Latest News & Developments
antonio guterres
African Union summit opens, overshadowed by DR Congo conflict
As Rwandan-backed forces seize control of key cities, the African Union summit opens this Saturday, with the Democratic Republic of Congo's president absent and urgent calls for decisive action.
Macron visits Lebanon to support new leadership amid regional tensions
President Emmanuel Macron's landmark visit to Beirut signals France's renewed commitment to Lebanon's stability, as the nation emerges from political deadlock under President Joseph Aoun. With Saudi backing and amid delicate Israel-Hezbollah tensions, this diplomatic mission could reshape Lebanon's path through its economic and security challenges.
South Africa’s partnership with India and the quest for technological justice
The partnership between India and South Africa comes at a crucial time as India's electronics industry is on the brink of a transformative phase as it targets USD 500 billion in manufacturing output by 2030.
Is G20 solidarity and sustainability possible in an age of northern protectionism and a hobbled Global South?
South Africa’s G20 Presidency in 2025 comes at a pivotal moment of deepening global divides, marked by geopolitical tension, economic instability, and the pervasive cost-of-living crisis.
Israel and allies will ultimately be held accountable for Gaza
Israel's recent ban on UNRWA raises questions about international accountability and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza
IDF repeatedly target UN peacekeeper towers - statement
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon claim that the Israel Defence Force repeatedly fired at them.
Hezbollah drone strike kills four, wounds dozens at Israeli base
As fighting raged between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon's south, United Nations peacekeepers said they had again been in the firing line.
High school students can win up to R69,000 in this essay writing competition
The issue of hate speech impeding human rights is hotly debated. If you enter this competition you can make your argument on the topic and win some randelas.
Israel vows to make Iran pay for missile attack
Israel vowed to make Iran “pay” for firing a barrage of missiles at its territory, with Tehran warning on October 2 it would launch an even bigger attack it is targeted.
Guterres: trampling of international law, human rights indefensible, morally intolerable
Today, a growing number of governments and others feel entitled to a “get out of jail free” card. They can trample international law. They can violate the United Nations Charter. They can turn a blind eye to international human rights conventions or the decisions of international courts, the UN Secretary General says writes in his speech, Antonio Guterres says.
UN chief says six colleagues killed in Israel strike on Gaza school
An Israeli air strike on September 11 hit a central Gaza school, with the Hamas-run territory's civil defence agency reporting 10 killed in the facility turned displacement shelter and the military saying it had targeted militants.
China’s President Xi sets off the winds of change in pursuit of ‘shared future with Africa’
Coming from a leader who has overseen one of history’s miracle-filled economic prosperity, the words carried literal and figurative weight as some 50 African heads of state sat in an attentive spell inside the majestic Great Hall of the People.
A generational opportunity for the Global South
Renewal. The G20 needs to go ‘Back to Basics’ where urgent intervention is needed as the IMF and powerful banks and creditors extract value and interest from the poorest nations while imposing austerity. South Africa is in an opportune position to shape the agenda as its hosts the G20 in 2025, the writer says.
FOCAC: Chinese President Xi Jinping pledges R900 billion mega assistance package for Africa
Xi said China will provide Africa with RMB1 billion yuan in emergency food assistance, send a battalion of 500 agricultural experts, and establish a China-Africa agricultural science and technology innovation alliance.
Iran holds funeral for Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh
Hamas said on Wednesday, its political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran, where he was attending the swearing-in of the new president, and vowed the act “will not go unanswered”.
New Gaza strikes after Netanyahu vows more pressure on militants
Rescuers confirmed several people had been killed in separate Israeli strikes in central Gaza.
Russian missiles kill 37 in Ukraine, gut Kyiv children's hospital
Russia launched more than 40 missiles at several cities across Ukraine on July 8, in an attack that killed at least 20 people and smashed into a children's hospital in Kyiv, officials said.
Israel strikes Gaza as UN Security Council meets over deadly attack
The UN Security Council was set to convene an emergency meeting on May 28 over an Israeli strike that killed dozens in a displaced persons camp in Rafah, as three European countries were slated to formally recognise a Palestinian state.
Israel army says UN vehicle hit in Rafah was in 'combat zone'
A UN security services member was killed in an attack on a vehicle in Gaza on Monday.
Israel sends tanks into Rafah and seizes key crossing
Army footage showed tanks flying the Israeli flag taking “operational control” of the Palestinian side of the border crossing.
IRENA: UN calls for G20 to mobilise financial, technical resources for developing nations
Countries must act on their COP28 commitments to allow for the clean energy transition
Israeli army chief says strike killing aid workers was 'grave mistake'
Israel's defence chief said Wednesday a strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza was a grave mistake, after the deaths prompted a chorus of international outrage.
UN chief, at Rafah-Gaza crossing, urges end to ‘nightmare’ of war
‘Palestinians in Gaza remain stuck in a non-stop nightmare,’ António Guterres says as most of the territory's 2. 4 million people seek refuge in Rafah, where Israel has vowed to send in ground troops in its war against Hamas.
There is a 'high probability' that 2024 will be hottest year ever, says UN
The WMO said that last year the average near-surface temperature was 1. 45 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels -- dangerously close to the critical 1. 5-degree threshold that countries agreed to avoid passing in the 2015 Paris climate accords.
Document on Human Fraternity offers hope of peace and tolerance
Today those values are in need more than ever before, as the world battles crises and threats on multiple fronts.