News headlines in December 2023, page 10

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, Dec 14 (IPS) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is addressing the issue of youth entrepreneurship and employment in Central Asia by launching a seven-year €200 million (US$ 218 million) Youth in Business (YiB) programme.

South Sudan is in no position to hold free, fair, or secure elections slated for December next year, the head of the UN Mission in the country (UNMISS) said on Thursday, stressing that there’s still time to catch up.

E-cigarettes, which pose serious health risks, are being “aggressively marketed” to young people and in large parts of the world there are no rules in place to protect children from their harmful effects, UN health agency WHO warned on Thursday.

Some Gazans are so desperate for food that they are now stopping aid trucks and immediately eating what they find, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned on Thursday.

Heavy rains created new misery in Gaza as UN humanitarians repeated deep concerns on Thursday over the deteriorating health situation in the Strip, amid ongoing Israeli bombardment and fighting with Palestinian armed groups.

The outbreak of conflict seven months ago in Sudan has led to “a convergence of a worsening humanitarian calamity and a catastrophic human rights crisis”, according to a senior UN official, and the restive region of Darfur has been particularly badly affected.

A pioneer in the study of chimpanzees and a vocal environmental activist, Jane Goodall became a UN Messenger of Peace in 2002.

DUBAI, Dec 13 (IPS) - It was an extraordinary COP Summit in a year characterized by record-breaking temperatures combined with El Niño, producing a climatic carnage in Africa—deaths from fatal floods in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and Libya, where floods wiped out a quarter of a city.

VICTORIA, Seychelles, Dec 13 (IPS) - As an Islander from the Seychelles, Africa’s smallest country, I find that the ocean is intricately woven into my heritage. It not only defines my roots but also shapes the trajectory of my journey. When I think of the future, I can’t help but also look at the boundless possibilities reflected in the vast expanse of the ocean.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Dec 13 (IPS) - With the US Fed raising interest rates, the world economy is slowing as debt distress spreads across the global South, increasing poverty worldwide to pre-pandemic levels, with the poorest countries faring worst.