What's New

With fewer than five years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a new UN report says sustained investment and international cooperation have improved billions of lives, but warns that governments must urgently accelerate action if the goals are to be met by their 2030 deadline.

Who is legally responsible when Artificial Intelligence causes harm? The issue took centre stage on Tuesday – day two of the first ever UN summit on AI governance, where leading experts warned of mounting evidence of human rights violations linked to the revolutionary technology.

Millions of children across the globe are already using artificial intelligence to learn, solve problems and even seek advice about personal worries, while safeguards are failing to keep pace with the technology's rapid adoption.

Based on new data from 10 countries, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that at least 20 million children have used AI, with young people adopting the technology at rates more than three times faster than adults.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving faster than governments can keep up.

Just a few years ago, it could answer questions or generate text. Today, it can write computer code, analyse vast amounts of data, create realistic images and videos, help scientists discover new medicines and increasingly act on its own with little human supervision.

However, while AI's capabilities are accelerating, experts say the rules needed to ensure it is used safely as current safeguards are struggling to keep pace.

As a deadly heatwave continued to grip Europe on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued an impassioned appeal for more ambitious global action on climate change caused by fossil fuels, to prevent irreversible damage.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Tuesday that calls for accountability for crimes committed against UN peacekeepers.

Resolution 2823 (2026) calls upon all relevant stakeholders to cooperate with the UN to facilitate the identification, investigation and prosecution of perpetrators without delay. 

The text was put forward by Denmark and Pakistan, two of the Council’s non-permanent members, and supported by more than 150 countries. 

On 23 June 2026, in a special address at London Climate Action Week, the UN Secretary-General draws on the latest scientific evidence to show how the worsening climate crisis and growing energy insecurity are rooted in continued fossil fuels dependence. He outlines a clear pathway to accelerate the transition to a more secure, resilient and sustainable energy future: one powered by renewable energy, strengthened international cooperation, and science-based action.

Syria has emerged after more than a decade of crisis with “clear signs of progress”, but acute needs remain and efforts must boost support so the country can “move from survival towards recovery”, UN officials told the Security Council on Monday.

“There is now a genuine opportunity to help Syrians move from survival towards recovery,” said Assistant Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs Indrika Ratwatte, on behalf of UN relief chief Tom Fletcher. 

Artificial Intelligence is not only responsible for worrying amounts of earth-warming greenhouse gases: the technology's environmental footprint is also expanding at a pace that could strain the planet’s natural resources.

Data centres, the global infrastructure powering AI, could consume 945 terawatt-hours of electricity annually by 2030 – nearly triple the combined annual electricity use of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria, countries collectively home to more than 650 million people. 

UN Secretary General António Guterres welcomed on Sunday a new peace deal between the United States and Iran, calling it a “critical step” toward ending the conflict.

According to a statement issued by his Spokesman, the agreement provides for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and a framework for further negotiations.