Kaamil Ahmed

South African entomologist Letodi Luki Mathulwe discovered a naturally occurring soil fungus killing African armyworms in KwaZulu-Natal. Laboratory testing indicates the fungus could become a biological control for mature armyworm populations, which chemical treatments have failed to manage effectively. The pest threatens maize, sorghum and livestock grazing, has previously destroyed large portions of national harvests, and can worsen food prices and inflation. More testing and product development are needed before farmers can use the treatment, but the discovery could improve crop and livestock protection during future outbreaks.

Rights groups and children’s charities warn that the UK government’s planned use of facial age-estimation technology could cause more child refugees to be classified as adults. The system, developed by German company Cognitec, has reportedly overestimated the ages of sub-Saharan African minors, while the government acknowledges a potential margin of error of up to 30 months. Critics say misclassification could expose unaccompanied children to adult accommodation, detention and removal, with trauma, malnutrition and difficult journeys potentially affecting their appearance. The Home Office says the technology is being explored to make age assessments more robust and consistent.

Siraz Ullah, a 24-year-old Rohingya footballer, is feared to be among about 500 refugees missing after two boats carrying people toward Malaysia reportedly capsized off Myanmar in late June. His family last heard from him on 22 June, after he sent a voice message asking for prayers and saying he could no longer tolerate life amid violence and persecution. The disappearance highlights the dangers facing Rohingya fleeing Myanmar and Bangladesh, including trafficking, kidnapping, extortion and overcrowded, unsafe boats. More than 1 million Rohingya live in Bangladesh, while renewed fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army has driven over 150,000 more across the border in the past two years.

UNESCO research found that 113 developing countries spent more on servicing foreign debt than on education in 2025, with sub-Saharan African countries spending 3.6 times more on debt and some heavily indebted countries spending up to 16 times more. Education aid to low- and lower-middle-income countries has already fallen sharply and could decline by as much as 30% by 2027, disrupting schools and teacher payments. UNESCO and Debt Justice warn that debt shocks, aid cuts and private creditors are undermining essential services and long-term economic development, and call for faster debt relief, more debt cancellation and rules preventing private lenders from blocking restructuring agreements.

A class-action lawsuit in Norway alleges that Telenor shared the personal data of 1,253 Myanmar customers with the military junta, helping authorities locate and arrest activists after the 2021 coup. Telenor complied with 96% of 153 data requests and acknowledges sharing historical metadata, but says employees acted under severe pressure and denies an established direct link to human rights violations. Activists and lawyers argue that the disclosures contributed to arrests, torture and executions, while the case seeks at least €11m in compensation. A Norwegian parliamentary inquiry is expected to examine the government’s oversight and potential complicity.

A UN report says 4.9 million children under five died in 2024, with most deaths linked to preventable causes including premature birth, pneumonia, malaria and malnutrition. Progress toward ending preventable child deaths by 2030 has slowed sharply since 2015, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Aid cuts have affected 6,600 health facilities, forcing about one-third to close and disrupting immunisation, malaria prevention, nutrition and newborn care. UN and humanitarian officials warn that conflict, climate pressures and reduced funding could reverse decades of progress.

Experts warn that African governments are rapidly expanding Chinese-built AI surveillance systems, including facial recognition, biometric databases, CCTV and vehicle tracking, with at least $2bn spent by 11 countries. Researchers say there is little evidence the systems reduce crime, while weak regulation allows them to monitor activists and opponents, suppress protests and encourage journalists and citizens to self-censor. Specialists caution that legalising surveillance may not provide meaningful protection if governments use security laws to legitimise repression, with marginalised groups, journalists and protesters especially vulnerable.

Evidence from Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab indicates that the Rapid Support Forces systematically attacked at least 41 farming communities around El Fasher between March and June 2024, burning villages, destroying livestock enclosures and farming infrastructure, and forcing farmers to flee. Legal experts argue the pattern supports treating the attacks as a war crime in which starvation was used as a method of warfare, particularly because the destruction preceded an 18-month siege that cut El Fasher off from food, water and medicine. Satellite data recorded a 2,040% increase in fires, while 68% of attacked villages showed no signs of normal life afterward. Researchers warn that similar tactics could spread to Kordofan and other regions unless the alleged crimes are investigated and perpetrators held accountable.

