November 4, 2025

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The entrance at the Fontaine Hospital Center in Cité Soleil area of the Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. A heavily armed gang burst into a hospital in Haiti on Wednesday, Nov. 15, and took hostage hundreds of women, children and newborns, according to the director of the medical center who pleaded for help via social media. Jose Ulysse, founder and director of the Fontaine Hospital Center confirmed the incident in a brief message exchange with The Associated Press. Photo credit: Odelyn Joseph, The Associated Press

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Hospital director in Haiti says a gang stormed in and took hundreds of women and children hostage

November 15, 2023
By Evens Sanon
The Associated Press

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A boy makes his way through flood water caused by heavy rain in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo credit: Farah Abdi Warsameh, The Associated Press

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Floods kill at least 31 in Somalia. UN warns of a flood event likely to happen once in 100 years

November 13, 2023
By Omar Faruk
The Associated Press

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Leaders from countries with the largest tropical forest basins are meeting in the Republic of Congo on Thursday to work together to protect the forests from deforestation and destruction. Delegates from Brazil, Indonesia, Republic of Congo and dozens of other countries at the Three Basins Summit in Brazzaville are hoping to form a coalition of leaders from the basins of the Amazon, the Congo and Borneo-Mekong in Southeast Asia to discuss how to finance the protection of their wildlife-rich regions, which are also major sites for storing planet-warming carbon dioxide. The countries in the three basins have 80% of the world’s tropical forests and two-thirds of the Earth’s biodiversity, according to the World Wildlife Fund. But logging, forest degradation, loss of native species and extreme weather events fueled by climate change have the forests under enormous pressure that’s putting local economies and food security at risk. Despite pledges by governments and businesses to stop forest loss, deforestation continues around the world: A total of 4.1 million hectares of tropical forest was lost to deforestation in 2022, according to a report released Monday by the Forest Declaration Assessment, a group of civil society and research organizations. The vast majority of deforestation in the world – 96% – occurs in tropical regions, the report said. Agriculture, including cattle ranching and smallholder farming, is the leading driver of forest loss across the tropics, said Fran Price, a global forest practice leader at WWF. Other causes include road expansion, fires and commercial logging, which also destroy and degrade the forests, she added. Swathes of the Amazon and Indonesian rainforest are regularly up in flames — often started deliberately by those clearing land or burning felled trees — that can sometimes spread uncontrollably. Climate change and other factors have also led to drought and wildfires in forest regions. Just this week, public authorities in Brazil scrambled to deliver food and water across territories around the Amazon river where El Nino and warming are fueling a record drought. The three basins have experienced different trends over the years. The Amazon, the world’s largest tropical forest basin, saw an 18% increase in forest loss from 2021 to 2022, much of that driven by Brazil – where deforestation has since reduced in the first six months of this year. Forest loss has decreased significantly in Indonesia and Malaysia in recent years and remained relatively consistent in the Congo, according to analysis by the World Resources Institute. Over the years, countries have announced many initiatives and commitments to ending deforestation, including one at United Nations climate talks in Glasgow in 2021, but implementation has been slow. In August this year, a planned meeting between leaders of Brazil, Indonesia and Congo in Kinshasa to discuss the preservation of tropical forests failed to take place. Forest experts say the three-day summit in Brazzaville is a critical opportunity to act on and finance plans to protect and restore vital forest ecosystems. Fran Price, global forest practice leader at WWF, wants the summit to go beyond “countries discussing as they have been” and for governments to present concrete and actionable plans that show accountability and transparency. “It is imperative that all governments in the regions and outside of the regions use this platform to work together,” she said. She also called on the private sector and civil society "to change the business-as-usual trajectory that we’re on.” Emmanuelle Bérenge, sustainable forest management lead at the Rainforest Alliance, said the summit provides a vital chance to translate the multitude of commitments that have been made in the past around preserving and restoring the world’s forests into “initiatives and policies that can genuinely make a difference.” The summit is an important step in bringing together countries to preserve their forests and improve the livelihoods of people who depend on them, said Mikaela Weisse, director of Global Forest Watch. “There is no keeping climate change to 1.5 degrees (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) without protecting tropical forests,” she said, referring to the global goal of capping warming to protect the world from harm caused by climate change. With the right actions, she added, the summit could help countries build an inclusive coalition where Indigenous Peoples and local voices are valued, and learn from each other on the most effective strategies for ending deforestation. The gathering is the second Three Basins Summit, building on the first meeting held 12 years ago, when governments and other parties in the basin regions agreed to work together to protect resources. ___ Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Global

As rainforests worldwide disappear, burn and degrade, a summit to protect them opens in the Republic of Congo

October 26, 2023
By Carlos Mureithi
The Associated Press

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U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., arrives for votes as Congress returns to work in crisis mode with days to go before government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. Photo credit: J. Scott Applewhite. The Associated Press

Global

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., ‘able to safely depart’ Israel after surprise Hamas attack in Gaza

October 9, 2023
By Caitlin Yilek
CBS News

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Armed members of "G9 and Family" march in a protest against Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. Photo credit: Odelyn Joseph

Global

Kenya’s president welcomes UN Security Council’s approval to send a Kenya-led mission to Haiti

October 3, 2023
By Evelyne Musambi
The Associated Press

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Nelson Mandela's granddaughter, Zoleka Mandela, passed away from cancer, her family announced on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. Here, she is seen speaking at a meeting on non-communicable diseases at United Nations headquarters in New York on Sept. 27, 2018. Photo credit:

Global

Zoleka Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter, dies of cancer at 43

September 26, 2023
By CBS Chicago

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