News headlines in May 2022

The recent resurgence of the M23 armed group in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) constitutes a serious threat to peace, security and stability in the region, and urgent action towards curbing the violence is needed, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Tuesday. 

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (IPS) - US and allied economic sanctions against Russia for its illegal invasion of Ukraine have not achieved their declared objectives. Instead, they are worsening economic stagnation and inflation worldwide. Worse, they are exacerbating hunger, especially in Africa.

UN-appointed independent human rights experts called on Tuesday for Saudi Arabia to immediately release Abdullah al-Howaiti and quash the death sentence against him for crimes he allegedly committed as a child. 

LONDON, May 31 (IPS) - At this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos which ended last week, the attention of the world’s financial and economic elite was captured by the war in Ukraine whose president Volodimir Zelensky used his address to call to “complete withdrawal of foreign businesses from the Russian market”, despite 380 of the largest multinational companies still operating in Russia.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is scaling up operations in Sudan, where 10.9 million people, 30 per cent of the population, are expected to need lifesaving support this year – the highest number in the past decade, the UN agency said on Tuesday. 

With some 27,800 migrants having crossed from the Horn of Africa into war-torn Yemen this year, the UN migration agency, IOM, expressed concern on Tuesday over the safety and well-being of those on the move.

More than one billion methamphetamine tablets were seized in East and Southeast Asia last year, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has warned.

Harare, May 31 (IPS) - Two decades ago, Trynos Mahamba left Zimbabwe for the United Kingdom, but back home, he has changed the lives of his relatives.

LUANDA, Angola, May 31 (IPS) - While Africa is yet to fully recover from the socio-economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict poses another major threat to the global economy with many African countries being directly affected.

From climate and environment themed videogames to special features, pop-ups, and real-life tree-planting opportunities embedded within beloved classics like PAC-MAN or Angry Birds, the gaming industry is working with the United Nations to engage audiences like never before and inspire a new wave of climate action.