News headlines in 2025, page 57

The heartbeat of modern urban life is increasingly digital – from traffic sensors and early warning systems, to participatory planning platforms and geospatial data – technology is changing how cities are designed, managed, and experienced.

Governments moving to restore ties with the Taliban risk legitimising oppression and deepening Afghanistan’s crisis, an independent UN human rights expert cautioned on Thursday, calling for a principled approach that defends the rights of women and girls.

Hurricane Melissa has left a trail of devastation after crossing Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas, with severe effects also felt in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and parts of Central America, the UN aid coordination office (UNOCHA) reported on Thursday.

The newly appointed Head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, Miroslav Jenča, has praised the country’s peace process as “a global model,” while urging greater financial support to strengthen the Mission’s work.

Russian armed forces conducted another large-scale combined attack across Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, reportedly targeting critical energy infrastructure, said the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission for Ukraine.

Incidents of mass killings and torture in post-Assad Syria are tempering early optimism about the transitional government’s ability to put an end to entrenched cycles of violence, the head of the UN-mandated independent investigative body on Syria said on Thursday.

El Fasher has “descended into an even darker hell,” senior UN officials warned on Thursday, as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia seized control of the North Darfur capital after a 500-day siege, forcing tens of thousands to flee on foot amid reports of mass executions, rape and starvation.

Reports of mass atrocities in and around the newly-captured city of El Fasher in Darfur mark a new low in Sudan's brutal civil war and the Security Council met in emergency session on Thursday morning in New York to address the rapidly deteriorating situation. Civilians are facing starvation and mass displacement as the UN continues providing lifesaving aid throughout the country. Follow our in-depth live coverage; UN News app users can go here.

NAIROBI & JOHANNESBURG, October 29 (IPS) - Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica yesterday—the strongest hurricane to impact the island on record since 1851—with expectations of tens of thousands of people being displaced and devastating damage to infrastructure. The tropical storm, slightly downgraded but nevertheless devastating, made landfall in Cuba today as UNEP’s newly released Adaptation Gap Report 2025: Running on Empty shows that the finance needed for developing countries to adapt to the climate crisis is falling far behind their needs.

UNITED NATIONS, October 29 (IPS) - In June 2025, the international community celebrated the 80th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter. On October 24, we celebrated UN Day, commemorating its ratification. This is an opportune moment to reflect on how far we have come, and the ground we have yet to traverse.