Last week, the President of the United States met with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.The meeting in Alaska was anything but a summit. As is his habit, Trump had made so much noise about the meeting and what he hoped to achieve. Expectations were high, and then, empty words—-“there’s no deal until…
Credit: Stella_E/Getty Images By Inés M. PousadelaMONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Aug 13 2025 (IPS) When Kenita Placide co-founded United and Strong, St Lucia’s first LGBTQI+ organisation in 2001, death threats were routine. Over the years, several friends were murdered for being gay. But 24 years on, Kenita’s Caribbean island nation has become the latest to overturn a…
Regional cooperation can help countries respond more effectively to future pandemics. Credit: Asian Development Bank (ADB) By Eduardo Banzon, Michelle Apostol and Anne CortezMANILA, Philippines, Aug 13 2025 (IPS) In an interconnected world when infections can circle the globe in hours, cooperation in preparing for pandemics is essential. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted just how vulnerable…
Indigenous Peoples, like this girl from the K’iche’ community in Guatemala, contribute their knowledge to combat climate change. Credit: UNICEF/Anderson Flores By Oritro KarimUNITED NATIONS, Aug 12 2025 (IPS) Although the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) yields numerous opportunities for progress—such as improved efficiency, enhanced decision-making, and innovative tools for climate reform—it also poses new…
In Sudan, women-led households are three times more likely to deal with serious food insecurity compared to male-led households. Credit: UN Women Sudan By Maximilian MalawistaUNITED NATIONS, Aug 12 2025 (IPS) The food crisis in Sudan is starving more day by day, yet it is affecting women and girls at double the rate compared to…
Plastic garbage is offloaded from a fishing boat on the east coast of China. Credit: UNEP/Justin Jin At 22 pages, the current draft text contains 32 draft articles which will be discussed in fine detail, according to the UN. The text is designed to shape the future instrument and will serve as a starting…
By Thalif DeenUNITED NATIONS, Aug 12 2025 (IPS) The United Nations, facing a liquidity crisis, has been threatening to lay-off about 20 percent of its estimated 37,000 employees world-wide: a proposed move that has triggered widespread protests from staff unions both in New York and Geneva. But in a new development last week, the Office…
By Jomo Kwame SundaramKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug 12 2025 (IPS) The accumulation of still growing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in an increasingly unequal world is accelerating planetary heating. It is also worsening disparities, especially between the rich and others, both nationally and internationally. Unequal emissions In our grossly unequal world, international disparities account for two-thirds…
Lionel Ngukusenge (18), a Burundian refugee in Kenya staying at Kakuma refugee camp, has planted 70 trees at his homestead. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS By Jeffrey MoyoKAKUMA, Kenya, Aug 11 2025 (IPS) For 18-year-old Lionel Ngukusenge, a refugee from Burundi, where he was forced into hiding because of a repressive regime, he has found another foe…
Announced by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in March, the UN80 Initiative works along three tracks to increase the world body’s efficiencies, review the implementation of all UN mandates, and consider structural changes and program realignment. If undertaken skillfully, UN80 reforms can reinforce the even more far-reaching actions adopted through the Pact for the Future last…