Experts from IPES-Food warn that technology companies and industrial agriculture firms are using AI, algorithms, satellite data and sensors to influence what farmers grow, potentially favoring a small number of profitable crops and locking farmers into commercial seeds, machinery and chemical inputs. Pat Mooney and Lim Li Ching argue that this could weaken locally adapted crops, agricultural biodiversity and food security, especially during climate and geopolitical shocks. They call for farmer-led, locally governed innovation and greater support for agroecological practices, while noting that governments, the World Bank and the EU are investing heavily in digital agriculture.

UK Muslim charities are preparing for a surge in Ramadan donations, but banking restrictions linked to anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism “derisking” are delaying or blocking transfers to crisis zones. A Muslim Charities Forum report says more than two-thirds of Muslim charities have faced difficulties opening accounts and 42% have had services withdrawn, with projects involving Sudan, Palestine, Syria and Pakistan particularly affected. Charity leaders and academics say the barriers could prevent aid reaching vulnerable communities amid wider government funding cuts, while the Financial Conduct Authority says banks must assess risks proportionately rather than apply blanket policies. Advocates want the UK to make access to a bank account a legal right for charities.

About 400 children living in Bangladesh’s Daulatdia brothel village have received birth certificates for the first time, while more than 700 children in Daulatdia and other brothels have now been registered. Campaigners from Freedom Fund and local civil society groups used a legal provision introduced in 2018 that permits registration without information about the parents, overcoming officials’ longstanding demand for a father’s name and documents. The certificates give children access to school, passports and voting rights, while also helping establish that girls are under 18 and reducing their vulnerability to trafficking, abuse and exploitation.

ActionAid UK’s new co-chief executives, Taahra Ghazi and Hannah Bond, plan to transform the organisation’s child sponsorship model by 2028 as part of a broader effort to decolonise its work. They argue that allowing predominantly Western donors to select images of children in poorer countries can create transactional and paternalistic relationships. ActionAid’s sponsorship programme currently operates in 30 countries and provides 34% of its global funding. The charity intends to work more closely with teams and communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, direct more long-term funding to grassroots organisations, and establish a fund for women’s rights groups facing attacks from the global anti-rights movement. Aid researcher Themrise Khan argues that the model should be abandoned entirely, while Save the Children’s recent decision to end its own programme is cited as evidence of a wider reassessment.

Oxfam reports that the number of billionaires exceeded 3,000 in 2025 and that their combined wealth reached $18.3tn, an 81% increase since 2020. The charity argues that governments are increasingly serving wealthy interests through political influence, media ownership, campaign donations and direct participation in politics, while poverty, hunger and economic insecurity worsen. Activists describe harsh responses to youth-led protests in Kenya and Nepal, but also see the uprisings as evidence of growing resistance to corruption, austerity and inequality.

The United States has pledged $2bn to humanitarian assistance, but the funding is conditional on UN reforms, distribution through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and allocation to 17 US-selected priority countries. Aid experts warn that excluding crises such as Afghanistan and Yemen and tying funding to Washington’s political priorities could centralize US control, weaken the UN’s flexibility and entrench a much smaller humanitarian system. They also note that the pledge is substantially below the $3.38bn the US provided to the UN in 2025 and may not materialize unless the UN meets demands to cut alleged waste and duplication.

Gen Z-led protests across Togo, Kenya, Nepal, Madagascar and Morocco were driven by anger over corruption, repression, unemployment, failing public services and political elites seen as disconnected from ordinary people. Activists describe a wider wave of youth solidarity, amplified by social media and inspired by earlier uprisings, that helped topple governments in Nepal and Madagascar while pressuring authorities elsewhere. They call for political prisoners to be released, stronger democratic representation, better healthcare and education, job opportunities, reliable utilities and governments that prioritize citizens over prestige projects and international image-building.

