A woman washes clothes in a puddle of water from the much depleted Costa do Barroso River in Manaquiri, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, 8 September 2024. (Keystone/EPA/Raphael Alves)

🏞️Global river flows hit all-time lows in 2023, UN says. Last year marked the driest year for rivers worldwide in over three decades, threatening water supplies in an era of growing demand, according to a report coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization.

📦Beyond food aid: A sustainable approach to tackling food security in Syria. Food security in northern Syria has been decimated since 2011 by the civil war and the destruction of much of its infrastructure. But bolstering local food production could be the key to supporting communities.

🚢The world is abandoning the WTO. The United States, once a longtime champion of open markets, is leading the way alongside China, which has likewise distorted and increasingly weaponised trade through its own use of subsidies.

🎧Inside Geneva special: a year of war in the Middle East. On this week’s podcast, Inside Geneva looks back at its coverage of the past year, including the role of humanitarians and the UN by sharing highlights from interviews with Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, former United Nations Human Rights Commissioner.

💸Debt burden threatens poor countries’ development goals, UN official says. Speaking at an event in Hamburg on Monday, UN Development Programme administrator Achim Steiner said huge debt burdens were preventing the poorest nations from prioritising other investments.