News headlines
Activists Fear Kenya Forests Threatened Due to Government Development
- Inter Press Service
NAIROBI, Mar 13 (IPS) - After the controversial lifting of a six-year moratorium or temporary ban on logging activities in public and community forests by the Kenyan government in July 2023, trucks ferrying tree logs are frequently seen on major highways in total disregard of environmental concerns.
Trashing Jewish Values Risks Israel’s Survival as We Know It
- Inter Press Service
NEW YORK, Mar 13 (IPS) - 77 torturous years of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, punctuated by intense violence and wars, successive Netanyahu-led governments have shattered Jewish values to the core—values that have sustained and preserved Jewish lives for centuries and provided the moral foundation on which Israel was built.
Conflict, hunger, poverty impede children's early development: Türk
- UN News
Governments everywhere are “letting children down instead of lifting them up” as conflict, hunger, poverty and climate change hold back child development, UN rights chief Volker Türk told Member States in Geneva on Thursday.
‘Brighter future hangs in the balance’ in Syria after 14 years of war
- UN News
The Constitutional Declaration issued by Syria’s caretaker authorities marks a pivotal moment in the country’s turbulent transition, with UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen expressing cautious optimism about its potential to fill a legal vacuum and pave the way for a “credible and inclusive political transition”.
UN chief hails Kyrgyz-Tajik border treaty breakthrough
- UN News
The UN Secretary-General warmly welcomed the presidential signing of the State Border Treaty by Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on Thursday following decades-long negotiations.
Sudan war: Children facing ‘unimaginable suffering’, warns UNICEF chief
- UN News
Sudan is now the world’s largest and most devastating humanitarian crisis, the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Thursday. After two years of war, over 30 million people – more than half of them children – are living in the grip of mass atrocities, famine and deadly disease.
Europe grapples with highest number of measles cases in more than 25 years
- UN News
Measles cases in Europe have doubled in just a year, with the highest number reported since 1997, UN agencies announced on Thursday.
Rights probe alleges sexual violence against Palestinians by Israeli forces used as ‘method of war’
- UN News
Senior human rights investigators reporting to the UN Human Rights Council alleged on Thursday that sexual and gender-based violence by Israeli security forces against Palestinians – including children - have been increasingly used “as a method of war” following the 7 October 2023 attacks that sparked the Gaza war.
Surges in Violence in Haiti Push Basic Services to the Brink of Collapse
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 12 (IPS) - In 2025, the humanitarian crisis in Haiti has grown increasingly dire amid the ongoing gang wars. With rates of displacement, child recruitment, food insecurity, physical violence, and sexual violence having skyrocketed in the past year alone, the national police have found it difficult to keep gang activity under control.
United Nations’ New Efficiency Initiative is Aiming for Structural Changes to Operations
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 12 (IPS) - The United Nations chief announced on Wednesday (March 12) a new initiative that aims to assess areas of efficiency and improvement for the international organization to expand its efforts and recognize the need “for even greater urgency and ambition.”