News headlines in October 2023

MILAN, Italy, Oct 31 (IPS) - It all fits into an off-road vehicle that can reach even the most remote parts of Southern Africa to bring cinema where the essentials are lacking, where there's no electricity to power a projector, and where perhaps no one has ever sat in front of a screen to watch a movie. With just the sun and a solar panel, a theater can be set up in areas where people struggle to access food and water and make a decent living. But what it truly requires is the courage to not view creativity as a luxury. Sydelle and Rowand, the founders of Sunshine Cinema, a network of mobile movie theaters, are not just entertaining people; they are crossing a bridge.

NAIROBI, Oct 31 (IPS) - Excluded by inheritance and ignored by big business, women farmers in Kenya are turning to innovative methods to become independent food producers and get the financial backing to ensure their success. Creating resilience is crucial to adapting to climate change and ensuring climate justice.  Although women account for more than three-quarters of the agricultural labour force and manage 40 percent of small-scale farms, historically, they neither owned nor controlled the land because land rights were passed down to male relatives. It is a historic gender injustice whereby women could only access land through close male relatives.

KARACHI, Oct 31 (IPS) - After months of warding off appeals from his employers to get vaccinated for the COVID-19 disease, Mohammad Yusuf, 24, working as a live-in domestic worker in Karachi’s Clifton area, finally relented and got his first shot.

SAN FRANCISCO, USA, Oct 31 (IPS) - For three weeks, President Biden has played a key role in backing Israel’s war crimes while touting himself as a compassionate advocate of restraint. That pretense is lethal nonsense as Israel persists with mass killing of civilians in Gaza.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct 31 (IPS) - In 1968, the tobacco company Philip Morris introduced a new cigarette brand called Virginia Slims. Under the slogan “You’ve come a long way, baby” it was exclusively marketed to women. The advertising campaign exploited the civil rights movements of the 1960s, indicating that those cigarettes were enjoyed by strong, independent, and liberated women.

A blatant lie – why would “independent” women choose to poison themselves with a commodity which each year causes more than 480,000 deaths in the US alone – nearly one in five deaths? Another question arising from this deceitful ad is: “How far have women come on their way to independence and liberation?”

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday hailed the elimination of several life-threatening diseases in developing nations as a major breakthrough for public health.

A UN poverty expert called on the CEOs of Amazon, DoorDash and Walmart on Tuesday to address allegations that wages at the US-based corporations are trapping workers in poverty, forcing them to rely on US Government benefits to survive.

Standing in the sacred grounds of Lumbini, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday delivered a heartfelt message, urging the world to take inspiration from the teachings of Lord Buddha and make a commitment to peace and compassion, as crises mount.

Marking World Cities Day on Tuesday, the UN Secretary-General emphasised the vital role cities play in sustainable development as catalysts for economic growth and innovation.

The UN chief on Tuesday said levels of aid allowed into the stricken Gaza Strip are “completely inadequate” to meet the rising needs of civilians trapped there amidst the intensifying fighting.