(Beirut) –The Israeli government’s plan to demolish what remains of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure and concentrate the Palestinian population into a tiny area would amount to an abhorrent escalation of its ongoing crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and acts of genocide, Human Rights Watch on 15 May 2025 said.
New displacement orders force thousands to flee as famine looms
.
UN News | Two children in Gaza City. Humanitarian partners have also witnessed soaring malnutrition levels among children.
(UN News)* — Intensified hostilities continue in the Gaza Strip, bringing further death, displacement and destruction as the weeks-long aid blockade grinds on, the UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) said on Thursday [].
In addition to ongoing bombardment, Israel issued another three displacement orders over the past two days, covering seven per cent of the total area of the territory.
14 May 2025 — When we think about displacement, many of us picture refugees crossing borders in search of safety. But displacement can also happen within one’s own country. There are millions of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the world, yet their stories often remain untold.
Nurto and thousands of other animal herders had their livelihood destroyed by recurring droughts in Somalia. With her livestock decimated, she was forced to flee her home in search of support and a better life. Photo: Abdulkadir Mohamed/NRC
(UN News)* — The UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk has voiced concern over the recent deportation of large numbers of non-nationals from the United States, particularly to third countries.
(Beirut) – Scores of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia die in gruesome yet avoidable workplace-related accidents, including falling from buildings, electrocution, and even decapitation, Human Rights Watch said on 14 May 2025.
In a report published on Tuesday [], UN Women – the UN agency for gender equality – warned that 47 per cent of these groups may be forced to close within the next six months.
Across 73 countries, 308 million people now rely on humanitarian aid – a number that continues to rise.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by these crises, facing preventable pregnancy-related deaths, malnutrition, and alarming levels of sexual violence.
(UN News)* —No aid has entered Gaza for more than 10 weeks and every single one of the 2.1 million people there faces famine conditions, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said on Tuesday [] in a briefing to the Security Council in New York.
UN News | A Palestinian child in Gaza after receiving a meal during food distribution in central Gaza.
.
Mr. Fletcher began his remarks by asking the international community to reflect on what it will tell future generations about action taken “to stop the 21st century atrocity to which we bear daily witness in Gaza.”
He wondered, for example, if “we will use those empty words: ‘We did all we could,’” and urged the Council to act decisively to prevent genocide from happening.
Bonn – Accelerating progress to restore 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land around the world and jumpstarting a trillion-dollar land restoration economy will be the focus of this year’s Desertification and Drought Day on 17 June.
The theme of Desertification and Drought Day 2025 is “Restore the land. Unlock the opportunities”, underscoring multiple benefits linked to land restoration.
BALTIMORE, Maryland, May 14 2025 (IPS)* – Here’s a question: Over the past 40 years, what natural disaster has affected more people around the globe than any other?
Livestock in eastern Mauritania are dying due to drought. Credit: UNHCR/Caroline Irby
The past 10 years have been the hottest 10 years on record, and higher temperatures and drier conditions are making more regions vulnerable to drought and arid land degradation, or desertification.