That compares well with global averages and pre-pandemic growth of around 3.2 percent.
Lowering inflation
The UN body noted that this positive outlook for Arab countries should also coincide with falling inflation, which is expected to reach 5.4 percent next year.
Contributing factors include increased investment in sectors outside the oil industry, such as renewable power plants.
At the same time, ESCWA said the Arab region remains “highly exposed” to external factors – especially given continued uncertainty over global tariffs and disruption to regional trade.
Data suggests production of 1.3 million barrels of oil per day this year across the region – where production is an economic mainstay – which is slightly above current global demand, meaning prices at the petrol pump could fall.
India: Independent rights experts call for investigation into alleged prison deaths and police brutality
Two VN Council for Human Rights-have appointed independent experts appealed to India to order urgent, independent investigations into reports of hundreds of alleged extrajudicial killings, deaths due to torture and thousands of injuries related to law enforcement operations.
The special rapporteurs – who are not UN staff and do not receive salaries for their work – said they had received credible information indicating a pattern of excessive and often deadly violence, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Assam.
The independent rights experts are calling for urgent modernization of the Indian police.
Not sporadic – systemic
“These allegations paint a picture of law enforcement violence that is not sporadic, but systemic,” the experts said.
“There appears to be a systematic failure of the police to meet basic human rights standards.”
They expressed concern that minorities such as Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis (or indigenous peoples) were disproportionately affected, warning that “silencing those who seek justice is incompatible with an open and democratic society.”
Urging reforms to bring police work in line with international standards, the experts said they had written to authorities, offering technical support as they continued to monitor developments.
The war between Ukraine and Russia is now closing schools even far from the front line
To Ukraine, where schools far from the front lines had to close as a direct result of the ongoing large-scale Russian invasion, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEFwarned Wednesday.
Data shows that airstrikes alone last year caused students to lose around ten days of learning time, while so far in 2026 more than sixteen days have been lost due to power cuts and a lack of heating.
UNICEF says at least 1,700 schools in frontline regions in Ukraine are experiencing power outages and heating disruptions.
Persistent blackouts
More than one in three schools in Dnipropetrovsk and one in five in Kharkiv are also facing persistent power outages that “pose a direct threat to safe and continuous learning.”
According to the agency, nearly two million children have been affected by disruption directly caused by intensified Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
This includes Kiev, Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odessa, where students have lost up to 88 percent of their learning time since mid-January, mainly due to power and heating outages.
UNICEF condemns new reports of children killed in airstrikes in Myanmar
UN children’s agency UNICEF expressed deep concern on Wednesday after new reports that at least five Burmese children have been killed and three others injured as a result of recent airstrikes.
The deadly attacks hit Ponnagyun Township, Rakhine State and Myinmu Township in Sagaing Region between February 23 and 24.
“Children and civilians are once again bearing the brunt of the escalating hostilities, with attacks in Rakhine State reportedly hitting homes and a busy local market in a village where displaced families are staying,” the agency said in a statement.
Protect children
Ongoing clashes continue to displace children and undermine their access to essential services, including health, education and protection, the agency underlined.
“UNICEF is responding to the needs of conflict-affected children and their families across Myanmar,” while calling on all combatants in the bloody conflict that has engulfed the country since the 2021 military coup to “fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law. Children must be protected at all times.”
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