Source: United Nations (video statements)
In a message for the Day, the Secretary-General underscores that adequate housing is the foundation of dignity, security, and opportunity, yet more than 3 billion people are denied this universal human right.
Source: United Nations (video statements)
Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Secretary-General/Travels
– Afghanistan
– Deputy Secretary-General/Travels
– Ethiopia
– Sudan
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Lebanon
– World Food Programme (WFP) – Yemen
– Yemen
– Ukraine
– UN Refugee Agency/HC Travel
– New Resident Coordinator – Egypt
– International Days
SECRETARY-GENERAL / TRAVELS
The Secretary-General has left New York for a previously scheduled trip to Pakistan, where he is expected to arrive on Tuesday morning. During his visit, he will have meetings in Islamabad with senior government officials, including with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar. He will also meet with President Asif Ali Zardari.
The Secretary-General was last in Pakistan in 2022, when he visited regions impacted by the devastating floods. This time, he will again visit the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), where he will see firsthand the progress Pakistan has made in strengthening its preparedness and resilience since the floods.
In Islamabad, the Secretary-General will visit the headquarters of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, otherwise known as UNMOGIP.
The visit will also be an opportunity for the Secretary-General to discuss Pakistan’s diplomatic and mediation efforts between the United States and Iran, including its constructive role in supporting negotiations between the two countries.
The Secretary-General is expected to be back in New York on Thursday.
AFGHANISTAN
The U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo concluded her visit to Afghanistan today, following meetings with the de facto authorities, civil society representatives, women leaders and Afghan female U.N. personnel.
In her meetings with de facto authorities, Ms. DiCarlo reaffirmed the United Nations’ commitment to advancing the Doha process. She noted progress in its two working groups on counter-narcotics and private sector and emphasized the importance of translating dialogue into further practical results for the Afghan people. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to continued engagement.
Ms. DiCarlo conveyed Member States’ concerns about the situation of women and girls, particularly girls’ access to education. She emphasized that progress on women’s and girls’ rights would advance the country’s development. Ms. DiCarlo also raised the restrictions affecting Afghan female United Nations personnel.
The Under-Secretary-General highlighted the challenges facing Afghanistan, including socioeconomic pressures, climate change, and natural disasters. She affirmed the United Nations’ readiness to assist Afghans returning from the neighbouring countries. In her meetings with civil society representatives and women leaders, the Under-Secretary-General recognized their vital contributions to communities across Afghanistan.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-10-05
Source: United States Department of Justice (video statements)
This Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) webinar, held September 30, 2026, reviews the application checklist. This is part of a webinar series for those interested in applying for a CTAS grant. For more information, visit www.justice.gov/tribal/funding-opportunities
Source: European Commission (video statements)
#news #oil #energy #security #G7 #EuropeanCommission
The Leaders of the G7, convened a virtual meeting to address the deepening challenges to the world’s energy security.
They agreed on an organised release through the International Energy Agency of 100 million barrels (MB) to begin immediately over four months.
Find more about the statement here:
G7 Leaders’ Statement on global energy security and market stability
Watch on the Audiovisual Portal of the European Commission:
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Source: United Nations (video statements)
Message from António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, read by Anacláudia Rossbach, Under-Secretary-General and Executive-Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) at the World Habitat Day 2026 – "Adequate Housing for All" (Muscat, Oman).
"Adequate housing is the foundation of dignity, security, and opportunity.
Yet more than 3 billion people are denied this universal human right. Over 1 billion live in informal settlements and slums, and many more experience homelessness or have been displaced by conflict, disasters, and climate change.
Investing in adequate housing and transforming informal settlements reduces poverty, tackles inequality, builds climate resilience, and fosters peaceful and inclusive societies.
This demands coordinated action at every level, with national and local governments shaping bold policies, building partnerships, and grounding decisions in sound data. The international financial architecture must also be reformed to mobilize the adequate, predictable, and affordable financing developing countries need to invest in housing at scale.
