News headlines in April 2024, page 13

Reducing the transport sector’s impact on the environment while improving access to service, especially in developing countries, topped the agenda of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

UN and partner agencies insisted on Wednesday that “critical changes” are needed to improve aid access into Gaza, as they launched a $2.8 billion appeal to provide urgent assistance for millions of people in the devastated enclave, but also in the West Bank, where Palestinians have been targeted by increasing settler violence.

African women are 130 times more likely to die due to pregnancy or childbirth complications than women in Europe and Northern America, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) said in a new report published on Wednesday.

APEX, North Carolina / DUBLIN, Ireland, Apr 17 (IPS) - A third possible candidate for UN Secretary-General is Alicia Bárcena. Mexico’s current Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Bárcena boasts a professional background that is both broad and deep.

ACCRA, Ghana, Apr 17 (IPS) - The World Bank has exaggerated probable gains from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to promote partial and uneven trade liberalisation that is unlikely to enhance development on the continent.

ACREÚNA/ORIZONA, Brazil, Apr 16 (IPS) - A bakery, fruit pulp processing and water pumped from springs are empowering women farmers in Goiás, a central-eastern state of Brazil. New renewable energy sources are driving the process.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Apr 16 (IPS) - The Darién Gap is a stretch of jungle spanning the border between Colombia and Panama, the only missing section of the Pan-American Highway that stretches from Alaska to southern Argentina. For good reason, it used to be considered impenetrable. But in 2023, a record 520,000 people crossed it heading northwards, including many children. Many have lost their lives trying to cross it.

JURU Growth Point, ZIMBABWE, Apr 16 (IPS) - With heavy sweat drenching his face and his shirt soaked in the sweat, 39-year-old Proud Ndukulani wrestled with a homemade knife, which he dipped in some used oil, before turning the glistening knife upon a rather tough and dusty tyre obtained from what he claimed was a forklift.

NEW YORK, Apr 16 (IPS) - Scarce food and drinking water. Limited and inconsistent healthcare. Rapidly deteriorating mental health. With conflict on the rise globallythis is the grim reality for millions around the world.

APEX, North Carolina / DUBLIN, Ireland, Apr 16 (IPS) - When the conversation turns to who might replace António Guterres as UN Secretary-General, the name of Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, is on many insiders’ lips. In addition to being Prime Minister, she also serves as her country’s Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment, as well as its Minister of National Security and Public Service.