News headlines in May 2021, page 8

A young soldier from the United Kingdom says he must stay on his “A-game” on patrol with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, to keep himself, colleagues and Malians safe in one of the most dangerous UN postings anywhere in the world. 

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Sunday that hundreds of children and families in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Goma district are at risk following the volcanic eruption of Mount Nyiragongo.

The small mountain nation of Bhutan has so far managed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, despite sharing a border with China and India, two countries which have been badly affected by the pandemic. Bhutan is now on the way to vaccinating more than 90 per cent of the eligible adult population. Gerald Daly, the UN Resident Coordinator there, says that volunteers, and preventative government action, have been key to the country’s success.

The UN Security Council on Saturday made it’s first statement on the conflict that erupted between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, calling for a “full adherence to the ceasefire” that brought 11 days of fighting to an end early on Friday morning.

UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (IPS) - Education Cannot Wait (ECW)the global fund that brings teaching and learning to children in emergencies and protracted crises, is observing five years of reaching boys and girls in some of the world’s hardest-hit conflict and disaster zones.

Countries are on track to miss the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to environmental protection, two UN entities warn in new report issued on Saturday to coincide with the International Day for Biological Diversity. 

Swarm grids, an innovative technology designed to work with renewable energy sources, are bringing reliable electricity to some of the world’s poorest and remote regions for the first time, providing a major boost to the livelihoods of those who live there.

MEXICO CITY, May 21 (IPS) - The situation of the energy transition in Central America and the Caribbean was the main issue debated this Friday 21st in the sessions at the XXX La Jolla Energy Conference, which is attended virtually by high officials, business delegates and analysts from the region.

Manizha Sangin arrived in Russia as young refugee, when her family fled the violence of the civil war in Tajikistan. Today, she is a high-profile singer, representing Russia in the final of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest on Sunday, with the song “Russian Woman”. Ms. Sangin is also a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), and a domestic abuse activist.

On the heels of recent positive developments, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Libya pointed to renewed hope for peace in the conflict-affected country, and stability across the wider region, in a briefing to the Security Council on Friday.