News headlines in January 2025, page 2

The head of UN Peace Operations has underscored the need for continued diplomatic efforts to end the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and avert the potential for wider conflict.

United Nations agencies on Friday called for an end to the violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as fighting between Government forces and the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group expands.

The largest UN agency in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, UNRWA, said on Friday that its staff are still providing aid to the people of Gaza and the West Bank including East Jerusalem who depend on them “for their sheer survival”, a day after the Israeli parliament ban on its activities entered into force.

SAN FRANCISCO, California / APEX, North Carolina, Jan 30 (IPS) - When it comes to climate change, the awful news has been coming thick and fast. We now know that in 2024, the Earth’s average temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time.

BULAWAYO, Jan 30 (IPS) - Africa's lack of robust application of statistical research has been flagged as slowing the use of evidence-based data to drive development.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 30 (IPS) - On January 19, Israel and Hamas implemented a three-phase ceasefire agreement that seeks to end the war between Israel and Palestine, facilitate the exchange of prisoners and hostages between the two nations, and begin a period of reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.

Since the ceasefire took effect, humanitarian organizations have struggled to assist hordes of displaced Palestinians as they made their treacherous returns back home. Insecurity has reached new peaks as Gazans struggle to cope with inadequate levels of humanitarian aid and the dangers of unexploded ordnance.

Furthermore, the Israeli Knesset’s ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) is set to greatly exacerbate living conditions and access to aid.

OAKLAND, California, USA, Jan 30 (IPS) - The fresh offensive by the M23 rebels and Rwanda forces in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) coincides with the first anniversary of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the European Union (EU) and Rwanda to cooperate on the supply of “critical minerals.”

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 30 (IPS) - The Trump administration which regained the White House last week after a four-year hiatus, has come down heavily on thousands of illegal immigrants and hundreds of perceived enemies - triggering a rash of executive orders on military and federal agencies

But in the ensuing political chaos, Trump has not spared the United Nations either.

The UN Secretary-General on Thursday said Myanmar’s military must relinquish power to allow a return to civilian rule through an inclusive democratic transition, as the country marks four years since the junta seized power.

After days of intense fighting, the humanitarian situation in Goma, capital of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has reached alarming levels – with humanitarian needs now massive and response capacities severely strained.