IPS Inter Press Service
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News and Views from the Global South | Local correspondents in more than 400 locations | Established in 1964. http://ipsnews.net
The record-breaking European summer is consistent with the region warming at twice the global average since the 1980s. The continent’s worst heatwaves have all occurred since 2020 www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/extr...
Extreme Heatwave Escalates Urgency of Climate Adaptation in Europe
As Western Europe endured its worst-ever June heatwave in recorded history, the imperative for climate adaptation is now urgent.
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The Rome Declaration puts human dignity at the centre of the AI debate. Its message: AI governance must advance alongside innovation, and serve people before power. #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Ethics www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/from...
From Castel Gandolfo to Campidoglio: Call for Human Dignity to Be at the Heart of the AI Revolution
An international conference of Nobel Laureates and others adopted a joint declaration, calling for AI to be based on human dignity.
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At the Global Nobel Laureates Assembly, participants called for global safeguards to ensure AI serves humanity, not the other way around. www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/artificial-intelligence-and-the-future-of-humanity-nobel-laureates-call-for-global-safeguards/
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity: Nobel Laureates Call for Global Safeguards
Organised by the Global Nobel Laureates Assembly on Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear War, the conference set out to reflect on its impact.
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Hunger is falling across most of Latin America and the Caribbean. The region’s next challenge is harder: ensuring that everyone can afford a healthy diet, not merely enough calories to survive, writes Máximo Torero, @fao.org www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/hung...
Hunger in Latin America Keeps Falling - Now Healthy Diets Must Become Affordable
Affordable healthy diets are Latin America's next food challenge as high costs keep nutritious food out of reach despite falling hunger
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From @ipsnews.net: While Africa has made clear progress in health security, expert @wilmotjames.bsky.social warns that "substantial gaps remain that can mean the difference between a small outbreak and an international pandemic" without continued investment. More ⤵️
Africa’s Health Defenses Have Improved But Its Funding Has Not
According to the 2026 Africa Health Security (AHS) Index, African countries are improving their ability to detect and prevent health threats.
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Taliban morality police arrested women in Herat, Afghanistan, without explaining why. Some wore burqas, while others had long coats and face masks, yet all were accused of violating the dress code www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/tali...
Taliban Use Dress Code to Justify Arbitrary Arrests of Women
Women in Herat describe arbitrary arrests, detention and violence as the Taliban intensifies enforcement of its dress code in western Afghanistan.
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The technologies we trust most earned that trust because we acted to hold their makers to account. If AI is to be powerful, it must be governed. If AI is to be trusted, those who build it must be accountable. If AI is to be global, it must be fair, says UN chief www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/glob...
Global AI Governance Cannot Wait As the Digital Divide Widens
Throughout July 2026, various United Nations (UN) bodies and global experts have underscored the need for increased comprehensive artificial intelligence (AI) governance. Although AI yields significan...
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Despite rising geopolitical tensions, trade restrictions and calls to bring production back to domestic shores, the global economy remains more interconnected than it may appear. Trade through global value chains reached historic levels in 2024, finds new OECD report www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/glob...
More than 600 energy ministers, business leaders, financiers and policy experts met in Montreal at @iea.org's 11th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency to discuss ways to meet the goal of doubling the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030 www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/effi...
Efficiency Becomes the World's 'First Fuel' as Leaders at IEA Conference Chart Course for Cleaner, More Secure Energy Future
The 11th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency focused on transforming a global commitment into practical action.
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The full economic impact of the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz may not become clear until the second half of 2026, once the higher costs have been fully absorbed through value chains, the broader macroeconomy, and financial conditions, warns @unctad.bsky.social www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/full...
Full Effects of Strait of Hormuz Disruption May Not Be Felt Until Second Half of 2026
The full economic impact of the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz may not become clear until the second half of 2026
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“Killer robots are a horror that belongs in science fiction. There is nothing more sinister than outsourcing killing and warfighting to emotionless, faceless machines that will select which humans get to live or die." @simonadams.bsky.social on autonomous weapons, to @ipsnews.net
IPS Inter Press Service@ipsnews.net · 3w agoAs AI spreads with few apparent guardrails, the United Nations is taking a closer look at its benefits and risks. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warns the technology is heightening the danger posed by increasingly autonomous new weaponry on civilians www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/auto...
