News headlines in June 2024, page 21

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 05 (IPS) - The Biden administration, which is frantically attempting to finalize a shaky peace agreement between Israel and Hamas, is being stymied by at least two far right-wing politicians in Netanyahu’s cabinet— Foreign Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir--and also by the Israeli Prime Minister himself who wants to totally eradicate Hamas before he agrees to a cease-fire.

NEW DELHI, Jun 04 (IPS) - As India's 968.8 million voters were gripped by election fever, the worst-ever heat wave held the country in its clutches.

ROME, Jun 04 (IPS) - Kaponde Likando does not know how his family will survive until the next farming season. “We are not going to have anything (to harvest),” said the 60-year-old from Chingobe village in southern Zambia after his maize, sorghum, groundnut and sweet potato crops failed. “This has been the very opposite of what we expected.”

BRATISLAVA, Jun 04 (IPS) - When Abdulrahman Al-Khalidi fled Turkey for Bulgaria after his fellow Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi was murdered, he thought he was heading for safety and sanctuary in the European Union.

GENEVA, Jun 04 (IPS) - UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on countries to conclude by 2026 negotiations on a legally binding instrument to prohibit Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS).

The UN’s top aid official said on Tuesday he was leaving office at the end of the month with “some important pieces of wisdom” but also a feeling of frustration because many crises no longer make the headlines, while humanitarian operations face a dire lack of funding.

The UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) on Tuesday warned that lifesaving aid for hundreds of thousands in need across Gaza remains limited due to access constraints.

The UN Secretary-General has called for safeguarding Earth’s vital ecosystems from rampant pollution, worsening climate impacts and “biodiversity decimation”.

Conflicts in Sudan and across the Sahel region have compromised protection for migrants who continue to face “unimaginable horrors” on major migration routes to Europe, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is inflicting immense physical, psychological, and emotional harm on children there, the Head of the UN Office in the country said on Tuesday.