News headlines in April 2021, page 9

More than 250,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Syria on Thursday from the UN-backed COVAX initiative, to inoculate the country’s frontline health workers.   

Despite information and communication technology playing such a key role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN chief said that half the world remains offline, in his message marking International Girls in ICT Day, on Thursday – most of whom are women and girls in developing countries. 

World leaders must act now and put the planet on a green path because “we are at the verge of the abyss”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday in his address to the virtual climate summit convened by United States President Joseph Biden. 

ROME, Apr 22 (IPS) - Sylvain Kakule Kadjibwami lost the use of his legs during one of those ambushes that bloodlessly bleed North Kivu. “When I was shot, I thought it was the end of my life, but when I shared it with other disabled people, I discovered that life is still possible,” he said. Now it is Covid-19 that risks destroying the dreams of Sylvain, a small trader from Goma, a city whose roads are volcanic rock-ridden screes where pick-ups trudge. Those who walk face the risk of falling at every step. However, for those who cannot, the same roads can become traps where it is not only war that kills but also a stigma fostering misery and disease.

NEW YORK, Apr 22 (IPS) - Today marks Earth Day and all around the globe, advocates and activists, concerned citizens and the like will gather to raise awareness about the climate crisis.

Young people around the world “won’t stay silent” about the global climate crisis according to a youth activist from Madagascar. 

Two million people facing growing food insecurity linked to the ongoing political crisis in Myanmar are to receive nutrition assistance, amid rising “hunger and desperation”, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday. 

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Apr 21 (IPS) - Cape Town-based photojournalist Yazeed Kamaldien reported on a massive mountain fire that broke out on Sunday on Table Mountain and near residential areas on its foothills. By this morning, Wednesday 21 April, officials said the fire had been extinguished after three grueling days for firefighters. Firefighters are still monitoring on the ground for any flare-ups.

A new law in Iraq provides a measure of comfort for women and girls who have survived atrocities of ISIL terrorist fighters, but more must be done, an independent UN human rights expert said on Wednesday. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for commitment to restoring the planet, and to making peace with nature, in his message to mark International Mother Earth Day, celebrated annually on 22 April.