The European Commission has proposed ambitious new measures to make Europe’s space sector cleaner, safer and more competitive.
Europe’s space rules are currently fragmented, holding back innovation, reducing the European market share and creating extra costs. An EU harmonised framework would ensure safety, resilience, and environmental responsibility, while helping companies grow and scale up across borders.
The EU Space Act aims to cut red tape, protect space assets, and create a fair, predictable playing field for businesses. It is based on 3 pillars:
Safety: new rules for tracking space objects and limiting new debris, preserving Europe’s secure and uninterrupted access to space
Resilience: tailored cybersecurity requirements to strengthen the protection of European space infrastructure and ensure business continuity
Sustainability: operators will need to assess and reduce the environmental impact of their space activities, while benefiting from support for innovation in emerging technologies, like in-space servicing to extend satellite life and reduce debris.
The new rules would apply to both EU and non-EU operators offering services in Europe. Support will be offered to mitigate potential costs for the industry.
Alongside the EU Space Act, the Commission has also presented a Vision for the European Space Economy to tackle the evolving global space economy and the challenges posed by international competition and geopolitical tensions. The legislative proposal will be negotiated in the European Parliament and the Council, as part of the ordinary legislative procedure.
Council agrees its position on a regulation establishing a high-quality forest monitoring framework aimed at improving the sustainable management of forests. Source link
Each dollar invested in girls’ education reports an average yield of $ 2.80, translating into billions of additional GDP. Likewise, each dollar spent on water and sanitation saves $ 4.30 in health costs.
These are not miracles – these are measurable results. Mathematics do not recognize sex or infrastructure; It simply reflects the truth in number. And these figures make a convincing case: helping countries with the least resources benefit everyone, including those who have the most.
Even a single dollar, strategically invested, can make a profound difference.
For example, the allowance of only $ 1 per person per year to combat non -transmitted diseases could prevent nearly seven million deaths by 2030. Likewise, each dollar spent on disaster risk reduction can save up to $ 15 in recovery costs.
However, despite such convincing evidence, development aid is often poorly understood – considered by some as a simple charity and by others as a profit vehicle.
This underlines that these women do not seek charity – they require an equitable chance of succeeding. Winning their own income gives them an independence measure, which in turn strengthens the communities in which they live.
Against all expectations, they generate income, create jobs and build more enriching and more enriching lives.
Expand access to public and private financing, guarantee loans, offer preferential conditions on international markets and strengthen support networks can fuel business growth and promote a more prosperous future – whether in Afghanistan Or EcuadorOr anywhere between the two.
FFD4 faces solid -contrary winds
These examples – from education and health to entrepreneurship and resilience to disasters – paint a clear story and data: intelligent investments in development pay dividends for everyone.
This message should be at the center of next time Fourth United Nations Conference on Development Financing which will be held in the Spanish city of Seville, from June 30 to July 3. But the summit, known by its clumsy acronym FFD4, faces opposite winds.
Even if the merchanting countries at the UN headquarters in New York agreed a week ago on a radical result document – which should be adopted at the end of the conference and intended to guide the future of global development aid – some nations are retreating.
In particular, the United States has announced that it would not send delegation at all in Seville.
And even if there are notable exceptions, including Spain, which has increased its budgetary development funding allowances by 12%, the upcoming uncertain landscape has led the UN secretary general Antono Guterres to be deplored that “global collaboration is actively questioned”.
This interrogation is reflected in the annual deficit of $ 4 billions of development in development, as well as in abandoning previous commitments and the delivery of aid by donors to what the Secretary General called “a historic speed and scale”.
Success in Seville “will demand that other countries Fill the vacuum cleaner in world leadership And demonstrate a credible commitment to multilateral cooperation, which is essential to our survival, “said Jayati Ghosh, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
The significant steps must include deep reforms of the international financial system. As it stands, it does not meet the needs of developing countries while firmly protecting the interests of richer nations.
Consider this: developing countries face interest rates at least twice as high as those paid by developed nations. And today, the average rates billed by private creditors at these countries have reached their highest levels in 15 years.
