Africa

A cloud of steam rises from a giant aluminium pot as Maria Joseph, a middle-aged cook in a toque blanche and faded apron, plants her feet firmly on the tiled kitchen floor. With both hands clasped around a wooden paddle, she plunges deep into the mound of rice, threatening to burn at the bottom. With […]

Legalább hat ember meghalt, és öten megsérültek, amikor leégett egy távolsági buszt Svájcban. Szemtanúk szerint egy férfi felgyújtotta magát.

Credit: United Nations

By Bisma Qamar
NEW YORK, Mar 11 2026 (IPS)

I have often been asked a simple but important question: How can we make it sustainable if we are not being compensated for it?

That question sits at the heart of a conversation we do not address enough. Somewhere between exposure and exploitation lies a line we still have not learned to draw clearly. And perhaps that is exactly where the real conversation on “inclusion” begins.

The cost of being seen, is probably the heaviest cost youth have to bear in pursuit of carrying the passion and aspirations they strive for when trying to make an impact.

As conversations around the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs continue to grow, one question remains: how far have we really come in shaping perspectives, and not just numbers?

Too often, inclusion is measured by attendance, representation, and diversity metrics. But inclusion is not just about presence. It is about value. It is about whether people are acknowledged, respected, and taken seriously for their contribution. Inclusion does not live in the excel sheets we fill or the rooms we temporarily occupy during events.

It begins where age, gender, ethnicity, and job titles are not weighed before credibility is given. This matters even more for young people.

A single voice, a single appearance, or a single statement is often framed as an opportunity. And sometimes, it is. But when visibility becomes a substitute for fair compensation, authorship, decision-making power, or real support, exposure stops being empowered and starts becoming exploitative.

Exposure on its own is not empowerment. Visibility can open doors, but it cannot replace fair structures. Being seen is meaningful only when it is followed by trust, ownership, opportunity, and value.

Too often, young people are handed advice when what they really need is access. They are mentored, encouraged, and told to keep going, yet rarely sponsored in the spaces that shape outcomes. If we want inclusion to move beyond symbolism, we must build cultures where support does not end at guidance.

It must extend into advocacy. Because for many underrepresented voices, the issue is not a lack of talent or preparation. It is the absence of someone willing to open the right door and say, this person belongs here.

The goal is not to reject exposure. Exposure can be powerful. But it cannot be the only thing being offered. Real inclusion begins when participation is respected, contribution is valued, and visibility leads to something more lasting. Being seen may open the door, but being valued is what makes inclusion real.

Bisma Qamar is Pakistan’s Youth Representative to the UN & USA chapter under the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP). Her work is centered towards learning and development and capability building initiatives, with a strong emphasis on creating inclusive and sustainable opportunities through “Bridging talent with opportunities” by upskilling individuals focusing on SDG 4 ( Education ) and SDG 5 ( Gender Equality )

https://www.un.org/youthaffairs/en/youth2030/about

IPS UN Bureau

 

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An old rusty tsunami warning sign in Bali Indonesia. After the tsunami, countries in Asia have improved their early warning system and signs to save lives. Credit: Unsplash/Bernard Hermant

By Temily Baker and Sofia Bilmes
BANGKOK, Thailand, Mar 11 2026 (IPS)

On 11 March 2011, the powerful 9.0 magnitude Tōhoku earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan, triggering a 40-meter Tsunami. Many coastal towns along Japan’s Pacific coast were devastated. Approximately 20,000 people lost their lives and around 470,000 were evacuated from their homes.

Beyond the immense human tragedy, the estimated economic losses ranged between US$154 billion to US$235 billion with severely damaged critical infrastructure, including transportation, energy systems, water supply and communications networks. The cascading impacts led to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, which intensified both hardship and environmental challenges.

Despite the devastation, the world witnessed extraordinary resilience

15 years later, we continue to honour those lost and the communities that were forever changed. Families rebuilt their homes, local governments restored services and the country prioritized recovery and disaster prevention. These experiences taught important lessons that have influenced global approaches to disaster risk reduction:

1. Early warning must be paired with community preparedness.
Japan’s rapid early warning alerts in 2011 gave people precious seconds and minutes to act. What truly saved lives, however, was the country’s deeply rooted Bōsai Bunka – a culture of preparedness built on regular drills, community networks and shared responsibility. The event also showed that preparedness cannot remain static; systems, training and risk assumptions must continually evolve as science advances and hazards intensify.

