UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday he remains “profoundly alarmed” by the ongoing military escalation between Israel and Iran, as the sides continued to trade airstrikes.

The power of football to inspire fans to take positive action for a healthier planet and a fairer society is taking centre stage at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan – a world fair focused on building a sustainable global future.

Almost 4.5 million maternal, stillborn and newborn deaths were recorded in 2023. What if there was a clear path to saving 83 percent of these people? To saving 3.7 million mothers, unborn children and babies annually?

As the pall of starvation hangs over Gaza, UN agencies have sounded the alarm over deadly violence at food distribution points, where over 400 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in recent weeks while trying to access desperately needed humanitarian aid.

With the humanitarian sector “under-funded, overstretched, and literally under attack” as crises continue in Gaza, Sudan and beyond, international support is needed more than ever, the UN’s top aid official said on Wednesday in Geneva.

Civilian deaths in conflict surged by 40 per cent last year, according to new data released by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) with already marginalised groups facing disproportionate levels of discrimination.

As the Iran-Israel crisis continued into a sixth day on Wednesday, the UN deputy human rights chief Nada Al-Nashif called for urgent talks to end the ongoing missile attacks between Tehran and Tel-Aviv.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 18 (IPS) - Although access to mental health and psychosocial support services is considered a fundamental human right by the United Nations (UN), hundreds of millions of people experience limited or inadequate access to mental health and psychosocial support services.

NEW YORK, Jun 18 (IPS) - Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities may be justified if one takes Netanyahu’s explanation at face value. I doubt, however, if he and Trump have fully considered the ominous regional ramifications of the attack and whether negotiations to limit Iran’s nuclear program would have led to much more positive results.

SYDNEY, Jun 17 (IPS) - Registering the birth of a newborn, which is taken for granted in many countries, has profound lifelong repercussions for a child’s health, protection, and well-being. But after initially increasing this century, the global birth registration rate has declined in the past ten years, with some countries in the Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa facing significant challenges. Embracing new registration technologies, increasing political will, and increasing parents’ understanding of its importance are paramount to reversing the trend.