News headlines in April 2022, page 2

Apr 29 (IPS) - The Ministry of Health in Kenya recently reported there were 45,754 cases of adolescent pregnancies between January and February this year - that translates to 700 cases a day. Of the total number, at least 2000 of these cases resulted from sexual and gender based violence (SGBV), a figure which is likely lower than the reality.

MADRID, Apr 29 (IPS) - Every now and then, experts remind that the Indigenous Peoples are the best (and last?) custodians of the essential web of life: biodiversity.

The $55 billion baby formula industry must end exploitative online marketing targeting parents, particularly mothers, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a new report published on Friday. 

KATHMANDU, Nepal, Apr 29 (IPS) - The recently disseminated Zero Draft Ministerial Declaration of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF)-- the main UN event to track the member states’ progress to achieve the Agenda 2030 slated to be held in the first half of July-- is a disappointment.

TORONTO, Canada, Apr 29 (IPS) - Empowered by a global pandemic and the drum beats of war, the strongest despots are growing more despotic, and criminal cartels even more brazen in their violence. Extremists of various hues are also stepping out of the shadows. Just when the world most needs press freedom to thrive, the liberties that societies only really treasure when they are emasculated are coming under more pressure from different directions, old and new.

Mali’s ban on two major international broadcasters operating inside the country is a worrying development in itself but it also reflects growing regional intolerance towards freedom of expression, the UN rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday.

Outlining a new four-pronged investigation strategy to the Security Council on Thursday, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) pledged his commitment to delivering justice against crimes committed in Libya.

Recent intercommunal violence in areas of West Darfur, Sudan, that has left scores dead, including two health workers, must stop immediately, a senior official with the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. 

Describing Ukraine as “an epicenter of unbearable heartache and pain”, the UN chief took to the podium alongside its president in Kyiv on Thursday, vowing to increase support for the people amidst the suffering, and the millions displaced in the wake of Russia’s invasion.

With six in 10 people expected to be living in cities by the end of the decade, the UN General Assembly met on Thursday to examine progress towards implementing a 2016 framework on sustainable urbanization.