Independent UN human rights experts on Friday expressed grave concern over the deaths early last month of two young Black men in the United States, at the hands of police officers.

Gender bias in science has resulted in drug tests that treat the female body as an aberration, and search algorithms that perpetuate discrimination, but the solution is simple: increase the numbers of women working in the field and support the girls hoping to join them one day. 

A second UN aid convoy reached northwest Syria on Friday to help victims of the still-unfolding earthquake tragedy, but humanitarians have warned that far more lifesaving help is needed, and much more quickly.

ABUJA, Feb 09 (IPS) - Patients who visit public clinics in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, are asked mental health questions to detect signs of stress and depression early. The process starts with a basic checklist, with patients referred to a nurse, doctor, or specialist. Asking these questions at primary care not only can identify issues early on, but it also helps decrease the stigma often associated with mental health while maintaining anonymity.

BULAWAYO, Feb 09 (IPS) - With political violence escalating in Zimbabwe, national elections slated for later this year face questions about whether the polls will meet free and fair international benchmarks.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Feb 09 (IPS) - The last three years have seen the Pacific impacted negatively due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tourism industry, a key source of national revenue and jobs creation, received a severe blow due to closure of borders and reduced travel.

Despite leadership losses and diminished cash reserves, the extremist group ISIL, or Da'esh, continues to pose a threat to international peace and security, the UN counter-terrorism chief warned on Thursday in New York. 

Acts of armed violence targeting schools in Haiti have spiked nine-fold in one year amid rising insecurity and widespread unrest, UNICEF warned on Thursday.

Epidemiologists and researchers briefing the UN General Assembly in the first of its kind science session earlier this week, called for pathogen surveillance and an open-source global early warning system that would include data from a wide range of sources and streams.

Africa is currently experiencing an exponential rise in cholera cases, amid a global surge in the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Thursday.