News headlines in May 2021, page 10

Improved Internet access and connectivity can do more than urban migration to provide better jobs and higher standards of living for the roughly 3.4 billion people living in rural areas, according to the latest World Social Report, published on Thursday. 

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has appealed to the Government of the United States to “swiftly lift” the public health-related asylum restrictions that remain in effect at the southern border, and to restore access to asylum for the people “whose lives depend on it”.

HYDERABAD, India, May 20 (IPS) - If we want to address the great challenges this world is facing, we have to factor in science into all our narratives, according to Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, the first woman president of Mauritius and renowned biodiversity scientist.

KATHMANDU, May 20 (IPS) - If you live in Nepal, a quick survey of friends and family will quickly prove how rapidly Covid-19 infection rates have spiked. For instance, out of 50 people we called last week, more than half had been infected, with the rest reporting that their extended families or colleagues had tested positive.

The past ten days have witnessed a “dangerous and horrific” surge in deadly violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), particularly Gaza, and in Israel, the UN chief told the General Assembly on Thursday. 

The UN health agency has added its weight to calls for regular humanitarian access to Gaza, where two dozen medical facilities have now come under attack through Israeli air strikes, along with healthcare personnel.

The announcement this week of new coordinated sanctions against Myanmar’s military rulers by a handful of Western governments has been welcomed by the UN independent expert monitoring the human rights situation in the country. 

BHUBANESWAR, India, Feb 19 2021 (IPS) - “Our war on nature has left the planet broken. This is senseless and suicidal. The consequences of our recklessness are already apparent in human suffering, towering economic losses and the accelerating erosion of life on Earth,” António Guterres Secretary-General of the United Nations said.

NEW YORK, May 20 (IPS) - Regardless of how the current and future violent conflicts between Israel and the Palestinians in Jerusalem will end, there will be no Israeli-Palestinian peace unless East Jerusalem becomes the capital of a Palestinian state while the city remains united.

WASHINGTON, May 19 (IPS) - Over the past decade, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) from China have carved out a niche as owners and operators of electric utilities in South American countries through acquisitions of energy grids. As SOEs shift from their previous role as mostly builders to investors in large energy assets, policymakers in South America and in Washington should consider the implications of having these companies at the helm of such services.