Global Issues
News headlines for “Natural Disasters”, page 4
Hurricane Melissa Devastates The Caribbean As The UN Distributes Lifesaving Aid
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, November 6 (IPS) - In late October, Hurricane Melissa, a powerful Category 5 storm, made landfall in the Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage to civilian infrastructure and a devastating loss of life. Humanitarian agencies have mobilized on the ground to deliver urgent assistance to affected communities facing widespread destruction of homes, mass displacement, fatalities, and severe shortages of essential services, including food, water, medicine, shelter, and electricity.
Rajagopal PV’s Blueprint for Another World: Peace
- Inter Press Service
BANGKOK, November 4 (IPS) - “If nations can have defense ministries, why not peace ministries?” asks Rajagopal PV, the soft-spoken yet formidable founder of Ekta Parishad. “We are told to see issues through a gender lens—why not a peace lens? Why can’t we imagine a business model rooted in non-violence or an education system that teaches peace?”
Lawmakers Urged to Consider Emerging Drivers of Child Marriage
- Inter Press Service
Closing the chapter on child marriages is still a distant ambition in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, and despite great strides at developing and passing legislation to eradicate it, existing and emerging drivers are still at play, making youngsters vulnerable to the practice.
Asia-Arab Parliamentarians Forge Regional Pathways for Gender Justice and Youth Empowerment
- Inter Press Service
CAIRO, November 3 (IPS) - Inclusive legislation, empowered youth, and anti-violence policies are inseparable aspects of sustainable development and were the key messages at a conference of the Inter-Regional Meeting of Asian and Arab Parliamentarians on Population and Development held in Cairo on October 24, 2025.
Challenging Elites, Defending Democracy: Oxfam’s Amitabh Behar Speaks Out
- Inter Press Service
BANGKOK, November 2 (IPS) - Speaking to IPS on the sidelines of the International Civil Society Week in Bangkok (November 1–5), Amitabh Behar, Executive Director of Oxfam International and a passionate human rights advocate, highlighted his concerns about rising inequality, growing authoritarianism, and the misuse of AI and surveillance. Yet, he expressed optimism that, even as civic spaces shrink, young people across Asia are driving meaningful change. He also shared his vision of a just society—one where power is shared, and grassroots movements lead the way.
Defending Democracy in a “Topsy-Turvy” World
- Inter Press Service
BANGKOK, November 1 (IPS) - It is a bleak global moment—with civil society actors battling assassinations, imprisonment, fabricated charges, and funding cuts to pro-democracy movements in a world gripped by inequality, climate chaos, and rising authoritarianism. Yet, the mood at Bangkok’s Thammasat University was anything but defeated.
Guatemalan Peasants Overcome Drought in the Dry Corridor
- Inter Press Service
SAN LUIS JILOTEPEQUE, Guatemala, October 30 (IPS) - Water scarcity that relentlessly hits the rural communities in eastern Guatemala, located in the so-called Central American Dry Corridor, is a constant threat due to the challenges in producing food, year after year. But it is also an incentive to strive to overcome adversities.
Adaptation Finance Shortfalls Leave Developing World Exposed
- Inter Press Service
NAIROBI & JOHANNESBURG, October 29 (IPS) - Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica yesterday—the strongest hurricane to impact the island on record since 1851—with expectations of tens of thousands of people being displaced and devastating damage to infrastructure. The tropical storm, slightly downgraded but nevertheless devastating, made landfall in Cuba today as UNEP’s newly released Adaptation Gap Report 2025: Running on Empty shows that the finance needed for developing countries to adapt to the climate crisis is falling far behind their needs.
Tanzania’s Pandemic Fund Ushers in a New Era of Health Preparedness
- Inter Press Service
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, October 28 (IPS) - When COVID-19 hit Tanzania in 2020, Alfred Kisena’s life was torn apart. The 51-year-old teacher still remembers the night he learned that his wife, Maria, had succumbed to the virus at a hospital in Dar es Salaam. He wasn’t allowed to see her in her final moments.
UN Agencies Calls for Urgent Action as Sudan’s Humanitarian Crisis Reaches Breaking Point
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, October 28 (IPS) - In recent weeks, Sudan’s humanitarian crisis has deteriorated considerably, as escalating hostilities, mass displacement, disease outbreaks, and a widespread lack of access to basic, essential services continue to endanger civilians across the country. The situation has been further compounded by a sharp increase in attacks on healthcare facilities throughout October, which has severely weakened the country’s already fragile health system and deprived thousands of people of lifesaving care.
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