Harqabobe, Somalia – On nights when storm clouds gathered over the valley, fear ran through the community. “When it rained, we worried what might come from the valley,” recalls Huria.
“Would the water rise while we slept? Would it come without warning on a clear day?”
Huria stands among those leading efforts to restore the land and protect their homes from future floods. Photo: IOM 2025/Yusuf Abdirahman
For years, this small village in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region, north of Mogadishu, was caught in a brutal cycle. Rains came hard and erratic, washing through the valley and tearing apart homes and fields.
(UN News)* —Imagine this: you visit the familiar website of your local hardware store. Everything looks the same — the same design, the same brand name, the same interface.
You place your order, make the payment, and only later notice a small detail: just one letter in the website address was different.
That’s how easily you can fall into a cybercriminal trap. If you’re lucky, the amount lost is small, and your bank acts fast — refunding the money and reissuing your card.
But not everyone is so fortunate: in many countries, recovering stolen funds is nearly impossible.
(UN News)* — Over 900 days of brutal conflict, widespread human rights violations, famine, and the collapse of essential services have driven millions of people in Sudan to the “brink of survival” – with women and children bearing the heaviest burden.
Sudan stands at the epicentre of one of the world’s “most severe” humanitarian crises, according to the UN.
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Over 30 million people now need urgent humanitarian assistance, among them 9.6 million displaced from their homes and nearly 15 million children caught in a struggle for daily survival.
(UN News)* — The UN and its partners are accelerating deliveries of life-saving aid across Gaza, but relief efforts remain constrained by access restrictions and overwhelming humanitarian needs, officials said on Friday [].
Since the ceasefire on 10 October, the UN migration agency IOM has dispatched more than 47,000 relief items, including 2,500 tents, to help families rebuild amid devastation.
“People in Gaza have endured unimaginable loss,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope.
Achieving gender equality and empowering women is not only the right thing to do but is a critical ingredient in the fight against extreme poverty, hunger and climate change.
Women engaged in wage employment in agriculture earn 82 cents for every dollar that men earn, according to a recent FAO report. PHOTO:Sasint/Adobe Stock
Rivers cut by dams, farmland expansion and urban growth are putting food, water, biodiversity and livelihoods at risk unless urgent action is taken.
Bonn/Abu Dhabi, – Nearly one-third of the Earth’s land surface has already been profoundly transformed by human activity, leaving ecosystems degraded and fragmented, according to the Global Land Outlook Thematic Report on Ecological Connectivity and Land Restoration, launched on 11 October 2025 at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi.
BANGALORE & PAKHIRALAY, India, Oct 15 2025 (IPS)* – Bapi Mondal’s morning routine in Bangalore is a world away from his ancestral village, Pakhiralay, in the Sundarbans, West Bengal.
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Bapi Mondal and his wife Shanti in Bangalore. Climate change has forced the couple from their traditional livelihoods in the Sundarbans. Credit: Diwash Gahatraj/IPS
He wakes before dawn, navigates heavy traffic, and spends eight long hours molding plastic battery casings. Continue reading →
(UN News)* — The UN human rights office (OHCHR) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has warned of an alarming rise in violence and restrictions by Israeli settlers and security forces against Palestinian farmers, as the crucial olive harvest season gets underway.
Ajith Sunghay said on Tuesday [] that “settler violence has skyrocketed in scale and frequency, with the acquiescence, support, and in many cases participation, of Israeli security forces – and always with impunity.”
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In the first half of 2025 alone, there were 757 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage — a 13 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.
SANTIAGO, Oct 22 2025 (IPS)* –Desalination projects are booming in Chile, with 51 plants planned to process seawater and a combined investment of US$ 24.455 billion. However, these initiatives hardly benefit small-scale farmers, who are threatened by the prolonged drought, and cause environmental concerns.
View of a plant owned by Aguas Antofagasta, a company created 20 years ago that now has three desalination plants to supply drinking water to 184,000 families in that desert city in northern Chile. Credit: Courtesy of Acades
As humanitarian aid dries up, these countries are especially vulnerable
Afghanistan
People lining up for WFP assistance in earthquake-hit eastern Afghanistan. The country faces soaring needs – even as WFP assistance is being deeply cut. Photo: WFP/Arete/Muktar Nikrawa
There are 9.5 million food-insecure people in Afghanistan – a number that WFP fears will rise. WFP has a US$622 million funding shortfall over the next six months.
Huria stands among those leading efforts to restore the land and protect their homes from future floods. Photo: IOM 2025/Yusuf Abdirahman
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 