• Gazans leave aid lines empty-handed as more soup kitchens close – OCHA 
• Sudan’s Adre crossing must remain open despite dangers, insist aid agencies 
• Deep concern at alleged Myanmar pushbacks by Indian navy

Audio credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News
Music composed and produced by Joachim Harris. All rights reserved. 


UN News Today 15 May 2025 - Gaza update, Sudan’s Adre crossing, Myanmar

Tens of thousands of refugees fleeing escalating violence in Sudan continue to escape to Chad at speeds not seen since the start of the conflict, while others remain trapped, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.

“Over 70 per cent of newly arrived refugees reported they have suffered serious human rights violation during their journey, including physical assault, extortion and sexual violence,” said Eujin Byun, UNHCR spokesperson. Some 20,000 Sudanese refugees arrive weekly in the country, she told UN News.

Lacking transportation options and fearing arbitrary arrest or forced recruitment, many are too afraid to flee the country. One in two refugees who spoke to the UN agency in Chad said that they had loved ones “trapped in Sudan”.

The humanitarian crisis mainly involves children and women. “Two thirds of households say, their children are out of school,” Ms. Byun said.



Photo credit: UNHCR

Sudan exodus: Worst situation in decades, says refugee agency

With so many wars and emergencies happening at once, it can be easy for other fundamental issues to go unnoticed, such as the safety of journalists.

Nonetheless, it is a time of great danger for reporters who cover these important stories – like Christina Assi, a Lebanese photojournalist who was seriously injured in a double missile strike in the recent fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. 

Despite her injuries, Ms. Assi carried the Olympic torch in France ahead of the Olympic Games.

It was a powerful symbol of resilience to many but for her, things haven’t been easy at all.

“I believe in nothing right now… Our Press vests are turning us into targets and it's becoming a death sentence for us,” she told Nancy Sarkis.


Our Press vests are turning us into targets, warns Lebanese war reporter

Learn more about plans by the Ministry of Agriculture to expand container farming in Barbados and how it will benefit local farmers.

AGROFOCUS | CONTAINER FARMING

Approximately 116,000 tonnes of food are ready to be delivered outside Gaza “just minutes away” from the population’s two million people in the war-torn enclave.

Apart from the aid blockade, increasing hostilities, shrinking humanitarian space and evacuation orders “are driving an influx of casualties to a health system that is already on its knees”, said head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“People are dying from preventable diseases as medicines wait at the border,” he insisted.

The UN health agency and its partners have evacuated 7,300 medical patients from Gaza since Novemer 2023.

However, in a call to the Israeli authorities to end the blockade, he stressed that there were still more than 10,000 patients in need of medical evacuation.

Gazans are dying from diseases while medicine is held at border, says WHO

• OCHA says Israel has made an approach to resume limited aid deliveries 
• Attacks on healthcare killed 900 people last year: WHO’s Tedros 
• Australia justice system in spotlight over child offenders’ reform


Daniel Johnson, UN News
Music composed and produced by Joachim Harris. All rights reserved.


UN News Today 19 May 2025- Gaza aid update, attacks on healthcare, child offenders' reform

Afghanistan stands at a critical crossroads, as the mass return of refugees could either tip the country into crisis or help lay the foundations for renewal and stability.

Since September 2023, three million Afghans have returned to their country – many forcibly deported from neighboring Iraq and Pakistan. Often, they arrive disoriented, fatigued and bereft of their belongings. 

But “they return to a homeland that is dramatically unprepared to receive them,” warned Arafat Jamal, representative in Afghanistan for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

Stressing that by cooperating, the return of Afghans can be a source of stability, economic growth and regional harmony, the UN official warned of the consequences if that doesn’t happen:

“If we do not come together, the demographic shock of disorganized return may instead flip us towards chaos.”

Picture credit: © UNHCR/Oxygen Empire Media Production

Afghanistan’s returnees at juncture between collapse and recovery: UNHCR

• Countries adopt first-ever treaty to guard against future pandemics
• UN life-saving aid allowed to trickle into Gaza as needs mount 
• Mass returns push Afghanistan to the brink, as aid levels fall 

Audio Credit: Dianne Penn, UN News
Music composed and produced by Joachim Harris. All rights reserved. 


UN News Today 20 May 2025 - pandemic treaty, Gaza aid, Afghanistan

In a historic milestone for global public health, Member States of the World Health Organization on Tuesday adopted the Pandemic Agreement – an accord aimed at preventing future devastating outbreaks.

Negotiations began in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, and after just three and a half years – a relatively short timeline for crafting complex international treaties – the world today is more prepared than it was before the coronavirus struck.

At the heart of the process is Precious Matsoso, co-chair of the intergovernmental negotiating body that steered the talks to the finish line.

She told UN News’s Vibhu Mishra shortly after the agreement was adopted that it was a ground-breaking moment in public health. 

Audio credit: Vibhu Mishra, UN News


Global health milestone: WHO adopts landmark Pandemic Agreement

This programme examines the importance of flood mitigation planning and some of the general prohibitions outlined in Sections 19 to 22 of the the new Storm Water Management Act 2025. The Act aims to reduce flooding through proactive and modern approaches. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Works, Santia Bradshaw, highlights how improper disposal of waste can severely impact storm water drainage systems.

MANAGING THE FLOW PART 2 - A LOOK AT THE STORM WATER MANAGEMENT ACT

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.

MANAGING THE FLOW PART 2 - A LOOK AT THE STORM WATER MANAGEMENT ACT

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