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Global perspective Human stories

From firefights to football matches: Life on a UN peacekeeping frontline

Night has fallen over the town of Zémio, in the east of the Central African Republic. In a few hours, the December 2025 presidential election is due to take place, but the rebels of the “Azande Ani Kpi Gbe” (AAKG) militia have launched an offensive to seize the city and derail the polls.

7 June 2026

Humanity’s future depends on protecting the rapidly changing ocean

The ocean covers more than 70 per cent of the planet and regulates climate, sustains biodiversity, and supports economies and cultures worldwide. It’s the foundation of life on Earth.

7 June 2026

Five things you need to know about ocean plastics

From surgical gloves to water bottles, shopping bags and chewing gum, every part of our daily lives includes plastic. They epitomise convenience – their durability makes our dependence on them inextricable, but it also stifles the environment.

6 June 2026

Haiti: Harrowing needs must be met with long-term engagement

Escalating gang violence across Haiti has pushed displacement to record levels, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis and leaving nearly 1.5 million people without a stable place to live, according to new figures released Friday by the UN migration agency, IOM.

5 June 2026

‘The true cost of peace’: UN honours fallen peacekeepers as dangers mount

The United Nations paused on Friday to pay tribute to the more than 4,500 peacekeepers who lost their lives in the line of duty over the past 78 years. 

5 June 2026

Faith, fear and trust: Inside DR Congo’s fight against Ebola

In a village in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers arrived a few days ago to help bury a person who had died from Ebola. Instead, they were threatened, told armed rebels would be called if they stayed, and forced to leave.

5 June 2026

World News in Brief: Millions displaced in South Sudan, global meat supply quadruples, Middle East crisis deepens global hunger

Months of fighting and insecurity have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in South Sudan’s eastern Jonglei State, triggering “one of the most severe conflict-related displacement emergencies in recent years”, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday. 

5 June 2026

‘The ocean has no boundaries’: Beauty and life in a war zone

When US and Israeli forces launched strikes on Iran on 28 February, triggering one of the most serious geopolitical crises in years, the Strait of Hormuz – a narrow channel just 34 kilometres wide at its narrowest point – became a global flashpoint overnight.

5 June 2026

Lebanon crisis: Needs soar as UN launches new funding appeal

The UN in Lebanon appealed for an additional $331.5 million on Friday to help 1.4 million people in crisis as already massive needs continue to grow, three months since deadly violence erupted between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces.

5 June 2026

World Ocean Assessment highlights urgent need for science and global action

In the wood-panelled rooms of New York’s storied Explorers Club, where portraits of pioneering adventurers line the walls, diplomats, scientists and ocean advocates gathered on Tuesday evening with a shared sense of urgency – and anticipation.

4 June 2026