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On a bright morning of May 13, 2025, the air around the UN House in Beirut crackled with energy, not from political negotiations or press conferences, but from the eager chatter of nearly 80 high school students, each one a budding diplomat, thinker, or leader. Coming from Rafic Hariri High School in Saida, Brummana High School in Metn, SSCC Kfarhbab in Keserwan, these students had more in common than just their uniforms or their shared age group.

The Ministry of Environment (MoE) in Lebanon and UNOPS signed today an agreement under the “Community-based Wildfire Risk Management in Lebanon’s Vulnerable Landscapes” project which aims to support Lebanon in managing forest fire risks and actual occurrences in a more timely and effective manner and integrating forest fire risk considerations into the sustainable management of forest landscapes. 

Smart Center celebrated the graduation of a new cohort of students from the “Point of View” program, which was launched in several Lebanese universities in 2012. The ceremony was held at the Radisson Blu Martinez Hotel – Ain El Mreisseh, under the patronage and in the presence of Minister of Information Paul Morcos.

The progress of human development – as measured by people’s freedoms and well-being – has remained sluggish since the major shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. A UN study released on Tuesday finds that used in the right way, artificial intelligence could be a powerful tool to improve millions of lives. 

For several decades, human development indicators showed a steady, upward curve and UN researchers predicted that by 2030, a high level of development would be enjoyed by the global population.

With funding from the Government of Norway, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organized a Technical Stakeholder Workshop as part of the ongoing project “Rehabilitation and Waste Management of El-Bared Canal Irrigation System.”

What I saw in South Lebanon was both depressing and inspiring. The scale of destruction—to villages, health facilities, and water systems—is disturbing.

But the people I met were truly inspiring. It’s clear they want to return home, rebuild, and restart their productive lives.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has run out of food in the Gaza Strip as Israel continues to block the entry of all humanitarian aid into the enclave, home to over two million people. 

On Friday, WFP announced it had delivered its last remaining supplies to kitchens preparing hot meals which are expected to be completely gone within days.

Recent military actions by Israel are undermining Syria’s political transition and the chances of a new security pact between the two countries, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Thursday. 

“Syria’s opportunity to stabilise after 14 years of conflict must be supported and protected, for Syrians and for Israelis,” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.

Recent funding cuts have caused “severe disruptions” to health services in almost three-quarters of all countries, according to the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.