News headlines in 2025

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 23 (IPS) - Thirteen years of extended conflict, economic downturns, and multiple earthquakes, has left Syria in the midst of a severe humanitarian crisis. Hostilities remain abundant across all of Syria’s governorates, with each facing widespread civilian displacements and damage to critical infrastructures. Following the change of government in December of 2024, Syrian refugees have begun returning from neighbouring countries. However, this return has been marred with insecurity due to the sheer scale of unexploded ordnance, which has resulted in numerous civilian casualties.

LONDON, Jan 23 (IPS) - Trump’s trade policy blends aggressive tariffs, legal manoeuvring and transactional diplomacy. But could he really blow up the global trade system?

BULAWAYO, Jan 23 (IPS) - Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, carries his frustration as visibly as he carries his passport.

CAPE TOWN, Jan 22 (IPS) - It was a solemn ceremony on a bright sunny day on the southern tip of Africa, in Cape Town’s company gardens, amid the grass wooden structures that stand out. The 1,700 carefully constructed brown wooden carvings are standing in a line. These structures represent a new Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) memorial, which honors the contribution of the hundreds of Black South African military laborers of the First World War. The CWGC remembers the fallen soldiers of both World Wars equally with this first permanent redress tribute.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 22 (IPS) - The global plastics negotiation process, launched in 2022 under a resolution by the UN Environment Assembly, represents an unprecedented effort to combat the escalating plastic pollution crisis.

Haiti is showing signs of progress on the political front despite serious setbacks in terms of security, the Special Representative and Head of the UN office in the country, BINUH, told the Security Council on Wednesday.

The security situation in Myanmar continues to remain highly volatile, with intensified airstrikes across multiple regions leading to dozens of civilian casualties, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Wednesday.

The UN and partners are “seizing every opportunity” provided by the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to support civilians, providing a surge in aid alongside storage capacity, repair work, lifesaving services and damage assessments.

The UN Special Envoy for Syria on Wednesday emphasised the strong international consensus that is emerging in support of the country’s political transition since the fall of the Assad regime last month.

The recent deadly violence in Colombia’s Catatumbo region has highlighted the ongoing challenges in consolidating peace, eight years after the signing of the 2016 Final Peace Agreement, the UN Security Council heard on Wednesday.