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More than four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the “danger is only increasing”, particularly from attack drones, a top UN human rights official warned on Thursday.

The number of children and young people out of school worldwide has climbed for the seventh consecutive year, reaching 273 million, according to a new report from the UN education agency, UNESCO. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for the immediate release of the 118 UN staff currently detained worldwide as attacks against the United Nations increase with 179 personnel arrested or detained last year alone.

Applause erupted in the UN General Assembly Hall on Wednesday as Member States adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the escalating Gulf war is “out of control”, urging all sides to step back from the brink and allow diplomacy to prevail, as he announced the appointment of a senior envoy to spearhead peace efforts.

It’s day 26 of war in the Middle East. Ongoing strikes in Israel and Iran have included intensifying Israeli attacks against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, while some 2,000 US troops are reportedly about to mobilize to the region. Meanwhile, Iran has told the UN maritime agency that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to “non-hostile” ships not associated with the US and Israel. In Geneva, a rare urgent debate on the crisis is also getting under way at the Human Rights Council. Stay with us for live updates from across the UN system. UN News app users can follow coverage here.

As tensions escalate in the Middle East, the international community must not lose sight of the situation in Gaza, an official with US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace across the shattered enclave said on Tuesday in his first appearance in the UN Security Council. 

The latest wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine have reportedly killed and injured civilians and damaged critical infrastructure in Dnipro, Odesa, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia and other regions.

The World Health Organization (WHO) called on Tuesday for countries to step up action to end tuberculosis (TB) – one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers – by expanding access to new diagnostic tools that can help save lives. 

The death toll from a horrific attack on a hospital in Sudan’s Darfur has risen further, amid a “sharp increase” in drone attacks against civilians this year, UN agencies said on Tuesday.

Deadly gangs in Haiti are expanding their reach to include control over key sea and road routes as police in the beleaguered Caribbean island nation are being accused of using “unnecessary and disproportionate lethal force and summary executions.”

As the war continues to roil the Middle East and compound suffering for civilians across the region, the economic ramifications of the emergency are still playing out, with the Strait of Hormuz the focus of global attention. Meanwhile, settler attacks have escalated dramatically against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, a topic that we’ll be across today also, with updates from the UN and our partners. UN News app users can follow coverage here.