News headlines in April 2025

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 30 (IPS) - For 2025, the theme of World Health Immunization Week (24-30 April), “Immunization for All is Humanly Possible”, emphasizes the need to eradicate disparities in access to vaccines, particularly for children. By encouraging governments to implement vaccination programs at the local and national levels, the World Health Organization (WHO) seeks t0 ensure worldwide access to life-saving vaccines.

MANILA / LONDON, Apr 30 (IPS) - The Rogun Dam in the mountains of Southern Tajikistan, if ever completed, would be the tallest dam in the world. Late last year, the World Bank committed almost $3 billion to finance its development, claiming the project would benefit locals.

BUSAN, Korea, Apr 30 (IPS) - Indigenous people play a vital role in ocean protection due to their deep-rooted connection to the marine environment and their traditional knowledge of sustainable resource management. They often possess centuries-old practices and stewardship ethics that prioritize ecological balance and community well-being.

BUSAN, Korea, Apr 30 (IPS) - Participants from over 100 countries will leave the 10th Our Oceans Conference in Busan, the Republic of Korea, with stark reminders that with sea levels rising dangerously, coastal regions and low-lying areas globally, particularly densely populated areas, are threatened.

LAGOS, Nigeria, Apr 30 (IPS) - Half a century after ECOWAS promised peace and prosperity, three breakaway states are testing West African solidarity, sparking a potential trade war.

CAMBRIDGE, MA., Apr 30 (IPS) - On March 17, Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum signed into law a constitutional reform banning the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) corn. The action followed a December ruling by a trade tribunal, under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement, in favor of a U.S. complaint that Mexico's 2023 presidential decree, with broader restrictions on the consumption of GM corn, constituted an unfair trade practice by prohibiting the use of GM corn in tortillas.

In Afghanistan, 75 per cent of the population struggles to meet their daily needs; with female-headed households, rural communities and internally displaced persons being most affected, the UN development agency (UNDP) has noted in a new report.

Marked by mass killings, abductions, and sexual violence, the first quarter of 2025, the human rights situation in Haiti remained extremely concerning, the UN deplored in a report published on Wednesday.

The education of 800 students in occupied East Jerusalem is at risk as Israel moves to close their schools next week, a senior official with the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said on Wednesday.

In the aftermath of the huge 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on 28 March, life-saving aid efforts led by the UN are being hampered by damaged infrastructure, ongoing armed conflict and global aid funding cuts.