News headlines in July 2014, page 5

WASHINGTON, Jul 23 (IPS) - As Tuesday's major summits here and in London focused global attention on adolescent girls, the United Nations offered new data warning that more than 130 million girls and women have experienced some form of female genital mutilation, while more than 700 million women alive today were forced into marriage as children.

LEKORNE, France, Jul 23 (IPS) - The government of Mali and Touareg rebels representing Azawad, a territory in northern Mali which declared unilateral independence in 2012 after a Touareg rebellion drove out the Malian army, resumed peace talks in Algiers last week, intended to end decades of conflict.

NEW DELHI, Jul 23 (IPS) - The sixth BRICS Summit which has just ended in Brazil marks the transition of a grouping based hitherto on shared concerns to one based on shared interests.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 22 (IPS) - Despite making important strides in the first dozen years of its existence, the International Criminal Court (ICC) faces a daunting task if it hopes to create a reputation as a truly global institution.

UXBRIDGE, Canada, Jul 22 (IPS) - Ending extreme poverty and hunger will be impossible on a rapidly overheating planet plagued by punishing droughts, catastrophic floods and ever wilder weather, said climate activists involved in talks to set the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

GAZA CITY, Jul 22 (IPS) - As a result of over two weeks of Israeli bombardment, thousands of Palestinian civilians have fled their homes in the north of Gaza and sought refuge in schools run by the UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

RASUWA, Nepal, Jul 22 (IPS) - Durga Ghimire had her first child at the age of 18 and the second at 21. As a young mother, Durga didn't really understand the importance of taking care of her own health during pregnancy.

BEIRUT, Jul 22 (IPS) - A declining economy and a severe drought have raised concerns in Lebanon over food security as the country faces one of its worst refugee crises, resulting from the nearby Syria war, and it is these refugees and impoverished Lebanese border populations that are most vulnerable to this new threat.

GENEVA, Jul 22 (IPS) - The world of today is considerably different from the one at the end of the Second World War; there are no more any colonies, though there are still some 'dependent' territories.

NAIROBI, Jul 22 (IPS) - At the eastern edge of Nairobi's Kibera slum, children gather with large yellow jerry cans to collect water dripping out of an exposed pipe. The high-rise grey and beige Soweto East settlement towers above them. A girl lifts the can on top of her head and returns to her family's third floor apartment.