News headlines
In Gaza, a Christmas without a tree
- UN News
For the second year in a row, Christmas arrived for the Christian community in the Gaza Strip without celebrations, as daily life remains a constant struggle.
Southeast Asia provides fertile ground for women to benefit from AI
- UN News
Artificial intelligence or AI technology can help to protect vulnerable women, give women a voice in male-dominated communities and increase training opportunities in Southeast Asia thanks to innovative approaches by United Nations agencies.
General Assembly approves $3.72 billion UN budget for 2025
- UN News
The General Assembly wrapped up the main part of its 79th session on Tuesday, approving a $3.72 billion budget for the United Nations in 2025 and adopting a new programme to support landlocked developing countries.
This Year’s Three UN Summits Set the Stage for COP30 to Transform Food Systems
- Inter Press Service
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 24 (IPS) - This year has been a landmark one for climate and environment policy. Starting with the UN’s COP16 biodiversity talks in October, followed by the COP29 climate talks in November, and closing with the desertification COP16 in December, few years have offered such critical moments back-to-back.
Civil Society Trends for 2025: Nine Global Challenges, One Reason for Hope
- Inter Press Service
LONDON / MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Dec 24 (IPS) - It's been a tumultuous year, and a tough one for struggles for human rights. Civil society’s work to seek social justice and hold the powerful to account has been tested at every turn. Civil society has kept holding the line, resisting power grabs and regressive legislation, calling out injustice and claiming some victories, often at great cost. And things aren’t about to get any easier, as key challenges identified in 2024 are likely to intensify in 2025.
Innovative Financing to Unlock Africa’s Blue Economy
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 24 (IPS) - Securing new financing for global good has become more challenging than ever. Negotiations at the recently-concluded COP16 on Nature and Biodiversity failed to reach an agreement on establishing a fund to support the implementation of the Framework for Nature agreed in 2022 under the Montreal-Kunming agreement.
Its Very Tough: Turning Youth Employment Dreams Into Reality
- Inter Press Service
SKOPJE, North Macedonia, Dec 24 (IPS) - It’s a bright winter day in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia in the southern Balkans. By lunchtime, the cafes are full. The atmosphere is busy and social, and it is not difficult to see why the city, home to one-third of the country’s population of 2 million, is the focus of hope for young jobseekers. But, for many, it is not an easy road.
Making the digital and physical world safer: Why the Convention against Cybercrime matters
- UN News
Billions of people worldwide are set to benefit from enhanced safety online and in the physical world following the adoption of a legally binding treaty on cybercrime by the UN General Assembly.
Tchaikovsky and America: A mutual fascination
- UN News
Tchaikovky’s ballet The Nutcracker is now a staple of the holiday season. Less well-known is the famed Russian composer’s strong connection to the United States and, in particular, New York.
UN General Assembly adopts milestone cybercrime treaty
- UN News
The General Assembly on Tuesday adopted the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, a landmark global treaty aimed at strengthening international cooperation to combat cybercrime and protecting societies from digital threats.