News headlines in 2025, page 288

24 February 2025 marks the third year of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the civilian population continues to face near daily-attacks. The UN staff living alongside them, enduring the same difficult conditions, have been a lifeline throughout the war.

The latest round of a large-scale polio vaccination campaign in Gaza targeting nearly 600,000 young children got underway on Saturday.

As the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine reaches its third year, a flurry of diplomatic activity has led to a growing expectation of a ceasefire, although the situation remains extremely fluid. Despite the uncertainty, the UN is planning how to best support the country when the fighting finally stops.

Every day, almost one in five young women are married off while still children, according to the UN reproductive and sexual health agency, UNFPA, which is urging countries to say “I don’t” to child marriage, an illegal practice that is almost universally condemned and yet remains widespread globally.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 21 (IPS) - In the final quarter of 2024 ,there has been an escalation in the Sudanese civil war, with armed clashes between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) having grown in brutality. Heightened insecurity has pushed millions of people into displacement, hunger, and poverty. Additionally, the continued hostilities have made it difficult for humanitarian organizations to scale their responses up.

MBARALI, Tanzania, Feb 21 (IPS) - A hush had fallen over Mbarali District, but it was not the quiet of peace—it was the silence of uncertainty.

NEW YORK, Feb 21 (IPS) - The selection of the next UN Secretary-General (UNSG) will be a pivotal moment in global efforts to resist authoritarianism and work together to address shared problems. Where do UN Member States stand on appointing a feminist woman to this role?

Around 80,000 people in northeastern Colombia are suffering the devastating consequences of an armed conflict that escalated on 15 January of this year. Caught in the crossfire between armed groups, thousands have been forced to flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs while others remain trapped in their homes.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Friday that strongly condemned the ongoing offensive and advance of M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Aid operations in the Gaza Strip continue to reach people from north to south with critical assistance, including cash, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said on Friday.