El Niño is putting millions of lives at risk in eastern and southern Africa but the UN is ensuring that communities are better prepared to deal with its impact. The story from a human perspective A farmer in Zambia who hasn’t seen a maize harvest. A mother in Somalia carrying her sick children through floodwater….
South Africa started processing undocumented migrants at a temporary repatriation centre in Musina, a border town with Zimbabwe, in July 2026. This followed weeks of intensified anti-migrant rhetoric and xenophobic violence. The facility has raised questions about whether the country could be moving towards a more camp-based approach to managing migrants and refugees. This would…
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,…
Wars regularly make headlines. Preventing them rarely does. Yet for the past 20 years, the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) has quietly been helping countries to avoid violence, recover from conflict and build more peaceful futures for their citizens. Today, it’s the UN’s main vehicle for investing in peace before crises spiral out of control. As…
Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents like rats and mice, and can cause severe disease in humans. Not all hantaviruses cause disease in people, and only a small number like the Andes Hantavirus, are known to make humans sick. How is it spread from rodents to humans? People usually become infected when…
Most Americans feel the Trump administration has not clearly explained the U.S.’ goals in the conflict with Iran. Explanation — or the perceived lack of one — is linked to whether people support it or not. The longer Americans believe the conflict will last, the more they disapprove. Half the country believes it’ll be months,…
With cannabis now legal for private use in South Africa, employers must navigate privacy rights, workplace safety and evolving labour law. Here’s what recent court cases mean for your business and its Cannabis Workplace Policy. Whether you are a business owner or you are looking after the HR function in a business, the subject of…
What Is UNGA? Every September, world leaders gather at the United Nations headquarters in New York for the UN General Assembly (UNGA) — the world’s biggest diplomatic meeting. Countries debate, make statements, and vote on the biggest global issues, from climate change to peace and security. When Does It Happen? Keep up with the latest…
