News headlines in 2022, page 295

At least four children have been killed and multiple others have been maimed during an escalation of conflict over the past week in Myanmar, said the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday. 

As the death toll from the recent unrest in Kazakhstan mounts to 164, the UN Office for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday requested “prompt, independent, impartial investigations” into the killings, and whether “unnecessary and disproportionate use of force was made by security forces”.

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, Jan 11 (IPS) - Jan André is a cheerful and outgoing young man, a superb dancer, and aspiring schoolteacher. Indeed, he wants to become the best schoolteacher in Costa Rica. Fortified by his own will and the encouragement of his family, he overcame violence and adversity to become an outstanding university student.

Current COVID-19 vaccines may need to be updated to ensure their continued effectiveness against Omicron and future variants, an expert group appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. 

A decade after civil conflict erupted in Mali, hopes for an early resolution to insurgency and strife have not materialized, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the country, El-Ghassim Wane, told the Security Council on Tuesday.  

With forecasts indicating more than 50 per cent of Europeans are likely to become infected with the Omicron variant in the next six to eight weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that health workers still bear the greatest burden.

Authorities in Tunisia are being urged to immediately release - or properly charge - former justice minister Noureddine Bhiri, and another man, who have been detained under suspected terrorism offences, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.

The use of explosives that lie dormant, particularly in populated areas, is “a persistent and growing threat to children and their families”, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday, expressing deep sadness over the death of eight students in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

The UN and partners launched a more than $5 billion funding appeal for Afghanistan on Tuesday, in the hope of shoring up collapsing basic services there, which have left 22 million in need of assistance inside the country, and 5.7 million people requiring help beyond its borders.

AUSTRALIA, Jan 10 (IPS) - For the first time since 1990, China has (re)opened an embassy in Managua, Nicaragua, less than a month after Nicaragua cut ties with Taiwan. The (re)opening of the embassy on January 1, 2022 comes amidst the backdrop of US-China tensions, particularly over trade and Taiwan, as well as worsening Cross-Straits relations.