News headlines in June 2024, page 18

PRETORIA, South Africa, Jun 07 (IPS) - In the expansive field of groundwater resource management, a pressing question often emerges: are we truly equipping women with the necessary tools and opportunities to thrive, or are we simply attempting to fill in the gender gap without tackling the root causes?

SYDNEY, Jun 07 (IPS) - The Global South is crucial for ensuring aquatic food security to feed the growing world population. It is imperative that blue economy initiatives benefit fishing communities in developing and small island nations, which are facing disproportionate impacts of climate change, says Dr Essam Yassin Mohammed, Director General of WorldFish, an international non-profit research organization based in Penang, Malaysia.

BANGKOK, Jun 07 (IPS) - Each year, millions of children worldwide fall prey to the targeted tactics of the tobacco industry in its attempts to lure new customers. This year’s World No Tobacco Day (May 31), aptly themed “Protecting children from tobacco industry interference”, saw global youth unite to confront the pervasive influence of Big Tobacco.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed on Friday that Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen have detained 11 UN national staff working for the Organization there.

UN World Oceans Day, celebrated on Friday at UN Headquarters in New York, focused on “opening minds, igniting senses, and inspiring possibilities” to protect marine life worldwide.

Rapidly evolving global political, social, environmental and security challenges risk undermining peace and economic development across West Africa, the UN deputy chief said on Friday, reiterating the importance of a multilateral and inclusive response.

A recent escalation in fighting in Ukraine, particularly in the Kharkiv region, has left nearly 200 people dead, displaced thousands more and further crippled critical infrastructure, with implications for global food security, a senior UN humanitarian said on Friday.

Horrific violence and the risk of famine continue to stalk the people of Sudan, UN humanitarians warned on Friday, as they echoed condemnation by UN Secretary-General António Guterres of an attack on a village south of Khartoum two days ago that is now believed to have left more than 100 dead.

Eight months to the day since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in Gaza, the UN labour agency, ILO, warned on Friday that families there now send their children to work just to survive, as unemployment nears a staggering 80 per cent.

NAIROBI & ROME, Jun 06 (IPS) - Technology and innovation are at the center of the International Fund for Agricultural Development’s strategy to fulfill its global mission to eradicate poverty and hunger in the developing world, IFAD’s President Alvaro Lario told IPS in an exclusive interview.