As world leaders prepare for November’s major COP31 climate summit in Türkiye, record-breaking heat, devastating floods and an unprecedented El Niño climate pattern are making global climate action ever more urgent.

The legacy of enslavement and colonialism continues to shape the lives of Africans and people of African descent, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Thursday, calling for urgent action to deliver reparatory justice beyond financial compensation.

Older women around the world face violence, exploitation and neglect, yet remain largely invisible in the laws, policies, data and services designed to protect women overall, a UN independent human rights expert said on Thursday.

Afghan women and girls are being arrested, detained and threatened with arrest by Taliban authorities, the UN warned on Thursday as record numbers of returnees struggle to rebuild their lives back home.

Years of conflict, displacement, economic disruption and climate shocks in Myanmar have led to the “simultaneous collapse” of shelter, healthcare, schooling and livelihoods affecting millions of people, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said in a report issued on Thursday.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine on Wednesday called for an end to attacks against civilians following further overnight strikes by Russian forces that reportedly killed at least 19 in the Chernihiv Region.

Health authorities in Russia say there is “no plague case” in Siberia following reports last week that a lab technician had died of pneumonia of an unknown origin in the region, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Wednesday.

New data on child migrants published on Wednesday highlighted the harrowing treatment many face while travelling to Europe in search of work and shelter.