News headlines in April 2026

WASHINGTON DC, April 16 (IPS) - War is again defining the global landscape. After decades of relative calm following the Cold War, the number of active conflicts has surged in recent years to levels not seen since the end of the Second World War.

PORTLAND, USA, April 15 (IPS) - Who should be responsible for providing care and covering expenses for the elderly? Should it be governments, the elderly themselves, their families, a combination of the three, or a new societal arrangement?

NEW YORK, April 15 (IPS) - Every powerful actor in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict professes to seek peace. The US and EU repeat the two-state mantra, the Arab states invoke Palestinian rights, AIPAC proclaims its defense of Israel’s security, and Israeli opposition parties promise “responsible” leadership and stability.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, April 15 (IPS) - When Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen addressed her supporters on election night on 24 March, she chose her words carefully. Losing four percentage points after almost seven years in power, she suggested, wasn’t so bad given there’s been a pandemic, a war in Europe and a confrontation with Donald Trump over Greenland. The reality was the Social Democrats had recorded their worst general election result since 1903. Meanwhile, the far-right Danish People’s Party (DPP) tripled its seat count, despite years of the Social Democrats leading a systematic crackdown on immigration to try to prevent it gaining support.

UNITED NATIONS, April 15 (IPS) - The United Nations faces two crucial elections later this year: the election of a new Secretary General, with no confirmed date for polling, and the election of a new President (PGA), scheduled for June 2, for the upcoming 81st session of the General Assembly.

Six-time Trinidad and Tobago archery champion, Anthurium Lewis, has told UN News how sport helped her overcome age barriers in environmental advocacy and how in the future it can contribute to reaching globally agreed poverty and sustainability goals.

Foreign ministers from across the world met in Berlin on Wednesday to show support for Sudan, where a fourth year of brutal warfare has begun as humanitarian needs deepen.

Developing countries are banking on having a stronger voice in debt negotiations, following the launch of a new country-led borrowing initiative on Wednesday on the margins of the annual IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings.

Measles vaccinations have saved nearly 20 million lives in Africa since the year 2000 and more than 500 million children were protected through routine immunisation, but the continent remains offtrack in the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases.

As we confront increasingly complex and interconnected crises - from climate change to the AI revolution - the leadership and voices of young people have never been more vital, says the UN.