News headlines in May 2022, page 5

Afghanistan is at a crossroads and the de facto authorities, the Taliban, must pursue a path towards stability and freedom for all citizens, especially women, the UN independent expert on human rights there said in the capital, Kabul, on Thursday. 

MADRID, May 26 (IPS) - So busy as they are with strengthening military alliances and devoting billions of taxpayers' money to double their war budgets and subsidise fossil fuels, European Governments seem not to care about the reiterated alerts that their continent faces a serious risk: the reduced availability -and more polluted– drinking water.

The UN Syria Commission of Inquiry said on Thursday that not extending current cross-border aid to Syria along the remaining route, would be a “failure of the highest order”. The warning to the Security Council comes as humanitarian needs throughout Syria are at their highest, since the start of the devastating 11-year war.

UNITED NATIONS, May 26 (IPS) - Ambassador Maria de Jesus dos Reis Ferreira was appointed in February 2018 as the Permanent Representative of Angola to the UN, the first woman to hold the position.

Conflict continues to inflict “widespread civilian death and injury” a senior UN official told the Security Council on Wednesday, outlining the “grim reality” for those caught up in the crossfire of war.

The attempted destruction of Ukraine’s historic culture by invading Russian forces, will have a devastating impact on the pace of recovery in the post-war era, an independent UN human rights expert warned on Wednesday. 

Governments must take greater action to ensure school remains a safe place for boys and girls, the head of the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said on Wednesday, following the latest deadly school shooting in the United States. 

ROME, May 25 (IPS) - This is an op-ed by Mario Lubetkin, Assistant Director-General at FAOIf the war in Ukraine, that was initiated three months ago, does not end, and without a reduction in the growing number of conflicts in other parts of the world, hunger will only continue to increase.

The world will experience 1.5 medium to large-scale disasters every day through the end of the decade, unless countries ramp up action on prevention and risk reduction, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said in Bali, Indonesia, on Wednesday.

BRATISLAVA, May 25 (IPS) - An ultraconservative group in Poland has begun checking with hospitals to find out if Ukrainian refugees are being offered terminations in line with the country’s strict abortion laws amid warnings refugee victims of rape are struggling to access local help and clinical services.