Earliest 16-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl | Image from Wall Street International.
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And the volcano says:
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And from me, they create fairytales and tell legends; they say that in my hollows the goddess waits silently, like the radiant sap flowing through my lanes, slipping between my walls, my slopes and my plains; because I am an entrance and at the same time an exit… , as every day I offer it to them; to those who love me, to those who live in me..
Winning the race against climate change to keep our planet livable and on a healthy trajectory requires action rooted in sustainable solutions aligned with the Paris Agreement and the UN-driven 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, Secretary-General António Guterres said on 27 April 2019.
UN China/Zhao Yun | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends the Leader’s Roundtable on Promoting Green and Sustainable Development to Implement the
2030 Agenda in Beijing, China
“To put it simply, we need green development. We need sustainable development. And we need it now,” the UN chief told world leaders in Beijing, discussing ways to boost green development as part of a conference on China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
26 April 2019 — More than three decades after the devastating explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, parts of Belarus’ adjoining regions have sprung back to life and the biggest of them, Homiel, has become a leading destination for domestic and international investors.
UNDP Belarus/Siarhei Hapon | Restoration work is underway in Chernobyl-affected areas, 33 years after the disaster. (April 2019)
Sixty per cent of Homiel’s produce – comprising meat, dairy products and handicraft – are exported to neighboring regions and countries while the region attracted $17.7 billion worth of domestic and foreign Investment between 2011 and 2017, representing just over 15 percent of the country’s total direct investment during that period.
24 April 2019 (UN Women)* — Durga Sob is a Nepalese activist who founded the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO) in 1994, just ahead of the adoption of the visionary Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. She is among the 500 activists meeting in Tunisia from 24-26 April for the Tunis Forum on Gender Equality to take stock of the progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration, nearly 25 years on.
Durga Sob. Photo: UN Women/Emad Karim
“Over a journey of 25 years, we have seen many peaks and plains…
The status of women in Nepal used to be very low. Child marriage was rampant; women were limited to household chores, deprived of education, health and employment opportunities, among others.
There was very limited representation and participation of women in politics.
Worldwide, over 12 million hectares — roughly the surface area of Nicaragua — disappeared during 2018, the WRI said.
An aerial view shows illegal deforestation close to the Amazonia National Park in Brazil May 25, 2012. | Photo: Reuters | Photo from teleSUR.
26 April 2019 (teleSUR)* — Over 12 million hectares — roughly the surface area of Nicaragua — disappeared during 2018, the World Resources Institute (WRI) stated this week, adding that 3.64 million hectares were occupied by virgin forests, fundamental for climate and biodiversity.
Aden, 26 April 2019 (IOM)*– Authorities have rounded up and arbitrarily detained over 2,000 irregular migrants, predominantly Ethiopian nationals, in Aden, Yemen, since Sunday, creating an acute humanitarian situation, to which aid organizations are rapidly responding.
26 April 2019 (UN Environment)* — Hundreds of thousands of children across the world took to the streets in March to demand that governments move faster to protect the environment. The unprecedented “youthquake” seemed to signal a new era and world leaders sat up and paid attention.
26 April 2019 (Wall Street International)* — Class oppression is as pervasive and deep a cultural phenomenon as racism in American society. The 2016 election of Donald Trump as President widened the class chasm and brought bubbling to the surface like a raging volcano the anger and ills of “the other” Americans. In this case, “the other” does not refer to blacks, browns, or yellows but rather working class and poor whites.
The Democratic Party – the Party of the People – because of a creeping establishment disdain for working class and poor whites did not fully understand or address their needs to feel worthy, upwardly mobile recipients of the American Dream.
26 April 2019 (teleSUR)* — The Amazonian Waorani community in Ecuador celebrated a significant legal victory Friday. A court in the Pastaza region ruled that the government had violated their rights when it sought to drill for oil on their land.
“Today, the courts recognize that the Waorani people, and all Indigenous peoples, have rights over our territories that must be respected,” was how the Coordinating Council of the Waorani Nationality of Ecuador Pastaza (CONCONAWEP) summed up the verdict.
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 26 2019 (IPS)* – When US political leaders urged the Trump administration to either reduce or cut off arms supplies to Saudi Arabia – largely as a punishment for its indiscriminate bombings of civilians in the four-year old military conflict in Yemen—President Trump provided a predictable response: “If we don’t sell arms to Saudi Arabia, the Chinese and the Russians will.”
Perhaps in theory it’s plausible, but in practice it’s a long shot primarily because switching weapons systems from Western to Chinese and Russian arms— particularly in the middle of a devastating war– could be a long drawn out process since it involves maintenance, servicing, training, military advice and uninterrupted supplies of spares.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 