By Farhana Haque RahmanTORONTO, Canada, Dec 23 2024 – Do you sometimes feel like a hamster on its wheel, or perhaps stuck on a runaway train hurtling towards the abyss? Whatever metaphor one might choose for our world looking back on 2024, rainbows don’t easily spring to mind. Farhana Haque Rahman Wars and conflicts already in full spate a year ago got even worse, with horrific violence...

Thirteen generators were distributed from the UNICEF warehouse in Deir Al Balah, to be used to operate critical water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities in south Gaza. Credit: UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel By Oritro KarimUNITED NATIONS, Dec 23 2024 – As talks of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine intensify, bombardments in Gaza continue, raising the number of civilian casualties and internal...

The Government of Romania, a Balkan state to the south of Ukraine, and its humanitarian partners have offered extensive support to Ukrainians fleeing the escalation of the conflict with Russia since 2022. Beneficiaries receive food and humanitarian provisions from the Romania Red Cross. Credit: Filip Scarlat/Romanian Red Cross By Catherine WilsonBUCHAREST, Romania , Dec 23 2024 – The days are...

Credit: Christian Valero Rebolledo/Cafe Words By Timothy A. WiseCAMBRIDGE, MA., Dec 23 2024 – A tribunal of trade arbitrators has ruled in favor of the United States in its complaint that Mexico’s restrictions on genetically modified corn violate the terms of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA). The long-awaited ruling in the 16-month trade dispute is unlikely to settle the questions...

A village in the Afungi Peninsula in Palma District, Cabo Delgado Province. Credit: Justiça Ambiental By Maina WaruruNAIROBI, Dec 23 2024 – Climate and environmental activists from Japan have criticized the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for financing the controversial Mozambique Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project to the tune of USD 3 billion in a loan signed in July. The...

A volcano in Vanuatu was active in 2023. The county was affected by a 6.6 M earthquake in March 2023 and 7.4 M earthquake in December 2024. Credit: Unsplash/Sebastian Lio By Madhurima Sarkar-Swaisgood and Sanjay SrivastavaBANGKOK, Thailand, Dec 23 2024 – In December 2024, Vanuatu experienced yet another harrowing reminder of its vulnerability to disasters—a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake...

Credit: US Department of Defense (DoD) By Thalif DeenUNITED NATIONS, Dec 23 2024 – The United States and Western allies have jointly provided a staggering $260 billion in aid, mostly weapons and military assistance, to Ukraine as the long-drawn-out conflict continues following Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Speaking to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels early December, US Secretary...

By Emilio GodoyMERIDA, Mexico, Dec 23 2024 – When he promoted the Maya Train (TM) in 2019, then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who ruled Mexico between 2018 and October this year, stated that the railway line would be an engine of development for the southeastern Yucatan peninsula. The three states of the peninsula – Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatan – were offered spaces...