News headlines in 2022, page 297

WASHINGTON DC, Jan 10 (IPS) - There is no other place in the world like Costa Rica’s Cocos Island National Park. The waters surrounding the island--covered with tropical forests--are a playground to countless shivers, or schools, of sharks, including hammerhead sharks, whitetip reef sharks and whale sharks.

UN Public Information Officer Brenden Varma recently returned from a six-month stint in Iraq, where he helped to promote participation in national elections. His experience opened his eyes to the complexities of life in the country.

Hopes that the tourism industry would rebound from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been dented by the wildfire spread of the Omicron variant. In an exclusive interview with UN News, Zoritsa Urosevic, Executive Director of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), called for new ideas to restart the sector.

So-called “nature-based solutions” are an important element in tackling the climate crisis, but they also play a major role in addressing other challenges, from food security, to health, and sustainable development.

News stories about the climate crisis often contain mentions of greenhouse gases, and the greenhouse effect. Whilst most will find the analogy easy to understand, what exactly are these gases, and why are they contributing to the warming of the Earth?

The Ethiopian Government on Friday freed several high-profile political detainees, a move UN Secretary-General António Guterres hailed as a “significant confidence-building step”. 

Ten months since the military takeover in February 2021, food insecurity in Myanmar has risen sharply, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.  

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Jan 07 (IPS) - Global efforts to end tuberculosis (TB) are futile without dedicated investment in research into the debilitating disease that is killing 4000 people a day, Stop TB Partnership warns.

2021 marked the 25th year in a row in which the key Greenland ice sheet lost more mass during the melting season, than it gained during the winter, according to a new UN-endorsed report issued on Friday. 

Despite travel bans and other COVID-19 restrictions, the small team at Viet Nam’s wildlife forensic lab has been bolstering police efforts to crack down on illegal trafficking, with support from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).