'Unseen' News and Views
A UNHCR worker assisting rescued refugees and migrants in Spain. © UNHCR/Markel Redondo
32 people have been on board the Sea Watch 3 vessel since 22 December, while a further 17 were rescued by Sea Eye on 29 December.
Time is increasingly of the essence. Rough seas are expected in the coming hours and conditions on the boats are likely to deteriorate.
Widespread violations against children in conflict continue in shocking year-on-year trend
Photo from UNICEF.
NEW YORK, 28 December 2018 (UNICEF)* – The futures of millions of children living in countries affected by armed conflict are at risk, as warring parties continue to commit grave violations against children, and world leaders fail to hold perpetrators accountable – UNICEF said on 27 December 2018.
“Children living in conflict zones around the world have continued to suffer through extreme levels of violence over the past 12 months, and the world has continued to fail them,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Director of Emergency Programmes.
After uncovering evidence that humanitarian food supplies are being diverted in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital, Sana’a, and other parts of the country, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has demanded an immediate end to the practice.
“This conduct amounts to the stealing of food from the mouths of hungry people,” WFP Executive Director David Beasley said on 31 December 2018.
Prompted by an increasing number of reports that humanitarian food was on sale in the capital, WFP conducted a survey to discover the misappropriation of those supplies.
Spain needs to close every coal mine by Dec. 31, 2018.
Spain will close all coal mines by 2019. | Photo: Reuters FILE | Phto from teleSUR.
30 December 2018 (teleSUR)* — Spain will stop its operations on at least 26 coal mines in 2019, putting an end to the exploitation of said mineral. The mines that will be closed can be found in the communities of Asturias, Aragon and Castilla and Leon.
The closure of these mines will affect more than 2,000 workers that are part of the special regime of coal mining.
The number of employees working on the coal mining industry in 1985 was 51,420.
The coal in Spain is mainly used for the production of electricity from thermal power plants.
At a busy intersection in downtown Kigali, Annick Iriwacu is meticulously going through her shop’s inventory. The Burundian refugee runs a small liquid petroleum gas (LPG) distribution store with her younger brother. Business is booming now, but things were not so rosy when she first arrived in the Rwandan capital three years ago.
“Coming here was not easy because when you reach a place you are not familiar with, you can face a lot of difficulties,” says the 33-year-old mother of three.
Welcome to the murky world of mercenaries and floating armouries…
Additional reporting from Matt Kennard, Timothy Young, Matthew Leger, Susanna Kalaris, Samuel Brownsword, Sean French and Tom Ormson.
Yesterday [19 December 2018], an American man was convicted for killing unarmed civilians whilst on patrol in Iraq. But he wasn’t a member of the US Army. When the incident took place, he was working for the company Blackwater.
Brazilian President-Elect Jair Bolsonaro vows to deregulate gun possession. | Photo: Reuters | Photo from teleSUR.
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29 December 2018 (teleSUR)* — Three days before being sworn-in, Brazil’s far-right President-Elect Jair Bolsonaro stated on Saturday that he intends to sign a decree to allow people with no criminal record to buy guns.
“By decree, we intend to guarantee the POSSESSION of firearms for the citizen without criminal antecedents, as well as make its registration definitive,” Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter.
The loosening of firearms laws was one of the key platforms in Bolosonaro‘s campaign for the 2018 elections. The former army captain will take office on January 1.
Last year, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued “a red alert” over a range of dangers confronting the world, which “still persist” as 2019 looms: “These are anxious times for many, and our world is undergoing a stress test,” the UN chief on 28 December 2018 said in his message for the New Year.
UN Photo/Evan Schneider | Secretary-General António Guterres
He reiterated one of his clarion calls during 2018 over climate change, saying that it was still “running faster than we are,” and that deepening geo-political divisions are making conflicts more difficult to resolve.
Record numbers of people are moving in search of safety and protection, inequality is growing and “people are questioning a world in which a handful of people hold the same wealth as half of humanity,” he said.
Moreover, he stated that intolerance was on the rise while trust is declining.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 