António Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations since 2017
Photo: U.S. Department of State from United States, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons, cropped)
- 7m ago
Guterres warns world is off track on biodiversity targets ahead of COP17
Only 26% of land and 12% of sea would be protected if current pledges are met, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at a press conference in Armenia, four days before COP17 opens in Yerevan.
- Oct 6
Israel marks October 7 anniversary with strike on Hamas commander as UN urges permanent truce
Three years after the 2023 attacks, Israel reported killing 4,000 infiltrators and targeted a Hamas commander, while the UN called for an enduring ceasefire.
- Oct 1
Greece assumes UN Security Council presidency with maritime safety and Ukraine at top of agenda
Ambassador Aglaia Balta leads the 15-member council through October 2026, marking Athens's second and final rotating term before its mandate concludes on 31 December.
- Sep 29
UN Security Council extends Haiti anti-gang force mandate as 11 die in Artibonite reprisal
The United Nations Security Council approved a six-month extension for the Gang Suppression Force through 31 March 2027, maintaining international security operations ahead of scheduled general elections in December.
- Sep 23
Tech leaders urge UN Security Council to establish global controls on frontier AI
Executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Hugging Face testified alongside researchers in a session convened by France, warning of risks from autonomous, self-improving systems.
- Sep 23
Milei attacks UN as useless and demands Falklands negotiations in General Assembly address
Speaking at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Argentine President Javier Milei challenged British administration over the Falkland Islands and opposed global regulation of artificial intelligence.
- Sep 23
Ethiopia accuses Sudan, Eritrea and Egypt of backing northern Tigray rebels
Heavy fighting has resumed across Tigray, Afar, and Amhara as Ethiopian army chief Birhanu Jula alleges foreign powers are arming rebel forces.
- Sep 22
António Guterres warns of global division and AI risks in final UN General Assembly address
Opening the 81st General Assembly session in New York, the UN Secretary-General urged multilateral controls on technology and warned that geopolitical fractures have widened into chasms.
- Sep 22
US and Iranian officials hold direct talks in New York as Trump issues UN ultimatum
Negotiators from the United States and Iran met for three hours in New York on Tuesday, marking their first direct diplomatic engagement since June amid nearly seven months of military conflict.
- Sep 20
Polish President Karol Nawrocki decorates US diaspora and opens UN visit
Polish President Karol Nawrocki presented state awards to diaspora leaders in New York and attended memorial events ahead of meetings with Baltic heads of state and an address at the United Nations.
- Sep 19
Michelle Bachelet withdraws from race for UN secretary-general after straw poll drop
Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet has dropped out of the contest to succeed António Guterres after falling to penultimate place in informal Security Council polling, leaving seven candidates in the field.
- Sep 19
EU and UN urge US to lift visa ban on Palestinian delegation ahead of General Assembly
The European Union and the United Nations have called on the United States to reconsider its refusal to grant entry visas to Palestinian Authority officials for the 81st General Assembly session in New York.
- Sep 5
WMO forecasts intense El Niño and triple ocean warming through early 2027
The World Meteorological Organization warned that three ocean basins will experience concurrent warming anomalies through late 2026, with an intensifying El Niño expected to persist into February 2027.
- Sep 1
Himalayan flood death toll exceeds 1,000 as hundreds remain trapped in tunnels
Rescue teams in Nepal and Tibet are searching for more than 4,500 missing people after a glacial collapse triggered flash floods that killed at least 1,066.
- Aug 28
DRC Ebola epidemic exceeds 2,700 deaths as UN appeals for $1.1 billion
The Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo has killed over 2,700 people, prompting UN appeals for $1.1 billion and cross-border alerts in South Sudan.
- Aug 26
Rescuers extract four survivors from Nepal flood debris ten days after disaster
Nepali and international rescue teams have pulled three hydropower workers and a 64-year-old woman alive from flooded tunnels and buried buildings in the Trishuli River valley.
- Aug 26
UN and Red Cross demand binding treaty to restrict autonomous weapons
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric called on governments to negotiate a legally binding treaty regulating autonomous weapons before a November summit in Geneva.
- Aug 26
Haitian gangs kill 47 and kidnap over 50 in mountain town of Kenscoff
Gunmen on motorbikes stormed the mountain district of Kenscoff near Port-au-Prince, executing 22 people at a church shelter and threatening to kill dozens of hostages.
- Aug 24
Annalena Baerbock to join Columbia University faculty following UN term
Former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock will take up a professorship and program directorship at Columbia University in New York after concluding her term as UN General Assembly President.
- Aug 24
Pacific El Niño intensifies with 90% chance of reaching very strong status
Meteorologists warn that Pacific sea surface warming could produce the strongest El Niño on record, prompting shipping restrictions at the Panama Canal and risks of global crop disruption.
