News headlines
Politicians Subsidise Fossil Fuel with Six Trillion Dollars in Just One Year
- Inter Press Service

MADRID, Nov 16 (IPS) - It sounds incredible: while politicians have been cackling about the climate emergency and profiling in empty promises to halt it, they have spent six trillion US dollars from taxpayers' money to subsidise fossil fuels in just one year: 2020. And they are set to increase the figure to nearly seven trillion by 2025.
Push for Civil Registration Set to Hit Key Milestone in Asian and Pacific Countries
- Inter Press Service

BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov 16 (IPS) - Most countries in the Asia-Pacific region are on track to reach universal birth registration by 2030: an incredible achievement and a significant milestone in realizing human rights and equality. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed, many weaknesses remain in official recording systems, creating gaps in knowledge about the population and affecting how authorities respond to crises and reach those in greatest need.
Conflict prevention means tackling economic, social, institutional drivers of strife
- UN News

Preventing conflicts requires closing development gaps, shrinking inequality and bringing hope to people around the globe, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Tuesday.
Investing in UNRWA is ‘an investment in peace and hope’
- UN News

At a “critical conference” supporting the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Secretary-General António Guterres outlined on Tuesday, the “essential role” it continues to play in generations of lives.
Iran death penalty threat for abortion unlawful: UN rights experts
- UN News

A new Iranian law that raises the prospect of the death penalty for abortion has been condemned by independent human rights experts, who have declared that is in “clear contravention of international law”.
‘We cannot lose hope’, UN chief tells media seminar on peace in the Middle East
- UN News

Sensitizing public opinion to the question of Palestine, and promoting a peaceful settlement to the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, are among the goals of the 2021 UN International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East, which began on Tuesday.
Ethiopia: Mass arbitrary arrests target Tigrayans, says UN rights office
- UN News

Over the past week, mass arrests of people reportedly of Tigrayan origin have continued in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and elsewhere, the UN rights office said on Tuesday.
How Effective Communication can Help Boost Intra-African Trade
- Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 16 (IPS) - The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement promotes socio-economic growth and development in Africa through liberalised trade processes and structures. So far, the 54 African countries have signed the agreement, resulting in immense potential for the growth of trade between African countries.
WTO Finished Without TRIPS Waiver
- Inter Press Service

KUALA LUMPUR and SYDNEY, Nov 16 (IPS) - Quickly enabling greater and more affordable production of and access to COVID-19 medical needs is urgently needed in the South. Such progress will also foster much needed goodwill for international cooperation, multilateralism and sustainable development.
COVID-19: Licensing agreement for new candidate drug ‘an important first step’
- UN News

Access to a new COVID-19 drug will be expanded in low- and middle-income countries following a voluntary licensing agreement between the pharmaceutical company Pfizer and a UN-backed global health initiative, announced in Geneva on Tuesday.
Global Issues