Drone strike on UN facility in war-torn Sudan leaves six peacekeepers dead

13 December 2025 at 16:35

UN secretary general António Guterres says ‘unjustifiable’ attack on base in city of Kadugli ‘could be war crime’

A drone strike hit a United Nations facility in war-torn Sudan on Saturday, killing six peacekeepers, the UN secretary general António Guterres has said.

The strike hit the peacekeeping logistics base in the city of Kadugli, in the central region of Kordofan, Guterres said in a statement.

Will other countries follow Australia’s social media ban for under-16s?

The Guardian

By:Dan Milmo Global technology editor

13 December 2025 at 00:00

Several European nations are already planning similar moves while Britain has said ‘nothing is off the table’

Australia is taking on powerful tech companies with its under-16 social media ban, but will the rest of the world follow? The country’s enactment of the policy is being watched closely by politicians, safety campaigners and parents. A number of other countries are not far behind, with Europe in particular hoping to replicate Australia, while the UK is keeping more of a watchful interest.

US scolds Rwanda for breaking peace deal as M23 rebels seize key Congo city

The Guardian

By:Associated Press

12 December 2025 at 21:58

Mike Waltz warns ‘spoilers’ will be held to account as rebel fighters escalate offensive in South Kivu province

The US has accused Rwanda of violating a US-brokered peace agreement by backing a deadly new rebel offensive in the mineral-rich eastern Congo, and warned action will be taken against “spoilers”.

The remarks by the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, came as more than 400 civilians have been killed since the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels escalated their offensive in eastern Congo’s South Kivu province, according to officials who also say Rwandan special forces were in the strategic city of Uvira.

Families washed out of tents as flood waters course through Gaza

The Guardian

By:Julian Borger in Jerusalem

12 December 2025 at 10:26

Gaza has been hit by heavy rains and low temperatures, deepening the misery of most of its 2.2 million population who are living in tents after two years of Israeli bombardment. Thousands of homeless people have been washed out of their makeshift shelters and forced to seek emergency refuge

U.S. Helped to Weaken Report at U.N. Environment Talks, Participants Say

NYT: Science

By:Eric Niiler

11 December 2025 at 13:54

American officials joined Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran in objecting to language on fossils fuels, biodiversity and plastics in a report that was three years in the making.

The opening session of the 7th United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday.

‘The patriarchy runs deep’: women still getting a raw deal in the workplace as equality remains a dream

The Guardian

By:Sarah Johnson

10 December 2025 at 02:00

Women work longer and per hour earn a third of what men are paid, in figures that have changed little in 35 years, UN report shows

“Gender inequality is one of the most entrenched and significant problems of our time,” says Jocelyn Chu, a programme director at UN Women, responding to the stark figures contained in this year’s World Inequality report, which labels gender inequality a “defining and persistent feature of the global economy”.

Women work longer and earn just a third – 32% – of what men get per hour, when paid and unpaid labour, such as domestic work, are taken into account. Even when unpaid domestic labour is not included, women only earn 61% of what men make, according to the report.

More than 9,000 children in Gaza hospitalised for acute malnutrition in October, UN says

The Guardian

By:Julian Borger in Jerusalem

9 December 2025 at 11:34

Aid agencies say Israel is still restricting their aid shipments despite ceasefire announced two months ago

Malnutrition continues to take a toll among Gaza’s young despite a ceasefire declared two months ago, with more than 9,000 children hospitalised for acute malnutrition in October alone, according to the latest UN figures.

While the immediate threat of famine has receded for most of the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza after the ceasefire announcement on 10 October, the UN and other aid agencies report continuing Israeli restrictions on their humanitarian aid shipments, which they say fall well below the needs of a population weakened and traumatised by two years of war, homelessness and living in flimsy shelters.

Many Fighting Climate Change Worry They Are Losing the Information War

NYT: Science

By:Lisa Friedman and Steven Lee Myers

1 December 2025 at 08:27

Shifting politics, intensive lobbying and surging disinformation online have undermined international efforts to respond to the threat.

Oil-rich countries, including the U.S., are downplaying scientific consensus that the burning of fossil fuels is dangerously heating the planet.

China Offers Panda Totes, but No New Commitments, at Climate Talks

NYT: Science

By:Lisa Friedman and Somini Sengupta

21 November 2025 at 11:25

The United States has retreated on climate. China, the only superpower at COP30 and the world leader in clean energy, is not filling the void.

The China pavilion of the COP30 conference in Belém, Brazil, last week.

As the World Pursues Clean Power, Millions Still Have No Power at All

NYT: Science

By:Max Bearak and Alessandro Falco

20 November 2025 at 05:02

Just outside Belém, the Amazonian city where the world is meeting to discuss climate change, electricity is a very recent arrival.

Leaders at COP30 Climate Summit in Belém Focus on the Rising Toll of Warming

NYT: Science

By:David Gelles and Brad Plumer

7 November 2025 at 16:56

“All we have to do is look outside,” one delegate said. “The sea rises, the coral dies.”

World leaders posed for a photo on Friday at COP30, the United Nations climate conference in Belém, Brazil.

The U.S. Is Skipping This Year’s Climate Summit. For Many, That’s OK.

NYT: Science

By:Lisa Friedman

6 November 2025 at 07:58

World leaders, gathering in Brazil, will try to agree on new, more ambitious plans to cut greenhouse gases.

The conference venue in Belém, Brazil, this week. The talks, known as COP30, are scheduled to run through Nov. 21.

Brazil Proposes a New Type of Fund to Protect Tropical Forests

NYT: Science

By:Somini Sengupta and Claire Brown

5 November 2025 at 05:02

The multibillion-dollar fund would essentially pay countries to keep forests standing, hoping for success where earlier forest-protection ideas have struggled.

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