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Latest updates, policy debates, trending ideas, criticisms, provocative essays, expert analysis, commentaries, on-the-spot reporting, insights and opportunities from Australia

Path to low-carbon construction is clear as mud

“Not many architects think that climate change is something that they need to think about, but we’re trying to change that,” says Rosie Paul,...

Drastic erosion of women’s rights in Afghanistan continues

Police enforcement has increased harassment in public spaces and further limited women’s ability to leave their homes, according to testimony from 745 Afghan women...

Bangladesh: Citing ‘dangerous decline’ of human rights, experts urge key reforms

The Human Rights Council-appointed experts’ call follows on from the election victory of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier this month, who secured a controversial...

Women’s rights key for Afghanistan’s economic recovery

The report paints a bleak picture of socio-economic conditions since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, with the erosion of women's rights...

Guterres strongly condemns attack in Iran; over 100 reportedly killed

More than 170 people have also been wounded according to Iranian officials at the scene. News reports citing local officials said that there were two...

Myanmar overtakes Afghanistan as world’s top opium producer

The southeast Asian country’s opium output has surpassed that of Afghanistan, where the Taliban imposed a ban on its production in April last year...

DPR Korea: Military satellites, ‘serious risk’ to civil aviation and shipping

The UN’s Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Mohamed Khaled Khiari, told ambassadors the satellite had been loaded onto a rocket...

Desperate Afghan returnees from Pakistan face uncertain future: IOM

According to IOM, in the past two months alone, nearly 375,000 Afghans left Pakistan, primarily utilizing the Torkham and Spin Boldak border crossings, near...

UN teams respond to deadly earthquake in western Nepal

The powerful 6.4M earthquake struck the remote and rural districts of Rukum (West) and Jajarkot shortly before midnight on Friday (local time) as families...

On sacred ground in Nepal, UN chief calls for global action for peace

“It is an honor to be here in Lumbini – a site of spirituality, serenity, and peace,” Mr. Guterres began.   “I am deeply moved...

‘Stop the madness’ of climate change, UN chief declares

Nepal has lost almost a third of its ice volume in 30 years, with glaciers melting 65 per cent faster in the last decade...

First Person: Farmers running out of water in Punjab, India

Water is crucial to rice farmers and when it is lacking, they tend to rely on groundwater. Globally, water taken from underground reservoirs supports 40...

‘A mountain of hardship’, as Afghanistan suffers yet another earthquake

The latest, 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck areas northeast of Herat city Sunday morning local time. According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs...

UN rights body extends mandate of Special Rapporteur on Russia

The UN Human Rights Council also “strongly urged” Russian authorities to comply with all the State’s obligations under international human rights law. It also called...

UN teams support burn victims amidst Karabakh crisis

More than 170 people were killed and over 200 more injured, many with grievous burns and in a critical condition, in an explosion at...

UN condemns ‘abhorrent’ terrorist attacks in Pakistan

A further 70 people were injured in Friday’s attacks at the Hangu mosque in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and at a religious procession in Mastung, Balochistan. “It...

‘The world cannot afford Cold War 2.0,’ Pakistan leader tells UN Assembly

Addressing the Assembly’s annual general debate, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, said, “the world cannot afford Cold War 2.0,” because there are a raft of challenges facing...

Republic of Korea: Russia providing weapons tech to DPRK ‘will be a direct provocation’

In his address to the UN General Assembly’s annual debate, President Yoon referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to the DPRK and...

Taliban urged to uphold Afghan girls’ right to education

“Denying education to girls is a violation of universal human rights,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW). “The de facto authorities...

‘Robust progress’ towards SDGs in Thailand: A UN Resident Coordinator blog

Gita Sabharwal spoke to UN News ahead of the SDG Summit 2023 which gets underway at UN Headquarters in New York on 18 September. The summit...

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Crucial to have ‘unimpeded passage’ of aid through Lachin Corridor, Security Council hears

Delivering a briefing on the latest situation there, the Director of Operations and Advocacy for humanitarian affairs coordination office, OCHA, made clear that the...

Guterres strongly condemns suicide bombing in Pakistan

At least 54 people were killed, and 83 injured, in the attack, which occurred in Bajaur district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. International media reported on...

Cambodia: UN rights chief regrets ‘severely restricted’ poll and opposition clampdown

In a news release issued by his Office, Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, denounced “constant shrinkage” in Cambodia’s democratic space in...

Funding ‘simply not enough’ for Rohingya refugees, UN agencies report

In March, the value of the food vouchers for camp residents was reduced from $12 per person per month to $10, and in June,...