No country is safe from the devastating impacts of extreme weather — and saving lives means making early-warning systems accessible to all, UN chief António Guterres said on Wednesday.

NEW YORK, October 22 (IPS) - When the Taliban recently cut off the Internet and phone networks across Afghanistan, millions of women and girls were silenced. For those with connectivity, the blackout severed their last link to the outside world – a fragile connection that had kept education, work, and hope alive.

SANTIAGO, October 22 (IPS) - Desalination projects are booming in Chile, with 51 plants planned to process seawater and a combined investment of US$ 24.455 billion. However, these initiatives hardly benefit small-scale farmers, who are threatened by the prolonged drought, and cause environmental concerns.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, October 21 (IPS) - When thousands of Georgians filled the streets of Tbilisi in 2023 to protest against their government’s proposed ‘foreign agents’ law, they understood what their leaders were trying to do: this wasn’t about transparency or accountability; it was about silencing dissent. Though the government was forced to withdraw the legislation, it returned with renewed determination in 2024, passing a renamed version despite even bigger protests. The law has effectively frozen Georgia’s hopes of joining the European Union.

SRINAGAR, October 21 (IPS) - The Forest Declaration Assessment 2025 warns that global forest loss remains alarmingly high, with little sign of improvement.

WASHINGTON DC, October 21 (IPS) - At 15 percent, Brazil’s monetary policy interest rate (called Selic) is one of the highest among major economies. Yet in 2024, bank credit grew by 11.5 percent and corporate bond issuance rose by 30 percent.

Women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are trapped in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and face rampant insecurity, a senior United Nations official warned on Tuesday following a visit to the country.

Lush, green and brimming with trees and wildlife, forests are the Earth’s lungs and source of livelihoods for many communities.

More than a million people have returned to Sudan’s war-ravaged capital in the past ten months, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday, warning that basic services remain shattered amid continuing disease outbreaks.

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has warned of an alarming rise in violence and restrictions by Israeli settlers and security forces against Palestinian farmers, as the crucial olive harvest season gets underway.