Activists working with sea-rescue charities in Italy should not be criminalized, a UN independent human rights expert said on Thursday, ahead of a trial against crew members from several non-governmental organizations (NGOs). 

Now is the time to stand up for the people of Türkiye and Syria living in the region of the deadly earthquake disaster, said the UN chief on Thursday, and show them “the same kind of support and generosity” which they have displayed in recent years, aiding millions of refugees and displaced people fleeing conflict.

As a UN aid convoy reached Syria on Thursday for the first time since devastating earthquakes cut off supply lines from Türkiye three days ago, UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, called for assurances that desperately needed assistance inside Syria would not be held up or “politicized”.

NEW YORK, Feb 08 (IPS) - Latin America has the potential to become the world’s dominant exporter of hydrocarbon. According to the IEA, Latin America could produce 25 percent of the 12 Million tons (Mt) of low-carbon hydrogen exports expected by 2030.

DILI, Timor-Leste, Feb 08 (IPS) - Access to energy remains a concerning challenge for many in Timor-Leste. The centralised nature of the local electricity supply chain has traditionally kept consumers reliant on the national grid to overcome chronic energy shortages.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb 08 (IPS) - When the Pope Emeritus Benedict XIV/Ratzinger died on the last day of 2022 it did not cause much of a stir in the global newsfeed. Maybe a sign that religion has ceased to play a decisive role in modern society Nevertheless, religious hierarchies are still highly influential, not least for the world’s 1, 4 billion baptized Catholics, and a pope’s policies have a bearing not only on morals, but also on political and economic issues. By contrast, there are more Muslims in the world, 1.9 billion, though adherents are not so centrally controlled and supervised as Catholics and hierarchies do not have a comparable influence on global affairs.

PUNE, INDIA, Feb 08 (IPS) - While a 2017 study by the Confederation of Indian Industry Jones Lang LaSalle India and WeWork noted the potential in India’s co-working segment, it took COVID-19 for people to transition to co-working spaces close to home.

Air passenger demand in 2023 will rapidly recover to pre-pandemic levels on most routes, the UN aviation agency said on Wednesday.

The Doha action plan adopted last year, offers a “blueprint” to lift the world’s least developed nations out of poverty amid the ongoing global financial downturn, the UN General Assembly President said on Wednesday.

As millions worldwide continue to go hungry, leaders of five international humanitarian, banking and trade organizations on Wednesday appealed for further urgent action to prevent the global food and nutrition crisis from worsening.