The worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached “unprecedented levels of despair,” the UN said on Monday, amid more reports of people being killed and injured near newly-established distribution sites.

The head of the UN-backed nuclear watchdog has raised fresh concerns over Iran’s failure to fully cooperate with inspections, warning that this is preventing independent verification of its nuclear activities.

With science at the forefront of the opening day of the Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3), UN News boarded a 111-year-old Norwegian tall ship on the French Riviera to meet 50 science students, along with a host of lecturers and citizen scientists fresh from a 46-day expedition. Fueled by satellite data from the European Space Agency (ESA), their invaluable observations echo the urgent call to understand and protect the world’s oceans.

Despite its wealth of natural resources and potential, Central Africa continues to face serious challenges, from political instability to growing humanitarian needs.

With the Mediterranean glittering in the background, UN Secretary-General António Guterres opened the Third United Nations Ocean Conference on Monday, delivering a blunt indictment of humanity’s fractured relationship with the sea.

SACRAMENTO, US & NEW DELHI, India:, Jun 09 (IPS) - A newly released report by Earth Insight in collaboration with 16 environmental organizations has sounded a global alarm on the unchecked expansion of offshore oil and gas projects into some of the most biologically rich and ecologically sensitive marine environments on the planet.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, Jun 08 (IPS) - As the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) approaches, bringing renewed attention to SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and the rights of ocean-dependent communities, India’s Vizhinjam coast highlights the environmental injustice and human cost of unchecked coastal development.

They drift unseen, but everything depends on them. Plankton – the ocean’s lifeblood – regulate the climate, feed the seas, and shape life on Earth. On the French Riviera, scientists are racing to unlock their secrets before the hush of their decline echoes across the planet.

Whether it’s their first time or a routine part of their life, menstruation has become a nightmare for women and girls in Gaza. The conditions they are forced to endure - displacement, overcrowded shelters, and lack of basic hygiene - have turned a natural biological process into a monthly ordeal.

In the Central African Republic, disability carries a deep-rooted stigma, and persons with disabilities often find themselves excluded from almost every avenue of life. Zénabou, who is deaf and non-speaking, has suffered from prejudice, but a UN-backed educational programme offers a glimmer of hope.