From Hormuz to Lebanon, crisis reverberates through trade routes, upending humanitarian networks
© WHO/Hanan Balkhy In Gaza displaced families are living in overcrowded tents and makeshift shelters, surrounded by waste and debris, with limited access to safe water and sanitation services. This article is published in association with United Nations. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to send shockwaves through global food systems, the UN Food and Agriculture […]
Parliament endorses renewed EU trade instrument for development
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. On Tuesday, Parliament adopted the renewed regulation on the generalised system of preferences (GSP). The updated rules, passed with 459 votes in favour, 127 against and 70 abstentions, allow vulnerable developing countries to export goods to the EU with low or no tariffs. Several […]
EP President Metsola to EU leaders: “Europe cannot face a new era with an old budget”
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. At the European Council, President Metsola addressed three main topics: the situation in the Middle East, the ‘One Europe One Market’ Roadmap and the Multiannual Financial Framework. Speaking to EU leaders, Parliament President Metsola focused on three topics: The situation in the Middle East […]
European Institutions agree Roadmap to achieve “One Europe, one Market” by end of 2027
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. On the sidelines of the Informal meeting of Heads of State or Government in Cyprus, the President of the Republic of Cyprus as the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the Presidents of the European Parliament and the European Commission, […]
Chokepoints and conflict: How the Hormuz crisis is exposing global shipping vulnerabilities
This article is published in association with United Nations. The blockading of ships in the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the conflict between the United States and Iran has demonstrated how ships and seafarers have become “leverage in geopolitical disputes,” according to the head of the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO). Since conflict began […]
Commission greenlights Poland’s fourth payment request for €7.2 billion under NextGenerationEU
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission positively assessed Poland’s fourth payment request for €7.2 billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU. Following its assessment of the payment request, the Commission found that Poland has satisfactorily completed the 30 milestones and 13 targets set out […]
EIB and Commerzbank launch new cooperation for €2 billion in grid investments in Europe
This article is published in association with European Investment Bank. The EIB and Commerzbank signed a new cooperation agreement at Hannover Messe that will enable investments of up to €2 billion in electricity grids in Germany and other EU Member States. The cooperation will address key financing bottlenecks for grid expansion and upgrades, which are crucial for integrating […]
Review highlights Digital Markets Act remains fit for purpose and has positive impact
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission’s first review of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) found that in the first two years of its application, the DMA remains fit for purpose and has opened up new opportunities for businesses and developers, while giving users more control over their experiences and […]
EU to strengthen regional dimension of research and innovation
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions signed a new Joint Action Plan to enhance the role of cities and regions in research and innovation (R&I). Under the Joint Action Plan, the Commission and the Committee of the Regions will collaborate […]
Time to apply the brakes to runaway AI, says pioneer
This article is published in association with United Nations. If AI is “a very fast car with no steering wheel” then regulation must provide one, insists Nobel laureate and Artificial Intelligence pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, the visionary scientist widely known as the “godfather” of the self-learning tech. Speaking at the Digital World Conference (DWC): AI for Social Development […]
EIB Group confirms support for EUR 2.4 billion energy resilience and deep tech innovation at Hannover Messe
This article is published in association with European Investment Bank. Hannover, 20 April 2026 – The EIB Group today confirmed more than EUR 2.4 billion of new financing for energy resilience and cutting-edge innovation, announced at Hannover Messe as part of Europe’s response to rising geopolitical tensions, energy security concerns and global competition in strategic technologies. […]
Second meeting of Special Panel to advise President von der Leyen on child online safety
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the Special Panel on child online safety advising President von der Leyen on child online safety, convened for a second meeting. Today’s meeting focused on current EU rules and initiatives to protect minors online, shared by experts advising Member States, as well as international approaches, such as Australia’s social […]
Putting humans at the centre: UN AI panel begins work on global impact study
This article is published in association with United Nations. The UN’s Independent International Scientific Panel on AI – the first global body of its kind – is gearing up for its inaugural in-person summit. Tasked with navigating the volatile intersection of innovation and ethics, this group of world-leading experts is launching a landmark study into the […]
From Hormuz to Lebanon, crisis reverberates through trade routes, upending humanitarian networks
© WHO/Hanan Balkhy In Gaza displaced families are living in overcrowded tents and makeshift shelters, surrounded by waste and debris, with limited access to safe water and sanitation services. This article is published in association with United Nations. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to send shockwaves through global food systems, the UN Food and Agriculture […]
World News in Brief: Sudan drone attacks condemned, South Sudan violence, airstrikes in Ukraine, South Africa Freedom Day
This article is published in association with United Nations. The United Nations has condemned two recent drone attacks in Sudan, one of which left seven dead, Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday during his regular media briefing in New York. An aid truck from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) that was carrying emergency shelter kits came under attack by […]Chokepoints and conflict: How the Hormuz crisis is exposing global shipping vulnerabilities
