Saido, a Somali refugee, started playing basketball when she entered the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Basketball was, for her, a way to access community and confidence.

Humanitarians must be able to reach families affected by the “deeply alarming” recent violence in Syria’s Sweida region who need food and other basics to survive, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday.

UNITED NATIONS, August 12 (IPS) - Although the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) yields numerous opportunities for progress—such as improved efficiency, enhanced decision-making, and innovative tools for climate reform—it also poses new risks for Indigenous peoples. With AI rapidly transforming the world, it is imperative that there are ethical and equitable frameworks that prioritize inclusivity and work to narrow the gaps in the digital divide.

UNITED NATIONS, August 12 (IPS) - The food crisis in Sudan is starving more day by day, yet it is affecting women and girls at double the rate compared to men in the same areas. New findings from UN-Women reveal that female-headed households (FHHs) are three times more likely to be food insecure than ones led by men.

GENEVA, August 12 (IPS) - The future plastics treaty is being sold as potentially an environmental breakthrough. But in its current form during this week’s negotiations, it contains a dangerous flaw that must be addressed before the final text is agreed — or it could undercut the world’s most widely ratified health treaty, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), and hand the tobacco industry the tools to expand its market under the banner of environmental action.

UNITED NATIONS, August 12 (IPS) - The United Nations, facing a liquidity crisis, has been threatening to lay-off about 20 percent of its estimated 37,000 employees world-wide: a proposed move that has triggered widespread protests from staff unions both in New York and Geneva.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, August 12 (IPS) - The accumulation of still growing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in an increasingly unequal world is accelerating planetary heating. It is also worsening disparities, especially between the rich and others, both nationally and internationally.

Colourful blocks for stacking or perhaps an abacus for counting – these are the sorts of tactile objects one might expect to see in a kindergarten classroom.

The UN has expressed deep alarm over a large-scale assault by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia on El Fasher, the government-held capital of Sudan’s North Darfur State, and the nearby Abu Shouk displacement camp, which has been under siege since April 2024.

The United Nations continues to draw attention to the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where starvation and malnutrition are at the highest levels since hostilities began nearly three years ago.