
-
Tsunoda embracing pressure of Red Bull debut at home Japanese GP
-
'Outstanding' Hay shines as New Zealand seal Pakistan ODI series
-
El Salvador's Bukele flaunts 'iron fist' alliance with Trump
-
Stock markets mixed as uncertainty rules ahead of Trump tariffs
-
China probes for key target weak spots with 'paralysing' Taiwan drills
-
'Top Gun' and Batman star Val Kilmer dies aged 65: New York Times
-
US lawmakers seek to rename street for Hong Kong's jailed Jimmy Lai
-
Greece to spend big on 'historic' military shake up
-
Trump faces first electoral setback after Wisconsin Supreme Court vote
-
Hay shines as New Zealand beat Pakistan for ODI series win
-
Israel says expands Gaza offensive to seize 'large areas'
-
Curry drops 52 as Warriors win, Jokic bags career-high 61 in Denver loss
-
South Korea mobilising 'all resources' for violence-free Yoon verdict
-
Myanmar quake victim rescued after 5 days as aid calls grow
-
Real Madrid coach Ancelotti tax fraud trial set to begin
-
Warner showcases 'Superman' reboot, new DiCaprio film
-
'Incredible' Curry scores 52 as Warriors down Grizzlies, Bucks edge Suns
-
Asian markets edge up but uncertainty rules ahead of Trump tariffs
-
Nintendo's megahit Switch console: what to know
-
Nintendo to unveil upgrade to best-selling Switch console
-
China practises hitting key ports, energy sites in Taiwan drills
-
Oil, sand and speed: Saudi gearheads take on towering dunes
-
All eyes on Tsunoda at Japan GP after ruthless Red Bull move
-
'Image whisperers' bring vision to the blind at Red Cross museum
-
Hay shines as New Zealand make 292-8 in Pakistan ODI
-
Other governments 'weaponising' Trump language to attack NGOs: rights groups
-
UK imposes online entry permit on European visitors
-
How a Brazilian chief is staving off Amazon destruction
-
Meme politics: White House embraces aggressive alt-right online culture
-
China launches military drills in Taiwan Strait
-
US senator smashes record with 25-hour anti-Trump speech
-
Brazil binman finds newborn baby on garbage route
-
US senator smashes record with marathon anti-Trump speech
-
Trump advisor Waltz faces new pressure over Gmail usage
-
Niger junta frees ministers of overthrown government
-
Trump set to unleash 'Liberation Day' tariffs
-
Boeing chief to acknowledge 'serious missteps' at US Senate hearing
-
Real Madrid hold Real Sociedad in eight-goal thriller to reach Copa del Rey final
-
Nuno salutes 'special' Elanga after stunning strike fires Forest
-
PSG survive scare against Dunkerque to reach French Cup final
-
Sundowns edge Esperance as crowd violence mars quarter-final
-
Nottingham Forest beat Man Utd, Saka scores on Arsenal return
-
Elanga wonder-goal sinks Man Utd as Forest eye Champions League berth
-
Stock markets mostly advance ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
US movie theaters urge 45-day 'baseline' before films hit streaming
-
Saka scores on return as Arsenal beat Fulham
-
Third-division Bielefeld shock holders Leverkusen in German Cup
-
Ball-blasting 'Torpedo bats' making waves across MLB opening weekend
-
Newsmax shares surge more than 2,000% in days after IPO
-
Thousands of Hungarians protest against Pride ban law

Global goals on fighting poverty, inequality 'in peril': UN
The goals the world set to ease extreme poverty, improve access to drinking water and take steps toward sustainable development for all humanity are "in peril," the United Nations has said in a report published Monday.
"Unless we act now, the 2030 Agenda could become an epitaph for a world that might have been," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns in a preamble to a report assessing the UN's Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
In 2015, UN member states adopted 17 goals intended to build a better, more sustainable future for the entire globe by the end of this decade.
"But halfway to 2030, that promise is in peril," the report says, with more than half the world likely to be left behind.
The sustainable development goals are "disappearing in the rear-view mirror."
Experts assessed 140 target areas established under the Sustainable Development Goals, ranging from access to health care and the fight against climate change to combating inequality and leveling access to energy, the report notes.
On more than 30 percent of the targets, either no progress has been reported or even regression has been noted since 2015, and moderate or severe deviation from the desired trajectory has been seen in about half of them.
For example, the Covid-19 pandemic ended a downward trend in extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $2.15 a day.
But at the current rate, 575 million people will still be living in such conditions in 2030, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. That is down 30 percent since 2015, but far from the hoped-for eradication, the report says.
"Shockingly, the world is back at hunger levels not seen since 2005," the report says.
Around one in three people (2.3 billion) faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2021, and child malnutrition is still a "global concern," it notes.
"Approximately 1.1 billion people currently live in slums or slum-like conditions in cities, with two billion more expected in the next 30 years," it says.
- Gender equality progress 'too slow' -
The pandemic, which highlighted the fragility of many advances, has had a "devastating" impact on education.
Without new measures, only one country in six will reach the goal of universal access to secondary education by 2030, and 84 million children will not attend school, the report says.
In terms of gender equality, the report highlights "too slow" progress, noting that at the current rate, it would take 286 years to close the gap in legal protection and to abolish discriminatory laws, and 300 years to end child marriage.
And developing countries, "buried under a mountain of debt," are "the hardest hit by our collective failure to invest in the Sustainable Development Goals," said Guterres, who repeatedly called for reform of international financial institutions.
"We cannot persist with a morally bankrupt financial system and expect developing countries to meet targets that developed countries met with far fewer constraints," the report adds.
Against this backdrop, the UN is calling for a September 18-19 summit to adopt "a rescue plan" for the goals.
This would seek a strong new political commitment from member states, as well as support for Guterres's proposal for a stimulus package of an additional $500 billion per year by 2030 to finance sustainable development.
Despite the gloomy picture painted by the report, the UN does point to some hopeful signs.
Infant mortality, for example, fell by 12 percent between 2015 and 2021, and by 2030, almost 150 countries are expected to meet their targets in this area.
Internet access has increased significantly, with 5.3 billion people connected by 2022, while the number of AIDS-related deaths has fallen by 52 percent since 2010.
Since 2015, the proportion of the population with access to safe drinking water or sanitation has also increased.
But as with many of the UN targets, progress does not mean success: 2.2 billion people still had no access to safe drinking water in 2022, and 419 million had no choice but to relieve themselves in the open.
D.Moore--AMWN