News headlines
Ahead of Brutal Winter Season, Intensified Attacks Cripple Basic Services Across Ukraine
- Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, December 18 (IPS) - In recent weeks, the Russo-Ukrainian War has taken a considerable turn for the worse, with armed hostilities escalating in both frequency and intensity, causing extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and a significant loss of life across Ukraine. Attacks on energy infrastructures and the resulting power outages are forcing the most vulnerable civilians to deal with a “cold, frightening ordeal” in the winter season, warned the United Nations (UN) human rights chief.
Kenyan Court Restores Seed Freedom: Landmark Ruling Boost for Food Security and Sovereignty
- Inter Press Service

NAIROBI, December 18 (IPS) - For years, smallholder farmers across Kenya have been engaged in a legal battle with the government over a law that criminalizes the practice of saving, sharing and exchanging indigenous seeds.
My Niece Was Killed Amid Mexico’s Land Conflicts. The World Must Hold Corporations Accountable
- Inter Press Service

MICHOACÁN, Mexico , December 18 (IPS) - My niece Roxana Valentín Cárdenas was 21 years old when she was killed. She was a Purépecha Indigenous woman from San Andrés Tziróndaro, a community on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro in the Mexican state of Michoacán.
Sudan war: World urged not to ignore ‘gruesome sexual violence’
- UN News
Harrowing new details emerged on Thursday in a UN report detailing targeted sexual violence and summary executions in Sudan’s North Darfur region, attributed to paramilitary fighters who overran the city of El Fasher in late October.
When Frontline Communities Lead: Lessons From Five Years of Just Climate Action
- Inter Press Service

Efforts to combat climate change too often sideline the very communities hit hardest by the crisis and who have contributed the least to it. This injustice was the core idea of the Voices for Just Climate Action (VCA) program. Now that VCA has concluded after five years, Job Muriithi and Winny Nyanwira from Hivos reflect on its achievements and share recommendations for governments and donors to ensure fair and equitable climate action.
How Pacific Wisdom Is Shaping Global Climate Action
- Inter Press Service

BELÉM, Brazil, December 17 (IPS) - On the Pacific Islands, where the ocean horizon is both a lifeline and a warning, communities have long interpreted environmental change through traditional knowledge, lived experiences, stories, and practice. Their observations echo those across the Pacific region, where traditional knowledge remains central to understanding shifting environments and responsible stewardship.
Killer Robots: The Terrifying Rise of Algorithmic Warfare
- Inter Press Service

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, December 17 (IPS) - Machines with no conscience are making split-second decisions about who lives and who dies. This isn’t dystopian fiction; it’s today’s reality. In Gaza, algorithms have generated kill lists of up to 37,000 targets.
Asia and the Pacific Preparing for a New Era of Disaster Risks
- Inter Press Service

BANGKOK, Thailand, December 17 (IPS) - Cyclones Ditwah and Senyar are indications of a shifting disaster riskscape, not anomalies. Both storms broke historical patterns: Ditwah tracked unusually south along Sri Lanka’s coast before looping into the Bay of Bengal, dumping over 375 mm of rain in 24 hours and triggering landslides.
Crimean Tatar artist moulds new path through clay in wartime Ukraine
- UN News

Through her ceramics, Crimean Tatar artist Elvira Demerdzhi finds moments of calm and a sense of home amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
At UN, nations pledge people-first digital future, tighter AI safeguards
- UN News

UN Member States on Wednesday pledged to narrow widening digital divides and put stronger safeguards around artificial intelligence (AI), as the General Assembly concluded a major review of how the world manages the Internet and fast-evolving digital technologies.
Global Issues