News headlines in February 2026

UNITED NATIONS, February 13 (IPS) - United Nations member countries will select a new UN secretary-general this year to succeed António Guterres in January 2027. The change in leadership comes at a time when human rights and democracy, as well as the international organizations created to uphold those principles and provide lifesaving assistance, are under unprecedented attack.

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, February 13 (IPS) - Dawn is breaking and the world’s biggest refugee camp stirs to life. Smoke rises from small cooking fires among rows of bamboo and tarpaulin shelters as children line up for food.

ROME, February 12 (IPS) - Glaciers – the world’s hidden water banks – are a source of life for billions. The seasonal melt from mountains and glaciers sustains some of the world’s most important rivers, such as the Indus, the Nile, the Ganges and the Colorado. Those and other mountain-fed rivers irrigate crops, provide drinking water for nearly two billion people, and power electricity generation.

SAN FRANCISCO, USA, February 12 (IPS) - The most recent agreement limiting U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals, New START, expired on February 5, and prospects for any kind of follow-on agreement are very uncertain.

UNITED NATIONS, February 12 (IPS) - When the nuclear Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between the US and Russia expired last week, it ended a historic era— but triggered widespread speculation about the future.

A majority of parliamentarians worldwide are facing threats and abuse from voters, according to a new report released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which found that 71 per cent of lawmakers surveyed experienced violence from the public – whether offline, online or both.

Amid reported heavy Russian strikes across Ukraine on Thursday, UN human rights chief Volker Türk has condemned the “continual bombardment” the country’s people are facing.

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen on Thursday welcomed recent steps to bolster stability and improve living conditions, but told the Security Council that only a renewed political process can end the country’s long-running conflict.

After three decades of its mandate to protect children caught up in war, the UN’s top advocate on the issue is determined to remind the world that prevention and protection go hand in hand.

Even as the world fixates on ever‑brighter screens and sprawling digital feeds, radio endures with a quiet resilience, shaping how we share experience and understand one another. Its waves travel where sight cannot, pairing with cutting‑edge innovation in some places and acting as a lone, indispensable lifeline in others when technology fails to keep pace.