News headlines
World News in Brief: Repression in Uganda, fighting in Syria’s Aleppo continues, Gaza and West Bank updates
- UN News
The UN has raised serious concerns ahead of Uganda’s elections scheduled for 15 January, warning they will take place in an environment marked by widespread repression, intimidation and shrinking civic space.
South Sudan: Increase in abductions and sexual violence ‘unacceptable’
- UN News
Despite reductions in the overall number of conflict-related incidents in South Sudan, a rise in abductions and sexual violence is concerning, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, UNMISS, said on Friday.
Iran: UN human rights chief ‘deeply disturbed’ by protest-related violence
- UN News
The UN human rights chief has called for an independent and transparent investigation into reports of deaths and widespread arrests during ongoing nationwide protests in Iran, amid mounting concerns over the use of force by security forces.
Ukraine: Massive overnight attack leaves millions in the dark
- UN News
UN agencies are supporting efforts on Friday to keep energy services up and running in Ukraine, and families warm amid freezing winter temperatures, following a large-scale overnight attack.
Sudan: After 1,000 days of war, millions of civilians still bearing brunt
- UN News
Aid agencies marked 1,000 days of war in Sudan on Friday with a grim reminder that the conflict has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis and largest displacement emergency. Every day, civilians have been “paying the price for a war they did not choose”, said UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
U.S. Withdrawal From Organizations Triggers Global Alarm
- Inter Press Service
President Donald Trump’s executive order to stop U.S. support for 66 international organizations, including 31 United Nations (UN) groups, has faced strong opposition from these organizations, the global community, humanitarian experts, and climate advocates, who are concerned about the negative effects on global cooperation, sustainable development, and international peace and security.
A Year of High Expectations and Frustrations
- Inter Press Service
DHAKA, Bangladesh, January 8 (IPS) - As many of you know, out of the blue, I have been called in to assist the Interim Government led by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus in stabilising the economy left in ruins by the fallen autocratic-kleptocratic regime that looted the banks, stole public money and robbed small investors in the capital market to siphon off billions of dollars out of the country. I had never served in a government; neither had I ever expected this opportunity. However, my UN experience and political economy understanding have been handy.
Sudan’s War Nears 1,000 Days as Violence and Hunger Reach Unprecedented Levels
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, January 8 (IPS) - As Sudan approaches 1,000 days of civil war, late December and early January saw a brutal escalation of violence, with drone strikes hitting areas at the center of the country’s deepening hunger crisis.
Africa Squeezed Between Import Substitution and Dependency Syndrome
- Inter Press Service
MOSCOW, January 8 (IPS) - Squeezed between import substitution and dependency syndrome, a condition characterized by a set of associated economic symptoms—that is rules and regulations—majority of African countries are shifting from United States and Europe to an incoherent alternative bilateral partnerships with Russia, China and the Global South.
Consent Ignored, Convictions Rare: Pakistan’s Courts Under Fire
- Inter Press Service
KARACHI, Pakistan, January 8 (IPS) - As 2026 dawns, women in Pakistan are left grappling with a stark reality: rape and marital rape continue to be misinterpreted by judges in the country’s highest courts.
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