News headlines in 2023, page 218

Judges investigating the deadly August 2020 explosion at the port in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, must be free to do their job in peace, a UN independent human rights expert said on Wednesday. 

A Taliban edict banning Afghan women from working for the UN mission and agencies inside the country, has been strongly condemned by both the UN chief and his deputy.

UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland on Wednesday appealed for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to exercise restraint following the latest violence surrounding a holy site in Jerusalem.  

The UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula, made a passionate appeal for sustained support for the country’s most vulnerable on Wednesday, where climate shocks and protracted conflict have created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

The UN on Wednesday called for a “sustainable industrial transformation” to close the widening development gap between countries, meet ambitious climate targets, and reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs.

Cindy McCain of the United States takes the helm of the UN emergency food relief agency amid “unprecedented” global hunger fuelled by conflict, climate change and soaring fertilizer prices, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday.

MADRID, Apr 04 (IPS) - Straight to the point: the current system of voracious money-making production and the induced over-consumption patterns have turned Planet Earth into a giant garbage dump.

PORT VILA, Vanuatu, Apr 04 (IPS) - One month after the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu was hit by two Category 4 cyclones within three days, food scarcity and prices are rising in the country following widespread devastation of the agriculture sector.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Apr 04 (IPS) - The unprecedented fiscal firepower used to protect the vulnerable from the harsh socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic contraction have pushed the average government debt level in the Asia-Pacific region to its highest since 2008.

Independent human rights experts expressed their solidarity with the people of Malawi on Tuesday, following the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy that killed and injured hundreds, leading the Government to declare a state of emergency.