Month: October 2026

The Security Council is meeting on Syria as the country’s transition faces pressure on several fronts. Economic hardship is fuelling unrest, Israeli incursions continue in the south and sectarian tensions persist in Sweida, even as Damascus reports progress on its chemical weapons programme and talks about future elections. Millions, meanwhile, remain displaced. Follow live below and go here for full meetings coverage. 

Nearly 10 years after Colombia signed a historic peace agreement to end a decades-long insurgency, the deal is under strain from growing insecurity – and the UN’s top official in the country says it cannot be allowed to falter.

The money is running out faster than needs are growing: with 117 million men, women and children now forced from their homes, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has received just $3 billion of the $8.5 billion it needs this year – and its chief, Barham Salih, warns that the global support system for asylum-seekers risks buckling.

The United Nations has rushed to assist Nepal following new flash floods in the central Gorkha district on Sunday that swept away homes and bridges just weeks after catastrophic flooding in the north. 

The number of people living in “multidimensional” poverty has risen for the first time in 15 years, reaching 1.2 billion, as families struggle to meet their basic needs. 

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) has voiced concern over reports of mass detentions in India of demonstrators, protest leaders, civil society members, lawyers and journalists, before and during large-scale protests in Delhi on Saturday.

Adam Ouattara and Makongo Traoré have four children and a home on the edge of Torla village in Côte d’Ivoire. He herds cattle. She grows vegetables on a small plot nearby. For years, the dry season pitted their two livelihoods against each other.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned a Houthi missile attack on Riyadh’s main airport that Saudi authorities say killed 12 people and wounded more than 300.

Nidaa, Hanaa and Hanin have different stories, but share a common thread: the determination to build something of their own and keep it going despite extraordinary challenges facing them in war-ravaged Gaza.