What help gives, debt removes
Developing countries spent a record of $ 1.4 billion in external debt service in 2023, the highest in 20 years.
At the same time, in 2024, more than 1.1 billion people live in developing countries where the external debt service represents more than 20% of government revenues, and almost 2.2 billion live in developing countries where the percentage is greater than 10%.
Payment of interest on this debt hinders development by preventing investments in health and education infrastructure services, to name only two examples.
The restructuring of the debt is therefore essential, because a large part of the hope of development is lost in the context and taking aid and debt.
Promote investments in what works
Eradicating hunger, advancing gender equality, protecting the environment, facing climate change and saving our oceans are not radical ideas.
Despite the affirmations of certain highly ideological points of view according to which the sustainable development objectives represent an extremist program, they are, in fact, a shared reference base – an urgent set of priorities that humanity requires and that the leaders of 193 countries were committed in 2015.
Despite the noise made by those who oppose development and multilateralism, they are a minority, explains the Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation.
Ana Granados Galindo considers Seville as “a world solidarity lighthouse”.
Meanwhile, while the world is preparing for FFD4, mathematics, statistics and Afghan women continue to work on their “development magic” of common sense.
The 28 March quake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale, struck central regions with deadly force, killing some 3,800 people and injuring over 5,000, according to UN estimates.
The disaster devastated infrastructure and homes across Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway, displacing tens of thousands more in a country already grappling with over 3.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) since the 2021 military coup.
“Communities are still reeling from the earthquakes – the strongest the country has experienced in a century,” said Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), speaking to journalists at the UN Headquarters in New York via video from Beijing after a three-day visit to Myanmar.
“The devastation caused by the quakes compounded the existing challenges of conflict, displacement and severe humanitarian needs.”
UNOPS, which maintains the largest UN presence in Myanmar with nearly 500 staff, mobilized $25 million within weeks of the disaster and has reached half a million people with lifesaving support.
“My colleagues worked swiftly with partners to deliver emergency shelters, clean water, and deploy infrastructure specialists for rapid assessments,” Mr. da Silva said.
However, he warned that far greater international support is needed to meet the scale of needs.
The World Bank estimates total damages at nearly $11 billion, with full reconstruction expected to cost two to three times more. Over 2.5 million tonnes of debris must also be cleared to enable recovery.
Mr. da Silva emphasized that reconstruction must be people-centred, inclusive, and linked to peacebuilding efforts.
“We echo calls from across the UN for an end to violence,” he said. “Recovery and reconstruction should support Myanmar’s journey to peace and reconciliation. Protection of civilians must be a priority.”
Women and girls face disproportionate risks
The humanitarian fallout has hit women and girls particularly hard – many of whom were among those killed or injured – and now face growing protection risks.
Damage to health facilities, worsened by monsoon flooding and insecurity, has disrupted access to emergency obstetric care and menstrual hygiene. Gender-based violence meanwhile, is rising sharply in overcrowded, poorly lit shelters.
UNOPS Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva meets with a woman and her newborn child at a health clinic.
Health system under pressure
The risk of waterborne diseases such as cholera and vector-borne illnesses like dengue and malaria is also rising.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) while no major outbreaks had been reported as of 31 May, cases of acute watery diarrhoea and skin infections are ticking up.
Monsoon rains have worsened conditions in temporary shelters, where overcrowding and poor sanitation raise serious health concerns. Mental health remains fragile, with 67 per cent of respondents in a recent survey reporting emotional distress linked to the quake and ongoing conflict.
WHO and its partners have delivered more than 300,000 vaccine doses – including tetanus and rabies – but access remains limited, and health services underfunded.
Protracted crisis
More than 3.25 million people remain displaced within Myanmar since the military coup of February 2021, with at least another 176,000 seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, according to refugee agency, UNHCR.
This excludes the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from earlier waves of violence.
In the first nine months of 2024 alone, 889 casualties were reported – raising fears the toll could surpass the record 1,052 deaths and injuries documented in 2023.
Council agrees its position on a regulation establishing a high-quality forest monitoring framework aimed at improving the sustainable management of forests.
