News headlines in 2023, page 196

Armed groups – both local and foreign – must lay down their arms in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and efforts must be redoubled to advance a lasting, sustainable peace in the region, the UN chief said on Friday during his first visit to the African nation as Secretary-General.

The UN International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice in policing, ended a 12-day visit to the United States on Friday, calling on Washington to boost efforts to promote accountability for past and future violations.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Friday urged States to keep borders open to people fleeing military infighting across Sudan and suspend "negative asylum decisions" for Sudanese nationals outside the country, who cannot return because of the conflict.

Following a systematic crackdown on the rights of Afghan women and girls by the Taliban – from attending school to working at the UN – “the stage may be set for multiple preventable deaths that could amount to femicide” unless restrictions are reversed rapidly, independent UN human rights experts announced on Friday, following an eight-day visit to the country.

Recurring attacks by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continue to drive forced displacement and extreme hardship for millions of Congolese, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.

The head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has declared “with great hope” an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency, stressing that it does not mean the disease is no longer a global threat.

ROME, May 04 (IPS) - Some days ago in Rome, the Italian taxi driver switched on the radio during a longish ride through the usual traffic jam. Music, gossip, and the hourly news bulletin. All of a sudden, the man strongly hit the steering wheel. “They are stupid, those bastards…,” he shouted.

CAIRO, May 04 (IPS) - On the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, Sabre Nasr, a young Egyptian man of 20, developed a fever.

CARACAS, May 04 (IPS) - The reduction in the workweek recently approved by the Chilean Congress forms part of a trend of working fewer hours and days that is spreading in today’s modern economies, but also highlights how far behind other countries in Latin America are in this regard.

When fighting erupted in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, 25-year-old Arafa was at home alone with her two young children.