ABUJA, December 23 (IPS) - On 20 November 2025, a Nigerian court in Abuja sentenced separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of terrorism and several related offenses, bringing an end to a decade-long legal battle.

UNITED NATIONS, December 23 (IPS) - The UN Staff Union is on edge — hoping for the best and expecting the worse — as the General Assembly will vote on a proposed programme budget for 2026 by December 31.

We live in a galaxy of data. From satellites and smartwatches to social media and swipes at a register, we have ways to measure the economy to an extent that would have seemed like science fiction just a generation ago. New data sources and techniques are challenging not only how we see the economy, but how we make sense of it. The data deluge raises important questions: How can we distinguish meaningful signals of economic activity from noise in the age of artificial intelligence, and how should we use them to inform policy decisions? To what extent can new sources […]

UNITED NATIONS, December 23 (IPS) - Jeanne Kirkpatrick, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, once made a highly-debatable distinction between “friendly” right-wing “authoritarian” regimes (which were mostly U.S. and Western allies) and “unfriendly” left-wing “totalitarian” dictatorships (which the U.S. abhorred).

GENEVA, December 23 (IPS) - In my more than 30 years with the United Nations, I’ve seen enormous change, collaboration and progress towards improving human development. But I’ve also seen how history has a way of repeating itself to entrench some of the most intractable global challenges.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, December 23 (IPS) - Opinions have been divided over the annual UN climate conferences. While some see COP30 in Belém, Brazil, as confirming their irrelevance, others see it as a turning point in the struggle for climate justice.

The Security Council convenes today for a packed agenda. At 10 am, members are set to vote on a draft resolution extending the mandate of the African Union support mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), which supports Somali authorities in stabilisation efforts and the fight against armed groups. The Council will then hear a briefing on Iran and the implementation of resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Members are also scheduled to convene for a meeting in the afternoon on threats to international peace and security. Follow live below and UN News app users can click here.

ROME, December 22 (IPS) - Bangladesh in recent years started drawing global attention for its success in emerging out of poverty through economic growth and agricultural development. From early 2000 until 2023, while population growth continued to decline from 1.2 in 2013 to 1.03 in 2023, this growth has been the powerful driver of poverty reduction since 2000. Indeed, agriculture accounted for 90 percent of the reduction in poverty between 2005 and 2010 (World Bank).

TOKYO, Japan, December 22 (IPS) - Leaders of Japan and the five Central Asian states met in Tokyo on Dec. 20 and adopted the “Tokyo Declaration,” launching a new leaders-level format under the “Central Asia plus Japan Dialogue” (CA+JAD). The declaration places at the core of cooperation two priorities: strengthening supply-chain resilience for critical minerals, and supporting the Trans-Caspian Corridor (the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route), which links Central Asia with Europe without transiting Russia.

Fulgence Ndayizeye, a Burundian bicycle taxi driver who used to cross the Congolese-Burundian border every day to support his family, wanted to return home. He and more than 500 other Burundians, including women, men, and children, stranded in Uvira on the border between the DRC and Rwanda, were finally allowed to return to their country on Sunday, December 14, 2025, by M23-Congo River Alliance (AFC) rebels after being stuck in the DRC due to an M23 rebel offensive that had taken the town a few days earlier. According to Human Rights Watch the M23 and Rwandan forces entered Uvira on […]