UN Secretary-General António Guterres is “deeply alarmed” by the further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, his Spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.

Since fighting erupted in Sudan in April 2023, more than two million children have been displaced by the brutal war between rival militaries there.

On day six of the 59th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, the Council heard urgent updates on rising internal displacement driven by organised crime, escalating genocide risks and the trafficking of women in the domestic work sector.

Tobacco use still claims over seven million lives a year, the World Health Organization warned on Monday, calling for greater efforts to limit its use amid rising interference from the global tobacco industry.

The United Nations has condemned a suicide bombing on Sunday at a Damascus church that killed at least 25 worshippers, including women and children during mass, as a “heinous crime”.

In April 2024, China broke the average temperature record that month. The following month, it was the same - and then again in August. And September. And November.

The food security situation in Government-controlled areas of southern Yemen is dire, with nearly half the population facing acute food insecurity and struggling to find their next meal.

Afghanistan is already grappling with immense humanitarian and economic challenges and growing instability in the wider region following airstrikes by Israel and the United States in Iran is compounding the situation, the UN’s top envoy in the country told the Security Council on Monday.

After surprise US bombing raids on Iranian uranium enrichment facilities over the weekend, the head of the UN-backed nuclear watchdog on Monday appealed for immediate access to the targeted sites to assess the damage that is likely “very significant”.

Visitors to Expo 2025, a world fair currently being held in Osaka, Japan, appreciate the “positive vison” of a shared global future promoted by the United Nations; that’s according to Naomi Ichikawa, Director of the UN Pavilion.