News headlines in 2023, page 154

Immense strides have been made in the quest for gender equality, but major barriers thrown up by the patriarchal system must be dismantled so women can play a fuller role in politics and public life, the UN human rights chief Volker Türk told the UN Human Rights Council on Friday.

Myanmar’s military is killing civilians, destroying food and homes, and keeping the most vulnerable from receiving lifesaving aid, according to a new report from the UN human rights office (OHCHR).

The Security Council on Friday unanimously approved the complete withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces in Mali, although it will take six months for the final “blue helmets” to depart.

Increased violence, natural disasters and disease outbreaks have fueled a deteriorating health situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a senior official with the World Health Organization warned on Friday.

Following a third night of riots and protests across France over the police shooting of a teenager of Algerian and Moroccan descent, the UN rights office (OHCHR) said it was time for the country to reckon with its history of racism in policing.

With over 18,000 near-Earth objects (NEOs) lurking beyond the stratosphere, 2,000 of which are classified as potentially hazardous, the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is using Friday’s International Asteroid Day to raise awareness across the planet.

KIGALI, Jun 29 (IPS) - Adeline Umukunzi, a 28-year-old woman mushroom farmer in Musanze, a district located about 100 km north of the capital Kigali, said women have often been the unseen faces of agribusiness in Rwanda.

WASHINGTON DC, Jun 29 (IPS) - In the climate change discourse, “mitigation” (namely, reducing greenhouse gas emissions) often dominates. This is particularly true when the discussion turns to the mobilization of the massive amounts of private capital needed to achieve our climate objections. But “adaptation” — namely, action to respond to the impacts of climate change that are already happening, as well as prepare for future impacts — also faces large funding needs.

ABUJA, Jun 29 (IPS) - As Nigeria’s newly-elected president Bola Tinabu seems to be making his mark by undoing many of his predecessor’s policies - another battle is being waged in the courts between him and one of his rivals Peter Gregory Obi.

WASHINGTON DC, Jun 29 (IPS) - There is a significant funding gap for climate adaptation – especially for women. Public financing will not be sufficient to close this gap, but it will be crucial for supporting the most vulnerable and facilitating private sector investments where funding and support is needed most.