World

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-CIVICUS speaks about the progress being made towards a United Nations (UN) Treaty on Plastic Pollution with Vito Buonsante, an environmental health lawyer and technical and policy advisor at the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN).

MELBOURNE, Australia-The port of Onahama, in southern Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, exudes a quiet busy-ness on a warm spring day. Fishers come and go in tiny white trucks, unloading their catches in blue plastic crates. White, blue and red flags, emblazoned with a stylised tuna logo, flutter in the wind outside the new red brick fish market. In the food hall across the road, vendors twist skewers of grilled shellfish and keep a watchful eye on deep vats of steamed clams. A sign above a plastic model of the day’s special proudly declares that the deep-fried oysters come from a port only 20km up the coast.

NEW YORK, U.S.-The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast in their latest World Economic Outlook published on Tuesday, that global growth will bottom out at 2.8 percent this year before rising modestly to around three percent in 2024, representing a 0.1 per cent fall on its January projections.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Kazakhstan is embarking on a series of initiatives that will bolster its position as one of the dynamically developing countries with great potential in the region which will enable better connectivity between East and West as well as the global economy in times of turbulence.

NEW YORK, U.S.-UN agency chiefs issued a call on Monday for global action to balance and optimize the health of people, animals and the environment, as part of a new “One Health” approach.

NEW YORK, U.S.-For the first time in more than a decade, the number of people dying from tuberculosis (TB) rose last year due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts and other crises, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO, U.S.-The herbicide paraquat was sold to farmers as revolutionary. Its introduction into the marketplace in 1962 coincided with a growing awareness of overplowing soil, year after year, until it degrades. Looking to avoid another Dust Bowl, farmers were eager for ways to keep their soil intact. 

NEW YORK, U.S.-The UN 2023 Water Conference closed on Friday with the adoption of the Water Action Agenda, a “milestone” action plan containing almost 700 commitments to protect “humanity’s most precious global common good”.

NEW YORK, U.S.-World leaders need to listen to and act on solid scientific guidance to urgently reduce global warming, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a video message at the opening of the new session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Monday.

NEW YORK, U.S.-Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the “most repressive country in the world [for] women’s rights”, the senior UN official in Kabul told the Security Council on Wednesday, while nevertheless voicing a nuanced position on the importance of continuing to engage with the group.

NEW YORK, U.S.-Secretary-General António Guterres has congratulated UN member countries for finalizing a text to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, calling it a “breakthrough” after nearly two decades of talks.  

NEW YORK, U.S.-The number of children worldwide without access to social protection continues to rise, putting them at risk of poverty, hunger and discrimination, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a report published on Wednesday.

TRENTON, Canada-Canada launched an investigation Thursday into social media giant TikTok amid fears its parent Chinese company could collect data on Canadians.

NEW YORK, U.S.-Despite many challenges, Somalia has made significant progress in advancing key national priorities, but enhancing women’s political participation remains critical, UN Deputy Special Representative in the country, Anita Kiki Gbeho, told the Security Council on Wednesday.

NEW YORK, U.S.-With extremist groups expanding their reach, the international community cannot let up its guard against terrorism, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Sunday.

MICHIGAN, U.S.-Tuesday saw France’s third nationwide strike and protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension cuts. According to trade union statistics, over 400,000 people marched in Paris and a total of 2 million protested nationwide, while millions more went on strike and stayed at home.