News headlines in 2025, page 295

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 13 (IPS) - Tourism is back – and stronger than ever. With 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals recorded globally in 2024, the sector has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, signalling a recovery from its worst crisis.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 13 (IPS) - The Trump administration’s decision to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US government’s primary channel for humanitarian aid and disaster relief, is expected to have a devastating impact on the world’s developing nations.

The 2025 Budget Request, under the former Biden administration, amounted to a staggering $58.8 billion in US foreign aid for this year.

Cacao, sugar and butter are part of the recipe for chocolate, more specifically, Peace by Chocolate – a company started by the Hadhad family, who fled to Canada long before the brutal 13-year-long war in Syria came to a close last December.

As the clock ticks toward 2030, parliamentarians gathered at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday to assess the state of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and the verdict was anything but unanimous.

More than 825,000 people who were displaced within Syria have returned to their areas of origin since December, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said on Thursday.

The UN is racing against time to expand humanitarian relief and prepare for the monumental task of rebuilding Gaza, as a fragile ceasefire holds but tensions loom over a potential resumption of fighting.

As M23 rebels continue to gain ground in South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the country’s top UN humanitarian official has told UN News that increasing “complexity and needs” are fuelling a crisis which had already left more than a million people displaced before the latest surge in fighting.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday issued a stark warning over escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where hundreds of civilians have been killed and tens of thousands displaced as M23 rebels continue to attack and seize control of towns and villages.

Lifesaving aid continued to reach Gaza on Thursday while UN humanitarians warned that needs remain enormous after 15 months of constant Israeli bombardment.

A lasting peace is still possible in Yemen but requires commitment, courage, and action from all sides, the UN Special Envoy for the country told the Security Council on Thursday.