News headlines in 2026, page 38

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.

Africa has never lacked agricultural strategies. Since the launch of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in 2003, governments have pledged repeatedly to spend at least 10 per cent of public budgets on agriculture and to raise productivity through better investment and coordination. The African Union reaffirmed this target in subsequent declarations, such as Malabo in 2014 and the Kampala CAADP Strategy (2026-2035).

UNITED NATIONS, February 11 (IPS) - Since the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in October of last year, humanitarian conditions in Gaza have notably improved — but aid agencies warn that progress is extremely fragile. Acute shortages of lifesaving medical care and psychosocial support persist, hunger remains widespread, with conditional cash assistance as the primary barrier preventing full-scale food insecurity, while Israeli attacks continue to undermine stability and humanitarian efforts.

BANGKOK, Thailand, February 11 (IPS) - The COVID-19 pandemic reminded everyone how important care work is to daily life. When schools closed and hospitals filled up, often it was women and girls who stepped up at home. Their contributions made a big difference, yet these responsibilities often go unseen and unrewarded.

NAIROBI, February 11 (IPS) - The global aid system is crumbling amidst chronic underinvestment in rural areas, posing a systemic threat to food systems everywhere.

Broadcaster Rami Al-Sharafi works on a laptop inside the damaged Zaman FM radio station building in Gaza, marking what may seem an unlikely return to the airwaves amid the rubble of the deadly two-year Israel-Hamas war.