News headlines in May 2019, page 7

PARIS, May 07 (IPS) - An alarming report about the massive loss of biodiversity around the world warns that future generations will be at risk if urgent action isn't taken to protect the more than one million species of plants and animals threatened with extinction.

DUBAI, May 07 (IPS) - Karishma Asarpota is an urban planner, researcher and Climate Tracker Journalism Fellow

Dubai is an Emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a population of about 3 million. The discovery of oil in the 1960's transformed Dubai from a sleepy port town to a global metropolis. The recent shift to address environmental sustainability in Dubai draws attention to energy issues in the city.

GAMBELLA, Ethiopia, May 06 (IPS) - Right up against the border with South Sudan, the western Gambella region of Ethiopia has become a watchword for trouble and no-go areas as its neighbour's troubles have spilled over. But now there may be reason for optimism on either side of the border.

NEW YORK, May 06 (IPS) - Paula Donovan is Co-Director, AIDS-Free World and its Code Blue Campaign

Last week the Washington Post published a scathing critique by the executive director of Human Rights Watch, titled "Why the U.N. Chief's Silence on Human Rights is Deeply Troubling." Kenneth Roth argued that Secretary-General António Guterres "is becoming defined by his silence on human rights—even as serious rights abuses proliferate."

STOCKHOLM / ROME, May 06 (IPS) - The catastrophic fire in Notre Dame produced a massive emotional reaction. In a Paris famous for its secularism tearful people knelt on the pavement, sang the Ave Maria and prayed to God to save their cathedral. Several stated that it was not only a church burning, but the soul of Paris passing away. What did they mean to say?

BERLIN, May 06 (IPS) - Inge Kaul is adjunct professor, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, and first director of UNDP's Offices of the Human Development Report and Global Development Studies.

This year's annual "SDG Global Festival of Action" was held in Bonn, Germany, from May 2–4, 2019. The festival's overall aim is to gather campaigners and multiple stakeholders from around the world at one place for interaction with each other; furthermore, it seeks to inspire them to scale up action in support of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set forth in the 2030 Agenda adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

NEW DELHI, May 06 (IPS) - Communities are treated as passive recipients, giving them no say in the functioning of their schools. Here's why this needs to change.

COTONOU, Benin, May 03 (IPS) - This is part of a series of features from across the globe on human trafficking. IPS coverage is supported by the Riana Group.

On a bus in Cotonou, Benin's commercial capital, four Nigerian girls aged between 15 and 16 sit closely together as they are about to embark on the last part of their journey to Mali, where they are told that their new husbands, whom they never have met, await them.

BUCHAREST, Romania, May 03 (IPS) - Mawethu Nkhosana is an LGBTI activist and the crisis response fund administrator at CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations.

Romanian Adrian Coman and his American-born partner Clai Hamilton had two major reasons to celebrate when they tied the knot last June.

BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 03 (IPS) - Dr. Denis Mukwege is founder of Panzi Hospital and Foundation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 with Nadia Murad.

To be able to tackle a problem we must first recognize that it exists. When I first spoke at the United Nations Security Council in 2009, I was asked why the issue of sexual violence was even relevant to peace and security. At that time, it was not generally accepted that rape is in fact a weapon of war. Today, that statement is both widely accepted and central to the international community's understanding of this crucial issue.