News headlines in September 2021, page 5

More than 200,000 lives could be saved annually if the goals of a new global strategy to defeat meningitis are achieved, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 28 (IPS) - When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan during 1996-2001, the United Nations was engaged in a losing battle for women’s rights.

And that battle was occasionally led by two senior female UN officials, one of them working for a UN agency providing humanitarian assistance inside unfriendly Taliban territory.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sep 28 (IPS) - US President Biden’s earlier support for a vaccine patent waiver raised hopes for his summit last week. However, it proved disappointing, not only for efforts to end the pandemic, but also for US leadership in these challenging times.

Amidst the global COVID-19 crisis, the President of the General Assembly closed the UN High-Level session on Monday, crediting “sound mitigation measures” and high vaccination rates for its success.

The Permanent Representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the United Nations, Kim Song, said that if the United States “shows its bold decision to give up its hostile policy”, his country is “prepared to respond willingly at any time.” 

Apart from disastrous economic consequences, the COVID-19 pandemic has also amplified the climate and security crisis in the Sahel, said Niger’s Minister of Foreign Affairs during the country’s turn to speak at the UN General Assembly. 

In his address to the UN General Assembly on Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian upheld multilateralism as the key to overcoming global challenges including conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. 

PARIS, Sep 27 (IPS) - So, what’s the difference between illustration and “art”?  When asked this question, Maru Aguzzi replies with a wry smile: “Perhaps the price?”

In his speech to the high-level debate at the UN General Assembly on Monday, Fayssal Mekdad, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Syria, reaffirmed his country’s commitment to combat terrorism and aim to ‘restore security and stability’.

The Yemen conflict killed or maimed 2,600 children as hostilities intensified in 2019 and 2020; that’s according to a new report of the UN Secretary-General on Children and Armed conflict in the country.