2. Recovery should build long-term resilience, not just restore what was lost.
The scale of destruction forced communities and policymakers to rethink land use, coastal defenses, urban planning and future-oriented disaster response and recovery strategies. The idea of “Build Back Better” became a key part of rebuilding after the disaster. Reconstruction became an opportunity to reduce exposure, strengthen protective infrastructure, and re design communities with resilience at their core.

3. Disaster risks cross borders and so must our solutions.
Tsunami waves travel across oceans and supply chains which link economies around the world. Furthermore, climate change does not know boundaries. The Tōhoku disaster underscored that no country can face such risks alone. Now 61 years in operation, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System represents multilateral early warning system in the world (see Figure 1). International cooperation, shared data and coordinated preparedness are essential to reducing global disaster risk.

Source: International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC)

Figure 1: The ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’ with significant subduction zones identified.

Together, these lessons highlight Japan as a global leader in tsunami preparedness and multi hazard risk management, strengthened by its longstanding commitment to sharing knowledge worldwide.

Scaling Japan’s preparedness culture globally

The lessons of Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami played a significant role in shaping the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, later reinforced in Asia and the Pacific through ESCAP Resolution 71/12 on strengthening regional mechanisms for its implementation.

This framework helped move the world’s focus from reacting to disasters to managing risks before they happen. Since then, the culture of preparedness has grown to focus more on inclusion, better risk communication and solutions led by local communities, with 131 countries now reporting having national disaster risk reduction strategies in place.

Moreover, Sustainable Development Goal 11 calls for making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, and specifically, target 11.5 aims to reduce disaster-related deaths and economic losses. Unfortunately, Asia and the Pacific represent the most disaster impacted region in the world, with rising losses from disasters recorded in the 2026 SDG Progress Report.

However, hope prevails: Japan’s post-2011 approach to reconstruction is an example of SDG 11 in practice: risk-informed urban planning, stricter building codes, ecosystem-based coastal protection, and community-based emergency preparedness. Today, 81 per cent of Pacific Ocean basin countries now have tsunami hazard assessments – the first step to understanding and preparing for the risk. This proves that, even though hazard events are inevitable, we can take measures to ensure they do not become disasters.

Japan’s commitment to transboundary resilience building is also evident through the country’s longstanding membership within the ESCAP multi-donor Trust Fund for Tsunami, Disaster and Climate Preparedness.

Through this regional funding mechanism, Japan and fellow donors from the region and worldwide translate accumulated experience into practical cooperation – reinforcing systems that enable early hazard detection, faster community notification, and the saving of lives.

Most recently, the Trust Fund has supported a comprehensive tsunami preparedness capacity assessment across the region, helping countries identify gaps in early warning, coordination and last-mile communication to strengthen basin-wide resilience.

In an era of intensifying climate risks and cascading crises, remembrance must be reinforced by collective actions.

Temily Baker is Programme Management Officer, Disaster Risk Reduction Section, ESCAP and Sofia Bilmes is Intern, Disaster Risk Reduction Section, ESCAP

IPS UN Bureau

 

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By Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Kuhaneetha Bai Kalaicelvan
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Mar 11 2026 (IPS)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Munich speech last month seemed to seduce the European elite behind President Trump, against the ‘Rest’, especially the resource-rich Global South.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

New international order?
Recognising the deliberate ‘wrecking-ball’ demolition of the post-1945 world order, February’s 62nd Munich Security Conference theme was ‘Under Destruction’.

Billed as the world’s leading forum for international security, the conference programme made clear whose interests and security were prioritised.

In its first year, Trump 2.0 bombed ten nations, besides threatening aggression against four other Latin American nations, but none were represented at Munich!

The Munich conference shed all pretence of objectivity and diplomacy on Iran, applauding Israeli-led military intervention to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasised the world’s return to great power competition after the post-Cold War ‘unipolar moment’, making his loyalty clear.

