'Unseen' News and Views
()* — The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) warned on Friday [] that a worsening funding crisis is placing refugees – who cannot return home due to war or persecution – in increasing danger.
UNHCR said that two-thirds of countries hosting refugees are already severely overstretched and urgently need support to continue providing education, healthcare and shelter.
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 2 May 2025 – “This week, I assisted 19 deliveries – two of which were life-threatening emergencies,” said Espérance, a midwife at Kyeshero General Hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“We’re working in difficult conditions, with the fear of not being able to save everyone. But we’re holding on.”
Each year, three quarters of all maternal deaths occur in just 25 countries, the majority of which are in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
A report compiling harmful actions taken by US President Donald Trump against reproductive rights was released on 30 April 2025 by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), a legal organization defending reproductive rights globally.
It’s a long list, including policy positions, personnel appointments, website takedowns, administrative changes, government agency shutdowns, and funding cuts.
President Donald Trump marked World Press Freedom Day 2025 by announcing his intention to drastically cut funding for public media in the United States. Meanwhile, the same week, his administration launched the White House Wire, a taxpayer-funded propaganda site.
.
The United Nations will be commemorating World Press Freedom Day 2025 on May 3 reminding governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and marking the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in Windhoek in 1991.
Credit: Chris McGrath, Getty Images
– Press freedom is no longer a given in the United States 100 days into President Donald Trump’s second term as journalists and newsrooms face mounting pressures that threaten their ability to report freely and the public’s right to know.
(UN News)* — Countries must do everything to ensure that free and independent news reporting can thrive, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on in a message to mark World Press Freedom Day.
“Amidst spiraling conflict, climate chaos, growing divisions, and a rapidly changing digital landscape, a free press is more vital than ever,” said Volker Türk.
Furthermore, “the media help us understand the world around us and encourage critical thinking and dialogue.”
Free and independent media are the best antidote to disinformation but press freedom is under threat in every region of the world, he warned.
In a world plagued by conflict and division, World Press Freedom Day highlights a fundamental truth:
()* — “After losing my leg in the war, I returned to photojournalism not just for work, but because I have loved photography since childhood,” said Palestinian reporter Sami Shahada.
(UN News)* — Two months into a devastating aid blockade of Gaza food has run out and people are fighting over water amid relentless bombing, the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) on said.
22 April 2025 — At a crowded health post in northern Ethiopia, Belaynesh Berihu cradles tiny daughter Eldana, as a health worker slips a coloured tape around the infant’s arm to gauge malnourishment.
“She eats very little, she doesn’t have an appetite,” says Berihu, whose daughter weighed less than 2 kg at birth. Berihu, too, is painfully thin – surviving on a diet of mostly wheat and teff-based bread.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 