OSLO, Norway, Jun 12 2025 (IPS)* –The world is experiencing a surge in violence not seen since the post-World War II era. 2024 marked a grim new record: the highest number of state-based armed conflicts in over seven decades.
The scene of a destruction caused by the war in Ukraine. Credit: UNOCHA/Dmytro Filipskyy
“This is not just a spike – it’s a structural shift. The world today is far more violent, and far more fragmented, than it was a decade ago,” warned Siri Aas Rustad, Research Director at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and lead author of the report.
(UN News)* — With 13.5 million people displaced by over 13 years of brutal civil conflict, Syria used to represent the largest displacement crisis in the world. This is no longer the case.
In December last year, the overthrow of the Assad regime by opposition forces reignited hope that most Syrians could see home again soon.
As of May, 500,000 refugees and 1.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) returned to their areas of origin. But that’s not the only reason Syria is no longer the largest displacement crisis in the world.
(UN News)* — Nearly three months after a catastrophic earthquake struck Myanmar, the country continues to grapple with its aftermath alongside the brutal civil war which has devastated the country since the February 2021 military coup.
Since then, “there has been no end to the violence, even though thousands have been killed and thousands more injured,” said UN Special Envoy to Myanmar, Julie Bishop, on Tuesday , briefing the General Assembly.
(UN News)* — The ocean is under siege – and greed is to blame. UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday urged world leaders and grassroots groups to confront the powerful interests driving marine destruction, from illegal fishing and plastic pollution to the accelerating impacts of climate change.
The World Day against Child Labour is widely supported by these actors, along with UN agencies and individuals committed to building a world free of child labour. PHOTO: UNFPA Asia and the Pacific
The Israeli military has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians by destroying homes and essential civilian infrastructure in Jenin and Tulkarem refugee camps rendering them uninhabitable, as part of its ongoing brutal military operation in the occupied West Bank,said Amnesty International.
Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images
On 5 June, Palestinians mark Naksa Day, commemorating the forced displacement of approximately 300,000 Palestinians during the June 1967 war, when Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
(UN News)* — The worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached “unprecedented levels of despair,” the UN said on Monday , amid more reports of people being killed and injured near newly-established distribution sites.
Since the end of May, aid distribution in Gaza has been carried out by a mechanism backed by Israel and the United States bypassing UN agencies and their established partners, which has been plagued by deadly incidents and chaos.
“Some mornings, I can’t even stand, my feet are so swollen. My whole body aches from working all day at the juicer. The doctor said my uric acid is high, but I waited months to get tested. Who has the time or money when missing work means no food?”– Sana, a street vendor selling sugarcane juice in chronic pain, navigating long hours and poor hydration, in Delhi’s extreme temperatures.
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Street vendor exposed to extreme heat, New Delhi, 2024. Credit: Greenpeace India
BENGALURU, India / COLOMBO Sri Lanka, Jun 2 2025 (IPS)** –From the blistering heat of Delhi’s streets to Colombo’s humid corners, workers in the informal economy are silently enduring the toll of labour on their bodies and livelihoods.
Unprecedented Ocean warming engulfed the South-West Pacific in 2024, harming ecosystems and economies, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which highlighted how sea level rise is threatening islands in a region where more than half the population live close to the coast.
SACRAMENTO, US & NEW DELHI, India:, Jun 9 2025 (IPS)* –A newly released report by Earth Insight in collaboration with 16 environmental organizations has sounded a global alarm on the unchecked expansion of offshore oil and gas projects into some of the most biologically rich and ecologically sensitive marine environments on the planet.
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A report documents the impact of unchecked oil and gas projects in biologically rich and ecologically sensitive environments. Credit: Spencer Thomas
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 