Global Issues

UNITED NATIONS, April 17 (IPS) - Roughly six months after the ceasefire in the Occupied Palestinian Territory went into effect, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains precariously fragile, despite a relative decline in hostilities. The crisis, marked by ongoing Israeli airstrikes and shelling, continued blockades on humanitarian aid, and widespread displacement, has pushed the majority of Palestinians in Gaza to the brink. Amid the vast scale of needs, basic services are increasingly strained, and humanitarian experts warn that the situation could deteriorate further in the coming months unless sustained aid and funding are secured. Read the full story, “Gaza Crisis Deepens as Aid Restrictions and Ongoing Strikes Strain Humanitarian Operations”, on globalissues.org →

ROME, April 17 (IPS) - The headlines are wrong about food prices — but right to be afraid, very afraid. Walk into a supermarket in Chicago, Berlin, or Mumbai today, and you will not find the shelves stripped bare or the prices dramatically higher than last month. Despite weeks of alarming headlines about commodity markets, food inflation in most major economies has risen only marginally — a tenth or two-tenths of a percentage point between February and March of this year. In the United States, food inflation moved from roughly 2.9 percent to 3.1 percent. In Germany, from 0.8 to 0.9. In India, from 7.8 to 8.0. Read the full story, “The Grocery Bill Is Calm – The AgriFood System Is Not”, on globalissues.org →

SRINAGAR, India, April 17 (IPS) - As war in the Middle East ripples through global markets, policymakers, economists, and industry leaders gathered in Washington this week to agree that economics is no longer separate from geopolitics. It is now its core instrument. Read the full story, “Global Shocks Push Geoeconomics to the Center Stage at Foreign Policy Forum”, on globalissues.org →

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 17 (IPS) - Across the continent, GDP has risen on the back of more workers, more capital and a commodity super-cycle, rather than through genuine gains in productivity and innovation. Too little labour has moved out of subsistence agriculture into higher-productivity manufacturing and modern services. Read the full story, “Africa’s Future Depends on Innovation, Data, and Frontier Technologies”, on globalissues.org →

NAIDIRI, FIJI, April 17 (IPS) - Climate change is no longer a distant threat. Across the Pacific, it is a daily reality reshaping coastlines, livelihoods, and the delicate balance between people and the environment. But in a region long defined by resilience, solutions are not being invented from scratch. They are being remembered, strengthened, and scaled. Read the full story, “Bridging Knowledge Systems: How Pacific Communities Are Reclaiming Climate Solutions Through Nature”, on globalissues.org →

In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, making it the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.Read the full story, “Record number of Rohingya refugees died at sea in 2025: UNHCR”, on globalissues.org →

Six weeks since war erupted in the Middle East, the shockwaves have spread to the Caribbean region, already pushed to the brink, amid fears of a looming El Niño-linked climate disaster.Read the full story, “Shockwaves of Middle East war reach Caribbean as food prices soar”, on globalissues.org →

The world is at a “moment of crisis” and countries must reaffirm commitment to international law amid rising violations and geopolitical tensions, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at an event on Friday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Read the full story, “As the ‘world court’ turns 80, Guterres says law must prevail over force”, on globalissues.org →

Since the Middle East war started on 28 February, several sites of major cultural significance have come under attack in Israel, Iran and Lebanon. Ensuring their protection is the task of the UN agency for education, science and culture, UNESCO. Read the full story, “UNESCO grants ‘enhanced protection’ to cultural heritage sites in the Middle East”, on globalissues.org →

Senior UN officials painted a sorry picture of South Sudan on Friday at the Security Council, describing political turmoil, rising violence, hunger and disease, amid budget cuts that are limiting the ability of the UN peacekeeping mission to protect civilians.Read the full story, “‘Slaughtered like goats’: Despair and abandonment in South Sudan”, on globalissues.org →