News headlines in January 2024, page 10

In Gaza, bombs and bullets are far from the only threat to life. Residents lack food and clean water, health facilities are practically nonexistent and communication with the outside world is patchy at best.

The head of the UN health agency raised concerns on Monday that the draft of a global agreement to head off a future pandemic may not be finalized by May this year, as previously agreed.

“Intense” Israeli bombardment in Gaza continued on Monday along with rocket fire into Israel by Palestinian armed groups as UN humanitarians reported that more than 25,000 have died in the enclave since war began on 7 October.

Developing countries must lead efforts to reform outdated multilateral institutions and frameworks, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in remarks to the third summit of the Group of 77 (G-77) and China, which opened in Kampala, Uganda, on Sunday.

An extraterrestrial visitor now lives at UN Headquarters in New York: a precious piece of the Moon. The rock joins a host of other fascinating objects on display, from a machine gun fashioned into a guitar to a semi-curdled bronze statue that survived a nuclear bomb in Japan.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres repeated his call for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages, in an address to the latest summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which concluded in Kampala, Uganda, on Saturday.

Sri Lankan migrants who paid their life savings to people traffickers for perilous and unsuccessful sea crossings in an attempt to find a better life overseas have returned home thanks to the support of the UN migration agency, IOM.

MEXICO CITY, Jan 19 (IPS) - The Lacandona jungle in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas is home to 769 species of butterflies, 573 species of trees, 464 species of birds, 114 species of mammals, 119 species of amphibians and reptiles, and several abandoned oil wells.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 19 (IPS) - Gaza’s healthcare system is “on its knees” as ongoing hostilities force hospitals to operate beyond their capacity and displace their healthcare workers, according to a WHO expert.

BRATISLAVA, Jan 19 (IPS) - “The thing is that when you come from an African country, they know that you’re basically trapped,” says Noel Adabblah.