulated mica industry. The silicate is used in paints, car parts, and cosmetics – to add a “shimmer” effect.  Alongside parents and grandparents, these children toil in dangerous conditions, inhaling harmful dust particles and entering structurally unsound tunnels. Many of them have […]

World News in Brief: Global growth slows, deadly Ukraine attacks, Haiti hurricane hunger risk, legal migration for refugees

World News in Brief: Global growth slows, deadly Ukraine attacks, Haiti hurricane hunger risk, legal migration for refugees

Growth is projected to weaken to 2.3 per cent, or nearly half a percentage point lower than expected at the start of the year, according to the Global Economic Prospects report. “The global outlook is predicated on tariff rates close to those of late May prevailing,” it said. “Accordingly, pauses to previously announced tariff hikes […]

‘Jerusalem is not for sale’ Palestinian President Abbas tells world leaders at UN Assembly

‘Jerusalem is not for sale’ Palestinian President Abbas tells world leaders at UN Assembly

President Abbas underscored his commitment to peace and the two-state solution, as well as the path of negotiation to achieve them, reiterating that peace in the Middle East cannot be realized without an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital. “We have always fully and positively engaged with the various initiatives of the […]

From summits to street art to schools: Here’s how we’re marking World Environment Day

From summits to street art to schools: Here’s how we’re marking World Environment Day

Around the world, civil society groups and UN teams are hosting webinars, forums, summits and other diverse celebrations. It’s a collective effort that’s drawing together different wings of the UN from Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to UN Peacekeeping. Worldwide events On Tuesday, Qatar launched a national biodiversity database, concluding a three-year UNEP-led project. […]

UN chief urges world leaders to keep two-State solution ‘alive’

UN chief urges world leaders to keep two-State solution ‘alive’

“It is absolutely essential to keep alive the two-State solution perspective with all the terrible things we are witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank,” Mr. Guterres told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York. He was responding to a question about his message to leaders gathering at a high-level international conference later this month […]

UN chief urges world leaders to keep two-State solution ‘alive’

UN chief urges world leaders to keep two-State solution ‘alive’

“It is absolutely essential to keep alive the two-State solution perspective with all the terrible things we are witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank,” Mr. Guterres told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York. He was responding to a question about his message to leaders gathering at a high-level international conference later this month […]

World Environment Day: UN sounds alarm on plastic pollution crisis

World Environment Day: UN sounds alarm on plastic pollution crisis

Between 19 and 23 million tonnes of plastic waste leak into aquatic ecosystems annually, and without urgent action, this figure is expected to rise by 50 per cent by 2040. Plastic pollution is contaminating every corner of the planet, threatening ecosystems, wildlife, and human health. Microplastics are found in food, water and air, with the […]

World News in Brief: Aid for Syria, children under attack in Mozambique, rights-based climate action

World News in Brief: Aid for Syria, children under attack in Mozambique, rights-based climate action

Despite limited resources, the UN and partners are reaching some 2.5 million people each month across the country. In May alone, more than one million people received assistance, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Cross-border aid has significantly increased this year. Since January, 1,185 humanitarian trucks have crossed from Türkiye […]

World News in Brief: Guterres condemns antisemitic attacks, ILO to debate pros and cons of working online, Sudan, Ukraine updates

World News in Brief: Guterres condemns antisemitic attacks, ILO to debate pros and cons of working online, Sudan, Ukraine updates

A man was arrested in Boulder after reportedly using a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to set people on fire at an event in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza on Sunday. The suspect reportedly yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack and now faces federal hate crime charges along with multiple felonies. The attack injured at […]

World News in Brief: Education suffers amid DR Congo violence, WHO greenlights RSV vaccines, more hurricanes ahead for Haiti

World News in Brief: Education suffers amid DR Congo violence, WHO greenlights RSV vaccines, more hurricanes ahead for Haiti

According to UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, more than 290 schools have been damaged or destroyed in Ituri this year alone, bringing the total number of out-of-school children in the province to over 1.3 million. Protection crisis Between January and April 2025, a surge in violence displaced more than 100,000 people – half of them children. […]

Climate change: World Likely to Breach 1.5°C limit in next five years

Climate change: World Likely to Breach 1.5°C limit in next five years

According to the Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update, the planet is predicted to experience temperatures between 1.2°C and 1.9°C above pre-industrial levels (1850–1900) over the next five years. Breaching critical thresholds In 2024, the WMO estimated that the average global temperature was between 1.34°C and 1.41°C higher than pre-industrial levels (1850-1900). The WMO now […]

World News in Brief: UK cedes sovereignty over Chagos Islands, suffering in Sudan deepens, UN releases new emergency relief funds

World News in Brief: UK cedes sovereignty over Chagos Islands, suffering in Sudan deepens, UN releases new emergency relief funds

Before granting Mauritius independence in 1968, Britain unlawfully separated the Chagos archipelago to create the British Indian Ocean Territory. In doing so, it expelled 1,500–2,000 islanders to lease Diego Garcia, the largest island, to the United States for joint military use. Under the agreement, the UK will lease the island of Diego Garcia for the […]

World News in Brief: Terror-crime link alarm, child detention in Australia, judiciary in Maldives, Protection of Civilians Week

World News in Brief: Terror-crime link alarm, child detention in Australia, judiciary in Maldives, Protection of Civilians Week

In recent years, criminal and terrorist groups have seized “every” opportunity afforded by growing instability to “entrench, expand, and escalate,” said Ghada Waly, in her opening remarks to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, in Vienna. Challenges such as human and drug trafficking, smuggling of cultural and commercial goods, and environmental crimes are […]