News headlines in December 2023, page 4

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 22 (IPS) - As the killings of civilians in Gaza rose to over 20,000, the besieged city — which has been virtually reduced to rubble by Israeli bombardments — is also being ravaged by hunger and starvation.

In new estimates released December 21, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global partnership, which includes the World Health Organization (WHO), said Gaza is facing “catastrophic levels of food insecurity,” with the risk of famine “increasing each day.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed hope that a Security Council resolution to get more aid into Gaza, adopted on Friday, could pave the way to a humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The UN Secretary-General has reiterated his full solidarity with the people and Government of the Czech Republic in the wake of the mass shooting at the Charles University in Prague on Thursday.

This year's surprising spike in dengue infections globally represents a potentially high public health threat, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

As the Security Council prepared to meet once again in New York on Friday for a long-delayed vote on a pause in fighting to allow more aid into Gaza, UN rights chief Volker Türk added his voice to deep concerns over the rising threat of famine across the Strip.

NEW DELHI, Dec 21 (IPS) - Criminal justice systems in South Asia are failing women, despite stark statistics on the prevalence of violence. WHO estimates translate to one in every two women and girls in the region experiencing violence daily.

DUBAI & SRINAGAR, INDIA, Dec 21 (IPS) - Durga Das*, a 59-year-old farmer from the Indian state of Maharashtra, committed suicide last year by ingesting a poisonous substance. He was unable to repay the loan he had taken from the bank for the renovation of his single-story house.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Dec 21 (IPS) - Have you ever tried to register a birth, a death or maybe your own marriage? Unfortunately, many of these vital events in Asia and the Pacific remain unregistered often with dire consequences for individuals, families and communities.

The latest surge in fighting in Sudan has displaced up to 300,000 people as conflict spread to the country’s second largest city, Wad Madani, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Thursday.

The year 2023 has presented more challenges for Syria, marked by devastating earthquakes, escalating humanitarian needs and the most severe fighting in years, the UN’s envoy for the country said on Thursday.