News headlines
Farmers Earn While Reviving Native Forests Through a Blockchain-Powered App
- Inter Press Service

SIAYA, Kenya , December 8 (IPS) - For years, Morris Onyango had been trying to reforest his degraded land on the shores of River Nzoia, in Siaya county, 430 kilometers from Kenya’s Capital, Nairobi. But every time he planted trees on his farm, his efforts bore little fruit, as floodwaters would not only wash away his tree seedlings but also fertile topsoil on his land.
The New Fragility: Peacebuilding Meets Digital Democracy
- Inter Press Service

Established democracies are exhibiting governance stresses that were once associated primarily with fragile and conflict-affected states. Polarisation is weakening institutional trust, fragmenting civic norms, and reducing societies’ ability to solve problems collectively. This is the new fragility. At the same time, governments and civil society organisations are adopting digital tools to support public participation. These deliberative technologies hold real promise, but in polarised environments they also carry risks. Their success depends on the same principles that have guided peacebuilding efforts for decades.
Africa’s Industrial Future is Within Reach: What we Need now is Intentional Investment
- Inter Press Service

VIENNA, Austria, December 8 (IPS) - Africa enters 2025 at a pivotal moment in its development. The ambition to transform the continent’s economies through sustainable industrialization, regional integration, and innovation is clearer than ever, and is picking up pace. The foundations are being laid. Industrial strategies are expanding, regional integration is progressing, infrastructure projects are advancing, and a young, dynamic private sector powers local economies.
Israeli police forcibly enter UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem
- UN News

The UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said that Israeli police raided its compound in East Jerusalem early on Monday, representing “a new challenge to international law.”
Sudan: UN chief condemns deadly strikes on children's nursery, hospital
- UN News

As Sudan’s civil war intensified on Monday, top UN officials condemned the killing of dozens of children in drone strikes in South Kordofan state – and the targeting of first responders trying to help the wounded.
Humanitarians launch $33 billion appeal for 2026
- UN News

The UN and partners are seeking $23 billion to provide lifesaving support next year to 87 million people worldwide affected by war, climate disasters, earthquakes, epidemics and crop failures.
One year after Assad’s fall, Syria’s future must be ‘free, sovereign and united’
- UN News

The UN Secretary-General has marked the first anniversary of the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, calling the moment “a day to honor [Syrians’] sacrifices and to renew the aspirations that fueled the historic change in the country.”
‘The system has failed’: Giles Duley’s mission to reframe disability in war
- UN News

Talking to journalists earlier this week on his final day as the first UN Global Advocate for Persons with Disabilities in Conflict and Peacebuilding Situations, Giles Duley said he felt he had failed in his core mission. More importantly, he added, the system itself has failed.
From ruins to rebuilding: Three Jamaican mothers face the future after hurricane
- UN News

Three women in Jamaica whose lives were upended by the destructive force of a hurricane which battered the Caribbean island are looking to rebuild their future
UNGA’s Long-Drawn Revitalization Efforts Need a Meaningful Outcome, not Another Repetitive Regularity of an Omnibus of Redundancy
- Inter Press Service

NEW YORK, December 5 (IPS) - From its inception, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) has been engaged in improving its working methods, mindful of, as early as in 1949, “… the increasing length of General Assembly sessions, and of the growing tendency towards protracted debates”.
Global Issues