The pointe shoes were a testament to unfulfilled hopes. They belonged to a young ballet dancer from Bosnia and Herzegovina whose life was forever changed by the brutal conflict that broke out in the heart of Europe at the end of the 20th century and were on display at the UN Headquarters in New York to educate visitors about the horrors of war and genocide.

At eight billion strong, the “human family is larger than ever”, but leaders are failing in efforts to ensure a peaceful and prosperous world for all, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message to mark World Population Day on Tuesday.

As conflict continues to rage in Sudan, UN humanitarians expressed alarm on Tuesday at a surge in the number of people fleeing across the border to Chad.

CARACAS, Jul 10 (IPS) - Hundreds of thousands of children and young people, and thousands of their teachers, drop out of regular schooling in Venezuela year after year, and most of those who remain go to the classroom only two or three days a week, highlighting the abysmal backwardness of education in the country.

MADRID, Jul 10 (IPS) - A quick glance at the current European political map would clearly show how far the extremist ideology has been installed in European countries –those who still wave the French Revolution’s flag of “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité.”

ROME, Jul 10 (IPS) - There seems to be no end in sight to the war in Ukraine. On the contrary it continues to escalate. The latest ratchet up has been the decision by the USA to supply the Ukrainian army with cluster bombs. These are nasty weapons which scatter and explode over a wide area. They are specifically designed to kill people rather that destroy infrastructure, military installations or communication hubs. They also have a sting in the tail – some of the bomblets remain unexploded, effectively becoming anti-personnel mines. These can turn wide swathes of territory into virtual no-go areas.

KAMPALA, Jul 10 (IPS) - At Kampala’s Nakawa market, Lovisa Nabisubi scoops charcoal from a bag and packs it into tins ready for customers. Her bare hands, feet, and clothes are stained black from hours of dealing in this popular household fuel which some equate to “black gold” not just in Uganda but in most of East Africa.

Young adolescents in the north of Thailand have been learning about the value of family planning and other sexual and reproductive health issues, thanks to the work of a non-governmental organization (NGO) supported by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

Government, civil society and private sector partners convened in New York on Monday by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to address the urgent need to put the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track.

For almost a year, the UN-brokered Black Sea Initiative agreed by Russia, Türkiye, and Ukraine has allowed millions of tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs to leave Ukraine’s ports, playing an “indispensable role” in global food security, according to UNSecretary-General António Guterres.