Oceans of opportunity squeezed dry by unsustainable use
In the run-up to the UN Ocean Conference 2025 in June, the UN trade and development agency, UNCTAD, emphasised that oceans are essential to all life, by...
COP29: Digital tech and AI can boost climate action, but curbing the sector’s emissions...
On the first-ever ‘Digitalisation Day’ for a UN climate conference, the COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action received endorsements from more than 1,000 governments,...
Two billion women without access to social protection
As the world prepares to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on 17 October, UN Women released a report highlighting the widening...
UN ocean summit in Nice closes with wave of commitments
“We close this historic week not just with hope, but with concrete commitment, clear direction, and undeniable momentum,” Li Junhua, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for...
UN chief offers condolences amid devastating wildfires in California
The fires, described as some of the worst in the city’s history, have burned thousands of acres, destroyed homes and left firefighters battling to...
Global education must integrate AI, centred on humanity
His message highlighted the dual nature of technological advances such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), which offer immense potential – but also pose considerable risks.“Education is...
COP29 climate talks conclude with $300 billion annual pledge, but developing nations call deal...
After two weeks of intense negotiations, delegates at COP29, formally the 29th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),...
World getting a ‘failing grade’ on Global Goals report card
The 2024 Sustainable Development Goals Report highlighted that nearly half the 17 targets are showing minimal or moderate progress, while over a one-third are...
LIVE: World leaders in Sevilla launch ambitious push to finance the future
From rising debt and shrinking investment, to the aid funding crisis and struggles to meet ambitious development goals, the global financial system is failing...
New climate pledges do little to correct global warming projection, UN warns
The warning comes in the latest Emissions Gap Report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), issued on Tuesday ahead of the COP30 climate conference which opens in Belém, Brazil, next week.Nearly a decade has passed since world...
Pakistan’s ‘Iron Lady’ leads the fight for a fairer future for all
When she was 21, Ms. Mazari was badly injured in a car crash which left her paralysed from the waist down. Despite facing immense...
The heat is on: We must rise to the challenge of rising temperatures, urges...
The appeal comes against the backdrop of record temperatures and deadly heatwaves – from the United States to Africa’s Sahel and Europe to the...
COP29: Push for agreement on a new climate finance deal ‘right from the start’
“Let’s dispense with any idea that climate finance is charity;” runaway climate change is impacting “every single individual in the world one way or...
Another month, another heat record broken: UN weather agency
Global average temperatures for 13 consecutive months from June 2023 to June 2024 also set new monthly records.50℃ barrier broken“Widespread, intense and extended heat...
Over three million preventable deaths per year due to alcohol and drug use
Notably, the vast majority of these deaths were among men, with the highest prevalence in the 20-39 age group.The death rates were also highest...
Conflict, hunger, poverty impede children’s early development: Türk
During a discussion on early childhood development, the High Commissioner for Human Rights underscored that 80 per cent of the human brain is formed...
Global push to end plastic pollution gains ground in Nice
Away from the cameras and fanfare of the Third UN Ocean Conference under way in the coastal French city, they voiced a shared determination...
World News in Brief: Hunger in the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, climate and displacement...
Across the region, nations face food-related challenges notably due to geographical remoteness, lack of local available resources and exposure to climate change. “The Caribbean is...
Talks begin in South Korea to clinch ‘essential’ deal on plastics pollution
The meeting follows two years of intergovernmental negotiations to develop a legally binding global instrument that covers land and the marine environment – a...
UNHCR amplifies voices of displaced on frontlines of climate change
Actor and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Theo James kicked the campaign off at the COP29 Climate Conference in Baku, alongside a group of eight displaced...
Safeguarding clean water access as climate threats rise
“Healthcare facilities are where the vulnerable seek healing. Yet, without adequate water, sanitation and hygiene, for too many people, expected care can become inadvertent harm,” said Dr. Hans Kluge, the...
Northern hemisphere heatwave underscores value of early-warning alerts
Three days after Spain’s national weather service confirmed a record 46°C reading in the southern town of El Granado, there’s been little let-up in...
UN searches for solutions to global housing crisis
This includes more than 1.12 billion people living in slums or informal settlements. An additional 300 million face absolute homelessness, lacking any form of...
Social development, up close: UN News goes inside the Doha summit
At the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, our team piloted a quick, digestible format designed to bring readers closer to the...