This article is published in association with United Nations. The blockading of ships in the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the conflict between the United States and Iran has demonstrated how ships and seafarers have become “leverage in geopolitical disputes,” according to the head of the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO). Since conflict began […]
Middle East war: After oil and gas, concerns grow over minerals crunch
This article is published in association with United Nations. The shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by war in the Middle East has exposed a new threat: a looming shortage of strategic minerals that drive economies all over the world – and a race by countries to obtain them. Until war erupted on 28 […]
Ceasefire extension offers diplomatic opening, but tensions persist in Strait of Hormuz
This article is published in association with United Nations. The United States’ decision to extend a fragile ceasefire with Iran has kept a narrow window open for diplomacy, but fresh security incidents in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday underscore the volatility of the situation and the risks to global shipping and regional stability. The UN […]
Strait of Hormuz: With hunger looming, life-saving fertiliser shipments cannot wait, head of UN task force says
This article is published in association with United Nations. As the Persian Gulf crisis continues, time is ticking for farmers who rely on fertilizer shipped via the Strait of Hormuz – and millions worldwide who depend on their crops, particularly in vulnerable countries such as war-torn Sudan. In normal times, one third of global fertiliser trade […]
Economic collapse pushes highly educated Gazans into the ‘survival economy’
This article is published in association with United Nations. Young Palestinians in Gaza with university-level educations are setting aside dreams of putting their hard-won skills into practice and doing whatever they can to survive. Abdullah al-Khawaja, an electrical engineering graduate displaced from Rafah to Khan Younis, now stands behind a small spice stall, having lost the […]
World News in Brief: AI diagnostics, humanitarian deal for DR Congo, rights abuse allegations in Belarus, Ukraine children bear heaviest burden
This article is published in association with United Nations. New data shows that nearly three in four countries in Europe now use Artificial Intelligence in their health services to make a diagnosis. According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO) joint report with the European Union, 74% of countries in the bloc use AI tools in medical […]
Time running out on development goals as finance dries up, UN warns
This article is published in association with United Nations. Rising conflicts, the climate crisis and shrinking development finance are putting growing pressure on the poorest and most vulnerable countries – pushing development goals further off track. The warning comes in the Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2026 (FSDR), a new UN report launched on Monday, which finds […]
World News in Brief: Myanmar amnesty, rising needs in Afghanistan, another power loss at Ukraine nuclear plant
This article is published in association with United Nations. Authorities in Myanmar released the country’s ousted president from prison on Friday, along with some 4,000 other people, as part of an amnesty to mark the traditional New Year festival. President Win Myint had been in jail since February 2021 when the military overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected […]
The Epstein files: Rights experts demand accountability, call for probe into trafficking allegations
This article is published in association with United Nations. UN independent human rights experts called on Thursday for justice and accountability for young women and girls who were trafficked systematically as part of allegations contained in the so-called Epstein files. The Human Rights Council-appointed experts also issued a general warning over the “continuing violence of patriarchal power systems” revealed […]
Middle East conflict chokes end of supply chain as lights go out in the Pacific
This article is published in association with United Nations. For Pacific Island countries, the Middle East crisis is not a distant geopolitical event. It is already showing up in higher fuel prices, electricity uncertainty and fears that communities sitting at the far end of global supply chains could be pushed into deeper economic insecurity. “We are […]
‘Time for diplomacy over escalation’ in Middle East war: Guterres
This article is published in association with United Nations. As the war in the Middle East continues, the United Nations Secretary-General issued a passionate call for “serious negotiations” between the US and Iran to resume, warning that respect for international law “is being trampled” underfoot. Addressing journalists at UN Headquarters in New York outside the Security […]
‘Clock is ticking’: Hormuz disruption raises fears of global food crisis
This article is published in association with United Nations. The clock is ticking for global food systems as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz threaten to choke off the flow of fuel and crucial fertilizers needed for the next planting season – also raising the risk of higher food prices and a new wave of inflation. […]
Lebanon airstrike casualties ‘still under the rubble’ as ambulances, hospitals face new threats
This article is published in association with United Nations. With Lebanon still reeling from Israel’s devastating airstrikes on 8 April, UN humanitarians reported new fears of attacks on ambulances and looming food shortages in the south of the country on Friday. Speaking from Beirut, where he witnessed Wednesday’s attacks first-hand, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s representative […]
Lebanon: Health system overwhelmed following a ‘horrific’ day of Israeli strikes
This article is published in association with United Nations. The scale and speed of destruction from the wave of airstrikes in Lebanon which began just hours after the US-Iran ceasefire announcement, has left the country’s already strained health system struggling to cope, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO Representative in Lebanon Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar […]
