With his signature geeky glasses and TED-Talk-style headset, Sundar Pichai looked straight out of a Silicon Valley incubator. That Monday, February 10, Google’s chief executive took the stage at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris. From the Grand Palais podium, he heralded a new golden age of innovation. “Using …
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Reject bigotry and discrimination, UN chief says, urging everyone to combat Islamophobia — Global Issues
In a message marking Saturday’s International Day to Combat Islamophobia, Secretary-General António Guterres warned of racial profiling and discriminatory policies that violate human rights and dignity, to outright violence against individuals and places of worship. “This is part of a wider scourge of intolerance, extremist ideologies, and attacks against religious …
UN chief affirms solidarity with Bangladesh amid political transition — Global Issues
Speaking to the media on Saturday, the Secretary-General praised Bangladesh’s progress and highlighted the role of the international community in supporting the country’s future. “I am particularly pleased to be in Bangladesh at this important moment in your national journey,” Mr. Guterres said, acknowledging the leadership of Chief Adviser Muhammad …
UN urges inclusive transition as Syria marks 14 years of conflict — Global Issues
UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen called for an immediate end to hostilities and urged all parties to protect civilians in accordance with international law. “What began as a plea for reform was met with staggering brutality, leading to one of the most harrowing conflicts of our time,” he …
Syrian filmmaker Waad Al-Kateab on her country’s future — Global Issues
After 14 years of war, Syria has entered a new and uncertain chapter. The country is devastated – 90 per cent of Syrians live in poverty. Despite the challenges up to one million people living in camps and displacement sites across the country’s northwest intend to return home within the …
The Commission on the Status of Women and why it matters — Global Issues
The annual UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meets to address the widespread inequalities, violence and discrimination women continue to face around the world. This year, the commission will gather at UN Headquarters in New York from 10 to 21 March. Here are five things you need to …
DR Congo crisis leaves mothers with newborns fleeing to Burundi — Global Issues
“Over 63,000 people now have crossed into the country, Burundi, fleeing atrocities, deadly conflict in parts of eastern DR Congo,” said Faith Kasina, UNHCR Regional Spokesperson for East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes. Amid the largest influx of refugees Burundi has seen in decades because of the hostilities …
Online ‘manosphere’ is moving misogyny to the mainstream — Global Issues
The pushback against gender equality is one of the findings in a major report from UN Women, the UN agency for gender equality, on the progress made so far in advancing women’s rights worldwide. This latest version of the study, which is updated every five years, comes at a time …
WOMEN’S DAY LIVE UPDATES: ‘I fought for my freedom’
© UNICEF/Karin Schermbrucker Members of the Mulanje Teen Club enjoy a debate around some of the challenges facing youth in Malawi. Friday, March 07, 2025 UN News International Women’s Day, observed on 8 March, is about challenges, backlashes against gender equality and cause for celebrations around the world. Join us …
UN rights chief — Global Issues
“Our world is going through a period of turbulence and unpredictability, reflected in growing conflict and divided societies,” Türk told the Human Rights Council. “We cannot allow the fundamental global consensus around international norms and institutions, built painstakingly over decades, to crumble before our eyes.” The weapons of war Presenting …
US cuts mean ‘essential’ UN mental health teams in Ukraine risk closure — Global Issues
A young mother, five children in tow, steps off a train in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, holding a small bag. She is fleeing Russian attacks in the Zaporizhzhia region, she is also escaping a violent partner, a man who once beat her so severely she suffered a miscarriage. …
Ukrainians continue flee the frontline, as war stretches into fourth year — Global Issues
“In the last six months alone, more than 200,000 people have been evacuated from frontline areas in the east and north,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on the three-year anniversary of the war on Monday 24 February. Mr. Grandi added that, since the start of the …
‘This is our land’ – Building Gaza’s future from the wreckage of war — Global Issues
Using small tools and his bare hands, he sifts through mounds of twisted debris and dirt to try and unearth belongings and important paperwork such as property deeds to prove he is the legal owner. He dreams of one day being able to rebuild; in the short-term, he hopes that …
Reviving a millennia-old culture — Global Issues
“I always say that all Bahrainis have pearl diving in their blood,” Mohamed Alslaise, a pearl diver and field researcher for the Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones (DANAT) tells UN News. “Almost all the families that moved from the Arabian Gulf or Iranian coast to Bahrain were divers.” Mr. …
Pain, loss, solidarity and hope for a better future — Global Issues
“I’m trying not to cry, but I can’t help it. I’m glad I have tissues on hand,” admits Natalia Datchenko, a Ukrainian staff member of the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, struggling to hold back her tears as she recounts the explosions that awoke many Ukrainians three years ago, heralding the …
Occupation blocks UN mission from protecting civilians — Global Issues
These operational challenges have been exacerbated by ongoing mis- and disinformation campaigns that are misinforming the public of the UN peacekeepers’ role, said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the DRC and head of the peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, briefing the press at UN Headquarters via video-link from the …
UN in Ukraine prepares for the worst, hopes for the best — Global Issues
Ukrainians continue to face near daily attacks, with air strikes consistently targeting civilian infrastructure, leaving families without homes, security and electricity. More than 10 million people have been uprooted from their homes, making Ukraine the largest displacement crisis in Europe since the Second World War. Some 12,600 civilians have been …
5 common myths about child marriage — Global Issues
“I was married at 14, and I lost my first child at 16 during pregnancy,” Ranu Chakma said. Child marriage is common in her village of Teknaf Upazila, on the southern coast of Bangladesh, even though it is illegal and a human rights violation. Those violations occur even at a …
Full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has sown ‘psychological terror’, warns top aid coordinator — Global Issues
Briefing from Ukrainian capital Kyiv after another night of “air sirens and more loud explosions”, Mr. Schmale noted that the crisis began in 2014, with Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea. “So, all children that were born since – all children up to the age of 11 – have never experienced …
Live updates as Security Council meets to avert widening war — Global Issues
© UNHCR/Bernard Ntwari People fleeing violence in eastern DR Congo’s Bukavu area, wait to cross the Gatumba border post into Burundi. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 UN News Intensifying violence in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to displace thousands as the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group …
