News headlines in September 2023

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 27 (IPS) - Along the 180-kilometer-long buffer zone separating the north and south of Cyprus, there is a surprising sign of unity: recycled ammunition boxes no longer hold bullets. They are home to baby birds.

BULAWAYO, ZIMBABWE, Sep 27 (IPS) - Zimbabwe is riding a wave of food security assurances after what officials said was last year’s bumper grain harvest, but recent El Niño forecasts could test the country’s agriculture production ambitions.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Sep 27 (IPS) - Many nations are engaged in ambitious urban planning endeavors and the creation of new capital cities. Nusantara, Indonesia, is the latest in a series of modern cities that have sprung up across Asia.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sep 27 (IPS) - In recent years, public-private partnerships (PPPs) have spread rapidly. While usually profitable for the private partners, PPPs have generally not served the longer-term public interest.

A comprehensive solution to the Syrian conflict remains elusive, the UN Special Envoy for the country said on Wednesday, calling for “concrete moves” and confidence-building measures to break the impasse.

Top UN officials pledged support for Pakistan on Wednesday as it continues the painstaking process of rebuilding in the wake of last year’s devastating floods.

The United States must end “the prolonged pre-trial detention” of Alex Nain Saab Morán, a Venezuelan Special Envoy who was arrested in 2020 and extradited to the US on money laundering chargesUN independent human rights experts said on Wednesday.

A UN-appointed independent human rights expert on Wednesday called on Azerbaijan to “guarantee the rights of ethnic Armenians” in the Karabakh region and ensure that civilians who remain “are respected and protected in line with its international obligations.”

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the relentless expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

As the climate crisis threatens the tourist industry and the communities who depend on it, greening the tourism sector is the only way forward.