On this World Habitat Day, let us treat housing as a public good and build a world where everyone has a place to call home."
Source: United Nations (video statements)
This year’s World Habitat Day puts the focus on one of the defining development challenges of our time: ensuring adequate housing for all. We are living through a global housing crisis affecting up to 3.4 billion people, including more than 1.1 billion people living in informal settlements and slums.
The theme video for the global observance of World Habitat Day 2026 in Muscat, Oman, explores what adequate housing means for people, communities and cities around the world, and why a home is much more than a roof over our heads.
World Habitat Day website: https://urbanoctober.unhabitat.org/whd
Source: European Central Bank (video statements)
“ECB Conference on Monetary Policy 2026: bridging science and practice”, Monday, 5 and Tuesday, 6 October 2026, Frankfurt am Main (Hybrid event).
The 9th Conference on Monetary Policy features once more an impressive academic line-up and is held as a hybrid event. The three conference sessions tackles issues related to monetary policy, including the role of financial markets and financial intermediaries in monetary policy transmission, and with relation to the current situation of elevated economic and geopolitical uncertainty. A special session showcases monetary policy related research by young economists.
See the conference programme here:
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/conferences/html/20261005_monetary_policy_conf.en.html
10:00-11:00
Keynote speech: Diagnostic challenges for monetary policy
Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank
11:30-13:00
Session 1
Monetary policy and inflation
Chair: Sujit Kapadia, European Central Bank
11:30-12:15
Productivity and Inflation Dynamics
Jenny Chan*, Bank of England
Co-Authors: Silvana Terneyro, Ludovica Ambrosino
Discussant: Evi Pappa, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
12:15-13:00
Risks and Uncertainty in Monetary Policy
Domenico Giannone*, Johns Hopkins University
Discussant: Juan Rubio-Ramírez, Emory University
14:30-16:00
Session 2
Monetary policy, credit and banking
Chair: Carlo Altavilla, European Central Bank
14:30-15:15
Dynamic Competition for Sleepy Deposits
Adi Sunderam*, Harvard Business School
Co-Authors: Mark Egan, Ali Hortacsu, Nathan Kaplan, and Vincent Yao
Discussant: Simone Lenzu, Cambridge University
15:15-16:00
Bank Runs with and without Failure
Stephan Luck*, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Co-Authors: Sergio Correia, Emil Verner
Discussant: Elena Carletti, Bocconi University
16:30-17:30
Keynote speech:
Valery Ramey, Stanford University
Chair: Roberto Motto, European Central Bank
17:30
Closing remarks and end of day 1
Source: International Monetary Fund – IMF (video statements)
Corporate income tax changes do not stop at national borders. Join IMF’s Carolina Osorio Buitron, UCLA’s Kimberly Clausing, Pierre Bachas of the World Bank, and Andres Knobel of the Tax Justice Network on Monday, October 5, 2026, at 9:00 AM ET for the launch of our new World Economic Outlook research on how these spillovers shape investment, tax revenues, and output across economies.
The discussion will examine how globalization and the growing importance of intangible assets have transformed corporate income taxation, and how profits and activity may be realigning.
https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/issues/2026/10/13/world-economic-outlook-october-2026?cid=sm-com-yt-am26-WEOEA20206002
Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)
His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa participates in the plenary of the 8th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in El-Alamein, Egypt, as the Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community.
The High- Level engagement considers progress on continental integration, the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and efforts to advance infrastructure development, peace and security across the continent.
Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)
His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa and His Excellency Mahmoud Ali Youssouf , Chairperson of the African Union Commission, hold a bilateral meeting on the margins of the 8th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in El-Alamein, Egypt.
The AU Mid-Year Coordination meeting bring together Heads of State and Government of the AU Bureau, Chairpersons of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the Regional Mechanisms (RMs), heads of the AU Organs and development partners, including United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The High- Level engagement considers progress on continental integration, the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, and efforts to advance infrastructure development, peace, and security across the continent.
