Archive for January 9th, 2020

09/01/2020

Billionaires Beware

Human Wrongs Watch

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 2020 (IPS)* – The latest November 2019 UBS/PwC Billionaires Reportcounted 2,101 billionaires globally, or 589 more than five years before. Earlier, Farhad Manjoo had seriously recommended, ‘Abolish Billionaires’, presenting a moral case against the super-rich as they have and get far, far more than what they might reasonably claim to deserve.

Manjoo also argues that unless billionaires’ economic and political power is cut, and their legitimacy cast in doubt, they will continue to abuse power to further augment their fortunes and influence, in ways detrimental to the economic, social and public good.

Benign billionaires?
In defence of billionaires, Josef Stadler, head of ultra-high net worth at UBS Global Wealth Management, argued that their wealth “has also translated into their philanthropy, as billionaires seek new ways to engineer far-reaching environmental and social change.”

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09/01/2020

‘Unprecedented Terrorist Violence’ in West Africa, Sahel region

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)*The top UN official in West Africa and the Sahel updated the Security Council on Wednesday [8 January 2020], describing an “unprecedented” rise in terrorist violence across the region.

@OCHA/Eve Sabbagh | A girl runs outside a small community school in Korioume, Mali, where children lack basic equipment, including notepads and pens. Parts of the school have been attacked and in 2013 the village was a Jihadist stronghold.
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09/01/2020

Spread of Polio Still an International Public Health Concern

The spread of polio internationally remains a global public health concern, experts meeting in Geneva have concluded. (*).

© UNICEF/Frank Dejongh | A young girl receives a vaccination against polio from a health worker in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The opinion comes in a statement released on Tuesday [7 January 2020] following the latest meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) that provides technical advice on international public health emergencies.

09/01/2020

Countries Urged to Step Up Assistance to DR Congo Which Is Facing the World’s Worst Deadly Measles Epidemic

Human Wrongs Watch

7 January 2020 (UN News)*Countries are being asked to step up assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which is facing the world’s worst measles epidemic, with more than 6,000 deaths since the start of last year.  The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said some 310,000 suspected cases of the disease have been reported since then.

© UNICEF/Karel Prinsloo | A mother holds her 3-month-old baby as he receives a vaccination against measles at a health centre in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.