Alexander Lukashenko will soon begin his seventh term as president of Belarus. The official result of the 26 January election gave him 86.8 per cent of the vote, following an election held in a climate of fear.Only token opposition candidates were allowed, most of who came out in …

9 hours ago · NEW YORK, Feb 11 2025 - A global alert is not an option. It requires global action. Over the past three years, the number of crisis-impacted school-aged children in need of urgent quality education support has grown by an alarming 35 million, according to Education Cannot Wait’s new Global Estimates Report.. The recently published report offers a stark and brutal alert for the future of 234 ...

Dec 28, 2024 · The world’s troubles deepened in 2024. Civilians bore the brunt of war. Violence in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Haiti, and more displaced over 100 million people worldwide. Over 70% of those killed in Gaza were women and children, according to the UN Human Rights Office. With critical infrastructure in ruins, an estimated 1 million children …

5 days ago · UNITED NATIONS, Feb 6 2025 (IPS) - A new executive order from the United States White House calls for withdrawing support from major UN entities and a review of all international intergovernmental organizations which the United States is a member of. The U.S.’s orders against the UN Palestine Refugee Agency also do not bode well for ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 28 2024 (IPS) - Critical levels of nationwide hunger in Sudan has only increased to critical levels since the start of the Sudanese civil war in April 2023. Escalated hostilities between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have led to limited mobility and repeated blockages of humanitarian aid.

SYDNEY, Jan 13 2025 (IPS) - Thank God, we have survived another year of genocide, war, destruction and climate crisis. The passing year of 2024 has been a mixture of hope and despair. It began with some hope as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in favour of South Africa’s case against Israel for committing genocide and ordered Israel to …

Jan 15, 2025 · “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Charles Dickens is more relevant today than ever. The wealthy and powerful are meeting again this year in glamorous Davos, at an invitation-only event. They arrive in chartered aircraft and private jets to speak about our warming climate, among other global concerns. The …

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 4 2025 (IPS) - US President Donald Trump’s ominous threat to take over the Panama Canal and Greenland sets the stage for a new political battle with the United Nations. But judging by UN’s track record of failures—including the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine — the world body …

SAN FRANCISCO, USA, Jan 14 2025 (IPS) - A few days before the end of 2024, the independent magazine +972 reported that “Israeli army forces stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital compound in Beit Lahiya, culminating a nearly week-long siege of the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza.” While fire spread through the hospital, its staff issued a …

OSLO, Norway, Nov 13 2024 (IPS) - “The shockwaves from Israel’s ongoing and indiscriminate warfare on Gaza and Lebanon are reverberating across this entire region. Neither the horrific assault on Israeli civilians on 7 October 2023, nor the indiscriminate missiles launched by militant groups from Lebanon, can justify the degree of destruction …