Martin Griffiths in Geneva, 9 September 2025. (Mark Henley/Panos Pictures for Le Temps)

🇺🇳Ex-UN aid chief Martin Griffiths: ‘This is no time for the UN to retreat’. As the 80th session of the UN General Assembly unfolds in New York, the former head of the world body’s humanitarian office warns that budget cuts alone won’t be enough to solve the financial crisis. With the days of plenty over, what is needed, he says, are real strategic shifts.

✨AI set to transform global trade, says World Trade Organization report. AI could lead to significant increases in trade and GDP by 2040, with global trade projected to rise by 34-37 per cent depending on national policies and how countries harness the technology in the coming years.

💸South Sudan’s leaders engage in ‘systematic looting’ in poor nation: UN. The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said $1.7 billion in public funds meant for road building were diverted to a businessman close to the president.

🇦🇫Aid workers race against clock after earthquake in Afghanistan Humanitarian organisations are running out of resources to help victims of the disaster that struck on 31 August, claiming over 2,200 lives, leaving over 3,000 injured and severely damaging infrastructure, including hospitals and schools.