Global Issues News Headlines for “Global Financial Crisis”

Cleaning Up the Fields: Across Africa and Asia GEF is Helping Farmers Rewrite Their Pesticide Story

2026-05-07T11:04:22-07:00

LILONGWE & VIENTIANE, May 7 (IPS) - For decades, pesticides have been a quiet pillar of Malawi’s agriculture, guarding crops against pests, improving yields, and sustaining millions of livelihoods. But beneath this success story lay a troubling reality: weak regulation, unsafe handling practices, and growing threats to human health and the environment.

Read the full story, “Cleaning Up the Fields: Across Africa and Asia GEF is Helping Farmers Rewrite Their Pesticide Story”, on globalissues.org →

GDP up, satisfaction down: Why we need a new way to measure progress

2026-05-07T05:00:00-07:00

For decades, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been used as a benchmark of society’s progress. Yet, as the GDP figures keep ticking up, so too does a profound disenchantment with the political and economic systems tasked with serving the public. Is it time to find a new way to measure what really matters?

Read the full story, “GDP up, satisfaction down: Why we need a new way to measure progress”, on globalissues.org →

Keep Inputs Moving to Keep Food Affordable

2026-05-06T12:40:21-07:00

ROME, May 6 (IPS) - Across Europe, winter wheat is already in the ground. What farmers apply in the coming weeks will determine the size of this year’s harvest. Those decisions are now being made under a sudden surge in costs that did not exist when seeds went in.

Read the full story, “Keep Inputs Moving to Keep Food Affordable”, on globalissues.org →

UN leads call to prepare ‘for when digital systems fail’

2026-05-05T05:00:00-07:00

It can be annoying when the wifi signal is cut, but what about if everything digital we rely on were to crash suddenly – from satellites to life-support systems in hospitals?

Read the full story, “UN leads call to prepare ‘for when digital systems fail’”, on globalissues.org →

Pacific Ocean Under Pressure — Now a Region Finally Armed With Evidence

2026-05-04T10:41:12-07:00

SUVA, Fiji, May 4 (IPS) - For generations, Pacific people have understood the ocean not as a resource but as identity, sustenance, and survival. Today, that relationship is being tested in ways science is only just beginning to fully capture.

Read the full story, “Pacific Ocean Under Pressure — Now a Region Finally Armed With Evidence”, on globalissues.org →

African Countries Up Efforts to Tax High-Income Individuals

2026-05-04T08:47:36-07:00

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, May 4 (IPS) - African countries are exploring ways to tax high-earning individuals as the continent seeks to expand its revenue collection amid what experts say is a growing gulf between rich and poor.

Read the full story, “African Countries Up Efforts to Tax High-Income Individuals”, on globalissues.org →

World Press Freedom Day, 2026

2026-05-01T17:30:06-07:00

On May 3rd, the world marks World Press Freedom Day – a United Nations observance dedicated to the fundamental principles of press freedom.

Read the full story, “World Press Freedom Day, 2026”, on globalissues.org →

Famine in South Sudan Projected to Worsen Without Humanitarian Intervention

2026-05-01T08:37:36-07:00

UNITED NATIONS, May 1 (IPS) - In 2026, the humanitarian situation in South Sudan has taken a considerable turn for the worse, with widespread food shortages, ongoing disruptions to food production systems, and rising rates of malnutrition affecting over half of the population. Compounded by the vast scale of needs and an overwhelming lack of access to basic services, humanitarian experts warn that nationwide levels of hunger are projected to worsen to catastrophic levels if urgent intervention is not secured.

Read the full story, “Famine in South Sudan Projected to Worsen Without Humanitarian Intervention”, on globalissues.org →

Press Freedom: A Story of Lives Lost, Budgets Slashed, Status Eroded

2026-05-01T05:24:00-07:00

TORONTO, Canada, May 1 (IPS) - Press freedom is on the retreat across much of the world. As documented by recent global surveys authored by the UN and media institutes, the erosion of an independent, fearless and diversified press is a trend that has worsened for well over a decade.

Read the full story, “Press Freedom: A Story of Lives Lost, Budgets Slashed, Status Eroded”, on globalissues.org →

Clean Energy, Digital Technologies Are Coming at a Human Cost, UN Report Warns

2026-04-30T08:55:29-07:00

SRINAGAR, India, April 30 (IPS) - A newly released United Nations report has raised urgent concerns that the world’s push toward clean energy and digital technologies is driving a hidden crisis in some of the planet’s most vulnerable regions, where mining for critical minerals is depleting water supplies, damaging health, and deepening inequality.

Read the full story, “Clean Energy, Digital Technologies Are Coming at a Human Cost, UN Report Warns”, on globalissues.org →