Week in Review

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Week in Review 8 November 2025

Catch up on this week's must-read stories We keep you updated on the conflicts that many mainstream news outlets think are either peripheral to their agendas, or perhaps too expensive to cover in these days of cuts and uncertainty – in the news business and everywhere else. Our agencies and experts in the field are our eyes and ears, offering compelling stories of loss, struggle and survival – while going about their core mission of delivering lifesaving aid and relief, to those who need it most. This week, we focused on the apparent war crimes committed in Darfur's El Fasher, where genocidal violence has taken hold again, amid the worst humanitarian catastrophe on the planet right now. We reported daily from Jamaica and the other Caribbean nations battered by Hurricane Melissa. As a faltering ceasefire in Gaza just about holds, we also provided daily updates on the Israeli-controlled aid operation and the continuing settler violence in the West Bank, where impunity has largely taken hold. The US, China and India are skipping COP30 but we'll be reporting from Brazil next week, laying out what's at stake for the world and the battle to keep global warming anchored to the 1.5 degree limit outlined in Paris 10 years ago.  Stay informed – follow UN News online, on our app, and on social media for the latest updates in New York, Geneva, Nairobi and around the world.

Rights chief warns 'abominable atrocities' likely continue in Sudan's El Fasher Warnings of worsening humanitarian conditions in Sudan continue, despite reports of a ceasefire deal brokered by international mediators on Thursday. Read more Human Rights In Brazil, Guterres calls for 'fair, fast and final' shift to clean energy UN Secretary-General António Guterres is continuing his campaign to accelerate the global switch from fossil fuels to clean energy – "the cheapest source of new electricity in nearly every country."  Read more Climate and Environment In a quiet community on Doha's edge, Gaza's wounded and orphaned learn to heal In the late afternoon light, about 20 kilometres from Doha, the Al-Thumama complex looks like any quiet residential neighbourhood: paved pathways, rows of apartment blocks, the hum of air-conditioning carrying through the warm desert air.  Read more Women DR Congo hunger crisis worsening amid fighting and lack of aid funding The crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to worsen amid ongoing fighting that has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and created acute hunger, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday. Read more Peace and Security Nearly a third of Jamaica's annual wealth wiped out by Hurricane Melissa Around 1.5 million Jamaicans have been impacted by Hurricane Melissa – the worst climate disaster in the Caribbean nation's history, said the top UN development official in the region on Thursday. Read more Peace and Security Mind over machine: UN urges ethical guardrails for brain tech revolution As wearable devices begin to tap into our mental states, UN experts warn that without ethical safeguards, the right to freedom of thought could be the latest casualty of unchecked innovation. Read more Human Rights Israel has rejected over 100 aid requests since Gaza ceasefire, UN says The United Nations said on Thursday that Israeli authorities have rejected more than 100 requests to bring relief materials into Gaza since the ceasefire began nearly a month ago. Read more Peace and Security Doha summit ends with call to turn social pledges into action The Second World Summit for Social Development concluded in Doha on Thursday with calls for countries to move swiftly from commitments to implementation, ensuring that the Doha Political Declaration delivers measurable progress on poverty reduction, decent work and social inclusion. Read more SDGs Afghanistan: Opium cultivation drops sharply, but regional trafficking rises Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has fallen by 20 per cent compared to last year, continuing a dramatic decline since the introduction of a nationwide ban under the Taliban in 2022 – but synthetic drugs and shifting trafficking routes are posing new challenges. Read more Law and Crime Prevention Battlefields to wastelands: UN warns conflicts are destroying ecosystems worldwide From Gaza to Ukraine and beyond, conflict has caused widespread death and destruction, but it has also devastated natural resources such as water systems, farmland and forests.  Read more Climate and Environment Syria's future under threat from acute funding shortages Hopes for a peaceful future in post-war Syria are at risk as funding for basic services dries up, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Read more Health World leaders adopt Doha declaration to boost efforts on social development Against a backdrop of escalating geopolitical tension and widening social divides, global leaders at the Second World Summit for Social Development on Tuesday adopted the Doha Political Declaration, signalling renewed resolve to advance justice and inclusion worldwide. Read more SDGs Around 224 million women still don't access family planning Since 1990, the number of people using modern contraception methods has doubled globally but despite this, nearly 224 million women in mainly developing regions still do not use safe and effective family planning methods, according to the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA. Read more Women Fresh push to fight toxic mercury pollution underway Representatives from countries around the world are working together to reduce mercury pollution and protect people and the planet, at a major international meeting which got underway on Monday in Geneva, Switzerland. Read more Health Defending truth-tellers, from war zones to the digital frontline Journalists risk their lives every day to bring facts to light, yet most attacks against them go unpunished. Read more Law and Crime Prevention 'We want to get our lives back,' Gaza children declare After two years of war that kept them out of classrooms, Gaza's children are finally returning to the classroom, surrounded by devastation – but determined to learn. Read more Peace and Security

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