Archive for ‘Africa’

23/08/2023

DR Congo: With 25.8 Million People Unable to Meet Basic Food Needs, UN Aid Hangs in the Balance amid Severe Funding Crunch

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is grappling with a dire humanitarian crisis fuelled by ongoing political instability and armed conflicts, severely impacting the entire food supply, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday [].

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About 25.8 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo cannot meet their basic food needs.
© WFP/Michael Castofas | About 25.8 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo cannot meet their basic food needs.

The situation is particularly alarming in the east, where malnutrition has taken hold among 4.4 million people, exacerbated by compromised health services, lack of clean water, and an uptick in gender-based violence, highlighted Peter Musoko, WFP Country Director, during a press briefing in Geneva.

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23/08/2023

DR Congo: An Unprecedented Crisis Goes Ignored

23 August 2023 — Recent months have brought a dramatic deterioration in the situation in eastern DR Congo, where countless civilians are attacked with impunity. Extreme levels of violence, hunger, and displacement receive scant funding, media apathy, and neglect. The outside world is neglecting a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions in a region where humanitarian needs have been enormous for decades.
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Screenshot 2023-08-22 at 22.20.59

NRC’s Secretary General Jan Egeland visited Nyamusasi camp in Ituri province in eastern DR Congo 22 August. NRC supports the camp, including with education, shelter, cash assistance, and sanitation.

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22/08/2023

Background of the War in Ukraine

Human Wrongs Watch

By John Scales Avery, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service*

Project for a New American Century

The Project for a New American Century was a Washington-based  “think tank” founded in 1997 by William Kristal and Robert Kagen.

John-Scales-Avery

John Scales Avery

The basic idea behind the organization was that since the United States had emerged as the world’s sole surviving superpower, the country should increase its military spending and use its military power to promote US interests and values throughout the world.

Global Hegemony through Military Force

In recent years, the United States has aimed at “full spectrum dominance”, military dominance over all other nations, global hegemony through military force, and the construction of an empire.

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22/08/2023

Mobilizing for War with China: U.S. Hawks Target “Code Pink”

Human Wrongs Watch

By Richard E. Rubenstein – TRANSCEND Media Service*

For anti-war activists, the preparations for a major war have an aspect that is literally nightmarish. In this bad dream, one watches as if physically or morally paralyzed while a menacing situation approaches step by step until it is too late to avert a foreseeable disaster.

richard-rubenstein

Richard E. Rubenstein

This is exactly how one feels watching the United States government prepare for a military confrontation with China. 

The technical aspects of this preparation remain largely under wraps, except for demonstrative military exercises and occasional impolitic statements like Air Force General Mike Minihan’s remark last January, “My gut tells me that we will fight in 2025.” 

But the civilian aspects of this mobilization are increasingly evident and alarming.

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22/08/2023

Saudi Arabia: Mass Killings of Migrants at Yemen Border

Human Wrongs Watch

By Human Rights Watch*

Systematic Abuses of Ethiopians May Amount to Crimes Against Humanity

Read a text description of this video
  • Saudi border guards have killed at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers who tried to cross the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023.
  • Saudi officials are killing hundreds of women and children out of view of the rest of the world while they spend billions on sports-washing to try to improve their image.

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20/08/2023

Despite Growing Risks, Humanitarians Uphold Commitment to Serve #NoMatterWhat

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Conflict and insecurity in countries such as South Sudan and its neighbour to the north are set to make 2023 another year of high death tolls and and injuries for aid workers in the field, the UN warned on Thursday []. 

Displaced people fleeing the crisis in Sudan arrive in Renk, South Sudan.
© UNOCHA/Iramaku Vundru Wilfred | Displaced people fleeing the crisis in Sudan arrive in Renk, South Sudan.

The grim forecast comes ahead of World Humanitarian Day, commemorated annually on 19 August.

Since the start of the year, 62 aid workers have been killed, 84 have been wounded and 34 kidnapped, the UN said, citing provisional data from the independent research organization Humanitarian Outcomes. Last year, the death toll reached 116.

South Sudan remains the most dangerous place to be a humanitarian. Forty attacks and 22 fatalities have been reported there as of 16 August.

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20/08/2023

Scorching ‘New Normal’ as World Buckles under Extreme Heat: World Meteorological Organization

(UN News)* — Heatwaves sweeping large parts of the world offer yet another reminder that extreme weather events boosted by human-induced climate change have become “the new normal”, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Friday [].

Rising sea levels are threatening the future of low-lying islands in the South-West Pacific.
© WMO/João Murteira | Rising sea levels are threatening the future of low-lying islands in the South-West Pacific.

Weather agency Spokesperson Clare Nullis said that heat warnings have been issued by many weather services across Europe this week, including in France, Germany, Poland and Switzerland.

Meanwhile, parts of the Middle East were expected to see temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius in the coming days, and Japan was experiencing a “prolonged” heatwave which shattered temperature records.

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19/08/2023

The Silent Bites: A Wake-Up Call for Rabies Awareness

Human Wrongs Watch

11 August 2023 (WHO)*Rabies, a deadly viral disease, continues to have a profound impact on communities throughout Africa, causing progressive and fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. However, the good news is that rabies is 100% vaccine-preventable.

vaccinating-dogs-is-the-most-cost-effective-strategy-for-preventing-rabies-meseline-mulokozi

Vaccinating dogs, including puppies, is the most costeffective strategy for preventing rabies in people because it stops the transmission at its source.” Meseline Mulokozi

19/08/2023

Sudan: Four Months of Conflict ‘Destroying People’s Lives and Violating Their Basic Human Rights’

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — After four months of war in Sudan, UN humanitarians on Tuesday [] called for action to be taken to end the conflict which is having a “devastating impact” on people’s lives, health and well-being.

People continue to be displaced by conflict in Sudan.
UN Photo/Albert González Farran | People continue to be displaced by conflict in Sudan.

In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned that the “disastrous, senseless war in Sudan, born out of a wanton drive for power, has resulted in thousands of deaths, the destruction of family homes, schools, hospitals and other essential services, massive displacement, as well as sexual violence, in acts which may amount to war crimes”.

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19/08/2023

DR Congo: Children Facing Worst Cholera Outbreak in Six Years

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)*A spike in conflict and displacement in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is pushing children into the worst cholera crisis since 2017, warns UNICEF.

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Amina Bakunda is a doctor at the UNICEF-supported Cholera Treatment Center in Bulengo, a site for displaced persons in North Kivu province, DR Congo.
© UNICEF/Benekire | Amina Bakunda is a doctor at the UNICEF-supported Cholera Treatment Center in Bulengo, a site for displaced persons in North Kivu province, DR Congo.

Across the country, there have been at least 31,342 suspected or confirmed cholera cases and 230 deaths in the first seven months of 2023 – many of them children.

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