News headlines in 2023, page 252

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday once again added his voice to international condemnation of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, telling the Human Rights Council that it had “triggered  the most massive violations of human rights we are living today”. 

Cambodian authorities reported two cases of avian flu, including an 11-year-old girl who died of the virus, the UN health agency said on Sunday.

The UN chief and agencies serving refugees and migrants urgently called for safer travel routes and bolstered rescue operations following a deadly shipwreck that left at least 45 dead on Sunday off the coast of Crotone, Italy.

In rural areas of The Gambia, job opportunities are scarce, but villagers like Guidom Sabally are benefiting from practical training, gaining recognized qualifications, and setting up successful small businesses in their communities.

The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, said on Thursday that genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals continues to present a “serious challenge” to reconciliation efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A global surge of cholera cases has put one billion people in 43 countries at risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned this week.

The head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) concluded a visit on Saturday to devastated Syrian and Turkish communities and aid supply routes, calling on authorities to open more border crossings to help survivors of the earthquakes that hit both countries in early February.

Governments agreed on a way forward to update disease outbreak regulations ahead of meetings to draft new global guidelines for tackling pandemics, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday.

Women in arid parts of rural Sudan, where water is becoming increasingly scarce due to climate change, are learning techniques to adapt to new weather patterns which will build their resilience for the future, thanks to support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

LONDON, Feb 24 (IPS) - Over the year since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine, on one side of the border civil society has shown itself to be a vital part of the effort to save lives and protect rights – but on the other, it’s been repressed more ruthlessly than ever.