VILLA DE ZAACHILA, Mexico, Aug 13 2019 (IPS)* – Reyna Díaz cooks beans, chicken, pork and desserts in her solar cooker, which she sets up in the open courtyard of her home in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of this town in southwestern Mexico.| En español
When the Federal Reserve cut interest rates on July 31st for the first time in more than a decade, commentators were asking why.
Ellen Brown
According to official data, the economy was rebounding, unemployment was below 4%, and GDP growth was above 3%. If anything, by the Fed’s own reasoning, it should have been raising rates.
The explanation of market pundits was that we’re in a trade war and a currency war.
Other central banks were cutting their rates and the Fed had to follow suit, in order to prevent the dollar from becoming overvalued relative to other currencies.
The theory is that a cheaper dollar will make American products more attractive on foreign markets, helping our manufacturing and labor bases.
15 August 2019 — To mark next week’s International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, UN News travelled to Chad and the Far North region of Cameroon in West Africa earlier in the year, to interview people who have personal stories to tell about how terrorism has shattered their lives.*
UN News/Daniel Dickinson | 25-year old Kedra Abakar was abducted from his home on the the island of Ngomiron Doumou in Lake Chad by extremists from the Boko Haram terrorist group. (9 February 2019)
In 2015, the island of Ngomiron Doumou in Lake Chad was attacked by armed extremists who said they belonged to the outlawed Boko Haram group. The island is home to some 5,750 people.
GENEVA, 15 August 2019 (UNICEF)* – “It is unconscionable that once again politics have been prioritized over saving the lives of children who are stranded on the Mediterranean Sea.
UNICEF/UN020020/Gilbertson VII Photo | FILE Photo: Gambian boys walk past a graveyard of ships used by Libyan Smugglers to transport migrants and refugees to Italy, at port next to a government Hot Spot – a reception center that doubles as a lodging station for unaccompanied minors in Pozzallo, Sicily, on May 17, 2016. In the past boats were captured and sent to these grave yards, but due to the high numbers, today they are burned at sea by the coast guard.
13 August 2019 (UNHCR)* — UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, on 13 August 2019 called on European governments to allow the immediate disembarkation of 507 people recently rescued on the Central Mediterranean who remain stranded at sea. |Español | Français | عربي
Many are reportedly survivors of appalling abuses in Libya and are from refugee-producing countries. They are in need of humanitarian assistance and some have already expressed an intention to seek international protection.
A number of commentators have linked the killing of 20 people at a Walmart store in El Paso in the United States of America on Sat 3 Aug 2019 to the rising tide of White Supremacism.
White Supremacism is a belief that whites are superior to others and therefore have a right to dominate them.
There were elements of such thinking in a “manifesto” posted online allegedly written by the suspected killer, a a 21-year-old white from a Dallas suburb.
The suspect had justified his massacre as a response “to the Hispanic invasion of Texas” and had made references to the Christchurch (New Zealand) shootings in March this year where a white gunman killed 51 mosque worshippers.
14 August 2019 (Norwegian Refugee Council)* — One year after the worst drought on record forced nearly half a million Afghans to leave their homes, many families remain in tents on the outskirts of Herat city. Unable to return home due to ongoing conflict, they struggle to survive as support is cut back.
Photo: NRC/Enayatullah Azad. These children are getting water from a poultry farm.
FAO urges Asian countries to maintain strict control measures.
Almost 5 million pigs in Asia have now died or been culled because of the spread of African swine fever (ASF), a contagious viral disease that affects pigs and that was first detected in Asia one year ago this month.
ROME, 9 August 2019 (FAO)* – Almost 5 million pigs in Asia have now died or been culled because of the spread of African swine fever (ASF), a contagious viral disease that affects domestic and wild pigs and that was first detected in Asia one year ago this month.
While not dangerous to humans, the disease causes up to 100% fatality in pigs, leading to severe economic losses to the pig sector.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 