'Unseen' News and Views
(UN News)* — More than 800 people died last year crossing deserts, rivers and remote lands while migrating across the Americas, making 2019 one of deadliest years on record, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday [28 January 2020].
(UN News)* — The UN Special Envoy for Yemen told an emergency session of the Security Council on Tuesday [28 January 2020] that a recent upsurge in violence between pro-Government and rebel forces following weeks of relative calm, had to end “before it’s too late”.
DAYLESFORD, Australia, 28 January 2020 — As we approach the 72nd anniversary of the assassination of Mohandas K. Gandhi on 30 January 1948, it is worth reflecting on one simple fact that he did not realize.
Robert J. Burrowes,
His efforts to teach humanity that conflict, including violent conflict, could be resolved without violence were based on one fundamentally flawed assumption: that at least some humans were interested in, and committed to, seeking out and using nonviolent strategies for dealing with conflict in each and every context.
27 January 2020 (UN News)* — A surge in violence in the central Sahel region in Africa means nearly five million children will need humanitarian assistance this year, up from 4.3 million, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
OXFAM International* — Extreme inequality is out of control. Hundreds of millions of people are living in extreme poverty while huge rewards go to those at the very top. There are more billionaires than ever before, and their fortunes have grown to record levels. Meanwhile, the world’s poorest got even poorer.
The growing gap between rich and poor is undermining the fight against poverty, damaging our economies and tearing our societies apart. Yet inequality is not inevitable – it is a political choice. Photo: Eleanor Farmer/Oxfam
– Donald Trump, the vociferously unpredictable US president, has long chastised China for seeking “unfair” advantage over trade and tariffs, violating intellectual property rights and “manipulating” the country’s currency to its advantage.
Credit: SIPRI
14 January 2020 (UN Environment)* – Megafires, typically defined as covering more than 100,000 acres (40,000 hectares or 400 square kilometres), are accelerated by high temperatures and drought. By the close of 2019, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Russian Federation and the United States all experienced megafires on what many have called unprecedented scales.
The Australian 2019–2020 bushfire season is already on track to be one of the worst on record. The twin weather extremes of drought and heatwaves, driven by climate change, only increase the risk of recurring catastrophic fire seasons for Australia. Taking climate action is necessary if we don’t want this to become the new normal.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 