Candidates running for next UN secretary general, Rebeca Grynspan, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Michelle Bachelet, speak with BBC moderator Zeinab Badawi during the first 2026 worldwide televised candidates' debate, in Geneva, Switzerland, 9 June 2026 (Keystone/Cyril Zingaro)

🗣️Three women leaders tell Geneva audience why they’re vying for UN top job. At a debate held at the Geneva Graduate Institute on Tuesday, Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, and Ecuador’s María Fernanda Espinosa laid out their vision for the UN.

⚖️UN to send investigators to Lebanon over potential law breaches, rights chief says. The call comes amid the ongoing fighting between Tehran-back Hezbollah militia and Israel, which has displaced over a million Lebanese. More than 3,500 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the country.

☢️Spending by nuclear powers explodes, increases risk of atomic detonation. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) reports that spending on nuclear arms increased by 19 per cent in 2025.

⏳ UN officials urge Russia to free Indigenous climate advocate. Daria Egereva had been detained on terrorism charges by authorities, after returning to Russia from the Cop30 climate conference in Belém, last December. Ten human rights special rapporteurs are calling for her release.

🏆After decades of promoting international Geneva, Ivan Pictet dreams of engaging younger generation. The banker and philanthropist, was awarded by the foundation that he presided for two decades, on Tuesday.