News headlines in April 2024, page 15

APEX, North Carolina / DUBLIN, Ireland, Apr 15 (IPS) - Could a UN insider take the top job? Amina J. Mohammed is the current Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. She has been in the role since early 2017, making her something of a veteran within senior circles.

The Secretary-General and President of the General Assembly on Monday led the clarion call for urgent reform of the global financial system, notably how to approach debt relief on behalf of the billions of citizens living in the developing world.

A recent spate of “reckless attacks” on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine must end immediately, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told the UN Security Council on Monday.

With the ‘promise of a better world’ in mind the UN Youth Office has launched an new advocacy campaign – “World Leaders: It’s Time to Let #YouthLead” – calling for greater youth representation in decision-making roles in both the public and private sector, civil society, academia, and the UN.

As tensions worsen across the Middle East region, Yemen’s plight has become increasingly intertwined with wider geopolitical dynamics, the UN Special Envoy for the country said on Monday.

“The world is forgetting about the people of Sudan” the UN chief warned on Monday​, calling for a boost in humanitarian funding and a global push for peace to end a year of brutal fighting between rival militaries.

As UN chief António Guterres on Monday reiterated his appeal for “maximum restraint” in the Middle East following Iran’s drone and missile attack on Israel, independent human rights experts said that the alleged use of artificial intelligence on targets in Gaza by the Israeli military had taken an “unprecedented toll” on civilians, housing and services.

A full year of conflict in Sudan has already caused immense suffering and death but the situation could easily worsen with the news that the warring parties are arming civilians, UN rights chief Volker Türk said on Monday.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr 15 (IPS) - Alice went for eight weeks without Portuguese language classes after starting her first year of high school on Feb. 5 in this Brazilian city. Her chemistry teacher taught only two classes and disappeared. But the worst part is the classroom without air conditioning in the heat of more than 35 degrees Celsius some days during the southern hemisphere summer.

The people of the Middle East are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict, António Guterres said on Sunday, urging “maximum restraint” across a region “on the brink”, hours after Iran launched attack drones and missiles against Israel overnight Saturday.