UN urges world not to forget Rohingya refugees as aid cuts threaten vital support
Summary: As the world approaches nine years since the mass displacement of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar into Bangladesh, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has appealed to the international community not to abandon the 1.2 million refugees living in the country, most of them in camps in Cox’s Bazar.
El Niño confirmed, set to fuel more extreme weather, says WMO
Summary: The UN urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems after confirming the onset of El Niño, warning that the Pacific Ocean-warming phenomenon will bring above-average temperatures “nearly everywhere” and fuel more extreme weather.
Security Council LIVE: Emergency meeting on Lebanon as Israeli attacks casts pall over Iran-US negotiations
Security Council LIVE: Emergency meeting on Lebanon as Israeli attacks casts pall over Iran-US negotiations
Summary: The Security Council meets late on Monday at France’s request, as concern grows over escalating violence in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah amid warnings of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, and confusion over the status of US-Iran peace talks linked to the faltering ceasefires. Follow live here from New York.
World News in Brief: Updates from Gaza, the West Bank and Afghanistan, UN development reforms, change at the top of WFP
From Libyan deserts to 3D-printed guns: The weapons that never go away
Summary: Years after conflicts fade from the headlines, the weapons used to fight them often continue to circulate – crossing borders, fuelling crime and undermining an often-fragile peace. Now, ghost guns, 3D-printed firearms and increasingly sophisticated trafficking networks are creating new challenges for governments worldwide.
Under fire, Kharkiv is already building for a peaceful tomorrow
Summary: Every day in Kharkiv begins with uncertainty: air raid sirens interrupt sleep; missiles strike residential neighbourhoods, industrial sites, and roads. Anxious citizens rush into metro stations during bombardments and children study underground.
‘You are not alone’: WHO chief vows to stand with DR Congo through Ebola outbreak
Summary: Community trust will be decisive in bringing the rapidly evolving Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo under control, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday, as health teams race to contain the emergency that has spread across multiple provinces and into neighbouring Uganda.
Borrowed boots, borrowed joy: Football thrives in Gaza camps
Summary: Matches organised by a former professional player are providing a brief respite from the harsh reality of life for the thousands living in overcrowded tents, schools or damaged buildings in the shattered Occupied Palestinian Territory of Gaza.
Banning children from social media is not the answer, UN warns – platforms must be made safe by design
Banning children from social media is not the answer, UN warns – platforms must be made safe by design
Summary: Blocking children from social media is no substitute for making platforms safe in the first place, the UN human rights office warned Friday, as it issued a 10-point framework urging governments and tech companies to go further and faster to protect children online.
Gaza children trapped ‘in an endless cycle of suffering’: UNICEF
Summary: The dire conditions in the Gaza Strip are trapping children “in an endless cycle of suffering” and their heartbroken parents can only look on, an official with the UN child rights agency UNICEF said on Friday in a fresh appeal for greater humanitarian access to support families in the war-ravaged enclave.
Conflict-related sexual violence cases more than doubled in 2025, UN warns
Summary: Nearly 10,000 cases of conflict-related sexual violence were recorded worldwide last year – more than double the previous year's figure – as rape, sexual slavery and abduction were deployed as weapons of war across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Caribbean.
UN honours blue helmets and calls for renewed investment in peace
Summary: Peacekeepers are serving in a dangerous era of mounting global tensions and tight resources. UN chief António Guterres is now calling for greater political backing and reliable financial support for ‘blue helmets’ who put themselves in harm’s way.
UN warns Ukraine war risks spiralling ‘out of control’
Summary: The United Nations on Thursday warned of a dangerous escalation in the war in Ukraine after a wave of large-scale Russian strikes and threats of further attacks, with Secretary-General António Guterres saying “the death spiral must stop.”
World News in Brief: Lebanon violence continues, Israel ‘severs ties’ with UN chief, Internal displacement in Haiti, warning to France over prison overcrowding
World News in Brief: Lebanon violence continues, Israel ‘severs ties’ with UN chief, Internal displacement in Haiti, warning to France over prison overcrowding
Summary: The UN has expressed deep concern over escalating hostilities in Lebanon following intensified Israeli airstrikes in southern Beirut and across southern parts of the country.
Security Council LIVE: Mounting attacks and Russian threats prompt emergency Ukraine meeting
Summary: The UN Security Council is meeting in emergency session on Ukraine, with Secretary-General António Guterres telling ambassadors following what Kyiv describes as the most devastating attack on its capital to date, that “the time for peace is now.” In the early hours of 23-24 May, Russia launched a massive barrage of missiles and drones against multiple Ukrainian cities. Moscow has since threatened further sustained strikes. Sharp divisions among Council members are expected, with European nations demanding an immediate ceasefire while Russia insists its strikes target only military infrastructure.
Global temperatures set to stay near record levels: UN weather agency
Summary: The world is heading into another period of dangerous heat, a new UN report warns on Thursday, and it’s nearly certain global temperatures over the next five years will stay “at or near record levels” as climate change accelerates across land and sea.
WHO chief calls for ceasefire amid DR Congo Ebola outbreak
Summary: The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) headed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Thursday as the country continues to combat a deadly resurgence of Ebola in its volatile eastern region where instability is rife.
UN80 Initiative: ‘Critical new phase’ for UN reform effort
Summary: UN chief António Guterres has outlined further progress in the wide-ranging UN80 Initiative, a major reform and restructuring project aimed at making the global body more effective, agile and better equipped to respond to global challenges.
Ebola outbreak in DR Congo collides with conflict and hunger, WHO warns
Summary: The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday warned that eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo faces a “catastrophic collision of disease and conflict” as a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak outpaces containment efforts in a region already battered by armed violence, mass displacement and acute hunger.
World News in Brief: Sudan and Haiti updates, Afghan women’s rights
Summary: The United Nations is raising alarm over continued drone attacks in Sudan’s Darfur region after multiple strikes reportedly killed civilians and intensified fears for communities already trapped by the brutal conflict between rival militaries.
Middle East update: Airstrikes and evacuation orders in Lebanon, aid restrictions in Gaza
Summary: Intensified Israeli airstrikes overnight in Lebanon forced people to again flee their homes, while humanitarians in the Gaza Strip report continued restrictions in bringing aid into the enclave, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Wars and geopolitical divisions constitute ‘dangerous erosion’ of world order, warns UN chief
Summary: The UN Charter is facing one of its gravest tests in decades, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Tuesday, warning that wars, arms races, climate shocks and the erosion of international law are placing intense pressure on the multilateral system established to prevent a third world war.
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