By Daniel Johnson in Geneva and Ziad Taleb in Gaza
“Continuous” Israeli military evacuation orders in Gaza threaten already extremely vulnerable people in the enclave with further forced displacement, raising concerns that vital services could soon be cut off, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday [].
More than 10 months into the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel that left some 1,250 dead and more than 250 taken hostage, nearly all Gazans have been displaced at least once – and often multiple times – by repeated orders to evacuate and intense Israeli bombardment.
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Aug 13 2024 (IPS)* – Local informal food markets feed millions of urbanites in bustling African cities, but the consequences of tainted food could be illness and death for unsuspecting consumers.
Exclusive: New immigration laws create ‘hierarchy of victims’ that means many are imprisoned and denied help on release.
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Hundreds of modern slavery victims are in prison | Credit: Pexels/Composition by James Battershill
(OpenDemocracy)* 21 August 2024 — Hundreds of modern slavery victims may be being locked up in prisons across England and Wales, an exclusive investigation by openDemocracy can reveal.
The Sahel, this vast arid region stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, a region that has long been a battleground for various forces, shows no signs of abating.
Instead, it is intensifying, drawing in both regional and global powers in a struggle that is as much about resources as it is about ideology and control.
Raïs Neza Boneza
The events surrounding the recent ambush of Malian forces on 25 Jul 2024, near Tinsawaten, on the Mali-Algeria border, underscore the complexity and the scale of this conflict.
The Tinsawaten Ambush: A Turning Point?
The ambush on Malian forces at Tinsawaten, a strategic locality straddling the Mali-Algeria border, marks a significant escalation in the conflict.
(Bangkok) – Rohingya Muslimsin Myanmar are facing the gravest threats since 2017, when the Myanmar military carried out a sweeping campaign of massacres, rape, and arson in northern Rakhine State, Human Rights Watch on 22 August 2024 said.
()* — Leaders from landlocked developing countries, (LLDCs) will gather in Gaborone, Botswana, this December to tackle challenges, explore solutions, and build alliances for a more equitable and prosperous future.
World Bank/Dominic Chavez | Men unload sacks of onions from a truck in Bamako, Mali, a landlocked developing country. Their lack of direct access to the vital trade links often result in landlocked countries paying high transport and transit costs.
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At the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, known as LLDC3, innovative solutions and strategic partnerships will be outlined and leveraged to “unlock the full potential of these nations.” LLDC3 is set to take place from 10-13 December.
Here’s what you need to know about LLDCs and plans for this year’s conference:
(UN News)* —The swift spread of a new virulent strain of the mpox virus across Africa triggered the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it once again a public health emergency of international concern last week.
But, what is it, where did it come from and how can the world deal with the threat, which inevitably raises the spectre of pandemics past such as COVID-19 and the early spread of HIV infections?
NAIROBI, Aug 20 2024 (IPS)* – There is a deadly outbreak of a new and graver variant of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and at least one case has been confirmed in nearly 12 African countries, including those like Kenya, Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda that were previously unaffected.
Kenya has activated all 26 public health emergency operations centers countrywide and prepared laboratories for mpox testing to manage and control an mpox outbreak. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
Suspected mpox cases across these countries have surpassed 17,000, a significant increase from 7,146 cases in 2022 and 14,957 cases in 2023.
Nairobi, 21 August 2024 (IOM)* – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is appealing for USD 18.5 million to provide crucial health-care services to migrants, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and host communities in East, Horn, and Southern Africa at risk of mpox.
Mpox assessment in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: World Health Organization
“The spread of mpox across East, Horn, and Southern Africa is a grave concern, especially for the vulnerable migrant, highly mobile populations and displaced communities often overlooked in such crises,” said Amy Pope, IOM Director General.
War-displaced Gazans on the move yet again, arriving in Khan Younis from the southern city of Rafah. Photo: WFP/Ali Jadallah
Windows shattered by nearby airstrikes. Children crying out from conflict’s psychological blowback. The sense of a hangman’s noose growing ever tighter.
These are some of the stories shared by World Food Programme Gaza employees. Like for hundreds of thousands of fellow Palestinians on the Strip, there is no escaping the 10-month-old war.
Instead, it is intensifying, drawing in both regional and global powers in a struggle that is as much about resources as it is about ideology and control.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 