News headlines in June 2023, page 4

While no longer a global emergency, COVID-19’s long-term effects alongside such other threats as mpox and seasonal heat waves may challenge Europe through the summer months, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) regional office warned on Tuesday.

Humanitarian needs have soared among people displaced by fighting in Sudan, with the number of those fleeing expected to surpass projections while aid access remains extremely uncertain, the UN refugee agency, UNHCRsaid on Tuesday.

An independent UN-appointed climate expert on Tuesday called for full legal protection to be given to those displaced by the impacts of climate change, to guarantee their human rights.

Unless decisive steps are swiftly taken to rein in Israeli-Palestinian violence, there is a “significant risk” that the situation could deteriorate, the top UN Middle East official told the Security Council on Tuesday.

Violations of international law regarding children and armed conflict continued to have a “devastating impact”, the UN’s top official on the issue said on Tuesday, with a 112 per cent rise in the number of attacks on schools and hospitals.

NEUCHATEL, Switzerland, Jun 26 (IPS) - It’s been seven months since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis celebrated a brilliant re-election victory in the midst of an otherwise mixed Republican midterm performance. He had come in with nearly 20 per cent more votes than Democrat Charlie Crist.

SANTIAGO, Jun 26 (IPS) - Sexual harassment and discrimination are daily realities for women on public transport in Chile and also an obstacle for plans to expand mass transit in order to reduce pollution in several cities in this South American country.

A senior UN official warned the Security Council on Monday that the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has continued to deteriorate over the past three months, despite a lull in fighting between M23 rebels and the national army (FARDC).

UN rights experts marked the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on Monday, by reiterating their call for an “absolute prohibition” on the use of torture during armed conflict, calling also for a push to end the international trade in instruments of torture.

For “countless civilians” caught in current conflicts around the world, taking responsibility for protecting them to prevent atrocities is more critical than ever, a senior UN official told the General Assembly on Monday.