In The News

Lebanon has been “dragged back into a state of turmoil and violence”, the UN’s top envoy in the country warned on Saturday, after the latest round of regional strikes triggered a fast‑escalating crisis along the Blue Line. What had been fragile but real momentum, she said, has now collapsed in a matter of days.

As US, Israeli and Iranian strikes continued for a fifth day, a top Human Rights Council probe warned on Wednesday that Iranian prisoners including detained protesters face expedited death penalty proceedings.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the heads of UN agencies have condemned Saturday’s joint Israeli and US attacks on Iran and the Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel and the Gulf Regions.

Reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine will cost almost $588 billion over the next decade, or nearly three times the estimated GDP in 2025, as housing, energy and other critical sectors continue to come under fire from Russian forces.

Calling for sweeping reforms of global institutions, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told African leaders on Saturday that the absence of permanent African seats on the Security Council is “indefensible,” declaring: “This is 2026 – not 1946.”

Syria’s fragile political transition has gained fresh momentum with a landmark agreement between Damascus and Kurdish authorities in the northeast, but renewed violence in the south, Israeli incursions and deep humanitarian needs underscore how precarious the path to stability remains, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Friday.

After three decades of its mandate to protect children caught up in war, the UN’s top advocate on the issue is determined to remind the world that prevention and protection go hand in hand.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the expiration of the New START treaty represents a “grave moment” for international peace and security, as binding limits on US and Russian strategic nuclear weapons fall away amid heightened global tensions.

Five years after Myanmar’s military seized power and jailed the country’s elected leaders, the United Nations says the country’s crisis has only deepened, marked by escalating violence, mass displacement and a military-controlled election that UN officials warn has further entrenched repression rather than restored civilian rule.

The war in Ukraine remains the world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety as a fifth year of combat looms, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog warned on Friday, citing continued risks to power supplies at nuclear sites vulnerable to fighting nearby

With global tensions rising and “reckless actions” triggering dangerous consequences, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday called for renewed efforts on peace, justice and sustainable development as he outlined his priorities for 2026 – the final year of his tenure.

28 January 2026 marks the first International Day of Peaceful Coexistence. Peace means more than the absence of conflict — it means building societies where diversity thrives, rights are protected, and justice is shared by all

Warning that the “rule of law is being replaced by the law of the jungle,” the UN Secretary-General on Monday urged world powers to recommit to international law as the foundation of peace, justice and multilateral cooperation.

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed urged countries to protect the UN Charter in a powerful speech to the Danish Parliament on Thursday, urging countries to “stand up for a rules-based order” – or pay the price.

From Davos, the President of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday warned that the world has entered a “make‑or‑break” moment for multilateralism, saying the rules‑based order can survive only if states speak the truth and act when it’s hard. She called for a cross‑regional alliance to push back against growing lawlessness, disinformation, and power‑based politics.

Weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, are back in the spotlight amid renewed concern over their devastating power and the existential threat they pose to humanity

IThe reported demolition underway early Tuesday of the headquarters of UN agency UNRWA by Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalem - reportedly “under the watch of lawmakers and a member of the Government” - has prompted swift condemnation from the global body.

In Yemen, renewed political instability and economic woes linked to the war threaten to complicate the already difficult task of helping vulnerable people suffering from deepening hunger, illness and displacement, the UN’s top aid official there said on Monday.

Families across Ukraine are in “constant survival mode” amid ongoing waves of Russian missile and drone strikes that have left blocks without power for days at a time, while temperatures plunge to deadly lows, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.

UN agencies are supporting efforts on Friday to keep energy services up and running in Ukraine, and families warm amid freezing winter temperatures, following a large-scale overnight attack