News headlines in 2025, page 319

The recent holiday and New Year season brought no respite in Ukraine, but rather an escalation and even expansion of the fighting, consistent with developments in 2024, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs said in a briefing to the Security Council on Thursday.

In the wake of Wednesday’s announcement of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas due to come into effect on Sunday, displaced Gazans – ground down by 15 months of devastating conflict – have told UN News they hope an end to their suffering is in sight.

The UN Security Council on Thursday passed a resolution to renew the mandate of the Panel of Experts (PoE) of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee which also extends measures related to the illicit export of petroleum from oil-rich Libya, initially authorised in 2014.

The world is facing an extraordinary convergence of crises that has left 305 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed solidarity with the people of Lebanon and Syria on Thursday, acknowledging the traumas both nations have endured over decades.

The embattled people of Ukraine and those forced abroad need $3.32 billion in lifesaving and sustained humanitarian assistance to help them cope as a fourth year of war looms after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, UN aid chiefs said on Thursday.

Geopolitical tensions, the rising costs of climate change and unresolved debt issues are putting labour markets under pressure, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) published on Thursday.

PORTLAND, USA, Jan 15 (IPS) - Despite the denials by the Israeli government and some of its supporters, Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza is evident.

GEBZE, Türkiye, Jan 15 (IPS) - "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." Charles Dickens is more relevant today than ever.

The wealthy and powerful are meeting again this year in glamorous Davos, at an invitation-only event. They arrive in chartered aircraft and private jets to speak about our warming climate, among other global concerns.

BULAWAYO, Jan 15 (IPS) - Africa loses billions of dollars annually through illicit financial flows, resulting in the continent failing to improve the lives of millions of people despite vast mineral wealth, according to experts.