Two weeks after Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean, governments and aid agencies are still struggling to reach communities left without homes, healthcare and basic services, as damage assessments in Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti continue to rise, the UN said on Tuesday.

Morning light spreads over Sikaiana, a remote atoll in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific where the ocean both sustains life and threatens it.  

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.

Governments moving to restore ties with the Taliban risk legitimising oppression and deepening Afghanistan’s crisis, an independent UN human rights expert cautioned on Thursday, calling for a principled approach that defends the rights of women and girls.

Myanmar stands at a crossroads between impunity and humanitarian crisis, as escalating military airstrikes, widespread civilian casualties and mounting evidence of war crimes continue to devastate the country.

Amid deepening global divides and economic uncertainty, the United Nations called for stronger multilateral cooperation and sweeping reforms to global financial and governance systems, emphasising the need for a “networked, multipolar world” where equity and inclusion guide decision-making.