As AI spreads with few apparent guardrails, the United Nations is taking a closer look at its benefits and risks. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warns the technology is heightening the danger posed by increasingly autonomous new weaponry on civilians www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/auto...
Autonomous Weapons: The Wave of the Future in Military Conflicts Worldwide
The UN is looking at AI technology, which could be heightening danger with sophisticated and increasingly autonomous new weaponry, including drones.
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One in five people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, according to the @who.int's latest report. When the impact on close family members is factored in, an estimated 92% of people globally will be affected by cancer at least once in their lifetime www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/who-...
WHO: Urgent Action Needed for the Future of Cancer Care
This staggering statistic is the centerpiece of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s latest global report on cancer.
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The UN says Sudan is facing the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world”, with 33.7 million people in urgent need of aid. Millions are currently residing in highly restricted areas that remain out of reach for humanitarian organizations www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/un-r...
UN Raises Alarm Over A Sharp Rise in Human Rights Abuses and Cholera-Related Deaths in Sudan
United Nations (UN) to raise alarm over the escalation of human rights violations in Sudan.
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An international academic partnership is helping turn one of Laikipia County’s most destructive and invasive plants, the prickly pear cactus, into a source of food security and clean energy while also helping end perennial resource conflict in the region www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/inva...
Invasive Prickly Pear Turned into Food, Clean Energy Source
An international academic partnership is helping the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia stricta) into a source of food security and clean energy.
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Public funding alone can't close the environmental finance gap. IPS' latest feature explains how the GEF is using blended finance to attract private investment, and why strong institutions will determine whether the model succeeds. #GEFAssembly2026 www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/insi...
Inside GEF’s Blended Finance Push: Turning Public Money Into Private Capital Leverage
At the Eighth GEF Assembly a hard question lingered: How to mobilise private money when public coffers can no longer provide?
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@thegef.bsky.social’s new replenishment cycle will secure at least $3.9 billion in donor commitments through 2030. The strategic shift is that it aims to use around a quarter of the resources to crowd in private capital alongside public and concessional finance www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/insi...
Inside GEF’s Blended Finance Push: Turning Public Money Into Private Capital Leverage
At the Eighth GEF Assembly a hard question lingered: How to mobilise private money when public coffers can no longer provide?
ipsnews.net
Caribbean leaders are meeting in Saint Lucia for their annual summit, confronting a convergence of global and regional challenges ranging from rising living costs and climate change to crime, food security and geopolitical tensions www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/cari...
CARICOM Leaders Gather in Saint Lucia as Caribbean Confronts Mounting Global, Regional Challenges
Caribbean leaders are meeting in Saint Lucia for their annual summit, confronting a convergence of global and regional challenges.
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118 countries, predominantly in the Global South, are not engaged in major AI governance discussions, and less than one-third of developing countries have developed national AI strategies, finds UN report www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/un-a...
UN Artificial Intelligence Panel Launches Report Ahead of Global Conference
The acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI) and its capabilities is far outpacing governments’ capacities to effectively regulate it.
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HIV experts and activists have condemned the U.S. decision to end funding for HIV projects in South Africa, warning the cuts could be catastrophic for efforts to control the disease in the country with the world's highest HIV burden www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/u-s-...
U.S. Aid Withdrawal for HIV 'Devastating'
A U.S. decision to cut off funding for HIV projects in South Africa has been condemned amid warnings it could be “catastrophic”.
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The on-again, off-again US-Iran peace negotiations, which have been disparaged by Israeli leaders, have resulted in a rare rift between the US and Israel. Is this for real or just a passing family squabble? www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/us-s...
US Slams Israel for Undermining Peace Negotiations with Iran --but Rift is Dismissed as a Passing Show
US-Iran peace negotiations, which have been disparaged by Israeli leaders.
