UN agency aiding poverty elimination, sustainable growth, and human development
A girl in Afghanistan, who posed as a boy to attend school under Taliban rule, has grown up to become a journalist and now studies at Cambridge. She fled Afghanistan in 2021 after the Taliban’s return and now runs a news agency highlighting women’s oppression.
A glacial collapse on 26 August has produced torrent floods that have killed more than 1,395 people and left over 5,600 missing across Nepal and Tibet. Rescue teams have been recovering bodies, searching buried hydropower tunnels and remote villages, and racing to control newly formed barrier lakes that are threatening further flooding and hampering access.
A glacier collapse in the Himalayas has triggered floods and widespread destruction in Nepal and China’s Tibet region. Authorities report rising death tolls, thousands missing, and ongoing rescue operations as hydropower sites are targeted by the disaster.
Syria has raised diesel and petrol prices by up to 40% amid global energy pressures and a maintenance overhaul at the Baniyas refinery. The government says the move is temporary and aims to secure supplies, while protests have erupted in multiple regions. Authorities plan to restart small refineries to meet demand and reduce imports.
A six-storey building in Gaza City has collapsed, killing at least 12 people and injuring many more, with rescue teams racing to reach those trapped beneath the rubble as aid access remains constrained and winter risks loom.
Pacific nations and allies press for urgent action on climate finance, ocean health, and keeping 1.5°C within reach ahead of COP31 in Turkey. Pre-COP meetings in Fiji and Tuvalu highlight vulnerability to sea-level rise and demand concrete, community-level finance and adaptation.
The euro has fallen to near 17-month lows after investors have pushed up French borrowing costs and bond spreads. France has faced rising yields, mass protests and a political stalemate over deficit cuts ahead of the presidential election. Markets are pricing greater contagion risk across the eurozone and the ECB is under pressure to act.
The IMF and UN officials have warned at annual meetings in Bangkok that rising energy prices from the US–Iran war, the strongest El Niño on record and higher global interest rates have pushed low‑income, energy‑importing countries toward fiscal crisis. AI investment has bolstered rich economies while poorer nations are paying more of their revenue to service debt and losing fiscal space.
Prosecutors and courts are advancing cases tied to the 1994 genocide. An Ohio-based suspect faces perjury and obstruction charges in the United States, while UK and French investigations pursue other figures linked to killings of Tutsi minorities. Trials are scheduled or upcoming, with witnesses expected from Rwanda.
The UNDP reports that 37 million people in Myanmar are in or at risk of poverty, amounting to 68% of the population. Poverty, driven by conflict, displacement, and limited access to services, has deepened since the 2021 military takeover. The government cites instability and sanctions as economic headwinds.
Indonesia’s intense forest and peatland fires persist as El Niño drives drought, triggering cross-border haze that harms air quality and public health across Southeast Asia. Regional governments deploy firefighting personnel and aircraft while communities demand accountability and action to stop the cycle of fires and costs.
The haze crisis driven by Indonesian forest and peatland fires has prompted Singapore to consider enforcement under its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act. Singapore and regional partners are coordinating with Indonesia, with regional leaders promising action to address root causes as air quality remains unhealthy.
The Guardian‑produced NAZA, based on 24 anonymous Israeli military insiders, has sparked a political backlash after Venice’s Special Jury Prize. Netanyahu has called for investigations and citizenship revocation; filmmakers face legal and security pressure even as the film screens in over 50 countries. A counter‑film and online misinformation efforts have emerged, challenging NAZA’s claims.
Masked Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinian olive pickers and foreign visitors during this month’s harvest, seriously injuring Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine and wounding dozens of Palestinians. Israeli police have detained 10 people and seized vehicles, while rights groups say prosecutions for settler violence are rare and incidents have surged across the West Bank.
Qatar has pledged ongoing support for Lebanon’s army and outlined a plan with TotalEnergies to develop a solar power plant, funded and implemented by Qatar without cost to Lebanon. The move accompanies talks on southern Lebanon’s security and reconstruction, amid Israel-Hezbollah tensions and displacement from the region’s ongoing conflict.
The Kremlin has expanded its control over foreign assets, transferring management of several European units to domestic entities. The moves follow Putin’s decree granting temporary state stewardship of key subsidiaries, intensifying a broader pattern of asset expropriation in response to Western sanctions.
New data shows Iran’s crude exports have collapsed due to a US naval blockade, with offshore stockpiles dwindling and revenue from oil plummeting. Experts say the regime faces mounting economic strain as ships are turned back and sanctions tighten. Offshoots include limited LPG and jet-fuel transfers amid ongoing enforcement of the blockade.
Trump has told Newsmax the MOAB is not nuclear and that the US is considering strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, including Pickaxe Mountain. He says ground troops are unlikely; oil and gas prices are expected to fall if the war ends soon.
The Vatican has expressed grave concern over the humanitarian crisis in Oleshky, Kherson region, and has called for a ceasefire to allow food and medical aid delivery and civilian evacuation. The pope, recovering from lung surgery, is continuing to oversee efforts from Gemelli hospital, with potential plans to address the issue in the Angelus.
Drones have blurred traditional battle lines in Ukraine, forcing soldiers into a kill zone where months-long rotations replace brief missions. Droned surveillance and precision strikes have altered tactics, logistics, and civilian risks, while mine clearance and air-defence networks struggle to adapt.
The UN and WMO warn that the current El Niño event could be unprecedented in strength, peaking late 2026, with impacts that will be felt long afterward. Sea-surface temperatures may rise to 3.8°C above average between November 2026 and January 2027, triggering far-reaching weather shifts and humanitarian strain across regions.