News headlines in 2023, page 168

BONN, Germany, Jun 12 (IPS) - Prof. Helen Roy, Prof. Peter Stoett, and Prof. Anibal Pauchard – Co-Chairs of the IPBES Invasive Alien Species AssessmentNature is declining rapidly, and the rate of species extinction is accelerating. The Global Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (2019) revealed that one million species are at risk of extinction. Invasive alien species, alongside climate change, changing use of sea and land, direct exploitation of organisms and pollution, are all major causes of the unprecedented and ongoing declines in biodiversity and ultimately the nature crisis that we are facing now.

NAIROBI, Jun 12 (IPS) - Deep in the Egyptian desert, the SEKEM community celebrates its first wheat crop – grown to alleviate shortages and price increases caused by the war in Ukraine, and the latest crop in a 46-year history of regenerative development, which has effectively made the desert bloom. On another continent, a consumer who buys acai collected and produced by the Yawanawá in Brazil helps protect 200,000 acres of land.

Although the UN tribunal prosecuting decades-old war crimes in Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia is moving closer to completion, much remains to be done, the Security Council heard on Monday.

Heavy rains and thunderstorms in the area of the Kakhovka dam disaster in southern Ukraine aggravated the humanitarian situation there on Monday, making evacuations and aid distribution harder.

The UN Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide (OSAPG) on Monday, launched a new initiative designed to provide a blueprint for enhancing the role of women in countering hate speech, and prevent incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes.

Greater efforts are needed to protect civilians in Somalia from unexploded weapons of war, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said on Monday in the wake of a recent deadly incident in the south of the country.

The head of the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO, announced on Monday that the United States has decided to rejoin the organization next month, after having stopped all funding in 2011, and announced its complete withdrawal from the agency, which also champions education and science, almost six years ago.

Around the world, some 160 million children work to earn a living, instead of going to school. That’s almost one in every 10 children.

Countries must address the “grave global harm” caused by the proliferation of hate and lies online, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, launching a key report designed to shore up information integrity on digital platforms.

A new UN report launched on Monday revealed no improvement in the level of prejudice shown against women over the past decade, with almost nine out of 10 men and women worldwide, still holding such biases.