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Governments and International Organizations Come Together to Address Economic Challenges and Sustainability

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NEW YORK, 28 May 2020 — United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau and the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, will convene world leaders and international organizations today in a joint initiative to sharpen and accelerate our global response to the significant economic and human impacts of COVID-19, and advance concrete solutions to the development emergency.

This pandemic requires a large-scale, coordinated, comprehensive multilateral response to support countries in need, enabling them to recover better for more prosperous and resilient and inclusive economies and societies.

With more than 50 Heads of State and Government participating, the High-Level Event on Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond is the most inclusive gathering of countries to focus on the socio-economic recovery and financing needs from the pandemic. We must continue to coordinate these efforts to avoid a devastating impact on people’s lives and livelihoods.

We all face economic strain in responding to this pandemic, particularly low- and middle-income countries, many of which are seeing their efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set back.

The High-Level Event looks at six urgent areas of action to mobilize the financing needed for the response and recovery. These include expanding liquidity across the global economy; addressing debt vulnerabilities; stemming illicit financial flows; increasing external finance for inclusive growth and job creation; and strategies for countries to recover better, achieve the SDGs, address climate change and restore the balance between the economy and nature.

“The pandemic has demonstrated our fragility,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “We are in an unprecedented human crisis, because of a microscopic virus. We need to respond with unity and solidarity, and a key aspect of solidarity is financial support.”

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said “the COVID-19 pandemic demands that we take immediate action to address its impacts on the economies of all countries, in every region of the world and at every stage of development.” He added that he welcomes the six thematic areas of focus, including the “necessity to address the urgent need for increased liquidity, particularly for low- and middle-income countries.”

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that “all countries are being tested by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it threatens to undermine our hard-won development gains. We know the best way to help all our people and economies rebound is to work together as a global community. We want to support collective and individual actions to enable a recovery that leads to more inclusive, sustainable and resilient economies, where no one is left behind.” 

The cost of the pandemic
World Health Organization (WHO) figures show that the COVID-19 pandemic has already claimed more than 340,000 lives, with more than 5.4 million cases globally. Unless we act now, UN projections indicate that the pandemic could slash nearly $US8.5 trillion from the global economy over the next two years, forcing 34.3 million people into extreme poverty this year, and potentially, an additional 130 million people during this decade. 

Failing businesses are already causing a surge in unemployment. The International Labour Organization (ILO) expects that global working hours in the second quarter of 2020 will be 10.5 per cent lower than before the crisis, equivalent to 305 million full-time jobs. Women are particularly affected, as they are overrepresented in sectors that have been the most affected with initial job losses. They are also the majority of those employed in the informal sector globally and on the whole tend to hold less secure jobs with fewer protections, less savings, and are more likely to live in, or close to, poverty.

The pandemic is causing economic distress even in countries that have not yet experienced the health impact in large numbers. Falling exports and growth are rapidly undermining the debt sustainability of many developing countries, particularly those that are heavily dependent on commodities, tourism revenues or remittances. Growing debt distress poses an enormous challenge to these countries, further constraining their ability to implement stimulus measures.

Even prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, almost half of all least developed and other low-income countries were in, or close to, debt distress. Debt servicing costs for these countries more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, to 13 per cent of government revenue, and reached more than 40 per cent in a quarter of all Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Effective domestic resource mobilization will be crucial for rebuilding economies. Yet trillions of dollars are thought to be held in undeclared offshore financial holdings. The cost of money laundering has been estimated at around $US1.6 trillion a year.

Meeting the challenges
In the face of this unprecedented health, social and economic crisis, many governments across the world have rolled out large fiscal stimulus measures equivalent to an estimated 10 per cent of national gross domestic product (GDP). But most developing economies are finding it difficult or impossible to implement sufficiently large fiscal packages, which have so far averaged less than 1 per cent of their GDP.

In April 2020, the G-20 agreed to suspend debt service on bilateral official debt to 76 low-income developing countries to help increase liquidity to deal with the impacts of the crisis. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) offered further debt service relief to 25 of the poorest countries, and the World Bank has been coordinating with regional banks to discuss COVID-19 support, joint initiatives, co-financing, and ways to maximize net flows to the poorest and most vulnerable countries. But far more is needed, and quickly.

The High-Level Event will discuss a wide range of inclusive solutions, seeking input from the countries feeling the most impacted.

Rebuilding sustainably
In the initial containment and crisis phase of the pandemic, nations have prioritized the health of people before turning to the economic and labour market consequences.  As each nation charts its own course to recovery, countries are seeking to limit the economic fallout by taking steps to protect enterprises, jobs and incomes, and to stimulate the economy, and to do so in a way that protects women and families, young people, and the most vulnerable in our societies. 

We must raise our ambitions in order to recover better, by building more prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable economies and societies. Countries cannot afford to leave unattended the underlying fragilities at the core of our current economic and social systems. We cannot wish away systemic risks, from the climate crisis to high and persistent inequality. Everyone will benefit if we address these risks by investing up front. 

