Barbados officially now has a new Energy Transition and Investment Plan, also known as E-tip. 

The plan,was formally launched at the recently held Sustainable Energy for All forum and lays out the roadmap for the country to achieve net-zero by 2035.  

We hear more from Chief Project Analyst at the Energy division, Ministry of Energy and Business, Claire Best and. Chief Executive Officer at the Barbados National Oil Company Limited James Browne.

E-TIP AND JOB CREATION

Heartbreak for Afghan returnees returning from Iran, Pakistan
Afghanistan is facing an unprecedented returnee crisis as millions of people forcibly returned there mainly from Iran and Pakistan try to rebuild their lives there. 
Stephanie Loose is Country Director in Afghanistan for UN-Habitat; she describes the challenge for many returnees, including the women and girls who are not allowed to leave their house without a male guardian, even to visit the doctor.
Ms. Loose also explains how the agency's focus on sustainable urbanization, housing and access to basic services aims to improve the lives of people in settlements of all sizes – including in Kabul and beyond.

08AUG2025-INTV-Afghanistan-UN-Habitat-StephanieLoose

In Gaza, women and girls have been bearing the brunt of the catastrophic humanitarian situation for the past 22 months.   

In addition to the constant threat of sexual violence, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in the enclave face a daily struggle to get the help they need.  

Despite the continuing devastation – as Israel moves to assert more military control over the enclave – the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners are mobilised and working around the clock to provide life-saving services on the ground, as UN News’s Nathalie Minard has been hearing from Laila Baker, Regional Director for Arab States for UNFPA.

Audio Credit: Nathalie Minard, UN News
Photo Credit: © UNFPA

Gaza: Nothing could have prepared me for the level of devastation I witnessed

- Gaza: UN rights office condemns killing of Palestinian journalists 
- Afghanistan: UNICEF urges safe returns amid education concerns 
- World Steelpan Day: Celebrating a Caribbean instrument with global impact 

Audio Credit: Emma Trager-Lewis, UN News
Audio Duration: 4'4"

UN News Today 11 August 2025 -Gaza update, Afghan returnees, World Steelpan Day

CLIP - Olga Cherevko, OCHA, on the situation in Gaza

- Report reveals ‘systematic torture’ and other crimes in Myanmar  
- Gaza hospitals overflow with people injured while seeking food: WHO 
- UNESCO chief condemns killing of six journalists in Gaza City 

Audio credit: Anna O'Donnell, UN News
Audio duration: 3'54"

UN News Today 12 August 2025 - Myanmar report, Gaza health, UNESCO condemns journalist killings

Gaza: Thousands of sick children like Janah need urgent medical evacuation, says UN aid office

Veteran UN aid worker Olga Cherevko on Wednesday described the moment she recognized a young girl requiring treatment in a Gaza hospital after a year's interval, once again suffering from malnourishment.
"I remembered her long eyelashes," Ms. Cherevko told UN News, describing seven-year-old Janah, who she came across at Gaza City's Patient Friendly Hospital on Tuesday.
"The first time I met her was in the IMC Field hospital in southern Gaza in April of 2024. Back then, she was severely severely malnourished and was getting treatment. And she gradually became better and was released eventually and went home. And unfortunately yesterday when we found her in the hospital, she has been hospitalized again because the malnutrition became aggravated and the condition that she has also is not properly diagnosed and cannot be properly diagnosed. This is why she is on the list of people to be evacuated and medically evacuated and properly treated outside. 
"There are thousands and thousands of children on this list of patients to be evacuated, so it's important that these these evacuations continue to make sure to save as many lives as possible. And one thing important to note is that even with preexisting conditions, when children or adults become malnourished, the whatever condition they have is exacerbated so much more. And of course, they don't heal as fast. And their situation becomes worse and worse; it wouldn't be this way if they had proper nutrition, because these conditions existed before the starvation crisis, and these children and adults, they they weren't getting as sick as they are now."


20250813-Gaza-OlgaCherevko-Janah

- Türk: Sri Lanka must seize opportunity to 'break with entrenched impunity'
- UN Human Rights urges Uganda urged to conditionally release opposition leader
- Myanmar: Hunger surging in Rakhine state, warns WFP 

Audio Credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News
Audio Duration: 4'44"

UN News Today 13 August 2025 -Impunity in Sri Lanka, Opposition leader in Uganda, Hunger in Myanmar

People in Haiti are living through “hell on earth,” according to William O’Neill, the UN’s designated expert on human rights in Haiti.  

Armed gangs – predominantly in the capital Port-au-Prince – are parasitically extracting financial resources from the population and perpetrating horrific acts of violence, he says – but they’re just one cog in a larger cycle of impunity, corruption and violence. 

Following the release of the most recent report on human rights in Haiti, UN News’ Naima Sawaya spoke to Mr. O’Neill about whether a path forward to peace even exists. She began by asking if he had ever met a gang leader. 

‘Hell on earth’: Desperation in Haiti as human rights violations abound

- Türk: Peru amnesty law is an ‘affront’ to victims of country’s war 
- Syria: Violence in Alawite areas may be war crimes, say rights investigators  
- Gaza 40C heatwave piles pressure on scant water supplies: UNRWA 

Audio Credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News
Audio Duration: 4'09"

UN News Today 14 August 2025 - Amnesty law in Peru, Possible war crimes in Syria, Heatwave in Gaza

Catch up on information you might have missed during the week.

This week's programme features:
1.	Get ready for back-to-school
2.	Ministerial Statement by the Minister of Educational Transformation, Chad Blackman

This week In Case You Missed It Opportunities – (August 13 - 19):
-	Teaching/school vacancies 
-	National Financial Literacy Programme: Programme Coordinator

To download a copy of these opportunities, go to https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/download/in-case-you-missed-it-august-13-19-2025/

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT AUGUST 13 - 19 (2025)

The Barbados Government Information Service has been established since 1958 as the Barbados Government's public relations and information arm.   This dynamic channel profiles Barbadian people, places and programmes which make up this Caribbean island surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.  We hope you enjoy and feel free to comment.  We want to hear from you.