News stories by Kim-Jenna Jurriaans

NEW YORK, Aug 27 (IPS) - A colourful mural occupies the entire facade of the right side of a three-storey house on the corner of Irving and Gates Avenue in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Bushwick. It depicts a group of youths taking cellphone footage of an arrest scene. Above it, a message reads, "You have the right to watch and film police activities."

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 27 (IPS) - For the former industrial engineer Yastel Yamada, retirement has not meant he can finally stop working. Instead, the 73-year-old and about 700 other skilled seniors across Japan have volunteered to tackle the most dangerous part of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant cleanup and spare a younger generation from the effects of extreme radiation.

NEW YORK, Oct 03 (IPS) - U.S. President Barack Obama’s unequivocal defence of First Amendment protections of blasphemy and hateful speech during last week’s address to the 67th United Nations General Assembly defied calls from Muslim protesters and some foreign government leaders to ban a controversial YouTube video and support stronger restrictions to religious criticism.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 26 (IPS) - Following a lukewarm outcome of the Rio+20 sustainable development negotiations in June, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is moving full-steam ahead on a new initiative aimed at leveraging public-private partnerships to bring modern energy to over one billion people by 2030.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 13 (IPS) - While the global community made progress in reducing under-five child mortality to below seven million per year, it risks failing to reach the global targets set for 2015 if action is not scaled up, according to a new report by the U.N. children's agency UNICEF.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 10 (IPS) - When Ross Holzman packs for a work trip, he brings three bags with him: One with blank postcards, one with crayons, and one with thousands of artworks created by children around the world.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 14 (IPS) - Alleged human rights violations and other challenges involving the use of Private Military Security Contractors (PMSCs) have sparked a series of international efforts to create systems of accountability for an increasingly complex transnational industry.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 25 (IPS) - Global funding for humanitarian aid interventions saw the biggest shortfalls in 10 years in 2011, according to a new report, raising questions about the international community’s ability to meet a 20-percent greater need for 2012 driven by drought and conflict.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 12 (IPS) - The United Nations is increasingly hiring Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) for its missions across the world, raising concerns over the use of firms known for participation in human rights abuses, as well as an overall lack of accountability structures governing these contractors within the U.N. system.

NEW YORK, Jul 10 (IPS) - New York State legislators up in Albany are likely to be seeing a lot of Librada Paz in the near future.