“We are not meeting the minimum requirement to prevent women from being silenced, and support their participation and leadership in…building peace,” Mr. Türk said.
25 years ago, the UN Security Council passed a resolution which affirmed the vital role that women play in preventing and resolving conflict and emphasized the importance of ending impunity for sexual violence in and around conflict.
Since then, other resolutions have reinforced these principles and UN agencies and their partners have worked to implement them. While this work has led to trials which held perpetrators accountable, gender-based violence is becoming more, not less, prevalent.
“Fighters are being encouraged or instructed to victimize women, often as a deliberate weapon of warfare – to terrorize communities and force them to flee; and to silence the voices of women who speak out against war-mongering, and seek to build peace,” he said.
Funding and aid cuts are also impeding the efforts of humanitarians and human rights agencies, impeding the provision of essential medical and psychosocial support for affected women and girls.
Mr. Türk noted that the failure to provide these essential services has long-term impacts on survivors and “leaves young girls and women alone, outcast and traumatised.”
Floods in Brazil displacing communities two years in a row
The UN migration organization (IOM) raised the alarm on Tuesday over heavy rains pounding Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Since mid-June, over 5,000 people have been displaced, four have died, one person remains missing, and 132 municipalities have reported damage.
This latest disaster comes just a year after record flooding forced many communities from their homes, some now displaced for the second time.
IOM response
IOM’s presence and partnerships in the region were expanded and strengthened during the 2024 crisis, allowing for a swift response in 2025.
This year, the organization is focused on supporting recovery efforts by providing technical expertise and helping authorities assess needs and develop long-term solutions.
The goal is to ensure aid reaches those most in need and that systems are in place to help communities rebuild safely and sustainably.
While committed to supporting the people of Rio Grande do Sul, IOM has called for critical support: “As extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, humanitarian action must go hand in hand with investments in preparedness and resilience,” said Paolo Caputo, IOM Chief of Mission in Brazil.
Nicaraguan dissident killed in Costa Rica is part of a pattern, experts say
The Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, condemned the murder of Nicaraguan exile Roberto Samcam on Tuesday, saying that reports indicate the crime may be part of a larger pattern to silence dissidents abroad.
Mr. Samcam was killed in Costa Rica on 19 June by someone posing to be a delivery man who shot him five times before fleeing.
The victim was a retired army major who, in 2018, publicly denounced the current Nicaraguan government led by President Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo.
“We condemn the murder of Roberto Samcam in the strongest terms, and welcome the swift action of Costa Rica, which we trust will expose the motivations behind this terrible act and bring justice to his family,” said Jan-Michael Simon, chair of the group.
A pattern of silencing dissidents
Since 2018 when security forces in Nicaragua violently suppressed anti-government protests, independent experts have documented many alleged human rights violations and abuses.
Most recently, in February, the UN group released a report warning that the repressive actions of the Nicaraguan State have extended beyond their territorial borders, affecting dissidents – real or perceived – living abroad.
“Nowhere in the world seems to be safe for Nicaraguans opposed to the Government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo,” said expert Reed Broady.
The experts noted that there is information to indicate there may be links to the murder of another Nicaraguan dissident Rodolfo Rojas Cordero in 2022 in Honduras and the twice attempted murder of Jaoa Maldonado in 2021 and 2024.
“States must be held accountable for committing transborder human rights violations,” Mr. Simon said.
Independent rights experts are not UN staff, receive no salary for their work and and independent of any government or organization.
The informal meeting on the UN80 initiative also allowed ambassadors to share their opinions on the reform agenda, spear by Secretary General António Guterres In March.
The UN80 is centered on three work components focused on efficiency and improvements, an implementation of the mandate and structural changes and the program’s realignment throughout the United Nations system.
It also aims to strengthen UN capacity to respond to global challenges such as conflicts, travel and climate crisis, while effectively managing external pressures, such as the narrowing of budgets and increasing political divisions.
“” I think that the initiative of the UN80 is often characterized, but I think I think, simply as an exercise in reducing the economy in the economy“Said Guy Ryder, an under-secretary general for the policy and the president of the working group supervising the plan.
