Jehad Abusalim, a Palestinian now living in the United States, grew up in Gaza. In Chicago last week, addressing activists committed to breaking the siege of Gaza, he held up a stack of 31 papers. On each page were names of 1,254 Palestinians living in Gaza who had been killed in just one month of Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” attacks five years ago.
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 25 2019 (IPS)* – Human trafficking for sexual exploitation has been steadily increasing in Canada. The most recent statistics indicate that 2016 had the highest recorded rate of human trafficking, with one police-reported incident for every 100,000 people in Canada. Despite these staggering numbers, reported cases make up just a small part of a larger, secretive industry where most incidents of sex trafficking fall under the radar.
30 July 2019 (United Nations)* — Human trafficking is a heinous crime that affects every region of the world. Some 72 per cent of detected victims are women and girls, and the percentage of child victims has more than doubled from 2004 to 2016, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Most detected victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation; victims are also trafficked for forced labour, recruitment as child soldiers and other forms of exploitation and abuse.
Traffickers and terrorist groups prey on the vulnerable, from people in poverty to those caught up in war or who face discrimination.
Graziano da Silva receives award for lifelong commitment to eradicating malnutrition
Children in Syria collect spinach from their school garden established by FAO.
ROME (FAO)* – FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva on 26 July 2019 made his strongest appeal yet for tougher measures to combat the global obesity pandemic, urging the use of concrete fiscal and legal policies to promote healthier diets.
“It’s unbelievable, but it’s difficult to find and buy healthy food in our cities today,” Graziano da Silva said, adding that there are numerous policy tools to improve the accessibility and affordability of healthier diets.
The UN General Assembly has urged the international community to step up efforts to eradicate forced labour and child labour, and declared 2021 as the Year for the Elimination of Child Labour.| Español | Français
GENEVA, 26 July 2019 (ILO News)* – The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has unanimously adopted a resolution declaring 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour, and has asked the International Labour Organization to take the lead in its implementation.
Progress being made in fight against tobacco, but increased action needed to help people quit deadly products
WHO/S. Volkov TOBACCO – Tobacco kills more than 7 million people each year. Thanks to WHO and partners, tobacco control measures, such as graphic warnings on cigarette packs, advertising bans and smoke-free laws, protect two-thirds of the world’s population.
Geneva/Rio de Janeiro, 26 July 2019 (WHO)* — Many governments are making progress in the fight against tobacco, with 5 billion people today living in countries that have introduced smoking bans, graphic warnings on packaging and other effective tobacco control measures – four times more people than a decade ago.
The prime minister’s new team has strong links to leading corporate lobbyists – they are representing the ultra-rich who want to shape Brexit.
Boris Johnson’s cabinet, including a number of corporate lobbyists | Aaron Chown/PA Wire/PA Images (Photo posted here from openDemocracy).
27 July 2019 (openDemocracy)* — The lobbyists are taking control. The firms which ensure that the rich and powerful have more of a say in our politics than the typical British citizen are now at the heart of the cabinet.
27 July 2019 (Wall Street International)* — Trump’s tweet calling on the four Democratic congresswomen of color to go back to their “broken and crime infested” countries must have been soothing music to egos of his base.
In fact, in defending his comments, Trump declared that “many people agree with me.” His tweets made them feel whole and “white” again.
PEMBA, Zambia, Jul 26 2019 (IPS)* – Jennifer Handondo, a small scale farmer of Choma district in southern Zambia, plants food crops such as maize mostly for her family’s needs.
Lucky Choolwe, a field facilitator for Grassroots Trust in Zambia, which engages with land owners and policy-makers to regenerate eco-systems, conducts a practical session with farmers on FMNR. Courtesy: Friday Phiri.
DAYLESFORD, Australia, 27 July 2019 — I have previously written a summary of the interrelated psychological, sociological, political-economic, military, nuclear, ecological and climate threats to human survival on Earth which threaten human extinction by 2026. See ‘Human Extinction by 2026? A Last Ditch Strategy to Fight for Human Survival’.