- 'Business as usual' for Australia match-winner Carey amid boos
- Israeli jets pound Lebanon after deadly Beirut strike
- Ten Hag bemoans Man Utd's lack of killer instinct in Palace stalemate
- France's Macron appoints new government in shift to right
- Cheika proud of Leicester grit after winning start as boss
- Profligate Man Utd pay price in 0-0 draw at Palace
- Kane, Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Man Utd held at Palace
- LIV champion Rahm out of LIV Team semis with severe flu
- Slot surprised by tearful Nunez's moment of magic
- Title rivals Norris, Verstappen on 'cool' front row for Singapore GP
- Biden talks China with 'Quad' leaders in hometown summit
- Juve and Napoli play out goalless draw in early Serie A title tussle
- Alcaraz fears tennis tour grind will 'kill us'
- Carey sparks recovery as Australia thrash England in 2nd ODI
- Leclerc, Sainz lament 'disappointing' Saturday in Singapore
- Bottega Veneta holds investors' aces as Madonna pops into D&G
- Beirut digs for victims at building flattened in Israeli strike
- Verstappen stages protest over 'ridiculous' swearing punishment
- Bayern boss Kompany lauds 'special talent' Olise
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Spurs bounce back
- Heavy fire over Israel-Lebanon border after deadly Beirut strike
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win despite Hogg scuffle
- Myanmar flood death toll jumps to 384
- Chelsea owners 'happy' with win at West Ham amid rift report
- Kane and Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win
- Norris pips Verstappen to dramatic Singapore pole after Sainz crash
- Carey takes Australia to 270 in 2nd ODI against England after collapse
- Two Hezbollah leaders killed in Israel's Beirut strike
- Hungary Danube waters reach decade high after Storm Boris
- Bagnaia cuts Martin's MotoGP lead with Emilia-Romagna sprint win
- Jackson double fires Chelsea to victory at woeful West Ham
- Fiji beat Japan to lift Pacific Nations Cup
- Kasatkina to face Haddad Maia in Korea Open final
- S.Africa snowfall closes roads, strands motorists overnight
- Lawyers of women alleging Al-Fayed sex abuse receive over 150 new enquiries
- President Museveni's son backs Ugandan strongman for 7th term
- Norris quickest as Verstappen bounces back in Singapore practice
- Wallabies lament All Blacks' fast start
- Germany's Oktoberfest opens under tight security after attacks
- Environmental protesters block French cruise liner port
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli strike kills top commanders
- No place like home: Biden hosts 'Quad' leaders
- One dead, 7 missing as heavy rains trigger floods in central Japan
- Zelensky says no UK, US go-ahead to use long-range missiles
- New Zealand edge Australia 31-28 in Bledisloe Cup thriller
- Japan orders evacuations as heavy rains trigger floods in quake-hit area
- New Zealand pilot freed in Indonesia after 19 months in rebel captivity
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli air strike kills top commanders
One woman dies every 2 mins in pregnancy, childbirth: UN
A woman dies every two minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth complications, despite maternal mortality rates dropping by a third in 20 years, the United Nations said Thursday.
Rates fell significantly between 2000 and 2015 but largely stagnated between 2016 and 2020 -- and in some regions have even reversed, the UN said.
The overall maternal mortality rate dropped by 34.3 percent over a 20-year period -- from 339 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 223 maternal deaths in 2020, according to a report by the World Health Organization and other UN agencies.
Nonetheless, that means nearly 800 women died per day in 2020 -- or around one every two minutes.
Belarus recorded the biggest decline -- down 95.5 percent -- while Venezuela saw the highest increase. Between 2000 and 2015, the biggest rise was in the United States.
"While pregnancy should be a time of immense hope and a positive experience for all women, it is tragically still a shockingly dangerous experience for millions around the world," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
"These new statistics reveal the urgent need to ensure every woman and girl has access to critical health services... and that they can fully exercise their reproductive rights."
The report found that between 2016 and 2020, maternal mortality rates dropped in only two of the eight UN regions: in Australia and New Zealand by 35 percent, and in Central and Southern Asia by 16 percent.
- 'Unconscionable' -
The rate went up in Europe and Northern America by 17 percent, and in Latin America and the Caribbean by 15 percent. Elsewhere, it stagnated.
The two European countries witnessing "significant increases" are Greece and Cyprus, the report's author Jenny Cresswell told journalists.
Maternal deaths remain largely concentrated in the world's poorest regions and in conflict-affected countries.
Around 70 percent of those deaths recorded in 2020 were in sub-Saharan Africa, where the rate is "136 times bigger" than in Australia and New Zealand, Cresswell said.
In Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- all facing severe humanitarian crises -- rates were more than twice the global average.
Severe bleeding, infections, complications from unsafe abortions and underlying conditions such as HIV/AIDS are among the leading causes of death, the report said -- which are all largely preventable and treatable.
The WHO said it was "critical" that women had control over their reproductive health -- particularly about if and when to have children, so that they can plan and space childbearing to protect their health.
Natalia Kanem, head of the UN Population Fund, said the rate of women "needlessly" dying was "unconscionable".
"We can and must do better by urgently investing in family planning and filling the global shortage of 900,000 midwives," she said.
While the report covers data up to 2020, the WHO's Anshu Banerjee told journalists that the statistics since then look bleak, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis.
A.Jones--AMWN