“But the secretary general was quite clear by saying that While we must respond to the situation of resources, the overall intention of the initiative is to strengthen and improve the functioning of the United Nations system. »»
Find out why the UN80 counts in the world in our explanator here.
Generalized impact
Mr. Ryder alongside the United Nations Chandramouli Ramanathan controller (who prepares and supervises the budget and manages the organizations of the organization) presented updates on two hollows of work during the morning session of the meeting of a day.
He put the ground with a slideshow describing the background of the UN80 and the circumstances confronted with the UN today.
Over the years, he has adopted some 40,000 mandates delivered by “a constellation of fairly numerous and complex entities”, more than 140.
In 2023, the world organization provided some $ 69 billion in support and services worldwideWith “the lion’s share”, $ 31 billion or approximately 45%, going to humanitarian action.
This was followed by development, $ 21 billion (30%), peace and security, $ 9 billion (13%) and human rights, $ 1 billion or less than one percent.
“We believe that the world’s population, in one way or another … is linked to the United Nations World Agenda,” he said. In addition, some 440 million lives are directly affected by its development work and 140 million people in crisis situations receive support.
Resource reduction
Ryder said that the 69 billion dollars mark two years ago represented “a peak” and that it is estimated that the UN had $ 50 billion in resources available today in the midst of “a significant situation of uncertainty”.
This 30% reduction means: “We are at 380 million people that we are able to reach directly in development work, and we are 110 million to reduce the emergency situations of our humanitarian expenses.”
In the light of this context, “perhaps we can rationalize the way in which we implement the mandates that you put back; Perhaps we can optimize the structures that form this entities archipelago, ”he suggested.
“The success of the UN80 initiative depends on the possibility of increasing the impact that our work in the United Nations system has on the people we are here to serve.”
Proposals to improve efficiency
Mr. Ramanathan informed the workstream One delegates. He said that a working group was created to develop concrete proposals to improve efficiency, reduce duplication, normalize services and move functions to existing service stations, if applicable.
The “exhaustive list” includes measures such as the consolidation of existing human resources, finance and purchases in unified support centers. The process would start in New York and Geneva while they welcome the greatest number of entities and staff members of the secretariat.
Another proposal implies that centralized payroll operations in three global treatment centers, against 10 locations today.
The working group finalizes the proposals to be submitted to the Secretary General and “if they are approved, they will be integrated into the revised estimates for the budget of the program proposed in 2026 for the examination of the General Assembly before September 1,” said Ramanathan.
“Separately from the initiative of the UN80, we examine the program’s budget proposals for 2026 in order to obtain between 15 and 20% reduction for 2026, including a 20% reduction in the workforce, after reduction, but he emphasized the preservation of capacities at entry levels and the reduction of senior positions where it is possible,” he added.
A “universe of mandates”
Mr. Ryder returned in the current work course two, where the first step involved mapping “the universe of mandates” that the UN implements, initially emphasizing the departments and offices of the secretariat, peacekeeping operations, political missions, regional commissions and other bodies.
The global “landscape” of mandates means that the secretariat serves some 400 intergovernmental bodies and around 27,000 meetings each year and Processes approximately 2,300 pages of documentation on average each dayRaising around $ 360 million a year.
A register of mandate resources has been produced and a report should be available by the end of July which will shed light on the way.
Concern about the proposed budget cuts
During the session, several representatives expressed their point of view on the UN80, such as the Iraqi ambassador, Dr. Abbas Kadhom Obaid, who spoke on behalf of the 77 -year -old group and China.
He expressed his concerns about the budget reductions of 15 to 20% offered and the 20% reduction in staff, asking for more information on how these figures have been determined.
“This is important because we know that the departments, the divisions, in the funds, programs and agencies of the organization, vary considerably,” he said.
“We must also protect geographic and gender balance in the context of any reduction in staff. As the group has repeatedly reiterated, questions of transparency, responsibility and inclusiveness are essential during this process. ”
He said it was time to “think about the last 80 years and all that this organization has reached, and also for a while to turn to the future”, so that the UN can stay in shape – and ready for the next 80 years.
