Afghan girls attend primary school after summer holidays in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 8 September 2025. Girls above the sixth grade are barred from attending school. (Keystone/EPA/Qudratullah Razwan)

🔍EU calls for Afghanistan probe at Human Rights Council. The European Union has asked the UN’s top rights body to investigate international crimes committed in Afghanistan, answering a longstanding call from civil society.

🚢Tariffs and conflict causing major volatility in shipping industry, report shows. Global maritime transport is facing growing uncertainty, volatility and higher costs, while growth in maritime trade is slowing down, the UN Trade and Development agency said.

💉Cheap supplies of HIV-prevention jab for poorer countries hailed as ‘genuine chance to end’ global epidemic. The groundbreaking new drug lenacapavir will cost just $40 for each patient in 120 countries, from 2027, in a deal brokered by health organisations including Unitaid.

😶‍🌫Air pollution gets ignored in UNGA noncommunicable disease declaration. Experts warn that the political declaration set to be adopted on Thursday at the General Assembly doesn't mention the single largest risk factor for premature deaths and disease worldwide.

💻UN AI debate reveals US-China divide over regulatory approach. The high-level open debate, which took place yesterday, comes after a first meeting in Geneva in 2024, and as both nations remain at odds over the path for global regulation.