News headlines in January 2026, page 5

When fighting recently intensified near her neighbourhood in Aleppo, in northern Syria, Fatima and her family had to run.

Warning that the “rule of law is being replaced by the law of the jungle,” the UN Secretary-General on Monday urged world powers to recommit to international law as the foundation of peace, justice and multilateral cooperation.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is sounding the alarm over the threat of escalating violence in Jonglei state which is putting lives at risk and further weakening prospects for peace.

The head of embattled UN relief agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, has condemned reports that its headquarters in East Jerusalem have been set alight deliberately.

The staggering amount of harmful AI-generated online content has prompted an urgent call from across the UN system for a raft of measures to protect children from abuse, exploitation and mental trauma.

“Giving up is not an option - so many people depend on you,” the words of Maryanne Gichanga, a participant in a UN supported initiative, which aims to help farmers in Kenya find solutions to alleviate the pressures of climate change on agriculture production.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a detailed statement regretting the United States decision to leave the UN agency, and declaring that it will leave both the US and the world less safe as a result.

The senior UN official in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, has issued a condemnation of the massive overnight Russian drone and missile strike on several major Ukrainian cities, killing and injuring civilians, and knocking out energy infrastructure amid sub-zero temperatures.

CIVICUS speaks with Belarusian activist, blogger and journalist Mikola Dziadok about his experiences as a two-time political prisoner and the repression of dissent in Belarus. Mikola was jailed following mass protests in 2020.

UNITED NATIONS, January 23 (IPS) - Nearly four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine faces another winter marked by widespread humanitarian suffering and continued indiscriminate attacks. The final months of 2025 were particularly volatile, characterized by routine bombardment of densely populated areas and repeated strikes on residential neighborhoods, critical civilian infrastructure, and humanitarian facilities. As hostilities expanded into new territories over the past year, humanitarian needs grew sharply, with many war-torn communities residing in uninhabitable areas.