Africa

The two four-storey buildings that came down in Fez contained eight families, state media report.

Brumelda Zuma will represent the party led by her father in parliament after her half-sister resigned.

At IDOS, we are committed to the sustainable development of our organisation – ecologically, socially and economically – and we contribute to sustainable transformations worldwide through research, policy advice and training. For us, sustainability is not a one-off objective but an ongoing process that we aim to shape with responsibility and foresight. Acting sustainably in our day-to-day operations is a self-imposed obligation that we pursue with conviction and consistency. Our ambition is to act today in such a way that good working conditions and the responsible use of natural resources remain possible in the future. With this report, we are presenting for the first time an account of our greenhouse gas emissions for the period 2022 to 2023.

Ryanair kontra Bizottság
Állami támogatás
Ryanair’s action against a decision by the Commission to approve restructuring aid of €2.55 billion granted by Portugal to TAP is dismissed

Ryanair / Commission (TAP ; aide à la restructuration)
Aide d'État
Le recours de Ryanair contre la décision de la Commission approuvant une aide à la restructuration d’un montant de 2,55 milliards d’euros que le Portugal a accordée à TAP est rejeté

Intel Corporation kontra Bizottság
Verseny
Microprocessors market: the General Court upholds the Commission's 2023 decision against Intel but reduces the fine by approximately € 140 million

Intel Corporation / Commission
Concurrence
Marché des microprocesseurs : le Tribunal confirme la décision de 2023 de la Commission contre Intel mais réduit le montant de l'amende d’environ 140 millions d’euros

In many villages, people may not have smartphones or internet, but they always have a radio. When forecasts are delivered in the local language, through voices they know, communities understand faster and act immediately. —John Mbise, a senior TMA climatologist

BBC Sport explores Mohamed Salah's personality with help from the people who know him best.

The organisation behind the LGBTQ+ "Pride Match" at the 2026 World Cup say they intend to push forward with their plans despite one of the teams involved objecting to Fifa.

The organisation behind the LGBTQ+ "Pride Match" at the 2026 World Cup say they intend to push forward with their plans despite one of the teams involved objecting to Fifa.

The United Nations Headquarters as seen from First Avenue in New York City. Credit: UN News/Vibhu Mishra

By Kul C Gautam
KATHMANDU, Nepal, Dec 10 2025 (IPS)

The election of the next Secretary-General of the United Nations comes at a highly inopportune moment in 2026, when the UN is being bypassed, and multilateralism—with the UN at its core—is under increasing challenge from some of the world’s most powerful states and leaders.

The new Secretary-General, taking office in 2027, will inherit an unprecedented financial crisis and a pressing need for major institutional reorganization simply to keep the UN afloat. At first glance, this hardly seems like the right moment for a new SG to advance a bold vision—one capable of winning over powerful leaders who appear lukewarm toward strengthening genuine multilateralism and instead prefer a multipolar order where each can guard its own sphere of influence.

Yet history reminds us that some of the boldest ideas have emerged during periods of great upheaval—wars, revolutions, and global crises. It is therefore conceivable that a visionary new UN leader could break new ground, introduce innovative ideas, and help plant the seeds for a rejuvenated, rules-based world order.

Kul Gautam

While many of today’s most powerful leaders may be ambivalent about multilateralism, the world’s general public—especially the digitally savvy younger generation—has a strong sense of global interdependence.

They increasingly identify as global citizens, eager to thrive in a borderless world, and are more likely to embrace visionary proposals for UN reform that meet the realities of the 21st century.

A promising starting point would be the election of the first-ever female Secretary-General of the UN. Another essential reform would be restructuring the UN’s financing system to make it more broad-based and less dependent on the whims of a few wealthy, powerful states.

Some consolidation of the UN’s sprawling architecture—much of it underfunded—is already underway through the current SG’s UN80 Initiative. A new SG could accelerate this effort, earning the support of both critics and cynics.

Still, even a dynamic and visionary new SG will require the backing of Member States. At present, leaders of the most powerful states, particularly the veto-wielding P5, seem disinclined to empower the world’s top diplomat as a true global leader.

While many enlightened global citizens—especially Gen Z—hope for a bold, inspiring figure at the helm, the major powers may prefer a more compliant “Secretary” rather than a strong, strategic “General.”

With the rise of the Global South and groupings such as BRICS+ and the G20, the balance of power—especially soft power—is shifting away from the states that founded the UN 80 years ago.

One hopes this evolving landscape will help strengthen the UN and reinvigorate multilateralism, which remains the only viable way to confront such transcendental issues as climate change, war and peace, pandemics, widening inequalities, and the profound opportunities and risks of the AI revolution.

The world urgently needs a more effective UN to address these pressing global challenges—none of which any nation, however rich or powerful, can tackle alone. It is to be hoped that world leaders, attuned to their peoples’ aspirations, will choose a highly capable new Secretary-General and empower her to help build a more peaceful and prosperous world for present and future generations.

Kul Gautam is a former UN Assistant Secretary-General, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF and author of Global Citizen from Gulmi: My Journey from the Hills of Nepal to the Halls of the United Nations.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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His groundbreaking field research was instrumental in banning the international ivory trade and protecting elephants from poachers.

Poverty in Sierra Leone is pushing more students into risky work, which proved deadly for two boys.

Poverty in Sierra Leone is pushing more students into risky work, which proved deadly for two boys.

Lizenzentzug mitten in der Saison: Die AC Bellinzona steht vor dem Aus in der Challenge League. Der Klub spielt die Situation herunter, doch die Chancen auf eine Rettung stehen schlecht.

Der Gotthard wird regelmässig zum Nadelöhr: Am Montag versuchten mehrere Autofahrer, den Stau mit einem gefährlichen Manöver zu umgehen. Blick zeigt, wie man legal und stressfrei ans Ziel kommt – inklusive Faktencheck zu den hartnäckigsten Mythen rund um den Gotthard.

Vier Jugendliche aus der Schweiz haben bei einem schrecklichen Unfall in Collonges (F) am Freitag ihr Leben gelassen. Familie und Freunde trauern auch auf Social Media. Am Wochenende gibt es die Chance, sich von den zwei Frauen und zwei jungen Männern zu verabschieden.

Gianni Infantino gerät nach der Verleihung eines Friedenspreises an Donald Trump unter Druck. Eine Menschenrechtsorganisation wirft ihm Machtmissbrauch sowie die Verletzung der Neutralität vor. Sie fordert eine Untersuchung.

Eine Antonow An-22 ist in Zentralrussland abgestürzt. Es soll sich um den letzten verbliebenen Turbogiganten gehandelt haben. Die Flotte ist über Jahrzehnte kontinuierlich geschrumpft.