In the midst of this relative calm, the United Nations renewed its call to a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, warning that the objectives of the Complete full action plan (JCPOA) – and the resolution that approved it – remains unseat.
Tackle a planned Security advice Meeting Tuesday to try to relaunch the agreement in the middle of the dramatic military climbing of the last 12 days, the leader of the political affairs of the UN, Rosemary, Dicarlo, said that the fragile ceasefire announced by Donald Trump during the “planned” nightAn opportunity to avoid catastrophic escalation and achieve a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear problem.“”
The Iranian nuclear agreement of 2015 – more officially known as the JCPOA and supported by the Security Council – offered alternatives to Tehran in exchange for strict uranium enrichment, stock levels and centrifuge consumption, in parallel with solid monitoring and verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency (Aiea).
But the agreement has remained in the limbo since the United States retired in 2018, followed by the Iranian hike from its nuclear commitments.
With key arrangements under resolution 2231 which would expire on October 18 – unless the council decides the opposite – the highest Politics manager of the UN warned that the window for the revival of diplomacy is narrowed.
With less than four months before the expiration of restrictions related to the remaining nuclear resolution, he must expire on October 18 – unless the Council of the Council – the highest Politics responsible for the UN warned that the key objectives of the agreement remain elusive.
Dicarlo told ambassadors that the recent increase in violence had considerably undermined diplomatic momentum.
“” Military climbing between Israel and Iran since June 13 and the United States hits air on Iranian nuclear installations on June 21 complicated by the prospects to obtain a complete implementation of resolution 2231“Said Ms. Dicarlo.
“” Yesterday, Iran’s strikes on a basis of Qatar still exacerbated insecurity in an already tense region.“”
Despite five cycles of bilateral talks between Iran and the United States, facilitated by Oman in recent months, Ms. Dicarlo noted that the efforts “had not produced a way to follow” to restore the complete implementation of the JCPOA.
A sixth cycle of talks was canceled due to the triggering of hostilities.
In the meantime, The record of the recent conflict made people think. According to Iranian authorities, at least 606 people were killed and more than 5,300 injured since hostilities broke out on June 13. Israeli officials reported 28 deaths and nearly 1,500 injuries.
The time that is exhausted
While the divisions persist, Ms. Dicarlo said that the participants in the JCPOA-China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia and the United Kingdom-had all reiterated their commitment to find a diplomatic solution.
In a joint declaration shared with the secretary general in March, China, Iran and Russia stressed the importance of the provisions and deadlines for resolution 2231. China proposed a “step by step and reciprocal” to solve the nuclear problem.
“Diplomacy, dialogue and verification remain the best option to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program,” said Dicarlo.
The EU Stavros Lambrinidis ambassador informs the Security Council as coordinator of the mixed commission created by the JCPOA.
Deal, no strength, key to resolution: the European Union
Echoing the UN calls for dialogue, the European Union stressed that “A lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear question can only be by a negotiated agreement, and not in military action.“”
The Council of the Council on behalf of the High Representative of the EU, Kaja Kallas, the Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis stressed the urgent need to “return to a diplomatic solution”.
Ensuring that Iran does not acquire or develops a nuclear weapon remains a key priority for the EU, he said.
He added that the acceleration of Iran’s nuclear activities and the lack of surveillance of the IAEA – aggravated by the economic benefits of American sanctions – have seriously undermined the JCPOA, despite the supported efforts of the EU to preserve it by diplomacy.
Mr. Lambrinidis reaffirmed that diplomacy should prevail, the IAEA remaining at the heart of surveillance and verification efforts in the future.
The United States urges Iran to regain talks
Ambassador Dorothea Shea, an acting American representative, said that the increase in Iran’s nuclear activity was missing “any credible civil justification”.
Even after the Council of Governors of the IAEA does not comply with nuclear guarantees, it noted: “It is regrettable that certain members of this council have chosen to close their eyes on, if not encourage, Iranian non-compliance.”
The United States “will not make their eyes on the eyes of the non-compliance of Iran and the threat continues to regional stability,” she continued.
