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With several high-profile world leaders opting out of the UN General Assembly’s annual opening session next week, Secretary-General António Guterres has said that he cares less about who comes to New York and more about what gets done, especially to revive the lagging Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“This is not a Vanity Fair. This is a political body in which governments are represented,” he told UN News in an exclusive interview. 

“When we receive a rescue call, all we ask about is the fire site, neither caller identity nor nationality matters to us,” says Oussama Al Abouchi, sergeant at Al-Fayhaa Fire Brigade.

Today, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS), the Government of Japan, and the Municipality of Tripoli inaugurated the recently rehabilitated and reactivated “Markazouna”, a Multipurpose Community Centre in Shalfeh, Tripoli.

It’s that time again! The global spotlight will shine on UN Headquarters in New York later this month when the General Assembly (UNGA) welcomes presidents, monarchs, prime ministers, and Heads of State from its 193 Member States.

Committed to safeguarding cultural heritage and fostering community engagement, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), in partnership with the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM) and the Municipality of Tripoli, with the financial support of the European Union, and under the patronage of H.E. Mohammad Wissam El-Mortada, Minister of Culture, inaugurated the newly rehabilitated Rachid Karame Cultural Center, known as the Nawfal Palace.

To mark International Youth Day, the United Nations Information Centre in Beirut (UNIC Beirut) and the United Nations Development Programme in Lebanon (UNDP Lebanon) joined forces on a month-long social media campaign as part of galvanizing support for young people’s political participation and amplifying their voices in public life.  

In a calm neighborhood nestled between the busy streets of Mar Mikhael in Beirut, a heartwarming haven known as ‘Access Kitchen’ flourished. It is Lebanon’s first community kitchen led and run by a group of women with disabilities. It provides income-generating jobs for 58 women and offers daily 138 hot meals to vulnerable people in nearby areas.

Wastewater, long seen as an environmental and health hazard, possesses untapped potential as an alternative energy and clean water source to offset fertilizer use, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Wednesday.

In its new report, Wastewater: Turning problem to solution, UNEP warned that only 11 per cent of treated wastewater is reused while around half of the world’s untreated wastewater still enters rivers, lakes and seas.

ChatGPT is not coming for your job and might even enhance it, experts from the International Labour Organization (ILO) said in a new report published this week. 

The study provides a global analysis of the potential exposure of occupations and tasks to generative artificial intelligence (AI) and the possible implications for job quantity and quality.

With smartphones, editing apps, and innovative approaches, some UN peacekeeping operations across the world are building a “digital army” aimed at combating mis- and disinformation on social media networks and beyond.