Video message by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on New Year’s Day 2026.
"As we enter the new year, the world stands at a crossroads.
Chaos and uncertainty surround us.
Division. Violence. Climate breakdown. And systemic violations of international law.
A retreat from the very principles that bind us together as a human family.
People everywhere are asking: Are leaders even listening? Are they ready to act.
As we turn the page on a turbulent year, one fact speaks louder than words:
Global military spending has soared to 2.7 trillion dollars, growing by almost 10%.
That is thirteen times more than all development aid, equivalent to the entire Gross Domestic Product of Africa.
All, while conflict rages at levels unseen since World War II.
On this new year, let’s resolve to get our priorities straight.
A safer world begins by investing more in fighting poverty and less in fighting wars. Peace must prevail.
It’s clear the world has the resources to lift lives, heal the planet, and secure a future of peace and justice.
In 2026, I call on leaders everywhere: Get serious. Choose people and planet over pain.
And I urge everyone who hears this message: Play your part.
Our future depends on our collective courage to act.
This new year, let’s rise together:
For justice. For humanity. For peace".
Source: United Kingdom UK House of Lords (video statements)
We’re looking back at 2025 in the House of Lords.
This year, we took a closer look at the Sovereign’s throne. Designed after the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey, it is used by the monarch during the State Opening of Parliament. Discover more about the history and significance of the throne with Parliament’s Curator of the Historic Furniture and Decorative Arts Collection, Eloise.
The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UK Parliament. It plays a crucial role in examining bills, questioning government action and investigating public policy.
📺 Watch the full film on the House of Lords YouTube channel
➡ Find out more about the Lords at https://parliament.uk/business/lords/
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (video statements)
Scammers are getting better at spoofing charitable websites. Make sure to do your due diligence when donating. Full discussion on holiday scams available now.
Source: United Kingdom UK House of Lords (video statements)
The term dates back to Tudor times, when boxes were used to carry urgent messages from Queen Elizabeth I. Today, the Despatch Boxes remain on the Clerks’ table and contain religious texts used when members take the oath.
Find out more in this video with Eloise, Curator of the Historic Furniture and Decorative Arts Collection.
📺 Watch the full tour of the chamber on our channel.
In the Central African Republic, days before the elections scheduled for December 28, the distribution of voter cards is underway throughout the country. Central Africans are voting for Presidential, general, regional and local elections on Sunday 28 December 2025, with the technical, logistical, and security support of MINUSCA, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country.
Briefing the Council, Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said there was no consensus among Member States on the legality of the snapback process.
“Several relevant Member States rejected the validity and effect of the snapback process,” DiCarlo said, noting that some described it as “procedurally and legally flawed.”
DiCarlo also outlined findings from the International Atomic Energy Agency. She said the IAEA reported that Iran had stopped implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA in February 2021, while continuing to exceed agreed limits on its nuclear programme, even as some monitoring continued under Iran’s safeguards obligations.
DiCarlo reiterated the UN Secretary-General’s position that diplomacy remained the preferred path forward. “A negotiated settlement that would secure the overall objectives of ensuring a peaceful Iranian nuclear programme and providing sanctions relief is the best option available to the international community,” she said.
As tension between the United States and Venezuela heightens, UN senior official Khaled Khiari reiterated, “dialogue is the only viable path toward lasting peace and preventing further instability and human suffering.”
The United States’ military presence and operations in the Southern Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela, have increased since the Council last discussed the situation on 10 October, Khaled Khiari, the Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific told Council Members.
Khiari said, “The Secretary-General stands ready to support all efforts at diplomatic engagement, including the exercise of his good offices, if both parties so request it. He welcomes initiatives by Member States, offers for mediation, and proposals for peaceful solutions.”
The Assistant Secretary-General also underscored, “As the humanitarian situation deteriorates, the United Nations and its partners continue to work and deliver assistance in support of the Venezuelan people, including through recent financial allocations of the United Nation’s Central Emergency Response Fund, and the Venezuela Humanitarian Fund.”
Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya “firmly” condemned the seizure by US troops of petroleum tankers and the effective imposition of a blockade in Venezuela.
He said, “The acts by the US side run counter to all key norms of international law, including the UN Convention on Law of the Sea, Security Council resolutions and the Charter itself of the United Nations.”
Chinese Ambassador Sun Lei called on the United States to” heed the just call of the international community, immediately halt relevant actions, and avoid further escalation of tensions.”
Ambassador Sun urged the United States to “uphold the navigation safety of regional countries and the freedom and rights they enjoy under international law, to conduct normal law enforcement and judicial cooperation under bilateral and multilateral legal frameworks, to lift illicit unilateral sanctions and to do more to promote peace, stability and development in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
For his part, US Ambassador Mike Waltz reiterated that his country “does not recognize Nicolas Maduro or his cronies as the legitimate government of Venezuela.”
“Nicolas Maduro is a fugitive from American justice and the head of the foreign terrorist organization Cartel de los Soles,” Ambassador Waltz said.
The US Ambassador also highlighted, “President Trump has been very clear that he is going to use the full power of the United States of America, the full might of the United States, to take on and eradicate these drug cartels, which have operated with impunity in our hemisphere for far too long. And everyone knows it.”
For his part, Venezuelan Ambassador Samuel Moncada said, “We want to alert the world: Venezuela is only the first target of a larger plan. The US government wants us to be divided so it can conquer us piece by piece.”
He continued, “The United States, which was an indispensable country in the construction of the United Nations and in the drafting of its founding Charter, has today become an actor that seeks to impose itself on the fundamental rights of all states in the Western Hemisphere, even at the cost of destroying the UN.”
Ambassador Moncada also said, “The US government – the aggressor – requires its propaganda apparatus to present it to the world as a country under attack to initiate an armed conflict.”
He denounced “this dangerous manipulation and assure the world that we will not lose our composure in defending the peace of our nation.”
“Let us repeat: the threat is not Venezuela; the threat is the US government,” the Venezuelan Ambassador said.
Ambassador Moncada also said, “The truth is brutal and criminal. The US government is threatening an armed attack against Venezuela to satisfy the big oil corporations, particularly ConocoPhillips and Exxon-Mobil, which are the pioneers and the thefts of Venezuelan oil.”
He continued, “The children of American families will be ordered to risk their lives to line the pockets of oil company shareholders with billions of dollars, while thousands of Venezuelan and American families are destroyed.”
“It is blood for oil. Blood for oil is not a noble proposition. It is unworthy and unacceptable. War for oil is a death sentence, the same one offered to Iraq, Syria, Libya, and so many others,” Ambassador Moncada said.
Briefing by Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, on threats to international peace and security, during the Security Council, 10080th meeting.
