JOHANNESBURG, Jun 05 (IPS) - The South-West Pacific experienced unprecedented warming in 2024, according to a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report released today (June 5)—threatening islands in a region where half the population lives close to the coast.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Jun 05 (IPS) - For decades, Portugal stood as a beacon of democratic stability in an increasingly unsettled Europe. While neighbours grappled with political fragmentation and the rise of far-right movements, Portugal maintained its two-party system, a testament to the enduring legacy of the 1974 Carnation Revolution that peacefully transitioned the country from dictatorship to democracy. It was long believed that Portugal’s extensive pre-revolution experience of repressive right-wing rule had effectively inoculated it against far-right politics, but that assumption is now demonstrable outdated. An era of exceptionalism ended on 18 May, when the far-right Chega party secured 22.8 per cent of the vote and 60 parliamentary seats, becoming the country’s main opposition force.

The UN’s top disarmament official has welcomed signs of increased cooperation from Syria’s interim authorities in efforts to eliminate the country’s chemical weapons once and for all, as preparations move forward for a third round of inspections by international experts.

In Ukraine, overnight attacks continued into Thursday morning, resulting in 45 casualties and significant damage to civilian infrastructure, the UN has reported.

As hostilities rage in Sudan, access constraints and devastating funding cuts are isolating rape survivors and pregnant women from essential health services, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency UNFPA said on Thursday.

AIDS-related deaths have dropped to their lowest level since 2004, but progress remains precarious, with the disease still claiming one life every minute. The impact of funding cuts is severe, causing widespread disruption to HIV services and threatening hard-won gains.

5 June marks the 52nd World Environment Day, led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and hosted by Jeju, South Korea, under the theme #BeatPlasticPollution.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday urged world leaders to revive efforts toward a two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, warning that there is no alternative.

The United Nations paid tribute on Thursday to the 168 staff members who lost their lives in 2024. They include 126 personnel killed in Gaza, all but one of whom served with the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA.

The lack of food entering Gaza caused by ongoing Israeli aid restrictions is leaving increasing numbers of Palestinians “vulnerable to starvation”, with daily energy intake now well below what a human body needs to survive, the UN warned on Thursday.