News headlines in April 2021, page 5

SANTIAGO, Apr 27 (IPS) - Standing on Punta Ventanilla, Carlos Vegas, 65, looks across at the industrial park which has been there most of his life. He looks at the impact of the 15 industries spread around the bay that connects the towns of Quintero and Puchuncaví, in central Chile.

Ensuring warring parties respect international humanitarian law is the first step towards protecting civilians and critical infrastructure during conflict, the UN’s top aid official told the Security Council on Tuesday. 

STOCKHOLM / ROME, Apr 27 (IPS) -

The World Press Freedom Day on the 3rd of May is an occasion for celebrating humanity. Language enables us to transmit our thoughts in sound – a means of communication developed through our unique brain, combined with our capacity to control lips, tongue and other components of the vocal apparatus. Over time, humans have also acquired skills to commit our language to writing.

The leader of Myanmar’s ‘Tatmadaw’ military has been urged to publicly commit to honoring the fundamental right to freedom of expression for those protesting the generals’ February coup. 

The UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) issued a statement on Tuesday, alongside international partners, strongly condemning an outbreak of violence in the capital Mogadishu and urging all sides to “exercise maximum restraint, resume dialogue, and avoid unilateral actions that may lead to a further escalation”.  

A fresh United Nations-led bid to seek to resolve decades of tensions in Cyprus began in Geneva on Tuesday, with Secretary-General António Guterres “realistic” about the chances of making progress, his Spokesperson said.

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, Apr 27 (IPS) - Last week, the world marked Earth Day – an opportunity to put the spotlight on the pressing needs of our planet, in the face of ever-growing impacts by humanity, and galvanize action to change practices and behavior. Yet these issues were not, and cannot be, addressed in a single day. Resolve and action to protect the environment is a 365 days-a-year endeavor.

GOMA, DR Congo, Apr 27 (IPS) - Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), has sounded the alarm on the need for Central African Republic refugee children and youth to access quality education during her visit to a refugee site in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from Apr. 20-23.

United Nations independent human rights experts on Tuesday voiced serious concerns over recent appointment of new members to Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission, which they said “undermined its independence, integrity and legitimacy”.

In spite of the challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Abyei with other agencies, continue to provide vital protection, humanitarian and recovery assistance to vulnerable populations, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Monday.