Ambassador Shea said that “the precision operation of June 21 effectively fulfilled our narrow objective-to degrade Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon”, after which President Trump coordinated a cease-fire between Iran and Israel.
“At the moment critical,” she concluded, “we must all urge Iran to seize this opportunity for peace and prosperity and to respect its international obligations.”
UK calls the ceasefire a first step
British ambassador Barbara Woodward praised the cease-fire negotiated by President Trump, but warned that “the situation remains extremely fragile”.
Expressing that “is the moment of return to diplomacy”, it urged Iran to engage in talks without delay, warning that its nuclear program has exceeded “any credible civil justification”.
She said all diplomatic levers will be deployed for a negotiated result and to “ensure that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon”.
Iran: diplomacy can and must resolve differences
Iran’s ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said that his country “had never initiated this war” and that the attackers arrested their attacks, Iran also stopped its legal military response “.
Mr. Saeid also expressed his country’s strong commitment to diplomacy as the way by which differences can and should be resolved.
“Iran continues to believe that diplomatic resolution in nuclear and sanction problems is possible,” said Mr. Saeid.
He called on the Security Council to condemn Israel’s attacks and the United States against Iran and their nuclear installations protected by AIEA and work to make sure they no longer happen.
Ambassador Iravani added that Iran confirmed resolution 2231 of the Council and the JCPOA, and that the repair measures were “completely coherent” with these two instruments.
Israel warns that diplomacy with Iran has failed
Israeli ambassador Danny Danon defended his country’s military operation against Iran, describing it as a necessary decision to neutralize a “existential double threat” of nuclear and missile programs in Tehran.
He said that Israel had obtained complete air superiority and deleted key diet targets, acting in coordination with the United States.
Ambassador Danon accused Iran of deceiving the world for years, using diplomacy as a cover to advance its nuclear weapons program.
“There is still time,” he said, “to take significant and decisive measures to ensure that the threat of nuclear Iran is not stronger than before. »»
“We are often told that diplomacy must have a chance – it has had every opportunity, each round, each chain, each time – but so far, the regime in Tehran had never intended to comply.”
Almost 15 years after the fall of Gaddafi, Libya remains divided between the recognized international government of national unity in Tripoli and the rival government of national stability in Benghazi.
Although a truce was reached on May 14, the start of fighting last month in the capital “temporarily disrupted the United Nations development and humanitarian operations,” said the top sent Hanna Tetteh.
May 18, with the support of the United Nations support mission in Libya (Little vintage), the presidential council created a truce committee.
Composed of key safety players, the organization has been mandated to monitor the ceasefire, facilitate the permanent end of the fighting and ensure the protection of civilians.
While Unsmil strives to facilitate tensions and prevent other clashes, the presidential council has also set up a temporary security and military arrangement committee, responsible for maintaining peace and reorganizing the security forces in the capital.
“” The truce, however, remains fragile and the unpredictable overall security situation“Said Ms. Tetteh.
Serious serious violations
The armed clashes that broke out in May led to death and civil injuries, as well as damage to critical civil infrastructure, stressing the gaps in the state security forces by adhering to international humanitarian law and human rights, she continued.
Ms. Tetteh expressed her alarm in the face of massive pits found in Abu Slim, citing emerging evidence of serious human rights violations – including extrajudicial murders, torture and applied disappearances – allegedly by state security forces.
“The presence of charred remains, organizations not identified in Morgues and an unofficial detention site suspected at the Abu Salim Zoo underlines the scale and severity of these abuses“She said.
Change request
“” Many Libyans are deeply disappointed with the prolonged transition period And have lost confidence in current institutions and leadership, “said Tetteh.
As civilians are increasingly doubting the will of the current management to put national interests above their their own, there is a high demand for political processes which allows the participation of the public, allows elections and offers a democratic government with a clear mandate for a real change.
Unsmil intends to present a timepiece linked to time and politically pragmatic – in order to reach the end of the transition process – at the time of her next briefing, Tetteh told ambassadors.
“” I urge all the parts to engage in good faith and to be ready to forge a consensus on this roadmap“She said.
