SRINAGAR, India & KINSHASA, DRC, Jul 29 2025 (IPS)* —The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) stands on the precipice of a profound environmental and social crisis, as the government prepares to auction 55 new oil blocks that cover more than half the country’s landmass.
Activists march in the street of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo to demand climate justice and an end to oil exploration in the Virunga National Park. Credit: MNKF Creatives
Touted as a pathway to economic growth, the move has triggered fierce backlash from scientists, civil society groups, Indigenous leaders, and international conservationists, who warn that the proposed fossil fuel expansion threatens some of the most ecologically and culturally significant landscapes on Earth.
Aid cuts and humanitarian deadlock are fuelling a full-blown public health disaster.
In Sake and Minova, 500 people are sharing a single water tap.
Francoise lost six children in the conflict in DRC. She has been displaced to a camp in Bunia with her five remaining children after their village was attacked. Photo: John Wessels/Oxfam
Six months since the renewed war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a full-blown public health emergency is accelerating, Oxfam warned on 24 July 2025
Since January, more than 35,000 suspected cholera cases and at least 852 related deaths have been reported – an average of more than four deaths every day and a 62 percent increase compared to 2024.
(UN News)* — Some 80,000 children are estimated to be at high risk of cholera in West and Central Africa as the rainy season begins across the region, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday [].
“The heavy rains, widespread flooding and the high level of displacement are all fuelling the risk of cholera transmission and putting the lives of children at risk,” saidUNICEF regional director for West and Central Africa Gilles Fagninou.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by consuming food or water contaminated with bacteria. The disease can be treated with oral rehydration solution and antibiotics but can be fatal within hours if untreated.
(UN News)* —People in Haiti have expressed “despair” following the “abrupt suspension” of a wide range of humanitarian services, according to the UN aid coordinationoffice, OCHA, in the Caribbean country.
The cancellation of most US funding in January means many services to the most vulnerable people have been cut or put on hold.
Multiple political, security and socioeconomic crises have led to 5.7 million people suffering from a lack of food and have forced 1.3 million people to flee their homes.
With a dramatic reduction in funding, Haiti faces a crucial “turning point”.
ATLANTA, USA, Jul 30 2025 (IPS)* –– Why is a grinning Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, wildly cheered by both Democrats and Republicans whenever he addresses the US Congress, while at the same time in Gaza countless innocent civilians are being killed by American bombs and bullets—and now babies are starving?
Rescue workers line up body bags in Tal Al Sultan, in Rafah, in southern Gaza. Credit: UNOCHA
Shamefully, Israel’s leader, a certified genocidaire, is one of the few global leaders to have ever been granted the privilege of speaking to Congress, which he has done frequently.
But the world sees and will remember his Big Lie that “There is no starvation in Gaza.”
The mantle of righteousness that once adorned the American flag after WW II is shredded, perhaps beyond repair.
NEW YORK/ROME, 29 July 2025 (UNICEF)* -–Gaza faces the severe risk of famine as food consumption and nutrition indicators have reached their worst levels since the conflict began, according to data shared in the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Alert.
UNICEF/UNI838255/El BabaTwo-year-old Yazan, severely malnourished, lives in the Shati (Beach) refugee camp in Gaza City.
His mother, Naima, says, “We have not had flour or any food assistance for two months.” Yazan sits on a torn piece of foam, his wide eyes heavy with exhaustion, his thin body clearly showing signs of acute hunger. Malnutrition has spread rapidly among children in the Gaza Strip, with rates in Gaza City rising fourfold since February.
(UN News)* — The promise seemed simple: a job, a fresh start, a way out. Instead, Maria* stepped off a boat onto a picture-perfect Trinidadian beach with hope in her heart and into a nightmare that would shadow her for years.
.On the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, observed on 30 July, follow the journey of a woman who escaped..Eight years ago, Maria left Caracas, Venezuela, driven by dwindling opportunities and the hope of completing her veterinary studies..At just 21, she accepted an offer from an acquaintance who promised work in Trinidad and Tobago, cleaning homes, waiting tables. It seemed like a lifeline, a way to support herself and her family back home..She didn’t know then that she was stepping into a well-laid trap.
30 July 2025 (United Nations) — Human trafficking continues to be a global threat driven by organized crime. More and more victims are being trafficked every year, across greater distances, with greater violence, for longer periods of time and for greater profit.
From 2020 to 2023, there were more than 200,000 detected victims globally, which is just the tip of the iceberg.
The actual number of unreported cases is believed to be significantly higher.
(UN News)* — In a world increasingly shaped by climate extremes, environmental experts are delivering a blunt warning: four rapidly emerging threats could reshape life for millions unless urgent action is taken.
From ancient microbes awakening in melting glaciers to toxic pollutants unleashed by floods, the dangers are no longer distant or theoretical. They are here, and they are growing.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jul 29 2025 (IPS)* – US President Trump has successfully used tariff threats to achieve economic, political and even personal goals. These threats, reminiscent of colonialism, have secured submission and concessions.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
After hearing the 2024 US elections, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto respectfully stood up in his Jakarta office to call to congratulate the winner.
Trump bragged about his tariff offer to Indonesia in mid-July 2025, flattering its president profusely. After hesitating initially, former General Prabowo had agreed to join BRICS, despite Trump’s clear disapproval.
“I spoke to their really great president, very popular, very strong, smart. And we made the deal. We will pay no tariffs…they are giving us access to Indonesia … the other part is they are going to pay 19% and we are going to pay nothing.”
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 