DAR ES SALAAM, Jan 3 2025 (IPS)* – As the dust settled over Kariakoo’s bustling streets, Halima Abdallah’s voice trembled through the cracks of a collapsed four-story building.
“Help me, please! I don’t get air,” she gasped, trapped under the rubble.
The recent collapse of a high-rise building in Dar es Salaam, killing 16 people and injuring more than 80, has reignited concerns about the city’s disaster preparedness. Credit: Kizito Makoye Shigela/IPS
For four hours, rescue workers scrambled to locate her. Their efforts, hampered by the lack of proper equipment, relied on tools hastily borrowed from a private company. By the time they reached her, it was too late. Abdallah had died.
(UN News)* — The General Assembly wrapped up the main part of its 79th session on Tuesday [], approving a $3.72 billion budget for the United Nations for 2025 and adopting a new programme to support landlocked developing countries.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe | A view of the UN Headquarters, in New York.
Credit: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNOHCR)
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 20 2024 (IPS)* – The United States, long described as a country built largely by immigrants, is planning to clamp down on migrants, refugees and asylum seekers entering the country—which averaged about 2.4 million in 2022-2023, according to the US Congressional Budget Office.
The incoming Trump administration is calling for “mass deportations” of mostly illegal aliens and undocumented workers.
(UN News)* — A senior UN humanitarian official on Thursday [] issued an urgent plea for international support to alleviate the devastating toll of the ongoing war in Sudan, as millions remain in desperate need of aid and protection.
MADRID, Dec 20 2024 (IPS)* – Perhaps demographers would consider designing a new classification system to separate from their estimates of the world’s total population –eight billion plus– the billion humans who live without legal identity and, thus, are deprived from the most basic rights.
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The IOM estimates that one billion people live without legal identity, limiting their access to vital services and restricting their mobility. Credit: Shutterstock
The one billion figure seems to fall short if you consider that there are at least 150 million unregistered births.
(UN News)* —The UN Secretary-General on Thursday [] urged the Security Council to act decisively to establish international guardrails for artificial intelligence (AI), warning that delays could heighten risks to global peace and security.
UNMAS/Martine Perret | Advances in artificial intelligence offer potential to detect landmines and unexploded ordnance, but misuse of this technology could pose significant risks to society.
Addressing ministers and ambassadors, António Guterres warned that rapid developments in AI are outpacing humanity’s ability to govern it, raising important questions about accountability, equality, safety and human oversight in decision-making.
RIYADH & HYDERABAD, Dec 17 2024 (IPS)* – The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 16) concluded early hours of Saturday with a renewed focus on building drought resilience globally.
COP16 in Riyadh launched a drought resilience initiative, which also saw contributions of over USD 12 billion for land restoration and drought resilience. Credit: IISD/ENB
However, the COP also failed to agree on bringing a legally binding drought protocol.
(UN News)* —Tropical Cyclone Chido struck northern Mozambique over the weekend, bringing torrential rains and powerful winds that caused devastation for communities in Cabo Delgado province.
Current assessments show the storm destroyed or damaged over 35,000 homes, displaced thousands of families, and impacted more than 90,000 children, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday [].
According to the latest situation report, at least 174,000 people have been impacted overall but numbers may increase as assessments continue.
MADRID, Dec 17 2024 (IPS)* – Planet Earth is drying up, relentlessly. Over three-quarters of all lands have become permanently drier in the last three decades. This is not jut a statistic but a stark scientific fact. But while such an ‘existential crisis’ affects nearly every region, guess where -and who- are the most hit?
“Without concerted efforts, billions face a future marked by hunger, displacement, and economic decline.” Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS
They are the 1.35 billion humans living in Asia’s drylands, that’s more than half the global total. And they are the 620 millions people who inhabit Africa’s drylands, e.g. nearly half of the continent’s population.
(UN News)* — A new UN plan for Libya aims to overcome political deadlock, put the country back on the path to long-awaited presidential elections and renew the legitimacy of its institutions, the Security Council heard on Monday [].
Stephanie Koury, Deputy Special Representative for Libya and acting head of the UN Support Mission in the country, UNSMIL, briefed ambassadors on the initiative a day after presenting it to the population.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 