World News in Brief: Tackling the AI digital divide, deadly migration journeys, Lucy Hale...
The UN’s Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance is one of the key initiatives on AI. It brings together all 193 United Nations Member States, the...
As Colombia elections near, Security Council hears calls for calm
Following decades of conflict, the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP rebel group signed an historic Final Agreement on 24 November 2016. The following year,...
Nature’s last strongholds: Why UNESCO sites are a lifeline for a planet in peril
From the mist-covered peaks of Global Geoparks to the vibrant underwater cathedrals of World Heritage coral reefs, these sanctuaries are doing more than just...
Economic collapse pushes highly educated Gazans into the ‘survival economy’
Abdullah al-Khawaja, an electrical engineering graduate displaced from Rafah to Khan Younis, now stands behind a small spice stall, having lost the career path...
Guterres urges countries to ‘unleash the renewables revolution’
“The conflict in the Middle East has triggered the most severe energy crisis in a generation,” he said in a video message to the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in...
Secretary-General hopefuls make their case in televised ‘interactive dialogues’
From 1 January 2027, there will be a new person in charge on the 38th floor of UN Headquarters: after 10 years, having completed...
Millions of desperate Sudanese return home amid dire conditions as war rages
IOM Deputy Director General Sung Ah Lee said that returns were concentrated mainly in the capital Khartoum and neighbouring Al Jazirah state, where she...
MIDDLE EAST LIVE 21 April: Talks unclear; Hormuz tensions continue
Uncertainty surrounds possible US-Iran talks in Pakistan, with no confirmation yet that they will go ahead. At the same time, tensions persist in the...
World News in Brief: AI diagnostics, humanitarian deal for DR Congo, rights abuse allegations...
According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO) joint report with the European Union, 74% of countries in the bloc use AI tools in...
SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Emergency briefing on Ukraine amid escalating Russian attacks
The Security Council meets in emergency session at 3pm to address the escalating conflict in Ukraine. The open briefing follows a formal request from...
UN Forum puts spotlight on healthcare for Indigenous Peoples
More than 1,000 participants are expected to attend the latest session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) – the platform that has placed their concerns at the centre of international debate over the past 25...
Time running out on development goals as finance dries up, UN warns
The warning comes in the Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2026 (FSDR), a new UN report launched on Monday, which finds that with just four...
Gaza: Human development set back 77 years as recovery costs rise to $71 billion
That’s according to the final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), jointly conducted with the UN-partnered World Bank.The assessment says $26.3 billion will be...
MIDDLE EAST LIVE 20 April: Uncertainty grows in the Strait of Hormuz
Tensions have escalated in the Strait of Hormuz amid renewed security incidents, including reported attacks on vessels and a US interception of an Iranian...
The Crisis in America — Your Vision for the Future
Photo credit: DiasporaEngager (www.DiasporaEngager.com).
Monday, April 20, 2026 · 3:00 PM ET
In this edition of Vantage Point, Dr. Ron Daniels, aka “the Professor,” hosts an...
Why lower fertility does not have to mean economic decline
There’s no getting away from the fact that in many countries around the world, populations are ageing and fertility is declining. The latest State of World...
UN peacekeeper killed and three injured in southern Lebanon attack
The incident occurred on Saturday morning local time as a UNIFIL team was clearing explosive ordnance along a road in the village of Ghanduriyah...
UNICEF ‘outraged’ by killing of Gaza water truck drivers, urges investigation
In a statement issued on Friday, the agency warned that the incident threatens vital humanitarian operations supplying clean water to hundreds of thousands of...
Gender, geography and powerbroking in play in race for next UN chief
Why it mattersThe major questions going into the process which is now underway are:Which country will the next UN chief come from?Will a woman...
Sudan: Three quarters of women feel unsafe as war rages on
Fabrizia Falcione, UNFPA Country Representative in Sudan, briefed journalists in New York on a recent assessment based on 95 focus group discussions across 16...
More than half of Haitians continue to face food crisis
The update came on Friday, in a release by the World Food Programme (WFP), which has been working with the government and partners to...
World News in Brief: Myanmar amnesty, rising needs in Afghanistan, another power loss at...
President Win Myint had been in jail since February 2021 when the military overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government in a coup, which sparked nationwide...
Student Debt Is Failing Millions. Apprenticeships Offer a Better Way.
Photo credit: DiasporaEngager (www.DiasporaEngager.com).
By Ben Jealous —
America’s student debt system is failing millions of people. About 42.7 million borrowers owe more than $1.6 trillion....
UNESCO grants ‘enhanced protection’ to cultural heritage sites in the Middle East
At the request of the Lebanese Government, UNESCO placed 39 World Heritage sites in the country under so-called “enhanced protection”. But what is “enhanced protection” and what can the...
