$72.9 billion. That’s how much nine countries spent on nuclear weapons in 2019. In a just-released report, ICAN produced the first estimate in nearly a decade of global nuclear weapon spending, taking into account costs to maintain and build new nuclear weapons.
That amounts to $138,699 spent in the world on nuclear weapons per minute. Global nuclear spending rose $7.1 billion from 2018, in line with total military spending which rose dramatically from 2018 to 2019.
Nuclear weapons production leaves a nasty legacy both for people and the environment. Around the world, nuclear weapons facilities have contaminated land and water with radioactive waste lasting at least 100,000 years. Efforts to clean up the sites have cost billions of dollars over decades – and are still largely unfinished.
The five case studies below provide just a preliminary look into the devastating global environmental consequences of building the bomb.
29 May 2020 (Wall Street International)* — This article describes five world records of mental calculation and memorization to better understand working memory and image schemata from a cognitive perspective set by Paolo Fabiani. The purpose of the records is to demonstrate that the potential and limits of working memory are closely connected with the image schemes1.
28 May 2020 (UN Environment)* — Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, families and businesses around the Adriatic Sea were faced with a serious threat. One of the countries hardest-hit by coastal erosion in Europe, almost a third of Albania’s 427km coastline is being eroded by violent waves. And the challenge is accelerating at an alarming speed due to climate-induced storm surges and rising sea levels.
Photo by UNEP / Lisa Murray
“One time I was driving my children to school when the sea came in front of me and flooded the car,” explains Pati. “If the coast is not protected, then God save us.”
Ensuring the health of humanity and the planet requires a consolidated effort that acknowledges and incorporates the vision of those who have protected nature for so long. | Español
Sadly, the continued disregard for indigenous peoples in many governments’ responses to the novel coronavirus could place those left at the brink of extinction.
For the last three months I’ve watched time passing through my window. In country after country, city after city, we have felt the fear and pain of loss, we’ve honoured the work of health professionals and frontline workers, we’ve joined in solidarity with our neighbours.
Being forced apart has brought us closer together.
29 May 2020 (UNHCR)* — Several difficult months after the Díaz family arrived in Chile, following a gruelling, 7,000-kilometre-long overland journey from their home in Venezuela, they finally achieved a degree of stability.
Eileen, the mother, had given birth to a healthy baby boy, and the father, José Domingo, had just secured a job in the Chilean capital, Santiago. Then came the coronavirus pandemic, knocking the family back to square one.
(UN News)* — Shocked over the killing last weekend of five men in Nepal, who had planned to escort home one of their girlfriends from a higher caste, the UN human rights chief on Friday [29 May 2020] stressed that ending caste-based discrimination is “fundamental” to the overall sustainable development vision of leaving no one behind.
World Bank/Peter Kapuscinski | People walk down a street of shops in Kathmandu, Nepal. (file)
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“It is distressing that caste-based prejudices remain deeply entrenched in our world in the 21st century, and I am filled with sadness for these two young people who held high hopes of building a life together despite the obstacles presented by their accident of birth” said High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, referring to the couple at the centre of the tragedy.
29 May 2020 (Wall Street International)* — We need to reform our teaching of history so that the emphasis will be placed on the gradual growth of human culture and knowledge, a growth to which all nations and ethnic groups have contributed.
This article is a joint collaboration between UNFPA and UNICEF, lead agencies in the effort to ensure the health and rights of all people who menstruate. See a version of this article on UNICEF’ s website.
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 28 May 2020 (UNFPA)* — Menstruation is misunderstood and stigmatized around the world, a fact likely to worsen under the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are nine things you need to know about periods and the pandemic – and what the world needs to do about it.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 