Global Issues

BELÉM, Brazil, November 21 (IPS) - Belém, at the mouth of the Amazon River, was always going to be a symbolic host for the UN COP30 climate summit, but the mood here has gone far beyond symbolism. Read the full story, “If COP30 Fails, It Won’t Be North vs. South, but Power vs People”, on globalissues.org →

SAN LUIS JILOTEPEQUE, Guatemala, November 21 (IPS) - Plagued by drought, farming families living within the boundaries of the Dry Corridor in eastern Guatemala have resorted to rainwater harvesting, an effective technique that has allowed them to cope. Read the full story, “Rainwater Harvesting Mitigates Drought in Eastern Guatemala – VIDEO”, on globalissues.org →

UNITED NATIONS, November 21 (IPS) - As the digital landscape continues to expand and integrate into various aspects of daily life, humanitarian experts have raised concerns about the associated risks, particularly as artificial intelligence (AI), online anonymity, and the absence of effective monitoring frameworks heighten the potential for abuse and harassment. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by digital abuse, facing heightened risks, with nearly half of them worldwide lacking effective legal protections. Read the full story, “The Rising Threat of Digital Abuse: Women’s Vulnerability in the Age of AI and Online Harassment”, on globalissues.org →

UNITED NATIONS, November 21 (IPS) - The 193-member General Assembly (GA), the UN’s highest policy-making body, has long been the repository for scores of long-winded outdated resolutions accumulated over several decades– and lying in cold storage. Read the full story, “The UN General Assembly, Over Burdened with Repetitive Resolutions, Aims at Revitalization”, on globalissues.org →

WASHINGTON, D.C & SRINAGAR, November 21 (IPS) - A new independent evaluation of the Global Environment Facility’s food systems programs says they are delivering strong environmental and livelihood gains in many countries but warns that a narrow focus on farm production, weak political analysis, and shrinking coordination budgets are holding back deeper transformation. Read the full story, “Evaluation Finds Food Systems Programs Deliver Results but Warns of Missed Transformation Chances”, on globalissues.org →

BELÉM, Brazil, November 21 (IPS) - Jyoti Kumari missed her online classes again today. Her father, a vegetable seller in West Delhi’s vegetable market, had to go to work, taking with him the only smartphone the family uses. Kumari has been taking online classes since November 11, when the state government declared a shutdown of all elementary schools due to air pollution hitting the “severe” category. Read the full story, “School Days Lost, but Non-Economic Loss and Damage Not Part of Global Talks”, on globalissues.org →

A South African flag-coloured King Protea flower – symbolising hope and regeneration – is the chosen logo for this year’s G20 Leaders’ Summit, taking place on African soil for the first time.Read the full story, “It’s time for leadership and vision, Guterres tells G20 in South Africa”, on globalissues.org →

On the scheduled final day of COP30 in Belém, tense negotiations are stretching into Friday afternoon as divisions persist. Amid the ongoing talks, one message is cutting through the noise: there is no climate justice without gender equality.Read the full story, “From waste pickers to courtrooms: Women demand a gender focus at COP30”, on globalissues.org →

Seventeen civilians, including women in labour and patients receiving care, were slaughtered inside a Catholic Church-run health centre in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last week.Read the full story, “UN decries ‘truly horrific’ massacres in DR Congo”, on globalissues.org →

The United Nations outlined how it intends to advance one of its most comprehensive system-wide reform efforts in decades, as Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Ryder presented the UN80 Initiative Action Plan. The plan brings the Secretary-General’s major UN80 reform proposals into a single, coherent structure to streamline efforts that will make the UN system deliver better.Read the full story, “UN presents UN80 Initiative Action Plan, setting coordinated path for system-wide reforms”, on globalissues.org →