The Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro recently announced it has banned the purchase of shark meat for roughly 95% of its state-run schools, citing environmental and health concerns. A July 2025…

MANDERA, Kenya, , February 10 (IPS) - Every morning before sunrise, 10-year-old Amina Adan walks away from school and toward a shrinking water pan on the outskirts of Rhamu, Mandera County. By the time her classmates would be opening exercise books, Amina was already balancing a yellow jerrycan almost half her size.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk appealed on Tuesday to all parties involved in renewed heavy fighting in Ethiopia’s ‘precarious’ Tigray region to step back, warning of the potential for a deepening crisis in the country’s war-weary north and beyond.

Relentless violence, famine and disease are fuelling a rising death toll among children in Sudan, while attacks on healthcare and a lack of aid access hamper efforts to help them, UN aid agencies warned on Tuesday.

Fish fraud is widespread in markets, grocers and restaurants around the world, but a growing number of innovative tools are turning the tide, according to a new report published on Tuesday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The President of the United Nations General Assembly appealed on Tuesday for Europe to protect the international rules-based system, defend the truth in the face of fake news and other falsehoods, and support UN reform.

From a crochet hook in a Cairo living room to digital marketplaces reaching across borders, women entrepreneurs are demonstrating how creativity, persistence and targeted support can translate into livelihoods — even when formal employment is out of reach.

Escalating violence, political stalemate and humanitarian constraints are pushing South Sudan’s civilians to the brink once again, while funding cuts weaken the UN mission tasked with protecting them.

UNITED NATIONS, February 10 (IPS) - New findings from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reveal that millions of children are having their images manipulated into sexualized content through the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI), fueling a fast-growing and deeply harmful form of online abuse. The agency warns that without strong regulatory frameworks and meaningful cooperation between governments and tech platforms, this escalating threat could have devastating consequences for the next generation.

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, February 10 (IPS) - Despite lacking both evidence and theory, many economists claim trade liberalisation accelerates development. But only a few economies have gained many jobs from external market access.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, February 10 (IPS) - It is a pleasure for me to join His Excellency, Minister Al Hussaini in welcoming you to this important dialogue here in the United Arab Emirates—a fast-growing global AI hub. A recent Microsoft study reports that 64 percent of the UAE’s working age population uses AI, which is the highest rate globally.

A draft amnesty law in Venezuela aimed at granting immediate clemency to people jailed for participating in political protests or criticizing public figures, has been welcomed by a UN commission of experts – although they have emphasised the Venezuelan people need to be at the centre of the process.

Severe flooding triggered by heavy rainfall has hit northwest Syria, killing two children and affecting more than 5,000 displaced people, the UN said on Monday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres voiced grave concern on Monday over the reported decision by the Israeli security cabinet to authorize a series of administrative and enforcement measures in Areas A and B in the occupied West Bank.

The UN human rights chief on Monday called for the immediate release of Hong Kong media magnate Jimmy Lai after a Chinese court handed him a 20-year prison sentence under the city’s national security legislation, warning the verdict violates international human rights law.

As the brutal Sudan war shows no signs of ending, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Monday called on the international community to intervene immediately to stop more mass killings and other flagrant war crimes against civilians.

South Africa has moved to withdraw its peacekeepers deployed at the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) after nearly three decades of service.

The new global health program seeks to address longstanding complaints about corruption and dependency, without giving up the tools of soft power

UNITED NATIONS, February 9 (IPS) - Eradicating extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030 is a pivotal aim of the Sustainable Development Goals. Extreme poverty, defined as surviving on less than US$3.00 per person per day at 2021 purchasing power parity, has witnessed remarkable declines over recent decades.

CIVICUS discusses the genocide case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with Mohammed Nowkhim of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace & Human Rights (ARSPHR), a civil society organisation led by Rohingya people born out of refugee camps in Bangladesh to document atrocities, preserve survivor testimony and advocate for accountability and justice.

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe & MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, February 9 (IPS) - Business can still remain profitable while protecting the environment but invest in nature-positive operations, says a landmark report by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which finds that global companies have contributed to the escalating loss of biodiversity.

The Pacific Island countries are at the frontline of climate change. Their territories mostly consist of small, low-lying islands, with long coastlines and vast ocean spaces between them. Many livelihoods are based on agriculture or fishing, and importing water or food is often infeasible or expensive. This makes those large ocean nations highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as storms, droughts, and rising sea levels. Analysts have expressed concerns that this can result in various forms of socio-political conflict.

Fifty-three migrants including two babies are dead or missing after a large rubber dinghy capsized off the coast of Libya, the UN migration agency said on Monday.

While new digital technologies are transforming how the Holocaust is remembered and taught, experts warn that sustainability, ethics and collaboration are now as important as creativity to keep a global memory alive of Nazi Germany’s genocide that killed six million Jewish people and millions of others during the Second World War.

The UN Secretary-General has strongly condemned the surge in violence across South Sudan, warning that civilians and aid workers are paying a devastating price as humanitarian operations are increasingly targeted.