Source: United States Department of Justice (video statements)
Earlier this week, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche received the Law Enforcement Patriot of the Year Award from the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Foundation in recognition of his steadfast support for the Thin Blue Line and the brave men and women who risk their lives to keep our communities safe.
This Department of Justice will always Back the Blue. đșđž
Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)
President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the South Africa – Spain Business Forum in Madrid.
Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)
President Cyril Ramaphosa holds
a bilateral meeting with Prime
Minister Mia Amor Mottley of
Barbados ahead of the In
Defence of Democracy initiative
in Barcelona, Kingdom of Spain.
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Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)
President Cyril Ramaphosa has
this afternoon, 17 April 2026,
arrived at Barcelona-EL Prat
Airport for the second leg of his
working visit to Spain.
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Source: International Monetary Fund – IMF (video statements)
Economic integration is changing as geoeconomic fragmentation and shifting supply chains reshape global risks and opportunities. How can countries seize the gains of integration while protecting themselves from more frequent shocks and vulnerabilities?
Join us on Friday, April 17 at 2:00 PM ET for a discussion on the Future of Economic Integration with Dan Katz, IMF First Deputy Managing Director; Edgar Amador, Minister of Finance of Mexico; Mehmet ĆimĆek, Minister of Treasury and Finance of TĂŒrkiye; and Amir Hamzah Azizan, Minister of Finance of Malaysia. Bloombergâs Lisa Abramowicz will moderate the seminar.
The panel will discuss policy tradeoffs, and explore practical strategies to strengthen growth, resilience, and stability in an increasingly complex global economy.
Source: United Nations (video statements)
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
Secretary-General/Travel
Middle East
Lebanon
Lebanon/Humanitarian
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Lacroix/Trip Announcement
Mexico
Security Council/South Sudan
Cameroon
Haiti
Haiti/Humanitarian
Afghanistan
Exhibition/Sudan
Guest
SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVEL
Today, in The Hague, the Secretary-General addressed a solemn sitting to celebrate the 80th anniversary of International Court of Justice inaugural session.
The Secretary-General said that it is easy to forget the world of eighty years ago. Europe, and far beyond, lay in ruins, and The Hague itself was scarred and shaken. And yet, he said, in that dark and difficult moment, world leaders made a defining choice, a choice to reject a future ruled by coercion and violence, and to embrace a future rooted in the United Nations Charter and international law.âŻ
The Secretary-General stressed that the Courtâs decisions, including provisional measures, are binding on the parties to a case, and respect for those decisions is not optional; it is a Charter obligation. Yet today, he said, violations of international law are unfolding before our eyes, warning that when the law of force replaces the force of law, instability becomes contagious.âŻ
The Secretary-General emphasized that to weaken international law is to erode the foundations of global stability, and to strengthen it is to invest in a world governed by justice, not fear. His full remarks have been shared with you.âŻ
Also today, the Secretary-General had a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister and Minister for General Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Rob Jetten.âŻ
This afternoon, the Secretary-General will meet the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Tom Berendsen, and will have meeting with Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
MIDDLE EAST
The Secretary-General welcomes the announcement today by the Islamic Republic of Iran that the Strait of Hormuz is completely open for all commercial vessels for the remainder of the ceasefire.
The Secretary-General considers this a step in the right direction. The United Nationsâ position remains clear: we need the full restoration of international navigational rights and freedoms in the Strait of Hormuz to be respected by all parties.
The Secretary-General remains fully supportive of the diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful path forward out of the current conflict in the Middle East.âŻHe also hopes that, together with the ceasefire, this measure will contribute to creating confidence between the parties and strengthen the ongoing dialogue facilitated by Pakistan.
LEBANON
The Secretary-General welcomes the announcement of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, and commends the role of the United States in facilitating the ceasefire. He reaffirms the support of the United Nations to all efforts to end hostilities and alleviate the suffering of communities on both sides of the Blue Line. The Secretary-General hopes that this ceasefire will pave the way for negotiations and the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) towards a long-term solution to the conflict.
Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert continues her good offices engagement with all stakeholders to support the parties to fully implement resolution 1701 towards a permanent ceasefire and long-term solution to the conflict.
Meanwhile, the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reports that peacekeepers have not detected projectiles fired from north to south or airstrikes in the area of operations since midnight.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-04-17
Source: United Nations (video statements)
Remarks by Ambassador Danny Danon, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, on the situation in the Middle East.
Danon told reporters, âin one hour at 5 pm our time, a ten-day ceasefire will come into effect between Israel and Lebanon as Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed. We got to this point as a result of the IDF’s heroic actions in pushing back Hezbollah in many operations, including the pager attacks and the elimination of Nasrallah.â
Speaking to reporters today (16 Apr) in New York, Ambassador Danon criticized the UN Secretary-Generalâs âoutrageous remarksâ made earlier this week.
