News headlines in December 2025, page 4

GITHUNGURI, Kenya, December 24 (IPS) - For the past two years, Samuel Ndungu, a smallholder farmer, has been growing organic food and supplying it to the local market in Githunguri, just outside Nairobi.

Since the 19th century, industrialisation has had a transformative effect on the world, both positive and negative. It has created jobs and lifted millions out of poverty. But it has also had devastating consequences; destroying ecosystems, polluting the air, and driving the climate crisis that threatens to make large parts of the planet uninhabitable.

Although “significant restrictions and impediments” continue to hamper humanitarian operations in Gaza, teams are still responding to the population’s needs, the UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Wednesday.

From wood-based panels used in construction, to charcoal for cooking food, forest products are valued and traded all around the world.

With Central Africans set to vote in presidential, legislative, regional and long-delayed municipal elections this weekend, the United Nations has appealed for calm and restraint, warning that the credibility of the process will be critical to consolidating peace after years of conflict and instability.

The UN has long been at the forefront of efforts to involve young people in decision-making, and the last decade has seen significant progress, thanks to the adoption of a Security Council Resolution on Youth, Peace and Security which led to widespread changes in the ways that the voices of young people are not just heard, but also incorporated in peace plans and policies.

UNITED NATIONS, December 23 (IPS) - Despite notable improvements in the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip following the October 10 ceasefire, progress remains critically fragile. With the enclave having averted famine across multiple regions, the United Nations (UN) and its partners warn that sustained humanitarian access, a steady flow of resources, and the restoration of critical civilian infrastructure are essential in preventing further deterioration, which could have long-lasting consequences for an already deeply traumatized population.

CIVICUS discusses migrants’ rights in Libya with Sarra Zidi, political scientist and researcher for HuMENA, an international civil society organisation (CSO) that advances democracy, human rights and social justice across the Middle East and North Africa.

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.