Week in Review

By rahmat hidayat

Saturday, July 12, 2025

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Week in Review 12 July 2025

Catch up on this week's must-read stories The world commemorated the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica on Friday during which 8,372 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were massacred. Speaking at the UN's event to mark it on Tuesday, a young Bosnian woman said that young people around the world live in circumstances that prompt them to ask the same questions her family asked in 1995: "What happens when the headlines fade, when the graves are found and the facts are clear? Does justice follow?" The answer found in the headlines of this week is "not always". Climate change continues to ravage communities — with devastating floods in Texas and sand/dust storms worldwide. Cholera is resurging in South Sudan. Human rights are being violated in Sudan, Haiti, Kenya and elsewhere. And people in Gaza are facing an unconscionable choice between getting shot and getting fed. So what is the solution? At a high-level conference on artificial intelligence governance in Geneva, the participants will tell you that the answer may lie in the potential of technology, the HUGE asterisk being that humans must remain at the helm. For the retiring head of the UN's sexual and reproductive health agency, the solution is more individualised. She spent her career thinking about and being motivated by the little girl who would be left behind if no solution is found. This editor's favorite story of the week proposed a different sort of solution — bread. In Ukraine, a baker is rising above adversity with poppy seed filled goodies and her trusty oven. It is a story of entrepreneurship, sustainable development, community, and most importantly, carbs. After all, we need energy to fuel the search for justice.

Srebrenica, 30 years on: UN officials and survivors call for truth, justice and vigilance At the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, survivors of the Srebrenica genocide joined top officials in marking 30 years since thousands of Bosnian Muslims were systematically killed in the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II. The affirmed the need to counter denial, support survivors and promote lasting peace.  Read more Human Rights She fought for the girl the world left behind: Natalia Kanem's UN legacy When Natalia Kanem reflects on her eight-year tenure at the helm of the UN reproductive health agency, she doesn't begin with global statistics, boardroom breakthroughs, or even memories of her visits to refugee camps. Read more Women Gazans dying in search of food, 'starkest illustration' of their desperation Humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip "have never been higher" while the ability to assist the population has "never been more constrained," a senior official with the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday in New York.  Read more Humanitarian Aid 'Very limited time to react': Texas flash floods expose challenges in early warning The deadly flash floods in central Texas that claimed more than 100 lives over the July Fourth weekend in the United States have underscored the devastating power of this fast-onset hazard – and the critical challenge of ensuring early warnings reach vulnerable populations, even in the dead of night. Read more Climate and Environment Overlooked and underestimated: Sand and dust storms wreak havoc across borders There are three Great Pyramids at Giza in Egypt - but imagine if there were 307 of the mighty edifices. And then imagine that they had dissolved into over two billion tons of sand and dust particles.  Read more Climate and Environment South Sudan's longest cholera outbreak enters critical stage On the eve of the fourteenth anniversary of its independence, South Sudan – the world's youngest country – is experiencing its worst and longest cholera outbreak.   Read more Health 'An unending horror story': Gangs and human rights abuses expand in Haiti Between October 2024 and June this year, Haiti has been caught in a vicious and unending cycle. First, gang violence expanded westward into the Artibonite and Centre Departments. Read more Peace and Security UN rights office urges restraint in Kenya as fresh protests turn deadly The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has expressed deep concern over the killing of at least ten protesters in Kenya on Monday, amid reports that police and security forces used lethal force to quell violent demonstrations in Nairobi and across the country. Read more Human Rights UN summit confronts AI's dawn of wonders and warnings The UN's flagship platform on artificial intelligence opened in Geneva on Tuesday, launching four days of high-level dialogue, cutting-edge demonstrations and urgent calls for inclusive AI governance. The event comes as autonomous and generative systems evolve faster than regulatory frameworks can keep pace. Read more Economic Development Human rights must anchor the digital age, says UN's Türk As digital technologies rapidly reshape every aspect of society, the UN's top human rights official has called for human rights to be placed at the centre of this transformation. Read more Human Rights Ukrainian baker rises above adversity At Hanna Honcharenko's bakery in Dnipro, eastern Ukraine, the scent of freshly baked bread represents a slice of home for many. The business, born out of hardship, is proof that with trust and support it is possible start again following the loss brought on by war.  Read more Economic Development Desperate Afghan refugees return to an unfamiliar home A chaotic wave of returnees from Iran and Pakistan is straining Afghanistan's already fragile capacity under Taliban rule and threatening broader regional stability, said the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, on Friday. Read more Migrants and Refugees

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