At Davos in January, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney noted that Trump 2.0’s geopolitical “rupture” had forced many to abandon earlier illusions.

Dangerous new trends have been emerging, hardly any ‘order’. Trump insists US supremacy must be even more dominant, isolating rather than confronting rivals.

K Kuhaneetha Bai

In January 2026, the US withdrew from dozens of mainly multilateral organisations. Old rules, even those revised during his first term, are out, alarming many accustomed to them.

Trump’s predecessors’ ‘rules-based order’ had offered a legal and diplomatic fig leaf to subordinate other states to US supremacy.

Now, Washington repudiates the very framework it demanded others accept, instead of the ostensibly universal but sometimes inconvenient ‘rule of law’.

Instead of diplomatic and commercial negotiations, economic and military threats prevail. Without velvet gloves of soft power, the mailed fists of military force and economic weaponry are exposed.

Reuniting the West
Rubio welcomed this “new era in geopolitics”, urging better transatlantic relations while reiterating Trump 2.0’s demands for Europe to pay more, albeit more gently.

After the end of the Cold War, Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations urged defending the ‘Judaeo-Christian’ West against the ‘Rest’, including Catholic Latin America.

In Munich, Cuban-American Rubio reinvented himself as a White Christian European, warning his European audience that the West is under threat.

For Rubio, “the West had been expanding” to “settle new continents, build vast empires extending out across the globe” over the last five centuries.

His history obscured Western imperialism’s dispossession, exploitation and slaughter of indigenous peoples worldwide, especially in the Global South.

Praising the superiority of European civilisation and values, he lamented setbacks to these “great Western empires” due to “godless communist” and “anti-colonial” uprisings after the Second World War.

Rather than progress inspired by the 1776 US Declaration and War of Independence, for Rubio, national self-determination was a civilisational setback.

“We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline”. For Rubio, no more ‘liberal’ human rights, freedom and democracy rhetoric.

He did not hesitate to invoke racist, white supremacist mythology and crusader ideology to demand stronger militaries to defend Western civilisation.

The renewed Western alliance will share their common civilisational identity, bound by “Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry”.

Ethno-chauvinistic beliefs about race, religion and culture are the new bases for solidarity and authority. ‘Defending Christians’ became the pretext for the US 2025 Christmas Day bombing of Nigeria.

Another Western century?
Rubio appealed for pan-European Western unity against multilateralism and other threats, calling for increased military spending and immigration controls.

He urged Europe to “take back control” of ‘Western’ industries and supply chains. After all, NATO allies have joined the US in seizing foreign assets at will.

Vassal-like and desperate for reassurance after a year of Trump’s blatant contempt and threats, the audience welcomed his speech with a standing ovation.

Fearing Washington might negotiate with Moscow over Ukraine without them, European leaders have intensified demands for all-out war against Russia.

Rubio is working to secure critical minerals supplies against “extortion from other powers”, including Europe, through opaque bilateral agreements secured with threats.

Trump 2.0 is making military threats for profit, including post-war ownership, mining and other rights. For many, NATO’s US-Europe divide is not over peace, but rather sharing Ukraine war costs and spoils.

While funding for European welfare states and other ‘social’ purposes continues to fall, military budgets continue to spike, as demanded by Trump.

Meanwhile, Merz has invoked military Keynesianism to justify Germany’s largest-ever military budget since the Cold War, aimed at strengthening NATO.

Ostensibly to strengthen national security, the Trump administration has cut social programmes. Instead, US military spending is being prioritised.

Meanwhile, the US Congress has shown support by approving a larger War Department budget than the Pentagon requested.

Armaments contracts have mainly benefited established companies, while the ‘tech bros’ increasingly supply newer weapons and related systems using artificial intelligence.

Following Trump, the European elites are strengthening their already powerful militaries and securing commercial deals for their own advantage, rather than defending the peaceful multilateral cooperation they once advocated.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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With Bellarmine Mugabe due in court we look at what has happened to Zimbabwe's ex-first family.

