News headlines in 2023, page 155

The protection of civilians should remain the top priority amid the continued full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and strict control over weapons supplies is needed to prevent diversion, the UN disarmament chief told the Security Council on Thursday.

A new progress report launched on Thursday by UN agencies highlights the need to step up investment in nurturing care – especially in the poorest and most fragile countries.

Immediate action needs to be taken by the international community to address conditions in Haiti, otherwise “it’s hard to imagine a decent future” for the Caribbean nation, said the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and four partner agencies have been tasked with leading a new push to help countries curb the land-based pollution of coastal areas and shorelines.

Syrians are facing an “ever worsening humanitarian crisis” amid the ongoing 12-year-long conflict, top UN officials told the Security Council on Thursday, as the General Assembly adopted a resolution to create a first-of-its-kind institution to address the issue of more than 100,000 people still missing in the country.

A cross-border collaboration between law enforcement agencies in countries in Southeast Asia supported by the UN in Thailand is helping to tackle organized crime along one of the world’s “biggest drug trafficking corridors”.

ROME, Jun 28 (IPS) - Four months pregnant, Ayan was close to dying of starvation when she arrived at the Kabasa camp in Dolow, on the border between Somalia and Ethiopia.

BULAWAYO, Jun 28 (IPS) - For years, self-employed and unemployed women in Zimbabwe formed neighbourhood "clubs" where they pooled money together for everything from buying bulk groceries to be shared at the end of the year to meeting funeral expenses.

NEW YORK, Jun 28 (IPS) - For the last 30 odd years, I have maintained that religions matter. I noted the reasons for why they matter, and always listed how they matter --- as social service providers, as first responders in humanitarian crisis; as mediators in tensions and conflicts, as upholders of common good and the values of humanity; as protectors of children and of the most vulnerable; and even as political actors.

The Secretary-General condemned on Wednesday Israel’s recent advancement of plans for over 5,500 housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank. He also denounced the retroactive regularization of three outposts adjacent to the settlement of Eli.