Over half of all children aged two to 17 worldwide – some one billion – are estimated to suffer some form of violence, such as child maltreatment (including corporal punishment, the most prevalent form of childhood violence), physical or emotional abuse and sexual violence.
Rakhine is home to the mostly-Muslim Rohingya community
By Vibhu Mishra
(UN News)* —Up to two million people in Myanmar’s Rakhine state face the dire prospect of famine, amid a broader economic collapse and worsening humanitarian crisis triggered by the military’s 2021 overthrow of the democratically elected government.
In a report released on Thursday [], the UN Development Programme (UNDP) described the situation in the poverty-struck province as an “unprecedented disaster”.
Every 4 minutes, somewhere in the world, a child is killed by an act of violence
UNICEF/UNI585641/Tremeau
NEW YORK, 4 November 2024 (UNICEF)* -— As world leaders, civil society, advocates, survivors, and young people gather this week for the inaugural Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in Bogotá, Colombia, UNICEF is calling for urgent action to combat violence that devastates the lives of millions of children worldwide.
Violence against children – whether physical, emotional, or sexual – is a global crisis happening in homes, schools, communities, and online.
(UN News)* — The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has called for “urgent international support” as the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide reaches 123 million, with ongoing conflicts in Lebanon, Sudan and other areas driving further displacement.
In a statement to the Third Committee of the General Assembly, Mr. Grandi highlighted the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation in Lebanon, where Israeli airstrikes have caused massive civilian casualties and infrastructure damage, including schools, hospitals and roads. .“The humanitarian consequences are overwhelming and require urgent international support,” he stated, noting that 470,000 people have crossed into Syria in recent weeks.
NEW YORK, Nov 8 2024 (IPS)* – On the day following the US election, UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres issued a brief statement commending the people of the United States for their active participation in the democratic process.
Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, addresses the General Debate of the General Assembly’s 75th session September 2020. Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas
Geneva, 6 November 2024 – Climate change is taking a toll on the six countries of the Caucasus, causing glaciers to shrink and impacting river flows, finds a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report launched ahead of the UNFCCC COP29.
Photo credit: Ansgar Fellendorf
Glaciers have already retreated by an average of 600 metres over the past century, while more than 11 billion tonnes of freshwater — previously stored in ice — has been lost since the year 2000, according to the second edition of the Caucasus Environment Outlook (CEO-2) report.
MANAMA & NAIROBI, Nov 7 2024 (IPS)* –The Arab region is among the most water-scarce areas globally, as nearly 392 million people live in countries facing water scarcity or absolute water scarcity.
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Forum of Arab Parliamentarians on Population and Development met in Bahrain to to address water scarcity. Credit: APDA
So dire is the situation that, of the 22 Arab countries, 19 fall below the annual threshold for water scarcity in renewable resources, defined as 1,000 cubic meters per person. Worst still, 13 countries fall below the absolute water scarcity threshold of 500 cubic meters per person per year.
The carbon footprint of a super-rich European, accumulated from nearly a week of using super yachts and private jets, matches the lifetime carbon footprint of someone in the world’s poorest 1 percent, a new Oxfam report on 28 October 2024 reveals.
The first-of-its-kind study, “Carbon Inequality Kills”, tracks the emissions from private jets, yachts and polluting investments and comes ahead of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, amidst growing fears that climate breakdown is accelerating, driven largely by the emissions of the richest people.
“The super-rich in Europe are treating our planet like their personal playground. Their dirty investments, their private jets and yachts are not just symbols of excess; they are fuelling inequality, hunger and even death”, said Chiara Putaturo, Oxfam EU tax expert.
TUCSON, Arizona, US, Nov 4 2024 (IPS)* – A small incident in the mounting mayhem of the 2024 elections crystalized the state of the dark art of politics in these United States. In Springfield, Ohio, a small midwestern industrial city, a woman named Anna Kilgore noticed that her cat, Miss Sassy, had been missing for a few days. Kilgore notified the police that she feared her kitty might have been caught and eaten by the Haitian immigrants who lived next door.
Artist’s conception of Miss Sassy chilling at the day spa (Actually, our kitten Brinca chilling at the day spa). Photo: Peter Costantini
A few days later, Miss Sassy showed up in Kilgore’s basement, uneaten. The woman, to her credit, apologized to her neighbors.
24 Oct 2024 – It’s been a long time but worth remembering, if you can, that when the Twin Towers and Building 7 at the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11, 2001, the whole world watched in horror.
Edward J. Curtin
The events of that day were repeated on television over and over and over again, to the point where they became afterimages lodged in people’s minds.
As a result, although the buildings were not brought down by the impact of planes (no plane hit Building 7) but by explosives planted in the buildings (see this and this, among extensive evidence), most people thought otherwise, just as they thought that the subsequent linked anthrax attacks were directed by Osama bin Laden when they were eventually proven to have originated from a U.S. military lab (thus an inside job), and, as a result of a massive Bush administration/corporate media propaganda campaign, most Americans supported the invasion of Afghanistan, the subsequent invasion of Iraq, and decades of endless wars that continue to this day, bringing us to the edge of nuclear war with Iran and Russia.