Die USA und Israel haben dem Iran den Krieg erklärt. Seither befindet sich der Nahe Osten unter Beschuss. Im Ticker halten wir dich über die neusten Entwicklungen auf dem Laufenden.

BMW startet diesen Sommer im Leipziger Werk ein Pilotprojekt mit humanoiden Robotern. Die KI-basierten AEON, entwickelt von Hexagon Robotics in der Schweiz, sollen monotone und belastende Arbeiten übernehmen – und so die Autoproduktion revolutionieren.

À l'occasion de la 21ème édition du Tour cycliste du Bénin et du Grand Prix de la ville, la circulation sera fortement perturbée à Cotonou les 27 avril, 2 et 3 mai prochains.

La municipalité invite les usagers de la route à la patience et appelle les populations à venir encourager les coureurs le long d'un parcours traversant les artères vitales de la capitale économique.
Dans un communiqué rendu public par le maire de la ville de Cotonou, Luc Gnacadja, les dates clés ou la fluidité routière sera mise à l'épreuve ont été indiquées.
Pour permettre le passage sécurisé du peloton, les axes concernes seront restreints à la circulation de 06h à 18h lundi 27 Avril 2026, samedi 02 Mai 2026, et dimanche 03 Mai 2026.
Le tracé de la course impactera une grande partie de la ville, formant une boucle complexe entre le centre-ville et les quartiers périphériques.
Les tronçons majeurs concernés sont :
• Les zones de la Place Amazone, Zongo, Xwlacodji et Ganhi.
• Les carrefours stratégiques comme l'Étoile Rouge, Saint Jean et les Pattes d'Oies.
• Des axes très fréquentés incluant la Haie Vive, Gbégamey, le Novotel et le secteur menant vers Sèmè City.
Pour encadrer l'événement et minimiser les désagréments, un dispositif spécial sera mis en place. La Police Républicaine, épaulée par les scouts, sera déployée sur les principaux tronçons pour réguler le trafic et assurer la sécurité des cyclistes et des spectateurs.
Au-delà de l'aspect logistique, l'autorité municipale mise sur l'esprit patriotique et le sens civique des Cotonois. Le Maire encourage d'ailleurs les habitants à sortir massivement pour transformer ces journées de compétition en une véritable fête populaire, en soutenant les athlètes tout au long du parcours.

Abdoul Warissou Ossan (Stagiaire)

L'Ambassade des Émirats arabes unis auprès de la République du Bénin a supervisé, ce 10 mars 2026, la mise en œuvre du programme Iftar du Ramadan ainsi que la distribution d'aides alimentaires au profit de plusieurs familles démunies dans différentes villes du Bénin.

Cette initiative a été réalisée en coopération avec la Fondation Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan pour les œuvres caritatives et humanitaires, et en coordination avec l'Union islamique du Bénin, la municipalité de Lokossa et le Roi de la communauté haoussa musulmane au Bénin.

Elle s'inscrit dans l'approche humanitaire constante des Émirats arabes unis visant à soutenir les actions caritatives et humanitaires à travers le monde, ainsi qu'à renforcer les valeurs de solidarité et d'entraide entre les peuples, en particulier durant le mois sacré du Ramadan.

Plus de 300 familles nécessiteuses ont bénéficié de cette initiative humanitaire, à travers la distribution de paniers alimentaires contenant des produits de première nécessité pour les aider à subvenir à leurs besoins pendant le mois béni.
Les bénéficiaires ont exprimé leur profonde gratitude pour le rôle joué par les institutions émiriennes dans le soutien aux communautés locales au Bénin, et pour leurs efforts visant à assister les populations les plus vulnérables et à promouvoir les valeurs de solidarité et d'action humanitaire.

La route des Balkans reste toujours l'une des principales voies d'accès l'Union européenne, pour les exilés du Proche et du Moyen Orient, d'Afrique ou d'Asie. Alors que les frontières Schengen se ferment, Frontex se déploie dans les Balkans, qui sont toujours un « sas d'accès » à la « forteresse Europe ». Notre fil d'infos en continu.

