BRUSSELS, Belgium, Jun 11 (IPS) - When the next pandemic strikes, the world should be better prepared. At least, that’s the promise states made at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Health Assembly on 19 May when they adopted the first global pandemic treaty. This milestone in international health cooperation emerged from three years of difficult negotiations, informed by the harsh lessons learned from COVID-19’s devastating global impacts.

NICE, France, Jun 10 (IPS) - While the island states in the Pacific may be modest, the ocean that surrounds them represents a huge oceanic state—an area equivalent to the entire European Continent.

NICE, France, Jun 10 (IPS) - A groundbreaking initiative to revolutionize global ocean observation is being launched this week at the UN Ocean Conference side event, aiming to enlist 10,000 commercial ships to collect and transmit vital ocean and weather data by 2035.

NICE, France, Jun 10 (IPS) - The late afternoon sun sparkles on the waters of the French Riviera as yachts dock at the Port of Nice with mechanical grace. A tram glides past palm-lined boulevards, where joggers, drenched in sweat, huff past leisurely strollers and sunbathers. Just beside the promenade, a crowd gathers around a young girl. With braided hair bouncing in rhythm, she belts out Beyoncé’s Halo with stunning precision. Her bare feet dance on the cobblestones, her voice echoing against the pastel façades.

NICE, France, Jun 10 (IPS) - “When we poison the ocean, we poison ourselves,” UN Secretary-general António Guterres told reporters on the morning of the second day of the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3).

PORTLAND, USA, Jun 10 (IPS) - Older men and women are now living longer than ever before. Across the globe, individuals who reach old age can expect to have more years of life ahead of them than in previous generations. However, these additional years of life, coupled with the disparities among and within countries, including variations between older men and women, present substantial economic, social, and political challenges for societies.

Global economic growth is expected to decline this year due to increased trade barriers and policy uncertainty, the World Bank said in a report published on Tuesday.

Nearly three months after a catastrophic earthquake struck Myanmar, the country continues to grapple with its aftermath alongside the brutal civil war which has devastated the country since the February 2021 military coup.

Nearly all the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators for persons with disabilities are off track the UN deputy chief said on Tuesday, as people from around the world gathered for the largest annual meeting on disability-related issues.

The top UN official in Iraq reiterated his confidence in the resilience of the country’s people, and the determination of their leaders, in a briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday.