Nearly 14 million people could face severe hunger by the end of the year, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Wednesday, as slashed humanitarian funding threatens six of its most critical operations.

The UN relief chief on Wednesday urged Israel and Hamas to honour their agreement to return deceased hostages and allow aid at scale into Gaza, warning that it should not be used as “a bargaining chip” amid reports of new civilian killings and extrajudicial executions.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rose by a record amount in 2024, reaching new highs and locking in further long-term warming and extreme weather, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

KABUL, October 14 (IPS) - At the end of September, the Taliban abruptly severed Wi-Fi and fiber-optic internet in Afghanistan for 48 hours without any explanation. The disruption caused consternation and suffering among millions of Afghans, especially those who depend on the internet for education and online commerce.

WASHINGTON DC, October 14 (IPS) - The World Bank and other multilateral development banks recently have begun reconsidering their self-imposed restrictions on financing fossil fuel projects. This change is being prompted in part by the new U.S. administration and is also supported by developing country experts. Yet, the reality remains that greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from fossil fuels, and specifically the climate change they induce, can severely undermine multilateral development bank projects and overall developing country growth prospects.

NAIROBI, October 14 (IPS) - The Gambia’s lead negotiator on mitigation believes that COP30 presents a unique opportunity to rebalance global climate leadership.

UNITED NATIONS, October 14 (IPS) - New figures from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) show that displacement has surged significantly in Haiti, deepening existing security and humanitarian crises in a country where nearly 90 percent of the capital is controlled by armed gangs.

ABUJA, Nigeria, October 14 (IPS) - Recent research from Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered AI warns that bias in artificial intelligence remains deeply rooted even in models designed to avoid it and can worsen as models grow. From bias in hiring of men over women for leadership roles, to misclassification of darker-skinned individuals as criminals, the stakes are high.

The UN maritime agency opened a special session in London on Tuesday, where nations are debating – and may adopt – a landmark framework to curb greenhouse gas emissions for global shipping, amid intense debate and open US opposition.

More than eight per cent of the world population or around 673 million people are not getting enough to eat and going hungry, according to the UN.