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Humanitarians must be able to deliver aid in Gaza, UN agencies insist

UN agencies on Friday continue to stress they must be allowed to deliver aid in the Gaza Strip as famine looms and a telecommunications blackout threatens lifesaving operations. The humanitarian…

Societies grappling with a ‘silent but growing’ prison crisis

Prisons have become a fragile link in many criminal justice systems, weakened by over-incarceration, overcrowding, poor conditions and chronic neglect – fuelling calls for urgent reform. A decade…

DR Congo crisis: Aid teams appeal for support to help displaced communities left with nothing

As diplomatic efforts continue to end fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN development agency (UNDP) issued an appeal on Friday on behalf of people uprooted by the violence to help them rebuild their lives and livelihoods…

World News in Brief: Rights abuses in Haiti, Sudan war sees exodus to Chad, food trade optimism

Escalating gang violence in Haiti has displaced a record 1.3 million people, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday. Between 1 January and 30 May, at least 2,680 people – including 54…

Shaping a better world at Expo 2025 in Japan

How can we build a fairer, more peaceful world while safeguarding the planet? That’s the powerful question at the heart of the United Nations Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. The UN is taking part…

UN ocean summit in Nice closes with wave of commitments

Ships in the port of Nice sounded their fog-horns on Friday, a brassy crescendo to a rare moment of global unity as the Third UN Ocean Conference drew to a close. Moments earlier, more than 170 countries had adopted by consensus a sweeping political declaration promising urgent action to protect…

UN chief ‘deeply saddened’ as Air India crash claims lives of over 200 on board

A London-bound Air India jet carrying 242 people crashed moments after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday, reportedly killing more than 200 on board, with dozens still unaccounted for. The plane – a…

Displacement doubles while funding shrinks, warns UNHCR

With 13.5 million people displaced by over 13 years of brutal civil conflict, Syria used to represent the largest displacement crisis in the world. This is no longer the case. In December last year, the…

Global push to end plastic pollution gains ground in Nice

Behind closed doors, in a domed conference pavilion steps away from the historic port of Nice, more than 40 ministers gathered on Tuesday to tackle one of the planet’s fastest-growing environmental threats: plastic pollution.…

‘No Ocean Declaration without small islands’: Delegates push for inclusion as UN summit nears end

With one day remaining before the conclusion of the Third UN Ocean Conference, delegates in Nice are preparing for the adoption of the summit’s eagerly anticipated political declaration. Small island developing States, facing the direct effects of climate change and marine resource decline, are…