News headlines in July 2023

CHITWAN DISTRICT, Nepal, Jul 31 (IPS) - As Dipak Subedi was organizing a vaccination programme against the human papillomavirus (HPV) in the city of Bharatpur in Chitwan district of southern Nepal he was getting phone calls from neighbouring districts asking if he had extra doses available — people were willing to travel for hours to get their girls vaccinated against HPV, which causes cervical cancer, the deadliest form of cancer for women in Nepal.

BULAWAYO, Jul 31 (IPS) - Freedom of expression is under threat as governments in Southern Africa have enacted laws restricting civil society organizations, says global rights advocacy organisation, CIVICUS, warning that human rights violations are on the increase globally.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 31 (IPS) - Nicole Kouassi, the UNDP resident representative in Niger, is constantly faced with the challenge of coordinating aid delivery to 4.3 million people in need. On Wednesday, Kouassi woke up and learned this must happen in a country where the president had just been overthrown. She said she did not see warning signs of a coup.

WASHINGTON DC, Jul 31 (IPS) - This year, India surpassed China as the world’s most populous nation. China is expected to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy by 2035, but its population will likely continue to declinewhile India’s will continue to grow.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 31 (IPS) - A rash of military coups in African countries -- including Burkina Faso, Sudan, Guinea, Mali, and most recently Niger-- has raised a legitimate question: What should be the response of the United Nations, a world body that swears by multi-party democracy, on army take-overs?

Condemnation? Yes.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa has underlined the UN’s condemnation of the attempted coup in Niger, the global body said on Monday.

More than two days of armed violence at the Ein El Hilweh Palestine Refugee camp in southern Lebanon continues to impact civilians, including children, a senior UN official in the country said on Monday.

The ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine are resulting in a surge in humanitarian needs, the top UN humanitarian official for the country said on Monday, urging increased funding to ensure assistance for those in need.

A summer of extreme weather in the northern hemisphere is causing major damage to people’s health and the environment, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported on Monday, as countries from the United States to China battle intense heat.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned the deadly suicide bombing at a political rally in northwest Pakistan on Sunday.