15 November 2022 is predicted to be the day that the global population reaches eight billion. The projection is revealed in the UN’s World Population Prospects 2022 report, which also shows that India is on course to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023.

Nearly one billion people worldwide suffer from some form of mental disorder, according to the latest UN data – a staggering figure that is even more worrying if you consider that it includes around one in seven teenagers.

The current war in Ukraine, following the Russian invasion, has sparked all sorts of questions about the United Nations, particularly the role of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretary-General.

UN chief António Guterres on Tuesday added his voice to the growing international calls for a war crimes investigation into the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday night condemned recent terrorist attacks in Israel that have claimed the lives of at least 11 Israeli citizens.

With the help of innovative mobile phone services, UN agencies are working with the Government of Rajasthan, India, to combat child marriage.

Following a U-turn over re-opening girls’ secondary schools in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the UN human rights chief shared her “profound frustration and disappointment” that six months after the Taliban seized power, high school girls have yet to return to the classroom.

Ongoing violence in Ukraine has left millions of people “in constant fear” of indiscriminate shelling, the UN warned on Friday, as efforts continued to reach the country’s most vulnerable populations, one month on from the Russian invasion.

The UN has helped tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees to cross into Poland and other neighbouring countries. Chris Melzer, the spokesperson for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Germany, told UN News that he has witnessed many traumatic scenes, of families ripped apart by the crisis.

Russia must immediately suspend military operations in Ukraine, the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on Wednesday, in The Hague.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, 31 attacks on health care have been documented by the World Health Organization. These incidents have killed and injured civilians, as well as destroyed facilities and ambulances, disrupting access to essential health services.

The intensification of the Russian offensive in Ukraine is having devastating consequences on women and children, senior UN officials have reported.