- Le fil de l'Info / Bosnie-Herzégovine, Albanie, Kosovo, Bulgarie, Questions européennes, Populations, minorités et migrations, Migrants Balkans, Courrier des Balkans, Croatie, Turquie, Grèce, Moldavie, Macédoine du Nord, Monténégro, Slovénie, Roumanie, Serbie, Gratuit, Grèce immigration

MEPs in plenary on Tuesday approved the nomination of Boris Vujčić to become Vice‑President of the European Central Bank.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Imeteo.sk: Kedden (3. 10.) délelőtt röviddel 9:00 óra után ismét megmozdult a föld Pozsony környékén. Ezúttal feltehetően a magyarországi Rajka közelében volt a 9:02-kor bekövetkezett 3,1 magnitúdójú földrengés, amelynek 10 kilométeres mélységben volt az epicentruma. Somorja és Dénesdtorcsmisérd (Dunajská Lužna/Szenci járás) környékéről is számos, gyenge rengésekről szóló észlelést jeleztek.

Az ukrán Oscsadbank a magyar hatóságok által múlt héten elkobzott készpénz és arany azonnali visszaszolgáltatását követeli – közölték a bankot Magyarországon képviselő ügyvédek az Euronews-szal.

Ma.hu: Kedd (3. 10.) hajnalban 6,0-es magnitúdójú földrengés rázta meg Olaszország déli részét, a rengés központja Nápoly közelében volt. A földmozgás azonban a vártnál jóval kisebb hatást okozott a felszínen. A szakértők szerint ennek oka a rengés szokatlanul nagy, körülbelül 373 kilométeres mélysége volt. A beszámolók alapján a térségben élők ugyan érezték a földmozgást, de komoly károkról vagy sérülésekről nem érkezett jelentés.

President of the General Assembly Annalena Baerbock

By Annalena Baerbock
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 10 2026 (IPS)

We have heard it all:
• When a woman raises her voice, she’s too emotional.

• When she stands her ground, she’s too difficult. • When she leads, she’s too ambitious.
• If she wears dark suits they whisper ‘why does she always look like a man’
• But oh my gosh! if she shows up in a colorful dresses and high heels….

• When women lead nations through crises they are lucky.
• Yet if they stumble, it becomes the biggest crisis on earth.
Yes, we have heard it all.

As have generations of women before us – even more directly, and with this tone:

“You act like a woman”. “You run like a girl”.
As if it is something to be ashamed of. Yet history has proved otherwise.

The facts are crystal clear.
We don’t have to negotiate them again.

• When girls remain in school, economies grow, all over the world.
• When women participate in the workforce, productivity rises all around the world.
• When women sit at peace tables, agreements last longer, all around the world.
• When women lead institutions, they are more resilient.

So, ladies, it’s time to flip the narrative. Today we are reclaiming #Likeawoman, boldly and proudly.

As sports star Serena Williams once said: you call us crazy, we’ll show you what crazy can do.

Especially in the midst of backlash, when it can feel as though, we are forced to fight the same old battles again and again.

Battles from 80 years ago when another so called “difficult woman” Dr. Hansa Metha from India showed what #ChangeLikeA Woman can achieve.

By insisting to change one word in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, she changed the whole meaning of it – affirming that “all human beings” and not only men are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

Especially, dear girls out there.
Next time they tell you again that gender sensitive language or standing up for our reproductive rights is something “woke” Resist like women.

Resist #Like Hansa Metha and remind them that women`s rights are nothing new but have been embedded in the DNA of this institution from the very beginning.

And marking International Women’s Day in 2026 #LikeAWoman means that we will not stop fighting for equal representation and women’s rights – indeed #LikeAwoman: empathetic and ambitious – in suits, and in colorful dresses.

Until the women of Afghanistan are free, and girls worldwide are not being forced anymore to marry before they finish school.

Until we see justice for survivors of sexual abuse, whether it occurs at home or as part of exploitative sexual slavery networks, as exposed in the Epstein files.

Until women are equally paid and represented, whether in newsrooms, in boardrooms, in governments, and yes, at the helm of this institution – our United Nations.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Col Randrianirina, who seized power last year, did not give a reason for dissolving his government.