Collated by Peter Hulm
January 2026
UN: world news in brief: Gaza education update, the General Assembly at 80, Venezuela's humanitarian needs (LINK) 16 January 2026
UN treaty to protect 'extraordinary' marine life due to come into force on 17 January (LINK) 16 January 2026
— 148 countries, representing more than three-quarters of all UN member states, have signed on to the High Seas Treaty since it was adopted in June 2023. 81 governments agreed to include it in their national laws, bringing it into force. The treaty offers new protections to an area covering two-thirds of the world's oceans and as many as 10 million different species, many of which are still unidentified.
Secretary-General on UN at 80: Speaking at Methodist Central Hall in London, the same venue where the first-ever UN General Assembly was held on 10 January 1946, he said the "values of multilateralism are being chipped away" (LINK) 17 January 2026
UN chief warns of a world in chaos as impunity and unpredictability spreads (LINK) 15 January 2026
UN chief's last annual speech slams world leaders for lack of cooperation — (LINK)
UN chief attacks world leaders putting cooperation on 'deathwatch' in final annual speech — (LINK)
AP: UN chief lashes out at countries violating international law — (LINK)
Major lunch food officially classed as cancer-causing by World Health Organization: sodium nitrite found in many processed meats, hams, and deli meats leads to a 32% increased risk of prostate cancer (LINK) 15 January 2026
UN chief warns he could refer Israel to ICJ over laws targeting UNRWA (LINK) 13 January 2026
Alcohol too cheap in Europe as health impact mounts, WHO warns: official says "More affordable alcohol drives violence, injuries and disease" (LINK) 13 January 2026
— Beer has become more affordable in 11 EU countries since 2022, and less affordable in six, a WHO report revealed. There was a similar but even more dramatic trend for spirits, which became more affordable in 17 EU countries and less affordable in two. And for wine, 14 EU countries do not tax it at all, including big producers Italy and Spain, the report found.
'Dire' financial crisis forces UNRWA to drop 571 ex-Gazan staff from payroll (LINK) 11 January 2026
Gates Foundation: The health issues set to dominate 2026 (LINK) 10 January 2026
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: global health's defining test (LINK) 9 January 2026
Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on US decision on withdrawal from UN entities (LINK) 8 January 2026
— "As we have consistently underscored, assessed contributions to the United Nations regular budget and peacekeeping budget, as approved by the General Assembly, are a legal obligation under the UN Charter for all Member States, including the United States."
GEN: A global hub for environment governance and the host region of the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands, Geneva is key place to protect wetlands and reverse the trend of global loss of wetlands (LINK) 8 January 2026
Trump administration suspends support for 66 international organizations, agencies and commissions (LINK) 7 January 2026
— France24: Most of the targets are UN-related agencies, commissions and advisory panels focused on climate, labour and other issues the Trump administration has categorised as catering to diversity and so-called "woke" initiatives, according to a partial list obtained by The Associated Press.
— "The Trump Administration has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation's sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity," the State Department said in a statement.
Trump moves to pull US out of bedrock global climate treaty, becoming first country to do so (LINK) 7 January 2026
UN experts condemn US aggression against Venezuela (LINK) 7 January 2026
Past week Ukraine Gaza Switzerland AI / ChatGPT Media UN Trump China Youth Travel
Afghanistan Bahamas Thailand Putin watch Biden News Metoo Science Sites to explore Digital tools World Economic Forum 2026
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