The Event will include a High-Level Segment in which Heads of State and Government will express their commitment to finding multilateral solutions to the global economic crisis and its effects on the most vulnerable. In addition, a High-Level Panel of leaders from international institutions will discuss the challenges and opportunities for urgent, decisive action. Following the Panel, the High-Level Segment among Heads of State and Government, and partners will continue.

Six critical areas of focus
The Event will also launch a collaborative effort to enable discussions on concrete proposals to overcome challenges in six areas, and progress will be reported back at the margins of the High Level Political Forum in July, the General Assembly in September, and at the end of the year that include:

  1. The need to expand liquidity in the global economy and maintain financial stability to safeguard development gains. 
  2. The need to address debt vulnerabilities for all developing countries to save lives and livelihoods for billions of people around the world. 
  3. The need to create a space in which private sector creditors can proactively engage in effective and timely solutions.
  4. Prerequisites for enhancing external finance and remittances for inclusive growth and creating jobs.
  5. Measures to expand fiscal space and foster domestic resource mobilization by preventing illicit financial flows.
  6. Ensuring a sustainable and inclusive recovery by aligning recovery policies with the Sustainable Development Goals.

The outcomes of the High-Level Event include the formation of six discussions groups, a collaborative effort that aims at providing concrete proposals by mid-July.
There is no time to lose. Solutions cannot wait, and decisive action is required.

Courtesy of Office of the Prime Minister, Jamaica

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80% of the World’s Poor Face Climate Hazards — UNDP Sounds Alarm

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By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE

 

NEW YORK (October 17, 2025) — A new United Nations report has confirmed what many developing nations already know: climate change is punishing the poor first and hardest. Nearly 80 percent of the world’s 1.1 billion people living in multidimensional poverty — about 887 million individuals — live in regions directly exposed to extreme heat, flooding, drought, or air pollution.

The 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), released jointly by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), calls the findings “a wake-up call before COP30.” It’s the first time global poverty and climate-hazard data have been overlaid, revealing how environmental stress and social deprivation now reinforce one another.

A World Under Double Strain

The report, titled Overlapping Hardships: Poverty and Climate Hazards, finds that among the world’s poorest, 651 million people face two or more climate hazards simultaneously, and 309 million confront three or four at once. The most widespread threats are extreme heat (affecting 608 million) and air pollution (577 million). Flood-prone areas house 465 million poor people, while 207 million live in drought-affected zones. 

“These individuals live under a triple or quadruple burden,” said UNDP’s Acting Administrator Haoliang Xu. “To fight global poverty, we must confront the climate risks endangering nearly 900 million people.”

The Geography of Risk

The pressure points are clear. South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are the world’s epicentres of climate-linked poverty, hosting 380 million and 344 million vulnerable people respectively. In South Asia, a staggering 99 percent of the poor are exposed to one or more climate shocks, with 92 percent facing two or more. 

The Caribbean and small-island developing states weren’t individually ranked but are highlighted as especially exposed — combining low-lying geographies, fragile ecosystems, and high dependence on tourism. Analysts say the MPI’s message is unmistakable: without climate-resilient development, hard-won progress could unravel overnight.

The Rich-Poor Divide Deepens

Lower-middle-income nations shoulder the greatest burden, with 548 million poor people exposed to at least one hazard and 470 million to two or more. “Countries with the highest levels of poverty today are projected to face the steepest temperature increases by the end of the century,” said Pedro Conceição, Director of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office. 

That projection underscores why the Caribbean, Africa, and parts of Asia argue that wealthy nations must help fund climate adaptation, debt relief, and just-transition mechanisms.

From Recognition to Action

The UNDP urges world leaders gathering next month for COP30 in Brazil to align climate commitments with poverty reduction strategies — strengthening local adaptation, scaling climate finance, and embedding environmental resilience into every development plan.

“The crisis is shared, but the capacity to respond isn’t,” the report concludes. “Without redistribution, cooperation, and climate-resilient policy, the world’s poorest will remain trapped between heatwaves and hunger.”

Why It Matters for the Caribbean

For island nations like The Bahamas, Barbados, and Turks & Caicos, the MPI’s findings hit home. Even where income levels are higher, inequality and geographic exposure magnify the risk: a single hurricane season can wipe out years of economic gains. The message to regional policymakers is clear — social protection, infrastructure, and environmental defence are no longer separate issues; they’re survival strategies.

As the world counts down to COP30, the UNDP’s data doesn’t just measure poverty — it maps who the planet is failing first.

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world news

A Tapestry of Peace: Humanity, Not Politics, Ends the War in Gaza

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By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media

 

October 14, 2025 – I watched the people, by the hundreds, walk the dusty strip that led back to their home in Gaza. We all knew, as they did, they were heading into hollowed-out neighbourhoods — debris, shattered glass, skeletal walls — reminders of years of despair.

But there was something else too: a buoyancy in their stride, a glimmer in their eyes. The Mediterranean glistened, still impossibly beautiful. The people — strong, proud, indomitable — moved as though carrying both grief and grace in equal measure.

