News headlines in 2023, page 73

A senior UN human rights official on Wednesday called on authorities in Liberia to take all necessary measures to ensure that the upcoming elections can take place in a fully inclusive manner.

While some 2.4 billion people live in countries where the supply of water is limited, global water demand for agriculture is expected to increase by 35 per cent up to 2050, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Wednesday.

The global economy is at “a critical juncture”, with some economies thriving and expanding, while others falter and slow down, the UN’s trade and development body said on Wednesday.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct 04 (IPS) - Ajay Banga was anointed World Bank president for promoting financial inclusion. Thanks to its success and interest rate hikes, more poor people are drowning in debt as consumer prices rise.

CARACAS, Oct 04 (IPS) - Gladys swore she would not cry in front of her small children, but she still had to wipe away a couple of tears when she turned her head and looked, perhaps for the last time, at her dream house on Margarita Island in Venezuela, from where she migrated, driven by a lack of income and by fear.

SYDNEY, Oct 03 (IPS) - Growing up in Sydney, Kalkani Choolburra, a Girramay, Kuku Yalanji, Kalkadoon and Pitta Pitta woman from Far North Queensland, would frequently travel with her family up and down Australia’s eastern seaboard. Her grandfathers and uncles would bring fresh catch of dugong, her favourite bush food, and she would go hunting for the short-necked turtle with her aunties and female cousins.

GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct 03 (IPS) - On 14 June, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued his flagship annual report, Global Trends: Forced Displacement 2022. It states that by the end of 2022, the number of people displaced by war, persecution, violence and human rights abuse had dramatically increased by 19.1 million — the biggest increase on record — reaching a total of 108.4 million.

The first radiotherapy machine to treat cancer arrived in northwest Syria over the weekend, the UN’s aid coordination office (OCHA) said on Tuesday.

Continuing violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations, a UN-appointed independent expert said on Tuesday.

UN engagement with Haiti will continue ahead of the deployment of an international support mission backing beleaguered police who are fighting rampant gang violence, the UN chief’s Spokesperson told journalists on Tuesday.