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A team of universities, led by Addis Ababa University, has joined forces to implement a four-year Intra-Africa academic mobility project aimed at strengthening agroforestry research and education for climate change mitigation www.ipsnews.net/2026/06/univ...
Universities Join Hands to Enhance Agroforestry Research for Mitigating Climate Change
A team of universities has joined forces to implement an academic mobility project aimed at strengthening agroforestry research
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AI will wipe out millions of jobs, hollow out the middle class, and drain the tax revenues that pay for hospitals, schools and #pensions. The time to act is running out. www.ipsnews.net/2026/06/ai-w... @ipsnews.net #AI #tech #GlobalSocialJustice #HumanRights #EndAusterity #TaxJustice #Inequality
AI Will Destabilize Jobs, the Middle Class and the Welfare State Unless We Act in Time
Artificial intelligence (AI) promises remarkable gains in productivity, science, medicine and education. But it is also poised to wipe out millions of jobs, hollow out the middle class, and drain the ...
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The 30 COP gatherings may not have done what three months of US-Israeli war against Iran did: expose the world’s vulnerability to fossil fuels. As the world faced its biggest energy shock in a decade, the case for investing in clean energy became far more compelling www.ipsnews.net/2026/06/war-...
War, Heatwaves and Energy Shocks Fuel Push for Clean Energy
The 30 COP gatherings may not have done what 3 months of US-Israeli war against Iran did: expose the world's vulnerability to fossil fuels.
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Shifra Ainomugisha grew up watching her family's tomato harvest spoil before it reached the market. Today she's the 2026 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year, helping smallholder farmers reduce food loss through solar technology and AI. www.ipsnews.net/2026/06/from...
From Rotten Tomatoes to AI: Ugandan Commonwealth Youth Award Winner Takes Aim at Hunger Across Africa
Shifra Ainomugisha from Uganda is the 2026 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year and the Africa Regional Winner for agricultural innovations.
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For many Indigenous families in Tripura, Dumboor Lake is both a source of livelihood and a reminder of land lost decades ago. A new GEF-backed project is raising hopes that communities will finally have a stronger voice in how the lake is managed. www.ipsnews.net/2026/06/new-... #GEFAssembly2026
New GEF Project Raises Hope for Change in India’s Indigenous Lake Community
At dawn, Santo Chakma, 63, nudges his wooden boat into a reservoir known as Dumboor Lake that swallowed his childhood.
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Amidst increased geopolitical tensions, the risk of volatile energy markets, trade corridors, and regional stability in the Middle East has garnered more attention than trade policy in terms of its power to alter the global economy, finds @unctad.bsky.social www.ipsnews.net/2026/06/unct...
UNCTAD: A Shift of Risk, Geopolitical Tension Weighs on Global Markets Heavier than Trade Policy
Amidst increased geopolitical tensions have garnered more attention than trade policy in terms of their power to alter the global economy.
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In a new report, @wfp.org and @fao.org identify 13 hunger hotspots where acute food insecurity is expected to worsen through 2026, with Yemen, Palestine, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti among the areas of highest concern www.ipsnews.net/2026/06/arme...
Armed Conflict, Funding Cuts and Supply Chain Pressures Deepen Global Hunger Risks
Armed conflict, economic shocks, and climate pressures are driving worsening food insecurity across many of the world's most vulnerable regions
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A review of 133 AI systems found that 44% showed gender bias and 26% showed both gender and racial bias. Yet only 51% of marketers use human oversight to test AI-generated creative before release, according to a UN Women report www.ipsnews.net/2026/06/ai-i...
As the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals #SDGs approaches, a new UN report finds that economic uncertainty, climate change, conflict and growing geopolitical tensions are slowing efforts to achieve the global targets www.ipsnews.net/2026/06/the-...
‘The World Knows What Must Be Done’: New SDG Report Urges End to Wars and Greater Investment in People
As the world enters the final years before the 2030 deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a latest United Nations report has revealed that economic uncertainty, climate chan...
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