Global Issues
News headlines
UN rights chief warns of deepening repression in Venezuela, rising toll in Ukraine
- UN News
The UN’s top human rights official warned on Tuesday that repression is tightening its grip in Venezuela while civilians in Ukraine face an ever-rising toll, as global attention drifts from two crises marked by deepening abuses and shrinking accountability.
New demolition order for West Bank camp is ‘more devastating news’
- UN News
Israel has issued new demolition orders for the Nur Shams camp in the north of the occupied West Bank effective this week, which a senior official with the UN Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) labelled as “more devastating news” for the region.
New influenza variant is surging, but vaccination still our best bet: WHO
- UN News
Amid an early start to the Northern Hemisphere influenza season a new variant of the virus is rapidly gaining ground - but vaccination remains the “most effective defence”, the UN health agency said on Tuesday.
Will the Song “White Christmas” Become a Clarion Call for Climate Change Action?
- Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON DC, December 15 (IPS) - As each Christmas approaches, one song permeates the airwaves across the United States and elsewhere: White Christmas. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, “White Christmas” is the #1 selling physical single of all times with over 50 million copies sold.
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.
Corruption costs lives and livelihoods: Why this week’s UN summit in Doha matters
- UN News
Last year, one in five people who dealt with a public official were asked to pay a bribe, according to a UN report. The world is doing something about it.
Six peacekeepers laid to rest following deadly drone attack in Sudan
- UN News
A solemn farewell ceremony was held on Monday at the headquarters of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) to honour six Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed in a drone attack on a UN logistics base in Kadugli, South Kordofan.
Powered by
