Five years into Taliban rule, Afghans still have almost no way of knowing whether soldiers, police and morality officers who abuse their power ever face consequences – and that secrecy is corroding trust in the State, the UN said Monday.

Afghans returning from neighbouring countries are facing growing risks of human trafficking and exploitation as overlapping humanitarian and economic crises leave many struggling to survive, the UN warned on Thursday.

A woman is stopped for buying groceries alone. The shopkeeper who served her is slapped and hauled in for questioning. A teacher is turned away from her own classroom for wearing the wrong cloak.  

A job advert can hide a criminal network, and a single click can lead to a nightmare. Hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked every year on the promise of legitimate work abroad, only to be held captive and forced into online scam operations.

Flash floods have killed at least 26 people across eastern Afghanistan, including 23 in the mountainous province of Nuristan, where homes, markets and roads were swept away and search teams continued looking for people reported missing.

It looks like a regular coffee shop, albeit set up in an old red bus. Stairs lead up to a serving hatch, with a menu of drink options. A selection of jaunty coffee-related messages like “My one and only love: Americano” and “Miss you a latte,” adorn the side of the bus.

There is growing concern for at least 500 people believed to have been aboard two boats that reportedly capsized off Myanmar’s coast in recent days.

Some 3.7 million children under five in Afghanistan are at heightened risk of malnutrition due to food insecurity, poor diets and inadequate access to basic services as the peak season for life-threatening wasting looms. 

From local communities to the global stage, a diverse group of young leaders from Thailand is helping shape conversations on public policy, climate action, inclusion, indigenous rights, disability access and youth wellbeing. 

The Southwest Pacific is facing mounting climate risks as its vast ocean expanse becomes hotter, more acidic and more dangerous for coastal communities, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a report published on Tuesday.  

Afghanistan faces one of the world’s biggest displacement crises amid poverty, drought and earthquakes, UN agencies warned on Monday.

As European transport officials scramble to deal with melting train tracks and buckling roads amid a crushing heatwave, a UN report released Tuesday warns of more extreme weather in the decades ahead for Europe, Central Asia and North America.

As countries grapple with energy price shocks, supply disruptions and the growing impacts of climate change, energy security has become a pressing concern. 

A drop in humanitarian assistance is worsening the suffering of millions of people in Myanmar after five years of conflict-related violence, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report published on Monday.

Imagine being one of a family of nine and sitting down to a meal of potato peelings and other scraps, boiled up into a soup. This is the harsh reality for many of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable families, forced on them by climate change and drought, widespread malnutrition and increasing restrictions on women, since the Taliban overran Kabul in 2021.

As the Security Council met on Afghanistan, senior officials and civil society representatives delivered a clear warning Monday: despite relative security under the Taliban, worsening humanitarian conditions, restrictions on women and growing economic pressures are creating a fragile and uncertain future. 

A powerful earthquake struck the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Monday morning just as millions of children were returning to school after the summer break.

As the world approaches nine years since the mass displacement of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar into Bangladesh, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has appealed to the international community not to abandon the 1.2 million refugees living in the country, most of them in camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Cambodian activist Panha Theng, a 2025 UN Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals, says visibility and safe spaces remain critical for LGBTQI+ youth across Southeast Asia amid continuing stigma and discrimination.

Afghanistan’s deepening malnutrition crisis is pushing mothers and children to the brink, the UN World Food Programme has warned, as mass returns from neighbouring countries and severe funding shortfalls overwhelm already strained humanitarian operations.