Credit: UNICEF / Mauricio Bisol

Making education in emergencies a global priority. Conflict, displacement and disasters are keeping millions of children out of school, with little or no access to education. With Covid-19 now barring more pupils than ever from the classroom, a new initiative has been launched in Geneva to make education a priority for children living through crises.

💣 Landmark nuclear weapons ban comes into force. “Nuclear weapons have always been immoral,” said ICAN’s Beatrice Fihn on Friday. “Now they are illegal.” The historic UN treaty became international law following decades of campaigning by survivors of nuclear bombs and civil society groups, including Geneva-based ICAN.

🌀 Mozambique battered by Cyclone Eloise. Nearly 7,000 people have reportedly been displaced and more than 5,000 houses destroyed or damaged after the cyclone made landfall on 23 January. The disaster comes just days after the UN voiced deep concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis in the country’s Cabo Delgado province, where attacks by armed groups have forced more than 565,000 people to flee their homes.

💸 Minding the social protection gap. If governments really hope to ‘build back better’, experts say they must first build strong safety nets to help their populations survive future shocks.

Indian and Chinese soldiers reportedly clashed again last week in a disputed border area, with reports of injuries on both sides. Tensions remain high along the world’s longest disputed border. At least 20 Indian soldiers died in a confrontation in the Ladakh area last June.

Credit: Keystone / AP Photo / Manish Swarup

Indian farmers sit on their tractors after arriving at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border ahead of a tractor rally in New Delhi today. Thousands of farmers have been camping on the outskirts of the national capital for the last two months in protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial farm laws, which they say will harm their livelihoods and help big companies.

🎧 ‘Tout un monde’, by RTS. Japanese athletes fight against the circulation of illegal photographs on social networks; Emmanuel Macron relaunches the Great Green Wall project between Dakar and Djibouti; and a look at the political situation in Egypt, a decade after the Egyptian revolution of 25 January 2011. These are the three topics of focus in this week’s global affairs show, presented by Eric Guevara-Frey.

26 January | Preventing and punishing the steps to genocide. Held on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance day, this event looks at how states can prevent and punish the steps that lead to genocide and mass atrocities.

26 January | Partnering on anti-trafficking. Bringing together businesses, anti-trafficking organisations and other stakeholders, the webinar will focus on how the public and private sector could work together in the anti-trafficking efforts.

28 January | Sisyphean task: promoting international law while at the United Nations Security Council. The lecture will take into account the political dynamics within the UN Security Council and its impact on humanitarian considerations and international law.