In that moment, I realized this was more than diplomacy. More than the signing of a historic document in distant halls of marble and microphones. This was humanity rediscovering itself — a world beginning to understand that beyond geography and faith and politics, we are all human beings, bound by the same elemental truths: emotion, desire, hope, dream, and love.

It was not politicians who brokered this new peace, but visionaries who remembered the simplicity of service — that peace, like business, depends on relationships, trust, and respect. Perhaps it took a businessman to remind the world that excellence in service to humanity means meeting people’s needs with empathy, not ideology.

The Trump Peace Agreement, signed in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, brought to a close more than two years of suffering and opened, in the words of the signatories, “a new chapter for the region defined by hope, security, and prosperity.” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who hosted the summit, called it “the dawn of renewal — not only for Gaza, but for how we see one another.”

Under the accord, 20 living hostages held in Gaza have been freed and reunited with their families, marking the end of one of the most painful sagas of the conflict. In addition, the agreement mandates the return of 28 deceased hostages, with four sets of remains already handed over. The deal also includes the release of thousands of Palestinian detainees, allowing families long separated by war to embrace again — mothers and sons, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives.

For the first time in decades, the streets of Gaza and Tel Aviv echoed the same sound — weeping and relief.

The agreement’s language was strikingly human: a shared vision of “tolerance, dignity, and equal opportunity for every person,” where faith is not a dividing line but a moral compass. It pledges to protect sacred sites across Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, recognizing that this narrow strip of land carries deep spiritual meaning for much of humanity.

The declaration also commits to dismantling extremism “in all its forms,” replacing radicalization with education, opportunity, and respect. In a time when rage had become routine, the world seemed to pause — if only for a moment — to breathe again.

Observers call it a diplomatic miracle; others see divine timing. But either way, this peace feels different — grounded in the recognition that people cannot be endlessly broken without consequence. The Muslim and Arab world, long accused of intolerance, appears to be turning a page: moving from rejection to reconciliation, from ideology to empathy.

For a generation raised on images of rockets, ruins, and rage, the simple act of dialogue has reclaimed its power. The leaders who signed the document — Donald J. Trump, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan — pledged to resolve future disputes through negotiation, not war.

Standing before the Knesset in Jerusalem the following day, President Trump declared,

“This peace will not end with signatures. It will endure through every handshake, every investment, and every act of mercy that follows. Peace is not an event — it is a way of life.”

And as I watched the people of Gaza — battered, barefoot, but unbroken — I couldn’t help but believe that this time, maybe, the world has finally begun to live that truth.

We have not just reached peace; we have rediscovered the tapestry God Himself has woven — of difference, dignity, and divine connection — the beauty of being human.

Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.

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Caribbean News

US Strike on Venezuelan Drug Boat Sparks Fierce Caribbean Divisions

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Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

 

September 6, 2025 – In a dramatic escalation along the southern Caribbean, U.S. forces on September 2 launched a military strike on a boat allegedly carrying illicit narcotics from Venezuela.  Officials say the strike killed 11 members of the Tren de Aragua cartel, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization, part of a broader “war on narco-terrorism” tied to the deadly spike in fentanyl and other drug deaths among Americans.

Within CARICOM ranks, reactions were deeply divided.  Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, voiced unequivocal support—saying drug traffickers “should be killed violently,” citing the nation’s struggle against cartel-driven violence and addiction.

Conversely, Barbados Foreign Minister Kerrie Symmonds and other regional diplomats expressed reservations about the U.S. operation’s legality, calling for greater diplomatic coordination and transparency to prevent further destabilization.

On the U.S. domestic front, Democratic lawmakers demanded answers.  Many were excluded from a scheduled briefing, fueling concerns over executive overreach.  Critics questioned the legality of a lethal strike in international waters without Congressional approval, warning of constitutional and international law violations.

A former Biden administration official, Juan González, also warned that the U.S. risks becoming entangled in a “disastrous” intervention in Venezuela—a conflict scenario more complex than past U.S. operations in the region.

In response to mounting regional pressure, the U.S. is ramping up its military presence.  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed continued operations against narco-terrorists.  The Pentagon has deployed ten F-35 stealth fighter jets to Puerto Rico as part of a broader naval and air buildup.  Senator Marco Rubio echoed the aggressive stance, stating more such strikes “will happen again.”

Meanwhile, Venezuela denounced the strike and dismissed U.S. claims as fabricated.  Venezuelan officials pointed to the video evidence released by President Trump as misleading or manipulated.

What’s at Stake:

  • International law & sovereignty: Experts have questioned the legality of using lethal military force against suspected traffickers on the high seas without clear legal justification.
  • CARICOM unity: The divided responses highlight deeper tensions over U.S. security policy and Caribbean sovereignty.
  • Escalating militarization: The strike signals how Washington is blending drug interdiction with geopolitical pressure on Caracas, setting the stage for ongoing regional friction.

As Washington defends the strike as necessary for protecting American lives against a fentanyl-fueled crisis, Caribbean leaders worry the fallout may bring greater instability, not safety.

PHOTOS: Screenshots from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) video

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