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Without urgent action to address stagnating levels of competitiveness, Africa’s economies will not create enough jobs for the young people entering the job market, according to a report released on May 4th. If current policies remain unchanged, fewer than one-quarter of the 450 million new jobs needed in Africa in the next 20 years will be created.

ED Beasley (center) and Regional Director Muhannad Hadi (left) speaking to Nagwan, an elderly 73-year-old woman displaced from her home in Syria. She depends on WFP food assistance so as not to overburden her brother, who has been hosting her since the Syrian conflict began.

Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.

Journalists wait for the arrival of official delegations at the Geneva II Conference on Syria, in Montreux, Switzerland.

Private companies are increasingly used by European countries and the EU to provide security and military services in missions abroad. However, military tasks and the protection of civilians are heavy responsibilities and if something goes wrong it can have fatal consequences. Parliament's foreign affairs committee has drafted rules to increase the accountability of private security firms and prevent them from taking on military combat tasks. MEPs will vote on the report during the June plenary.

Representatives of the world’s cultures will come together in Baku, Azerbaijan, on May 5 and 6 for the 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, held to boost and support efforts in favour of cultural diversity and inclusive societies through dialogue among all stakeholders.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$10.7 million (75 million Danish Krone) contribution from the Government of Denmark to help roll back famine in South Sudan and to assist hungry people in Horn of Africa countries hit by drought.

Young mothers wait with their children to be seen at a UNICEF-supported outpatient therapeutic center in Garbaharey, Somalia.

UNHCR staff at Mussungue reception centre, north-west Angola, distribute food supplies including maize, rice, beans, oil, salt and sardines to Congolese refugees who fled an eruption of violence in Kasai region.

A convoy bound for East Ghouta, Syria, on 19 April 2016.