International Youth Day puts South Asia’s skills gap in sharp focus
Washington — South Asia’s youth bulge is a ticking time bomb. A demographic dividend looms, but millions of young people lack the job skills to cash in, choking the region’s economic potential. Almost half of South Asia’s population of 1.9…
Older Americans prepare for world altered by artificial intelligence
The students — most with gray hair, some with canes, all at least in their 60s — couldn’t believe what they were hearing. “Oh, my God,” whispered a retired college professor. “Does it come with viruses?” wondered a bewildered woman…
Africa declares mpox outbreak a public health emergency
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared a public health emergency on Tuesday over the continent’s growing mpox outbreak. Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox is an infectious viral disease and has spreading at rapid speed, concerning Africa CDC…
Nigerian invents crop disease detection drone
As Nigeria struggles with food insecurity, young Nigerians and startups are seeking to revolutionize the agricultural sector through technology. In the state of Kaduna, Shamsuddeen Jibril invented a drone that can detect crop diseases. Alhassan Bala has the report from…
Ukraine: No interest in keeping Russia’s Kursk region long term
Ukraine said Tuesday it has no interest in holding territory it captured in Russia’s Kursk region long term, but in the meantime, it can complicate Moscow’s efforts to move more troops to the front battle lines in eastern Ukraine. “Unlike…
UN chief calls for inclusive elections in Bangladesh
In a statement issued by his Deputy Spokesperson late on Monday (New York time), the UN chief also called for full respect of the human rights across the country. “The Secretary-General welcomes efforts to restore calm and organize parliamentary elections…
‘Incredible brutality’ prevalent in battle for Myanmar
In a call to regional bloc ASEAN to help end the violence and support efforts to bring perpetrators to justice, the head of the Human Rights Council-appointed probe into the Myanmar emergency Nicholas Koumjian described an increasingly “desperate” junta whose…
Afghanistan: Taliban rule has erased women from public life, sparked mental health crisis
Alison Davidian, UN Women Country Representative in Afghanistan, briefed journalists in New York on their latest report addressing the plight of women and girls since the de facto authorities returned to power in August 2021. She described this period as…
Sexual violence and famine stalk Sudan’s displaced
Speaking from Sudan, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder described meeting a senior medical worker at a hospital outside Khartoum who had “direct contact with hundreds, hundreds of women and girls, some as young as eight years old, who…
UN rights chief condemns storming of his office in Yemen’s capital
Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, sent a “delegation” to the UN human rights office in the Yemeni capital on 3 August, and national staff were forced to handover documents, furniture and vehicles, as well as the office’s keys….