Ambassador Danon said, âin the very day Israel and Lebanon were engaged in historic negotiations. He went so far as to claim that Israel and Hezbollah have, and I quote âhelped each other to destabilize Lebanon.â That is simply false.â
The Israeli Ambassador continued, âat a historic moment, when the region is taking steps toward direct dialog between Israel and Lebanon, when others are choosing progress, the Secretary-General choose to do exactly the opposite. He chose to cast doubt. He chose to blur the truth. He chose to draw a comparison between a sovereign state and a terrorist organization. That is shameful.â
Ambassador Danon asked, âon what moral ground that the Secretary-General equate a democracy defending its citizens with an Iranian backed terrorist proxy?â adding that âthere is no answer to that. To put them in the same category is a complete distortion of reality.â
âSecretary-General Guterres, this is shameful. Retract your comments. Correct the record. Do your job,â the Israeli Ambassador said.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Ambassador Danon said that it âshould concern every country in the General Assembly,â adding that âIran is trying to choke one of the world’s most important waterways and turn it into weapons. They block ships, they harass them. Then they name a price – pay and you pass, refuse and you are stopped. That is not trade. That is economic terrorism.â
He continued, âafter weeks of negotiations, even a stripped-down Security Council resolution was vetoed. So we have to be clear about what comes next. We need a clear resolution, strong one, one that will deal with enrich uranium, with the ballistic missiles, with the proxies. Thatâs what we expect from the Security Council.â
Ambassador Danon also said, âthere is one thing that is very troubling is that some countries choose to go behind closed doors and sign secret deals with the Iranian regime. No transparency, no accountability. It’s also shameful.â
Asked about the ceasefire between his country and Lebanon, the Israeli Ambassador said, âit is in our view, we will have to follow very carefully what’s happening on the ground. And if we feel threatened, we will react. We are not going anywhere. We are holding our positions. we agreed for ten days holding those positions. Having a ceasefire. and we all know that, the problem is not with the Lebanese government. The problem is with Hezbollah.â
He added, âwe believe in direct negotiations with Lebanon, but we are aware of the complexity that you deal with the Lebanese government, but Hezbollah, they don’t take orders from the Lebanese government. They take orders from Iran. We know it’s complex, but we are willing to give it a try.â
Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)
The Foreign Affairs Committee recently visited Greenland to learn from its Prime Minister and its people about threats to its sovereignty over the last few months, and how Greenlanders are coping amid the fear of potential invasion.
Outside of the geopolitical challenges faced by the territory, the Committee also heard about the ongoing climate change challenges Greenland faces.
Source: Council of the European Union (video statements)
The EU imports 97% of its crude oil, with the US, Kazakhstan and Norway as leading suppliers in 2025. After cutting ties with Russia (from 25.8% to just 2.2% of its oil imports), the EU now relies on other partners. If you want to find out more about who will provide the EUâs energy mix in the future, let us know in the comments.
Find out more here: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/where-does-the-eu-get-its-oil-from
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This is the YouTube channel of the European Council and the Council of the EU
The European Council is the highest political body of the European Union, bringing together the heads of state or government of all EU member states, its President and the President of the European Commission. It sets the EUâs political agenda, addressing major challenges and defining strategic priorities, such as those outlined in the Strategic Agenda 2024â2029, which focuses on a free and democratic Europe, a strong and secure Europe, and a prosperous and competitive Europe. The European Council also plays a crucial role in crisis management, from responding to Russiaâs war in Ukraine to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. Decisions are typically made by consensus, and its meetings, often called âEuropean summitsâ, are held at least four times a year in Brussels, Belgium.
The Council of the European Union (often referred to simply as the Council) is where the daily legislative and policy work of the EU is done. The Council comprises ministers of each EU member state and negotiates and adopts laws, usually in partnership with the European Parliament, across 10 policy areas, from foreign affairs to energy. Unlike the European Council, the Council operates under a rotating six-month presidency, held by each member state in turn. Meetings are held regularly in Brussels and Luxembourg, ensuring that every EU country, regardless of size, has an equal voice in shaping European policies.
Find out more here: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/
Source: United Nations (video statements)
Jean Martin Bauer, World Food Programme (WFP), Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis, briefed on HungerMap Live.
World Food Programme (WFP) released today (19 Apr), HungerMap Live; a modernized intelligence platform that turns data on global hunger into early action.
WFPâs next-generation platform is a powerful digital monitoring and intelligence capability that integrates a wide range of food security data and analysis with predictive modelling to help fight hunger in more than 50 countries.
At a time of rising food security needs and limited funding for humanitarian action, HungerMap Live provides the most complete and updated picture of hunger in the worldâs most vulnerable countries.
HungerMap Live offers AI-assisted forecasting capabilities of projected food needs in WFP designated Hunger Hotspots â 16 countries with populations already struggling with catastrophic hunger.
Studies have shown that early warning of emerging food security issues can reap tremendous cost savings and operational efficiencies.
In fact, WFP has seen first-hand that every dollar invested in its anticipatory action programs, reaps a minimum of seven dollars in savings.
The release of the platform comes at a critical time when the number of people facing IPC5 food insecurity â the most severe form of hunger – has increased 15-fold from 85,000 in 2019 to 1.4m in 2025.
The newly modernized HungerMap Live platform brings together data from WFPâs extensive network of more than 300 analysts working on food security monitoring and mapping with information from dozens of trusted partners.
This includes the global benchmark for food insecurity data (known as IPC), government validated statistics, climate, market, agricultural and economic data.
Through predictive modelling, provided with the support of Google, HungerMap Live answers three critical questions: what is the current state of food security across the world? Which countries and regions require urgent attention? And what are the underlying factors contributing to food security needs?
This platform combines WFPâs on-the-ground insights with critical data to give decisionmakers, communities, humanitarian agencies and donors, the power to act before hunger costs lives.
