08/01/2016
Briefing UN Member States on 7 January 2016 on the widely varied and devastating impacts of the current El Niño weather phenomenon – which for months has sparked massive floods in some countries while leaving others, often in the same region, bone dry – the top UN relief official urged the international community to act now to help millions of people facing food insecurity.
A mother carries her daughter as they evacuate from Typhoon Koppu-hit town of Laur, Philippines, on 19 October 2015. The ongoing El Niño pattern is likely to be one of the strongest since 1998 and will continue into early 2016. Photo: UNICEF/Jeoffrey Maitem
“We are here to re-sound the alarm; to spur a collective response to the humanitarian suffering caused by changes in weather patterns linked to El Niño and to take action now to mitigate its effects,” said Stephen O’Brien, the UN Under-Secretary-General for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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Posted in Africa, Latin America & Caribbean, Middle East, Mother Earth, The Peoples |
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08/01/2016
Condemning the demolition by Israeli authorities of the homes of Palestinian Bedouins in the West Bank, a senior United Nations relief official on 7 January 2016 called on Israel to end such destruction and halt its plans to forcibly relocate Bedouin families.
Israeli authorities demolished Bedouin homes in the vulnerable community of Abu Nwar, Area C, near East Jerusalem in the West Bank. Photo: UNRWA
“The humanitarian consequences of this destruction of property are grave and I am seriously concerned, particularly about the children who are now homeless,” said Felipe Sanchez, the Director of West Bank Operations for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
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Posted in Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords |
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08/01/2016
By John Braddock*
5 January 2016 (wsws) – In its biggest military re-armament program since the end of the Vietnam War, the country’s leadership is accelerating a decade-long drive to modernise its armed forces.

**Vietnamese President Trương Tấn Sang with his first lady during the Moscow Victory Day Parade, 9 May 2015 | Kremlin.ru | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. | Wikimedia Commons
A Reuters report, “Vietnam builds military muscle to face China,” published on December 18, said Hanoi was seeking to “deter” China as tensions rise over disputes in the South China Sea. If that fails, Vietnam is rapidly preparing “to be able to defend itself on all fronts” the article claimed.
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Posted in Asia, Market Lords, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords |
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