UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres delivered a strong warning Monday about the future of the world’s oceans, highlighting threats from “predatory” deep-sea mining, plastic pollution, rising temperatures, and collapsing fish stocks.
Speaking at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, Guterres called the ocean “the ultimate shared resource” but said humanity is failing to protect it.
The conference aims to ratify the High Seas Treaty, adopted in 2023, which would give countries the authority to create protected marine areas across roughly two-thirds of the planet’s oceans — areas currently lacking regulation. Today, only about 8% of the oceans have conservation status, with just 1% fully protected.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the treaty as “a done deal,” with 50 countries ratifying it and another 15 promising to do so. Macron also announced plans to partially ban destructive bottom-trawling fishing in half of France’s protected marine areas, though some conservationists say this does not go far enough.
Guterres warned especially against unregulated deep-sea mining, calling it a threat that could turn the ocean floor into a “wild west.” Several nations, including China and Russia, are keen to explore underwater mineral resources. Macron and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticized this “predatory race” for critical minerals, with Macron calling for an international moratorium.
Small island nations — facing rising sea levels, polluted waters, and depleted fish stocks — urged larger countries to prove their commitment to ocean protection. Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr challenged the global community: “If you are serious about protecting the ocean, prove it.”
The UN also announced plans to mobilize new funding sources to meet an estimated $175 billion annual investment needed to restore ocean health by 2028. Currently, investment falls far short, with $10 billion spent globally between 2015 and 2019.
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South Korea began dismantling loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean messages along the border on Monday, its defence ministry said, as President Lee Jae Myung’s administration moves to lower tensions with Pyongyang.
More than 2,500 people have had to leave their homes in southern South Korean after torrential rains swept across the country during Sunday night, inundating houses and roads in six major cities and provinces. Emergency shelters filled as families sought refuge.
Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro gathered in São Paulo on Sunday (3 August), calling for justice reform and denouncing legal cases against the far-right leader as politically motivated.
Democratic lawmakers in Texas said on Sunday they were leaving the state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, a move Republicans are seeking to protect their narrow U.S. House majority in next year's midterm elections.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
Australian researchers have created a groundbreaking “biological AI” platform that could revolutionise drug discovery by rapidly evolving molecules within mammalian cells.
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will send an upgraded ‘version 3.0’ free-trade agreement to their heads of government for approval in October, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday after regional talks in Kuala Lumpur.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has announced he may meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his upcoming visit to China in early September. The two leaders are expected to participate in events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Chinese people's victory over Japanese aggression.
South Korea began dismantling loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean messages along the border on Monday, its defence ministry said, as President Lee Jae Myung’s administration moves to lower tensions with Pyongyang.
Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro gathered in São Paulo on Sunday (3 August), calling for justice reform and denouncing legal cases against the far-right leader as politically motivated.
Democratic lawmakers in Texas said on Sunday they were leaving the state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, a move Republicans are seeking to protect their narrow U.S. House majority in next year's midterm elections.
A former U.S. Army soldier suspected of fatally shooting four people in rural Montana remains at large as of 3 August, authorities said, triggering a state-wide manhunt and warnings to residents, as well as a $7,500 reward for any information leading to the capture of the man.
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