May 16, 2024 No comments
Global economic growth improves but ‘downsides’ lurk
INTERNATIONAL, 16 May 2024, Economic Development - The global economic picture has improved since January, but vulnerabilities remain, the mid-year update of the World Economic Situation and Prospects report published on Thursday has revealed. The world economy is forecast to grow by 2.7 per cent in 2024, up from 2.4 per cent projected at the start of the year. Growth will reach 2.8 per cent in 2025, representing a slight increase. These changes are mainly due to better-than-expected performance in some large developed and emerging countries, notably Brazil, India, Russia and the United States. Inflation down, wages up Inflation is also down from the 2023 peak, said Shantanu Mukherjee of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), presenting the report to journalists in New York. “In developed...
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May 16, 2024 No comments
Rights expert condemns death of Palestinian doctor in Israeli custody, urges independent inquiry
INTERNATIONAL, 16 May 2024, Human Rights - A renowned Palestinian orthopaedic surgeon’s death in Israeli detention has been labelled “horrifying’ by a UN human rights expert, prompting calls for an independent international investigation. Dr. Adnan Al Bursh, 50, the head of the orthopaedic department at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, died on April 19, 2024, in Ofer prison, a detention facility in the West Bank. His body has not yet been released by Israeli authorities. Before his death, he had reportedly been beaten in prison, with his body showing signs of torture. Dr. Al Bursh had been detained with other doctors and medical personnel by Israeli forces on 18 December 2023, at Al Awda Hospital in North Gaza. At that time, he was generally in good health and...
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May 16, 2024 No comments
UN forum in Bahrain closes with calls to support women entrepreneurs in conflict areas
INTERNATIONAL, 16 May 2024, Economic Development - The bi-annual UN forum on entrepreneurship and innovation wrapped up its work in Bahrain on Thursday focusing on women entrepreneurs from conflict zones, who stressed the importance of investing in their activities as a means of building peace, security, and stability in their communities. Hailing from Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Sudan and Gaza, women entrepreneurs were in the spotlight at the closing of the 2024 World Entrepreneurship Investment Forum (WEIF), which has been running since Tuesday in Bahrain’s capital, Manama. During a panel discussion on ‘Women, Peace and Security’ and later in exclusive interviews with our UN News team that has been reporting from the forum venue, the businesswomen shared moving stories of how their projects inspired them to help others,...
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May 16, 2024 No comments
Gaza: World court opens hearings on request to halt Israel’s Rafah incursion
INTERNATIONAL, 16 May 2024, Peace and Security - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) began public hearings on Thursday stemming from South Africa’s recent request for emergency provisional measures to immediately halt Israeli operations under way in Rafah, in southern Gaza, where more than one million Palestinians were sheltering during the seven-month-long war in the besieged enclave. Linked to South Africa’s ongoing case charging Israel with violating the Genocide Convention, the new request, filed on 10 May, asked the ICJ’s 15 judges to order Israel to “immediately withdraw and seize its military operations in the Rafah governate” and open up the enclave to international aid workers and journalists. South Africa delivered its arguments on Thursday afternoon, and Israel is expected to respond at public hearings on Friday at...
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May 16, 2024 No comments
UN envoy outlines Iraq’s growth and ongoing struggles
INTERNATIONAL, 16 May 2024, Peace and Security - Iraq is a nation brimming with potential but still haunted by legacies of past turmoil, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the country, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said in a briefing to the Security Council on Thursday. Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert, also the head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), cited notable advancements in infrastructure, economic reforms, and regional influence, signalling an Iraq on the rise. “[Today] Iraq looks different to the country to which UNAMI was first deployed some 20 years ago. Indeed, it looks different to the country I arrived in, in 2018. We are, so to speak, witnessing an Iraq on the rise,” she said. However, she acknowledged challenges such as corruption, factionalism, impunity and armed actors remain...
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