News headlines in February 2024, page 5

Very little humanitarian aid has entered besieged Gaza this month, with a 50 per cent reduction compared to January, the head of the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday.

An all-out Israeli offensive on Rafah would spell the end for UN-led humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday, in a wide-ranging call to the international community to fulfil its “primary responsibility” of promoting and protecting human rights everywhere and for everyone.

Communities in some of the most climate-change-affected areas in southern Madagascar are finding ways to thrive in increasingly challenging environments by becoming more resilient and adapting to unpredictable weather patterns.

Every two years, all 193 UN Member States have an opportunity to collectively address critical environmental issues facing the planet. This moment is the United Nations Environment Assemblyor UNEA, the sixth edition of which will be held from 26 February to 1 March, in Nairobi, Kenya.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria & NAIROBI, Feb 23 (IPS) - Nigeria is home to 15 percent of the world’s out-of-school children. More than 7.6 million girls are not in school, and only nine percent of the poorest girls in the country are in secondary school. The Boko Haram insurgency and other armed groups fuel the out-of-school crisis in northeast Nigeria, disrupting the education of nearly two million school-age children.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb 23 (IPS) - At Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen there is a great painting made in 1797 by the Danish Golden Age painter Jens Juel. It depicts one of Denmark’s richest merchants at the time – Niels Ryberg, his newlywed son Johan Christian, and the son’s bride, Engelke. Johan Christian makes a gesture as though to show off the family estate. There is a strong feeling of harmony between the people and the countryside in which they are placed. The picture reflects the new interest in nature that emerged all over Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It also demonstrates how Denmark’s new, rich bourgeois wished to carry themselves in the style of the aristocracy, a social class which dominance they were infringing. Ryberg and his son appear just as distinguished as the aristocrats that used to be portrayed by Jens Juel.

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Feb 23 (IPS) - Amid an escalation of global conflict and climate change-induced displacements, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is escalating its donor campaign.

KATHMANDU, Nepal, Feb 23 (IPS) - This week the 2024 annual meeting of the World Social Forum (WSF) was held in Nepal. There were fifty thousand participants from over 90 countries, exchanging strategies to address the multiple global crises, from climate catastrophes to unfettered capitalism, inequality, social injustice, wars and conflict.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 23 (IPS) - At the start of 2024, we stand at a critical juncture: Geopolitical tensions are escalating, economic integration is unravelling, and multilateral cooperation is faltering. This global fragmentation threatens to undermine decades of progress made for children worldwide.

“Here are the choices: ethnic cleansing, apartheid or genocide,” said Palestine’s foreign minister at the opening of public hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this week, with a record 52 States and three international organizations providing comments and presentations on a case based on the UN General Assembly’s request for an advisory opinion on legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in Occupied Palestinian Territory.