News headlines in December 2023, page 6

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Wednesday that it has temporarily suspended assistance in some parts of Al Jazirah State in Sudan as conflict has spread south and east of the capital, Khartoum.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Wednesday welcomed a key deal by members of the European Union (EU) to overhaul their joint migration system which promises a fresh and unified approach to deal with asylum claims.

Lack of progress in resolving human rights issues is a key factor behind the current impasse between Afghanistan and the international community, the UN Special Representative for the country said on Wednesday in a briefing to the Security Council in New York.

As the UN Security Council was slated to meet for a third consecutive day on Wednesday in a new push for consensus to pause the fighting in Gaza, the head of the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF warned that without safe water, “many more children” will soon die from disease.

The scale of the conflict in Gaza is having an “unprecedented” effect on UNRWA, with staff operating under fierce bombardments, whilst grieving for colleagues killed in the fighting. Juliette Touma, Director of Communications at UNRWA, tells UN News that the agency, whose staff in Gaza are operating under fierce bombardments, whilst grieving for colleagues killed in the fighting.

CHANCAY, Peru, Dec 19 (IPS) - "We have always lived a very quiet life here, but everything has changed since the construction of the multi-purpose port began a few years ago," said Miriam Arce, a neighborhood leader in this municipality 80 kilometers north of the Peruvian capital, where the new port is projected to become the epicenter of trade between China and South American countries.

NEW YORK / WASHINGTON DC, Dec 19 (IPS) - Across Africa, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) bearing different monikers such as community-based organisations (CBOs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and nonprofits have long borne the duty of designing and implementing developmental interventions to address varying challenges.

STOCKHOLM, Dec 19 (IPS) - Conflicting emotions greet the outcomes of COP28. After 28 years of climate conferences, an agreement has, for the first time, proclaimed that fossil fuels are the biggest culprit behind the warming of our planet and stated that it would encourage all nations to “accelerating action in this critical decade so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science." The agreement calls for, among other things, a tripling of renewable energy by 2030, but also an increased pace in the work to develop technical solutions for the separation and storage of carbon dioxide, an extremely expensive and, so far, limited effort.

MANILA, Philippines, Dec 19 (IPS) - In a coastal community in Tacloban City in Leyte, Philippines, Maria's life was intricately woven with the ebb and flow of the sea. Her days were filled with caring for her two young children and selling fish caught by her husband at the market. Little did she know that winds of change were brewing far beyond the horizon.

SAINT LUCIA, Dec 19 (IPS) - Buoyed by $800 million in pledges to the Loss and Damage Fund and an unprecedented agreement to transition away from fossil fuelsbut grounded in the reality of the work ahead to meet key climate targets, the Caribbean will need to maintain its focus on sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and climate resilience.