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Talks open on plastics treaty to defuse environmental 'time bomb'
About 69% of all the plastics produced, mainly through fossil fuel burning, are used just once or twice before they are thrown away. About 22% is mismanaged. Just 9% is recycled.
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DIANA makes low-key entrance as NATO’s DARPA-style innovation hub
The new technology accelerator, known by an acronym that shares its name with a storied goddess, quietly began taking shape a year before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Red Cross finds around half of all armed groups are state-supported
New ICRC guidelines on the obligations of international humanitarian law are meant to protect innocent civilians and detainees against violence by non-state armed groups.
Swiss devise US$3.25B deal for UBS to aquire 'too big to fail' Credit Suisse
The Financial Stability Board designated Switzerland's two biggest banks as so huge and critical to the world's global financial architecture that they must not be allowed to fail.
Nations back first call for 'responsible' military AI use
The agreement emerged from high-level political discussions among 85 countries on the sidelines of an international summit this week in the Netherlands' seat of government.
Low-income countries 'far behind' in pandemic recovery from job losses
High debt, inflation and interest rates are blamed for "a significant divergence" in labor markets around the world.
Budget and broader access top assembly's global health agenda
The 76th World Health Assembly ended after moving to strengthen its budget and broaden access to health care.
Talks open on plastics treaty to defuse environmental 'time bomb'
About 69% of all the plastics produced, mainly through fossil fuel burning, are used just once or twice before they are thrown away. About 22% is mismanaged. Just 9% is recycled.
More than 100 armed conflicts, most lasting for more than 30 years
A Swiss-led U.N. Security Council session called on all countries and armed groups to fulfill their obligations for protecting civilians under international humanitarian law.
Cholera spread fueled by conflict and climate puts 1 billion at risk
Heavy rains and warmer temperatures make it easier for the bacteria that causes cholera to spread, posing a major setback for global efforts to eradicate the disease.
UN appeal seeks US$2.56B for humanitarian needs in Sudan
The fighting that broke out last month caused the ranks of those who need humanitarian aid and protection to swell to 24.6 million, or slightly more than half of Sudan's 49 million.
Almost a quarter of all of WFP's food supplies in Sudan have been looted
The U.N. confirmed at least 17,000 metric tons of food – enough to feed more than half a million people – were taken.
Human rights and aid concerns spike as waves of Sudanese flee
Most of Khartoum, Darfur and North Kordofan are too dangerous to operate in, the U.N. refugee agency said.
Fearing precedent, Pentagon won't cooperate with top global court
A top U.S. diplomatic official said the ICC won't pursue war crimes charges against Americans if the U.S. courts handle it.
U.N. panel on racism and law enforcement ends first U.S. tour
Panel members said they heard countless painful stories from victims and their families but also learned of some promising initiatives against racial discrimination.
Zoonomia Project reveals genetic blueprint of 240 species of mammals
The collaboration found some parts of genomes remained the same for all mammalian species over millions of years of evolution, indicating regulatory functions essential to health.
The great Twitter cull looms for leaders and organizations
More than 300 accounts of heads of state, government leaders and their institutions, plus some 40 major international organizations and their leaders were slated to be demoted.
Italy undecided about exiting China's Belt and Road Initiative
As the only G-7 member to have joined Beijing's sprawling global pact, Italy had indicated it would leave. But now Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says the decision is still up in the air.
Nuclear tensions fuel disarmament agenda for Hiroshima G-7 summit
Humanitarian leaders say the risk of nuclear catastrophe is the highest 'since the worst moments of the Cold War.'
G-7 pushes back against aggressive nuclear moves by Russia and China
The Group of Seven's nonproliferation directors expressed alarm that Russia, China and North Korea have all been pushing to expand their nuclear-armed capabilities.
U.N. staff and appeal for aid in limbo from Taliban ban on Afghan women
Most of the employees who work for the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan are Afghan nationals, women and men, who have been told to stay home because of the ban.
Argentinian meteorologist Celeste Saulo to lead U.N. weather agency
Saulo, who has led Argentina's National Meteorological Service since 2014, is the first woman elected as WMO's chief.
Russia sticks to Ukraine grain deal after U.N.-brokered negotiations
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a U.N.-brokered agreement signed between the world body, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey on July 22, 2022, will now continue at least until mid-July.
Nations agree to add pollutants under hazardous management
Methoxychlor, a pesticide, and two industrial chemicals, Dechlorane Plus and UV-328, are to be eliminated.
Deputy chief defeats boss to become next head of U.N. migration agency
Amy Pope will become the first woman to serve as director general of the International Organization for Migration.
Syrian government's isolation eases with Arab bloc summit appearance
Syrian President Bashar Assad, formerly ostracized by most Arab nations, was warmly readmitted to the Arab League.
New U.N. estimate shows the Syrian civil war's deadly toll on civilians
More than half of the deaths were never documented due to the difficulty of collecting reliable data on death tolls in conflict zones, made still harder by the brutality of Syria's war.
U.N. vote opposes Taliban constraints against females
A U.N. Security Council resolution calls on Afghanistan's de factor rulers to quickly restore the rights of women and girls to 'full, equal, meaningful and safe' participation in society.
Humanitarians arrange multi-day prisoner swap in Yemen's long war
The deal brokered by U.N. and Red Cross officials between Yemen's Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels is the first major prisoner swap in almost three years.
'Continuous advance' of climate crisis pushes 1.15° C. warming
Droughts, floods and heatwaves drove food insecurity and mass migration as communities on every continent were hit by massive costs, the World Meteorological Organization said.
Nearly even odds of 1.5 degrees by 2026
Within the next five years the world has an almost 50-50 chance of temporarily surpassing the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold, WMO reported.
Report urges more water crisis planning
Nations must prepare better for more water-related disasters along with a growing lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, WMO reported.
UNEP report points to catastrophic warming
Unmet promises to cut carbon emissions put the planet on track for temperatures to rise "in excess of 3 degrees Celsius this century," UNEP reported.
Editors' Picks
DIANA makes low-key entrance as NATO’s DARPA-style innovation hub
The new technology accelerator, known by an acronym that shares its name with a storied goddess, quietly began taking shape a year before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
El Niño could push temperatures even higher: climate agencies
The onset of a possible El Niño climate event later this year combined with rising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could push global temperatures to a new warming record.
A year of firsts for Somalia's U.N.-backed all-women media team
Bilan is marking its first anniversary with a look back at what U.N. Development Program calls "a year of smashing taboos and shining a light on stories other media have long ignored."