'Unseen' News and Views
With deadly cyclones on the rise, UNICEF raises concern about impact of climate change on children
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NEW YORK, 3 May 2019 (UNICEF)* – The cyclone currently hammering India and the back-to-back cyclones that tore through Mozambique in March and April have caused serious damage to the lives of thousands of children.
Photo from IPS.
These remittances, primarily from the US, Western Europe and Gulf nations, go largely to low and middle-income countries, “helping to lift millions of families out of poverty,” says UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Friday [3 May 2019] it was alarmed by reports that migrants and asylum seekers who are being held in Hungarian detention centres are being “deliberately deprived of food in contravention of international laws and standards”.
OHCHR Spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, told reporters in Geneva that under existing laws in Hungary, migrants and asylum seekers who are undocumented, are immediately detained in transit zones during the asylum procedure, or until they can be sent back to their country of origin.
Nicosia, 4 May 2019 (IOM)* — The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is deeply saddened by the recent news regarding a series of killings in Cyprus targeting young migrant women and girls and regrets the terrible loss of life.
Migrants, particularly migrant women, often find themselves in situations of vulnerability.
These shocking revelations highlight the need for strengthened capacity to provide protection and support to migrants and victims of violence, as well as strategies to combat the exploitation of migrant workers.
Further cooperative efforts are also needed to enhance inclusion and promote integration of migrants into local society and to enable receiving communities to harness the positive contributions that migrants make.
3 May 2019 (UN Environment)* — Nearly 80 per cent of the air we breathe is nitrogen, a harmless inert gas. However, nitrogen also combines with other atoms to form chemical compounds—known as “reactive nitrogen” or “fixed nitrogen” (Nr)—that are essential for life on Earth but, at high concentrations, also hugely damaging to the environment.
By the 29 April 2019 — Total world military expenditure rose to $1822 billion in 2018, representing an increase of 2.6 per cent from 2017, according to new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).*
The five biggest spenders in 2018 were the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, India and France, which together accounted for 60 per cent of global military spending. Military spending by the USA increased for the first time since 2010, while spending by China grew for the 24th consecutive year.
Either Bolsonaro’s social security reform is wiped out or “we bring Brazil to a halt,” workers organizations said.
Protester holds a Brazilian flag with President Jair Bolsonaro image and the words: “Shame, No to social security reform” in Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 1, 2019. | Photo: Reuters | Photo from teleSUR.
2 May 2019 (teleSUR)* — Brazil’s most powerful trade union federations announced Wednesday that a nationwide strike will be carried out on June 14 to reject the far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and halt his neoliberal policies which are damaging the people’s most basic economic, social, cultural and political rights.
2 May 2019 (UN Environment)* — Burning plastic smells awful. It also gives you that choking feeling… which is no surprise when you know that plastic is basically made of oil and gives off toxic fumes when it burns.
Incineration of plastic waste in open fields is a major source of air pollution. About 12 per cent of most municipal solid waste is made up of plastic of one kind or another, and 40 per cent of the world’s garbage is burned, according to a the study “Toxic Pollutants from Plastic Waste – A Review.”
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 