UNITED NATIONS, Jun 24 2019 (IPS) – With a new report projecting a rise in population, specifically in Asia and Africa, the United Nations has warned that continued rapid population growth presents enormous challenges for sustainable development in the world’s 134 developing nations.
24 June 2019 — The looting and destruction of UN food relief agency premises and property in Sudan, has prompted the UN-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and UN Country Team, to condemn the assault as a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.
UNAMID/Albert Gonzalez Farran | UNAMID escorts World Food Programme (WFP) trucks to Shangil Tobaya, North Darfur.
On 19 June, a group of protestors ransacked the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Graida office, in South Darfur, stealing an unspecified amount of money and vandalizing four vehicles. They also invaded and destroyed offices and properties of the humanitarian organization, World Vision International (WVI).
There is a need for “genuine regional dialogue” to address rising tensions in the Gulf, Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations said on Monday [24 June 2019], calling on Secretary-General António Guterres“to play a role” in bringing countries to the table.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe | Majid Takht Ravanchi, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN, briefs journalists during Security Council consultations on the situation in the Middle East, specifically concerning Iran. (24 June 2019)
The international community must not take the generosity of Africans for granted, UN refugee chief, Filippo Grandi, told an informal meeting of Security Council members at UN Headquarters in New York on Monday 24 June 2019.
About 3,340 women, children and men have been given support to restart their lives after falling prey to sexual exploitation or abuse (SEA) by United Nations personnel, thanks to a Trust Fund established in 2016.
MONUSCO/Michael Ali | The UN Trust Fund in support of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse has supported women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo receive vocational trainings like mushroom farming. (October 2018)
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 21 2019 (IPS)*– A recently-released report by the Washington-based Center for Global Development (CGD) shows that generic drugs, like omeprazole (used to treat heartburn), can cost 20-30 times more in low and middle-income countries than in high-income countries.
Food is not a commodity, it is not “stuff” put together mechanically and artificially in labs and factories. Food is life.
Prof. Vandana Shiva
Food holds the contributions of all beings that make the food web, and it holds the potential of maintaining and regenerating the web of life.
Food also holds the potential for health and disease, depending on how it was grown and processed. Food is therefore the living currency of the web of life.
As an ancient Upanishad reminds us “Everything is food, everything is something else’s food. “
21 June 2019 (UN Environment)* — Exposure to asbestos has been a long-standing issue, threatening the health of both the environment and human population for centuries.
Photo by flickr/ Patrick Alexander
Hundreds of millions of people are exposed to the toxin worldwide each year, despite its known health risks. One study from the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health estimates that roughly 250,000 people die as a result of asbestos exposure annually.
Digital currencies have great potential, but ceding control to a cartel of tech companies is not the answer.
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Image: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0
21 June 2019 (openDemocracy)* — Facebook sent shockwaves through the world of finance this week with its vision to create ‘Libra’ – “a simple global currency and financial infrastructure that empowers billions of people”.
A Last Ditch Strategy to Fight for Human Survival.
It will occur by 2026 a projected 10 degree Celsius increase in global temperatures | Image from Wall Street International.
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23 June 2019 (Wall Street International)* – There is almost unanimous agreement among climate scientists and organizations – that is, 97% of over 10,000 climate scientists and the various scientific organizations engaged in climate science research – that human beings have caused a dramatic increase in the amount of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide released into Earth’s atmosphere since the pre-industrial era and that this is driving the climate catastrophe that continues to unfold1.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 