Growing or shrinking? What the latest trends tell us about the world’s population
The global population reached nearly 8.2 billion by mid-2024 and is expected to grow by another two billion over the next 60 years, peaking at around 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s.
Digital boom could well be a bust for the environment, warns UN trade agency
Did you know that producing a computer weighing two kilogrammes (kg) requires a staggering 800kg of raw materials? Or that the energy required for data mining for bitcoins reached 121 terawatts last year – more than the amount consumed by most small countries?
China-based inventors lead on global GenAI patents: UN report
China-based inventors are filing the highest number of generative artificial intelligence patents, a new report from the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) shows.
‘Trust and respect’ feeds interfaith rice growing success in the Philippines
Trust built on decades of respect for religion has fertilized the seeds of success for two communities, one Muslim the other Christian, which have joined together to build a successful rice growing cooperative in the Philippines.
Global foreign investment declines for second year as geopolitical tensions rise, UN trade body reports
Foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by two per cent to $1.3 trillion in 2023 amid global economic slowdown and rising geopolitical tensions, according to a report released on Thursday by the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD.
Guterres hails 60 years of UN trade and development action
The right to development is inextricably linked with trade which the world’s poorest countries - now “mired in debt” through no fault of their own - have every right to pursue on much fairer terms, UN chief António Guterres insisted on Wednesday.
Terrorism, humanitarian crises threaten stability of West Africa: UN deputy chief
Rapidly evolving global political, social, environmental and security challenges risk undermining peace and economic development across West Africa, the UN deputy chief said on Friday, reiterating the importance of a multilateral and inclusive response.
SIDS go forward with ‘new sense of hope, solidarity and determination’
The roadmap towards achieving resilient prosperity for small island States adopted on Thursday in Antigua and Barbuda “marks the beginning of a new journey” and a decade of delivery for their citizens and the world, said the UN Deputy Secretary-General.
More climate funding needed to ‘transition from rhetoric to decisive action’
Climate action taken so far to help fund efforts in cash-strapped small island developing States (SIDS) “does not measure up to what has been said” in the wake of COP28 in Dubai last year.