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Pacific 

India’s LGBTQIA+ community notches legal wins but still faces societal hurdles to acceptance, equal rights

Village Reporter
UNAIDS, the main advocate for coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the UN Development Progarmme (UNDP) offices in India have been important partners in this effort.  On this International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), celebrated annually on 17 May, we reflect on the journey of some members of this community in India and shed light on… Read More
Africa South Africa Southern Africa World 

South Africa: Rescue efforts end at collapsed building

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , ,
South Africa has announced an end to rescue efforts at the site of a building collapse in George. At least 33 construction workers died from the disaster with 19 people still unaccounted for when the five-storey luxury apartment building collapsed on May 6. 29 survivors were pulled from the debris though and most of them receiving medical treatment. The rescue… Read More
Pacific 

UN rights office urges Sri Lanka to reveal fate of the disappeared

Village Reporter
The call accompanies the launch of a key report by OHCHR, highlighting also the need for the Government to acknowledge the involvement of State security forces and to issue a public apology. From the 1970s to 2009, Sri Lanka witnessed widespread enforced disappearances, predominantly carried out by the national army and associated paramilitary groups.   The Liberation Tigers of Tamil… Read More
Europe 

UN rights chief, independent experts denounce Georgia’s new ‘foreign agents’ law

Village Reporter
The Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence requires media, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other nonprofits to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad. It was adopted on Tuesday. The adoption has sparked protests in the capital, Tbilisi, and has been denounced by Georgia’s opposition as… Read More
Europe 

Security Council hears of relentless attacks against civilians and infrastructure in Ukraine

Village Reporter
Lisa Doughten, OCHA’s director of financing and partnerships, said relentless hostilities continue along the border with Russia and on the frontline.  Following several waves of attacks, Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, was struck again that day, injuring 15 civilians, she reported.  Thousands evacuated  “These attacks have triggered yet more displacement from border and frontline communities. As of today, authorities report… Read More
Pacific 

UN teams dispatch aid as deadly flash floods hit northern Afghanistan

Village Reporter
Flash floods in the area have reportedly killed at least 300 people, including 51 children, with many more injured, with these figures expected to increase as additional reports come in, according to UN agencies. UN chief António Guterres expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. “The United Nations and its partners in Afghanistan are coordinating with the de… Read More
Pacific 

Japan: Safeguarding a mother tongue and mother nature

Village Reporter
Even though both Nami and Tomoyuki were born on Okinoerabu Island (currently home to only 12,000 inhabitants), neither learned to speak Shimamuni – a local variety of the Kunigami language – fluently as children. Kunigami was added to UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger in 2009 and classified as “definitely endangered” to raise public awareness that “children no… Read More
Europe 

Rights chief urges Russia to end crackdown as journalist detentions reach all-time high

Village Reporter
Volker Türk said he was concerned by the increasing number of journalists charged, convicted and jailed for their independent reporting, in what appears to be an intensification of a crackdown on dissenting voices. He described the continuous attacks on free speech and the criminalization of independent journalism in Russia as “very troubling”. “The intensification of the crackdown on journalists’ independent work must immediately cease and the… Read More
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