Global Issues
News headlines
Will Low Fertility Rates Return to the Replacement Level Any Time Soon?
- Inter Press Service
PORTLAND, USA, December 15 (IPS) - Will low fertility rates return to the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman any time soon? A simple answer to this vital demographic question is: unlikely.
As Attacks on Women Defenders Intensify, so Must Our Support
- Inter Press Service
MANILA, Philippines, December 15 (IPS) - A global crackdown on civic freedoms is intensifying – and women are on the frontlines of the attack. CIVICUS’s 2025 People Power Under Attack report analyses the extent to which freedoms of association, expression and peaceful assembly are being respected or violated. The report reveals that people in 83 countries now live in conditions where their freedoms are routinely denied, compared to 67 in 2020. In 2020, 13 per cent of the world’s population lived in countries where civic freedoms were broadly respected; now it’s more like 7 per cent. Among the most documented violations in 2025 were detention of human rights defenders, journalists and protesters, and women human rights defenders (WHRDs) were among the most affected.
Venezuela Needs More Local Data To Understand the Impacts of Climate Change
- Inter Press Service
CARACAS, December 15 (IPS) - A group of 55 researchers gathered and analyzed 1,260 bibliographic references to compile the Second Academic Report on Climate Change in Venezuela. Their final conclusion is that more local studies are still needed to record the direct impacts across different Venezuelan regions and, in particular, to provide data to design the adaptation plans necessary to address climate change.
UNDP’s Digital Rights Dashboard: A Conversation Starter on Human Rights in the Digital Age
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, December 15 (IPS) - Within a generation, digital systems have changed much of how we learn, work and participate in civic life, especially in more connected regions. This shift is unfolding at different speeds in developing countries, but the direction of travel is unmistakable.
Dialogue is ‘not naïve – it’s necessary’ as global divisions deepen, UN Riyadh forum hears
- UN News
The 11th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations opened in Riyadh on Sunday with a blunt message for a world riven by distrust: dialogue is not a luxury – it’s a survival strategy.
Guterres condemns deadly attack on Hannukah celebration in Sydney
- UN News
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned the “heinous deadly attack” on Sunday against Jewish families gathered in Sydney, Australia, to celebrate Hanukkah.
From farm to classroom: Feeding children and supporting farmers in Timor-Leste
- UN News
It’s a win-win recipe: schoolchildren eat a free, nutritious meal every day and local farmers gain reliable access to local markets.
UN marks first World Turkic Language Family Day
- UN News
The UN cultural agency, UNESCO, is preparing to celebrate the first ever World Turkic Language Family Day on Monday, following a decision by UNESCO’s General Conference in Samarkand to establish 15 December as an annual observance.
Sudan: UN strongly condemns deadly drone attack on peacekeeping base in Kordofan
- UN News
Drone attacks targeting the UN logistics base in Kadugli, Sudan, on Saturday killed six peacekeepers and injured eight others – all members of the Bangladeshi contingent serving in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).
In Baghdad, Guterres hails ‘new chapter’ in Iraq as UN mission draws to a close
- UN News
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) is ending operations this month but support for the country will continue, Secretary-General António Guterres affirmed at the official closing ceremony in Baghdad on Saturday.
Powered by
