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From 27 to 30 June 2025, the Karama - Beirut Human Rights Film Festival (KBHRFF) held its eighth edition in Beirut, under the theme “Remember.”  Organized by Art Factory 961 and held under the auspices of the Lebanese Ministry of Culture, the festival was supported by the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in Beirut, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Lebanon, UN Women in Lebanon, Fighters for Peace NGO, and the Embassies of Canada, Czech Republic, and Germany.

It wasn’t an average Thursday morning in Manhattan. In the early hours, UN diplomats (and UN News) hit the streets in their sneakers – from Times Square to East River – following a route that traced the shape of “UN@80”.

Under cooler skies after days of intense heat, the run ended where it all began, at the original UN Charter – the document that launched the Organization and reshaped the modern international order – now on display at UN Headquarters.

The head of UN Peacekeeping affirmed the critical role played by the “blue helmets” in Lebanon and Syria during a press conference at Headquarters in New York on Friday.

The interim authorities in Syria have taken important steps in recent weeks to address past violations, the Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the country said on Friday in an update to  the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, warning that the humanitarian crisis has reached “horrific proportions” and that the world must not let the suffering of Palestinians be overshadowed by other regional conflicts.

The rapid depletion of the remaining fuel stocks in the Gaza Strip is threatening efforts to keep critical lifelines up and running, the UN reported on Wednesday. 

“Israeli authorities continue to restrict the delivery of fuel into and throughout the Gaza Strip, effectively choking off life-saving services for deprived and starving people,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during his regular press briefing in New York.

When Bashar Al-Assad ruled Syria, his regime was widely accused of profiting from the production and trafficking of Captagon, an illicit synthetic drug that is most commonly abused by users in the Middle East. 

Despite the current government’s hostility to the trade, the country remains a hub for the production and distribution of the drug.

A fragile ceasefire brokered by the United States between Iran and Israel appears to be holding, marking a tentative halt to a dangerous regional escalation that included airstrikes, retaliatory missile attacks and mounting civilian casualties.

In a world grappling with growing crises, deepening inequalities, and eroding trust in global institutions, the United Nations has launched an ambitious effort to strengthen how it serves people everywhere. The UN80 Initiative, unveiled in March by Secretary-General António Guterres, is a system-wide push to streamline operations, sharpen impact, and reaffirm the UN’s relevance for a rapidly changing world.

The United Nations has condemned a suicide bombing on Sunday at a Damascus church that killed at least 25 worshippers, including women and children during mass, as a “heinous crime”.

More than 60 churchgoers were also wounded in the attack, which is reported to be the first in the Syrian capital since rebel groups ousted former president Bashar al-Assad in December, ending more than a decade of civil war.