News headlines in 2025, page 233

SRINAGAR, Apr 25 (IPS) - Abdul Majeed Mir strolls leisurely among the purple crocus flower rows in Pampore's saffron fields as the morning mist hovers low over them. His family has been growing this valuable spice, called "red gold," for many generations, but now his hands go through the harvest mechanically. There is a noticeable lack of the typical commotion of tourists haggling over saffron packets.

The situation in western Sudan is “shocking” and people in the capital, Khartoum face “absolutely devastating” conditions according to a senior UN official in the African country.

The UN Security Council has strongly condemned the deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday that killed at least 26 tourists and left many more injured, calling for accountability and international cooperation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

One month since Myanmar’s earthquake disaster, tens of thousands of survivors still live in makeshift tents with little to protect them from pre-monsoon storms and mosquitoes.

With humanitarian aid in decline, the international community must shift its focus from short-term relief efforts to inclusive policies that support both refugees and host communities.

Syria is undergoing a rocky transition after years of conflict and authoritarian rule. Despite tentative political progress, ongoing violence, deepening economic hardship and a worsening humanitarian crisis highlight the urgent and continued need for international support.

As Ukrainian cities struggle to recover from this week’s deadly missile and drone strikes, frontline areas remain under relentless attack, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reported on Friday, warning of ongoing displacement and deepening humanitarian needs.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has run out of food in the Gaza Strip as Israel continues to block the entry of all humanitarian aid into the enclave, home to over two million people.

The number of desperate refugees fleeing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and seeking safety in Burundi continues to rise, placing immense pressure on aid agencies struggling to cope with an escalating crisis amid dwindling resources.

NEW YORK, Apr 24 (IPS) - The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) will bring world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how to finance a better future for all. Yet, in practice, the first drafts of its outcome reveal a glaring omission: people. Despite rhetoric about inclusivity, the drafts are strikingly weak on social issues, as if financing and macroeconomic policies exist in a vacuum, detached from the lives they impact.