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.
Switzerland
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.
WHO chief opens assembly with push for 'historic' pandemic treaty
The COVID-19 pandemic brought into sharp focus many of the world's glaring inequalities in health care and access to products such as vaccines, therapeutics and tests.
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.
Nations agree to add pollutants under hazardous management
Methoxychlor, a pesticide, and two industrial chemicals, Dechlorane Plus and UV-328, are to be eliminated.
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.
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.
As U.N. forum, Swiss promote science and diplomacy for solutions
In the shadow of a paradigm-shifting war in Europe, the first-ever Swiss-led U.N. Security Council "open debate" promoted anticipatory science and diplomacy as a 21st century solution.
Global talks kick off on hazardous chemicals and waste management
Virtually all the world's nations are negotiating proposals under the legally binding Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions to limit toxic chemicals, pollutants and wastes.
Human-induced climate change worsened Horn of Africa drought
Low rainfall and high evaporation rates 'would not have led to drought at all in a 1.2° C. cooler world,' scientists concluded.
'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.
International arms control at a 'crossroads' over nuclear threats
Despite his concerns about Russia and China and the "unraveling" of the international arms controls regimes the world has long depended on, the NATO chief emphasized the need to negotiate new arms control arrangements.
Slower trade growth projected in 2023 mainly due to war in Ukraine
The World Trade Organization expects trade growth to slow to 1.7% this year because of Russia's war in Ukraine, high inflation, tight monetary policy and market uncertainty.
European court hears first citizen complaints over climate inaction
The European Court of Human Rights heard two climate cases brought by citizens against Swiss and French authorities complaining they must do more to reduce carbon emissions.