Global Issues

BANGKOK, Thailand, March 16 (IPS) - Access to adequate housing is a foundation of resilient cities. Safe and affordable homes provide stability, allow residents to access essential services, and enhance the capacity for communities to withstand and recover from shocks. Yet housing is often treated as a downstream outcome of urban development or disaster recovery rather than as a strategic investment in resilience. Read the full story, “Housing as Climate Resilience in Asia-Pacific Cities”, on globalissues.org →

ABUJA, Nigeria, March 16 (IPS) - The Aba Women’s Riots of 1929 remain one of the most powerful demonstrations of Nigerian women’s collective resistance. Thousands of market women, farmers, traders, and mothers mobilized across districts in the then Eastern Nigeria to challenge colonial taxation and the extension of warrant chiefs’ authority over their lives. They organized without formal structures and without institutional support. Read the full story, “Nigeria: Lessons from the Aba Women’s Riots for Today’s Women’s Movements”, on globalissues.org →

The disruption of global energy supplies is being felt worldwide, the UN’s top climate change official warned on Monday, as conflict in the Middle East drives oil and gas prices sharply higher – echoing the market turmoil triggered by the war in Ukraine.Read the full story, “War-driven energy price spikes highlight value of renewables: UN climate chief”, on globalissues.org →

The crisis in the Middle East has entered its third week, with fighting continuing across the region and humanitarian needs rising. Oil prices remain near $100 a barrel, while shipping disruptions and temporary flight suspensions are affecting travel and supply chains. Despite mounting logistical and security challenges, UN agencies are scaling up emergency aid, warning that displacement, food insecurity and pressure on health systems are growing as the conflict’s impact spreads. Stay with us for live updates from across the UN system. App users can follow coverage here.Read the full story, “MIDDLE EAST LIVE 16 March: UN scales up aid as crisis deepens into third week”, on globalissues.org →

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) is releasing another $2 million in emergency funds to support health systems in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria as strikes against Iran by the US and Israeli continue amid counterstrikes across the Gulf and wider region by Tehran.Read the full story, “Middle East crisis: UN health agency releases emergency funds for Lebanon, Iraq, Syria”, on globalissues.org →

The UN Secretary-General on Saturday called on the international community to intensify support for the Government and people of Lebanon, warning that the south of the country “risks being turned into a wasteland.”Read the full story, “In Beirut, Guterres demands end to Middle East war: Civilians ‘deserve to live without fear’”, on globalissues.org →

UNITED NATIONS, March 13 (IPS) - During a solidarity visit to Lebanon, the UN chief announced a flash appeal of USD 308.3 million to support humanitarian operations there in the wake of escalated fighting. Read the full story, “UN Launches 300 Million Dollar Humanitarian Appeal for Lebanon”, on globalissues.org →

AL-AZRAQ, SYRIA, March 13 (IPS) - In the Al-Azraq camp in northern Syria, 10-year-old Abeer Al-Qaddour sits, browsing a colourful book with intense focus and curiosity. Nearby stands a bus, elegantly inscribed with the words ‘The Cultural Bus’. Read the full story, “Syria’s Mobile Cultural Bus: Championing Cultural Justice, Delivering Art and Literature to Children of War”, on globalissues.org →

MOSCOW, March 13 (IPS) - Professor Jude Osakwe—a Nigerian scholar at the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) and Continental Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Africa (NIDOAF)—has reiterated the absolute truth over Reparations for Africa, noting that African governments have consistently expressed only ’emotional solidarity’ over Reparations instead of tackling and addressing, with seriousness, this pertinent issue within the context of diplomacy. Read the full story, “Why Does African Leadership Lack Coordination on Reparations?”, on globalissues.org →

UNITED NATIONS, March 13 (IPS) - Across the world, women remain vastly under-represented in political leadership, with the most powerful decisions still overwhelmingly made by men. In 2026, only 28 countries are led by a woman Head of State or Government, while 101 countries have never had a woman leader, according to the latest data released by Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women. Read the full story, “Only 1 in 7 Countries is Led by a Woman – as Global Political Power Remains Dominated by Men”, on globalissues.org →