News headlines in August 2022, page 2

Copenhagen, Aug 30 (IPS) - Hiding in basements during bombings, fleeing their homes, going hungry, and facing the devastating and life-transformative traumas of losing their loved ones as their childhoods go up in flames of war. These are the lived experiences of crisis-impacted children and adolescents.

Leaders in Libya must take immediate steps to resolve their political impasse, which is spilling over into increasing violence, UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council on Tuesday. 

An independent UN human rights expert on Tuesday warned that the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse (LGBT) people are being “deliberately undermined by some state governments in the United States”, urging more action on the part of the Biden administration to protect them.

KARACHI, Aug 30 (IPS) - The heavy and incessant monsoon downpours across Pakistan in the last two months have triggered floods wreaking havoc across the country, submerging entire villages and vast tracts of land and entrapping people. Anything coming in the way of the relentless water is being destroyed, including roads, bridges, and standing crops.

Observed this Tuesday, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances reaffirms the need for victims’ families to know the truth about what happened to missing relatives.

MADRID, Aug 30 (IPS) - Shortly before the 25 August approval by the Spanish Parliament of the government’s plan to save energy, the country’s right and far-right opposition parties revived their debate about an earlier suggestion of not wearing neckties in the Spanish Congress and Senate and other official institutions.

31 August marks the International Day for People of African Descent, on which the UN calls for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against persons who fit this description. Ahead of the Day, UN News spoke to Dominique Day, and Verene Shepherd, two experts on the subject, who want to raise awareness about the links between the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the global economy.

UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet has deplored Israel’s refusal to grant visas for her staff in the occupied Palestinian territory, according to a statement issued on Tuesday. 

A $160 million emergency plan to help Pakistan deal with devastating flooding has been launched by the United Nations, aiming to reach “5.2 million of the most vulnerable people in the country”.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Aug 30 (IPS) - Asia and the Pacific is the most digitally divided region of the world, and South-East Asia is the most divided subregion. The Covid-19 pandemic detonated a “digital big bang” that spurred people, governments and businesses to become “digital by default;” a sea change that generated vast digital dividends. These benefits that have not been distributed equally, however. New development gaps have emerged as digital transformation reinforces a vicious cycle of socioeconomic inequalities, within and across countries.