A collection of profiles highlights people whose courage and determination stood out during 2025. Adana Omágua Kambeba became the first Kambeba to graduate in medicine while working to integrate Indigenous healing with biomedicine in Brazil. Zhino Babamiri campaigns from exile to save her father, Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, from execution in Iran. Ugandan candidate Yvonne Mpambara is building a foundation and an all-female party after facing intense sexist abuse. In Gaza, Raed Jamal risks gunfire and extreme hardship to obtain food and shelter for his family. Uyghur woman Zeynure Hasan secured her husband Idris’s release and reunited with him in Canada after years of campaigning. Former gang member Alaak Akuei runs a football academy in South Sudan to divert young people from violence, while South African outreach worker Amanda was pushed back into sex work after USAID cuts closed the clinic where she worked. Together, the stories emphasize grassroots leadership, resistance to repression and the human costs of conflict, discrimination and weakened social services.

Mob attacks on Bangladesh’s Prothom Alo and Daily Star newspaper offices, following the assassination of pro-democracy leader Sharif Osman Hadi, have deepened fears that the country is reverting to political violence and retribution. The attacks left journalists trapped while the interim government failed to respond effectively, with the military arriving only hours later. At least 184 people had been killed in mob violence by November, compared with 51 in 2023, while broader unrest has targeted minorities, cultural institutions and those associated with Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League. Journalists and civil society activists say optimism following Hasina’s 2024 ouster is fading, although some still hope the government can protect the press, prosecute genuine perpetrators and avoid perpetuating a cycle of revenge ahead of expected elections.

Sweden and Germany are sharply reducing development and humanitarian aid while redirecting funding toward Ukraine and European strategic priorities. The UK, Norway and France are pursuing similar shifts, with defence spending rising as aid and food assistance fall. Analysts and civil-society groups warn that the trend is replacing international solidarity with transactional geopolitics and will worsen hunger, health and displacement crises. Mozambique is highlighted as especially vulnerable: funding shortfalls have restricted food distribution and threatened healthcare, education, child protection and HIV/AIDS programmes, risking the reversal of years of development progress.

Thousands of Rohingya are attempting perilous boat journeys from Bangladesh and Myanmar to Malaysia as aid cuts, restrictions on work and education, overcrowded camps and renewed conflict deepen desperation. Traffickers recruit refugees, transport them through secret camps and extort ransom from their families, with reports of beatings and abuse. The Arakan Project has documented about 4,000 people departing on 22 boats since September, while UNHCR estimates that 600 Rohingya have died or gone missing at sea during the year. Survivors and families describe deaths, disappearances and prolonged trauma, while rights groups criticize Malaysia for prosecuting some shipwreck survivors and the international community for failing to provide safe pathways or conditions for a return to Myanmar.

Eighteen-year-old Senegalese goalkeeper Cheikh Touré died in Ghana after fake agents lured him abroad with promises of trials in Morocco and then allegedly held him for ransom. His mother paid part of the demanded money before losing contact with him; Ghanaian authorities found injuries inconsistent with the recruiters’ car-crash account, and investigations are under way. The case illustrates a broader pattern in which fraudulent agents, illegal academies and corrupt intermediaries exploit young West African footballers and their families, who often pay large upfront fees for nonexistent trials or contracts. Fifpro data indicates widespread unsolicited approaches and failed promises, while players and experts warn that football’s promise of escape from poverty is fueling a growing exploitation crisis.

British citizen Abdalmonim Alrabea, based in Sheffield, has become a prominent online supporter and alleged recruiter for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces. He appeared in broadcasts with RSF figures, including fighter Abu Lulu, laughing at claims of mass killings and using slurs against Darfur’s indigenous groups. Alrabea has visited RSF-controlled areas of Darfur and built large audiences on TikTok, YouTube and X. Following inquiries, TikTok and YouTube removed his accounts for violating policies on violent or extremist content, while Sudanese diaspora activists and researchers called for further action. The reporting situates his activity amid evidence of ethnically targeted killings in El Fasher and the US determination that the RSF committed genocide.

Sudanese civilians recount fleeing El Fasher after its capture by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The Guardian combines eyewitness testimony with satellite imagery and videos posted by RSF fighters to reconstruct the massacres and other horrific events that followed, despite journalists being unable to access the area and having limited information.