News headlines in 2025, page 59

COLUMBUS Ohio, USA , October 28 (IPS) - I had hoped to attend this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP) in person, to stand alongside fellow Indigenous leaders and advocate for the rights of our communities.

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, October 28 (IPS) - When COVID-19 hit Tanzania in 2020, Alfred Kisena’s life was torn apart. The 51-year-old teacher still remembers the night he learned that his wife, Maria, had succumbed to the virus at a hospital in Dar es Salaam. He wasn’t allowed to see her in her final moments.

UNITED NATIONS, October 28 (IPS) - In recent weeks, Sudan’s humanitarian crisis has deteriorated considerably, as escalating hostilities, mass displacement, disease outbreaks, and a widespread lack of access to basic, essential services continue to endanger civilians across the country. The situation has been further compounded by a sharp increase in attacks on healthcare facilities throughout October, which has severely weakened the country’s already fragile health system and deprived thousands of people of lifesaving care.

While urging countries to accelerate action, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell struck an optimistic tone on Tuesday following the release of a new report on updated national climate commitments.

Aid teams in Gaza are racing to meet urgent needs with tens of thousands still displaced, sheltering in damaged buildings and makeshift sites, while reports of renewed fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas threaten to derail the ceasefire.

As Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica as a category 5 storm, agencies continue mobilising supplies to support affected communities, with one senior official on the island telling UN News that Government-led preparations have been nothing short of “extraordinary”.

The chair of an independent commission investigating alleged human rights abuses in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told a General Assembly committee on Tuesday that Israel has committed “four genocidal acts” in Gaza, while leaders had “incited the commission of genocide.”

After 500 days of siege, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia have reportedly taken control of the key Sudanese city of El-Fasher in Darfur, triggering widespread fear among families, and forcing thousands of civilians to flee.

Russia’s abuse of national security and public safety laws to silence opposition to the war in Ukraine has reached “alarming levels”, the UN independent expert who monitors human rights in Russia has warned.

Millions in Jamaica and across the Caribbean are bracing for massive impact from Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday as the UN and partners warn of a “severe” and “immediate” threat.