U.N. plastics treaty talks have a new chair. Chilean diplomat Julio Cordano was elected to lead negotiations after months of procedural deadlock, restoring continuity — but not yet substance — to talks on a global plastics treaty. Whether this reset leads to real progress remains an open question.

Global plastics treaty talks regroup in Geneva this weekend — not to reopen text, but to reset leadership and process after last year’s breakdown. A one-day U.N. session will shape whether negotiations regain momentum in 2026, amid unresolved divides over production limits, chemicals, and financing.

U.N. officials were deeply alarmed at U.S. military action in Venezuela, warning of potentially serious implications for international law, human rights, and regional stability. www.aretenews.com/un-eu-venezu...

Famine is confirmed for the first time in #Gaza. Global food security body @theipcinfo.bsky.social determined famine, or IPC Phase 5, is taking place, based on "irrefutable testimony" from the region. U.N. officials said it is "entirely man-made" and can be halted. www.aretenews.com/famine-decla...

For Indigenous leaders, the outcome of the #GlobalPlasticsTreaty talks in Geneva was more than a diplomatic failure; it repeated a painful history of exclusion. They argued any such treaty must respect Indigenous communities. #PlasticPollution #HumanRights @unep.org www.aretenews.com/human-rights...

A pre-dawn marathon of negotiations in #Geneva over a landmark global treaty to rein in #plasticpollution collapsed, with profound and persistent divisions still in place. www.aretenews.com/global-plast...

In a major move for climate governance, the International Court of Justice delivered its long-awaited advisory opinion saying all of international law applies to national climate obligations. #ClimateJustice #ClimateAccountability #InternationalLaw #ICJ #LossAndDamage #ParisAgreement

Southeast Asian nations wrapped up their annual foreign ministers' meetings by marking a significant diplomatic stride on nuclear disarmament, even as the specter of new U.S. trade tariffs cast a shadow over their economic future.

Delivering the @royalhistsoc.org 2025 Prothero Lecture in London, acclaimed British historian and author @pwgatrell.bsky.social shared the importance of hearing and critically interpreting the voices of refugees found among @unhcr.org archival records. #displacement www.aretenews.com/rethinking-r...

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Although the draft now looms over young Latvians, many have started to embrace it as just another part of being Latvian.

Addressing the future of the United Nations, Secretary-General António Guterres warned these "are times of peril" as he called for major structural reform to keep the financially strapped organization functioning and relevant.

Latvian National Armed Forces welcome the scaling up of NATO's Latvian battlegroup, but stress that Latvia plans to expand its own defenses, too, especially as Russia inches towards Europe.

The U.S. State Department has announced a major reorganization plan that would eliminate its ability to document alleged war crimes in Ukraine and Russia.

U.S. and China agree to hit 90-day pause in trade war after Geneva talks www.aretenews.com/us-china-tra...

Trump orders U.S. to expedite permits for deep seabed mining

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Scoop: UNHCR moved to freeze 'activities worth about US$300 million.' The budget freeze is part of almost US$700 million the U.N. refugee agency already received from the United States. By @stefananderson.bsky.social

🌐 🇺🇳 Scoop: UNHCR is the latest U.N. agency to impose urgent spending cuts after nearly US$1 billion of its 2025 budget was held up in Trump's foreign aid freeze. WHO announced similar cuts last week - both agencies count the U.S. as their top donor. www.aretenews.com/unhcr-cuts-c...

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus put an immediate hold on new recruitment, ordered almost all meetings to be held virtually, and limited technical support missions to countries in the greatest need.

The new forum, which includes Brazil, Canada, Congo, Kenya, Peru, South Africa, the U.A.E. and U.K., aims to fulfill global climate pledges to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency by 2030.

The speech offered more evidence that Guterres and his speechwriters have a knack for finding novel ways of repeating the same dire and necessary warnings about our "fossil fuel addiction" that keep generating the headlines needed to cut through the social media noise.

Ramaphosa, whose nation also is a leader in science diplomacy, pointed to the need to confront 21st century challenges ranging "from climate change to pandemics, from poverty to terrorism, from migration to artificial intelligence."

Without the world’s largest economy in the treaty, it will be difficult to mitigate rising temperatures and extreme weather events around the globe.

It's a strikingly divergent set of world stages for billionaire-led globalists and billionaire-led right-wing populists.

The U.N. and other organizations now face a second round of reduced U.S. financial support and engagement that are a mainstay for many of them.