World News in Brief: Fresh fighting in eastern DR Congo, global trade update, elections in CAR, Pakistan train hijack

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Fresh fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has displaced tens of thousands of families, with children particularly at risk, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday.

Over 850,000 civilians have been displaced in South Kivu province, nearly half of them children, according to the agency.

Many are living in precarious conditions, sheltering in schools, churches or in the open, lacking clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education.

Grave violations against children have also sharply risen, including sexual violence, killings, maiming and their recruitment by armed groups.

“We are facing an unprecedented protection crisis. Children are being targeted. They are being killed, recruited, torn from their families and exposed to horrific sexual and physical violence,” said Jean François Basse, UNICEF’s acting head in the DRC.

The fighting has also disrupted vital services and humanitarian operations, with the closure of Kavumu Airport near the provincial capital Bukavu and banks delaying critical aid operations.

The region is also witnessing an uptick in cholera, measles and mpox outbreaks.

UNICEF is working to re-open schools and support health centres, urging all parties to respect international law and ensure unhindered aid access.

“We call on all parties to the conflict to immediately cease hostilities, protect children, respect international humanitarian law and guarantee rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access,” said Mr. Basse.

New risks loom for global trade, warns UN body

While global trade started 2025 on stable ground, challenges are mounting, according to the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD.

In its latest Global Trade Update, which covers data through early March, the UN body reported record growth in 2024, with international trade expanding to $33 trillion, but looking to 2025, new risks loom, including trade imbalances, evolving policies and geopolitical tensions.

The trade gap between developing and advanced economies is widening. While Asia and Latin America remain key trade drivers, growth has slowed in advanced economies, UNCTAD said.

It added that nearshoring and friendshoring – business strategies where companies relocate their operations to a country geographically closer to their main market to reduce costs – reversed in 2024.

UNCTAD noted that some governments are expanding tariffs, subsidies and industrial policies, reshaping trade flows.

“The United States, EU and others are increasingly tying trade measures to economic security and climate goals while China is using stimulus policies to maintain export momentum,” it added.

UNCTAD underscored the need for global cooperation and balanced policies in the face of growing trade uncertainty.

“The challenge in 2025 is to prevent global fragmentation – where nations form isolated trade blocs – while managing policy shifts without undermining long-term growth. The actions taken now by governments and businesses will shape trade resilience for years to come,” it said.

© UNDP/Tamara Tschentscher

A container ship at the Mombasa Port in Kenya, a key transit for trade in the region.

Voter registration starts in Central African Republic

Meanwhile, the second and third phases of voter registrations are underway in the Central African Republic (CAR), supported by the UN peacekeeping mission there, MINUSCA.

The campaign will cover nine of the country’s 20 prefectures and overseas centres.

“Our peacekeeping mission has actively contributed to the launch of the operations by providing logistical support, including the deployment of equipment by plane from Bangui to the regions as well as several hundred electoral agents,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at the regular news briefing in New York.

Peacekeepers are also helping secure the process by deploying to tense areas to enable all Central Africans to have access to registration centres, he added.

Mission personnel also escorted road convoys carrying registration kits as well as electoral staff. They are also working in collaboration with UN Women to increase the number of women on the voter list by facilitating the issuance of identity documents.

The voter registration exercise precedes local, legislative and presidential elections scheduled for later this year and in 2026.

The local elections – to be held for the first time in nearly 40 years – are a key component of the Central African Peace Agreement and offer a unique opportunity for enhanced governance at the local level, Mr. Dujarric said.

UN Security Council condemns Pakistan train attack

UN Security Council members condemned Tuesday’s terrorist attack on the Jaffar Express passenger train, which was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar in Pakistan.

The armed group Balochistan Liberation Army attacked the train near the city of Sibi in Balochistan province and subsequently took its passengers hostages.

The standoff ended on Wednesday, with Pakistani security forces conducting an operation and killing the attackers. According to media reports, 21 hostages and four members of the security forces were also killed.

In a press statement, members of the Security Council “reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security”.

They underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of such acts of terrorism accountable and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Government of Pakistan in this regard.

“The members of the Security Council reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed,” the statement added.