UNITED NATIONS & JOHANNESBURG, January 5 (IPS) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern about the immediate future of Venezuela.

UNITED NATIONS, January 5 (IPS) - The statistics are staggering: while military spending keeps skyrocketing, Official Development Assistance (ODA) – from the rich to some of the world’s poorer nations – has been declining drastically.

The UN Security Council met on Monday against a sharply altered diplomatic backdrop, following US strikes on the Venezuelan capital and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro.

As protests in the Iranian capital, Tehran – sparked by increasing economic hardship and a cost-of-living crisis – continued for a ninth day, the UN Secretary-General said he was “deeply saddened by the reported loss of life and injuries,” resulting from clashes between security forces and protesters.

For the first time since 2023, humanitarian assistance will provide Gazans with enough food to fulfil minimum nutritional needs.

In Sudan, civilians continue to bear the brunt of escalating violence, particularly in the Darfur and Kordofan regions.

Invoking the bedrock principle prohibiting the use of force against the territory and independence of any State, the UN Secretary-General told the Security Council on Monday there must be “full respect” for the UN Charter, in the face of the United States military intervention in Venezuela and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro.

The Security Council is meeting in emergency session in New York to address the US rendition of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro from Caracas, a move that has sent shockwaves through the region and beyond. The UN chief António Guterres told ambassadors there must be respect for national sovereignty, “political independence and territorial integrity,” after warning on Saturday that the US had set a “dangerous precedent” for the world order. Follow the historic meeting live below from the UN Meetings Coverage team, and UN News app users can click here.

Yemen’s already fragile humanitarian response is being pushed to breaking point by deep funding shortfalls, the UN warned in an update Sunday highlighting mounting risks for millions across the country.

A teenage Haitian girl who was forced to flee her home in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, due to gang violence has urged adults not to “give up on children.”