The Trump administration has caused issues of significant food waste due to a range of its policies, including immigration raids, tariffs, cuts to food assistance programmes, and the destruction of food for programmes like USAID.
This has had huge consequences, including environmental impacts, as well as impacts on the estimated more than 47 million people in the US who don’t have enough food to eat, and those who have relied on US foreign aid that has been cut.
For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Garrett Graddy-Lovelace, Provost Associate Professor in Environment, Development & Health at American University, about these issues.
This week COP30, the world’s main annual climate summit, has continued in the Amazonian city of Belém, Brazil.
COP30 marks a new push from indigenous voices to be elevated at the summit, with the largest indigenous participation in history - an estimated 3,000 with 1,000.
Tens of thousands of people also protested outside COP30 last week in the first large-scale protest at a United Nations climate summit in years.
Wire Host Caeden spoke with Vira Paky, Youth Engagement Co-ordinator at Save the Children New Zealand, who is on the ground at COP.
This week was the start of the COP30 climate talks in Belém, Brazil.
Young people from across the globe are heavily involved in climate campaigning, but many face obstacles in being able to attend COP, particularly in being involved in the actual decision-making.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Youth Environmentalist and member of the Youth Climate Justice Project, Sumaya Mohammed, who is attending COP next week, about young people's experiences with the climate talks.
They also spoke to Aoife Daly, Professor of Law at University College Cork and Lead on the Youth Climate Justice Project, about her research into youth participation at COP.
Next week is the start of COP30, the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This year it’s taking place in Brazil.
Earlier this week, the Trump Administration confirmed that no high-level Government representatives would be attending the climate talks.
Trump has previously called the climate crisis a “hoax” and “con job”.
For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Matt McDonald, Professor in the School of Political Science and International Studies, at the University of Queensland, about the lack of United States presence at COP30.
The future of Palestinian leadership remains unclear as the current Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, remains unpopular and heavily criticised.
One candidate for leadership is Marwan Barghouti, who has been described as a Nelson Mandela-like leader for Palestine. However, he has been imprisoned in Israel since 2004, facing ill-treatment and torture.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Professor Amin Saikal, Middle East Analyst at Australian National University, about Marwan Barghouti and the broader leadership crisis in Palestine.
October 13th is the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction with the United Nations.
The day focuses on the rising cost of disasters, as well as disaster risks, including the impact of climate change and development choices.
Fatma Özdoğan, PhD Candidate and Researcher at the University of Montreal, co-wrote an article on this topic, focused on the impact of how we talk about disasters, with Professor Ali Asgary of York University.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Özdoğan for International Desk.
New Zealanders Rana Hamida, Youseff Sammour and Sam Leason have been deported from Israel after being taken and detained from the Freedom Flotilla.
Another New Zealander, Will Alexander and his partner, German Citizen Ava Mulla, have also been detained from the second wave of Flotilla boats.
The activists are attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and carry humanitarian aid.
Flotilla activists who have been detained and then deported from Israel have been mistreated by the Israeli military, including being abused and denied food and water.
Wire Host Caeden spoke with Acacia O’Connor, an actor and spokesperson for the Global Movement to Gaza, about the Freedom Flotilla and the experiences of detained activists.
The Israeli military has intercepted the Freedom Flotilla, which is trying to break Israel’s aid blockade by delivering food and medicine to Gaza.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Acacia O’Connor, actor and on-the-ground spokesperson for the Global Movement to Gaza, about Israel's interception of the flotilla, and what we know about the whereabouts of the New Zealanders on board.
Update: All three New Zealanders who are part of the Freedom Flotilla are confirmed to be taken by the Israeli Military. There will be a snap action taking place in Te Komititanga from 3pm today to protest what has happened.
Earlier this month, four out of five members of Brazil’s supreme court voted to convict the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, for plotting a military coup after losing the 2022 election.
However, members of the right-wing political opposition that support Bolsonaro are attempting to pass a bill that would give him amnesty.
For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Dr Marieke Riethof, Senior Lecturer in Latin American Politics at the University of Liverpool, about the conviction of Bolsonaro and the public response.
This week on International Desk, an unfolding story from the United States.
Conservative political organiser Charlie Kirk has died after being shot during an event at Utah Valley University.
Kirk was a controversial figure, known for his pro-gun and Christian Nationalist views, as well as his close allyship with United States President Donald Trump.
Kirk’s death comes shortly after other stories of political violence in the United States.
In June, Democratic legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were assassinated in a shooting in their home. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were also injured the same day.
Following the news about Kirk’s death, Wire Host Caeden reached out to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News to find out how people were reacting in the United States.
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