News headlines in 2023, page 209

After months of fighting and rising tensions across the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the region is enjoying “a fragile lull”, including an improvement in relations between the DRC and neighbouring Rwanda, the Security Council heard on Wednesday.

Women’s bodies must not be held captive to government policies or “alarmist narratives” concerning population growth, the UN sexual and reproductive agency (UNFPA) said in major new report published on Wednesday.

KATHMANDU, Nepal, Apr 18 (IPS) - The Future We Want was the groundbreaking outcome of the Rio+20 Summit, the summit, held in 2012, where the idea of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was first conceptualized.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 18 (IPS) - The massive leak of a treasure trove of highly-classified US intelligence reports — described as “one of the most remarkable disclosures of American secrets in the last decade” — has also revealed a more surprising angle to the story.

The US not only gathered intelligence from two of its adversaries, Russia and China, but also from close allies, including Ukraine, South Korea, Egypt, Turkey and Israel.

Food insecurity and malnutrition in West and Central Africa are on track to reach a 10-year high by June as the crisis expands to coastal countries, UN agencies warned on Tuesday, citing latest data.

There needs to be a major shift in global governance to better tackle such current and looming challenges as the climate crisis and rising security threats, according to a new UN report published on Tuesday.

Against the backdrop of a fragile human rights landscape, a “new dynamic” of cooperation among Libyan leaders provides much-needed momentum as the country prepares for elections later this year, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council on Tuesday.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on Tuesday called for an immediate end to the hostilities in Sudan and pleaded for the opposing sides in the military power struggle to return to the negotiating table, as reports emerged of a proposed 24-hour pause in the fighting.

The draconian restrictions on women’s ability to study and work have contributed to the calamitous socio-economic situation in Afghanistan, with devastating consequences for the population, according to a UN report released on Tuesday.

KAYIN STATE, Myanmar, Apr 17 (IPS) - Food is passed around a campfire, and a guitar strums as cool night air tumbles down mountain cliffs, relieving the jungle of its heat.