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In a message to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi, during which Hutu and others who opposed the genocide were also killed, UN chief António Guterres has warned of dangerous trends of rising xenophobia, racism and intolerance in many parts of the world.

United Nations Peacekeeping missions are working flat out and need to be made “stronger and safer”, Secretary-General António Guterres told a major ministerial pledging conference on Friday, stressing that “critical” gaps must be bridged, so they can deliver better, on behalf of the people they serve.

With a large protest planned on Saturday in Gaza, and border shootings by Israeli security forces which have left nearly 200 Palestinians dead over the past year, the UN’s top humanitarian official in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt), Jamie McGoldrick, on Friday called for calm from all sides to prevent further bloodshed.

Against a backdrop of rising tensions in Israel and Palestine, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, painted a bleak picture once again in the Security Council on Tuesday, cataloguing further terrorist acts, attacks against civilians, reprisals against demonstrators, unlawful demolitions and settlement expansions, and a funding crisis which could have dramatic consequences for the stability of an already volatile region.

Cyclone Idai and the mounting death toll is “yet another alarm bell about the dangers of climate change” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, warning that vulnerable countries like Mozambique, would be hit the hardest unless urgent action is taken by nations across the world.

Against a background of serious warnings against the effects of climate change, World Meteorological Day this year celebrates the crucial role played by the sun in powering all life on Earth, and in driving the weather, ocean currents and the hydrological cycle.

The world needs to step up support for the survivors of Tropical Cyclone Idai, the UN Secretary-General said on Friday, in a strong personal appeal as relief workers rush to provide aid to people stranded across the storm countries in southern Africa.

The UN drew attention to the vital role that forests play in addressing some of the world’s greatest environmental challenges on Thursday, and the importance of tackling the issues that threaten them, such as deforestation, and land degradation.

States must take urgent action, to “stem the tide of hate and discrimination” and ramping up of “ethno-nationalist populism”, which helped fuel the deadly shootings in two New Zealand mosques last Friday by a self-declared white supremacist, several top UN officials and human rights experts have stressed, marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The Fall Armyworm pest is continuing to sweep across the globe, having moved eastwards from their native Americas, onto Africa, before arriving in Asia only last summer, where they now threaten to cost farmers from India to Thailand, billions of dollars in lost production.