Europe’s agriculture industry is exploiting the at least 2.4 million migrants who harvest Europe’s fruits and vegetables. This is according to a new report published on 4 June 2024 by the University of Comillas and Oxfam researchers titled “Essential but invisible and exploited.”
The alarming surge in global debt burden calls for urgent reforms to the international financial systems to safeguard a prosperous future for both people and the planet.
(UNCTAD)* — In a new report released on 4 June, the United Nations sounded the alarm over the escalating debt burdens to global prosperity.
Titled ”A world of debt 2024: A growing burden to global prosperity”, the report highlights the unprecedented surge in public debt – comprising both domestic and external general government borrowing – which reached a historic peak of $97 trillion in 2023, up by a notable $5.6 trillion from the previous year.
Children experiencing this level of food poverty are up to 50 per cent more likely to suffer from life-threatening malnutrition, new analysis finds.
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NEW YORK, 6 June 2024 (UNICEF)* -–Around 181 million children worldwide under 5 years of age – or 1 in 4 – are experiencing severe child food poverty, making them up to 50 per cent more likely to experience wasting, a life-threatening form of malnutrition, a new UNICEF report reveals today.
(UN News)* — “It’s climate crunch time” when it comes to tackling rising carbon emissions the UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday [], stressing that while the need for global action is unprecedented, so too are the opportunities for prosperity and sustainable development.
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United Nations | UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivers his special address on climate action from the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Choosing the iconic Family Hall of Ocean Life at the American Museum of Natural History in New York to deliver his impassioned plea to grasp the solutions at hand, António Guterres warned that we stand at “a moment of truth”.
“In the case of climate, we are not the dinosaurs. We are the meteor. We are not only in danger – we are the danger. But we are also the solution.”
5 June 2024 (United Nations)* —All over the world, ecosystems are threatened. From forests and drylands to farmlands and lakes, natural spaces on which humanity’s existence depends are reaching a tipping point.
Grasslands, shrublands and savannahs cover approximately half of the world’s terrestrial surface. Distributed from Eurasia and Patagonia to Africa and Australia they are home to millions of people. PHOTO:Damian Patkowski/Unsplash
According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, up to 40 per cent of the planet’s land is degraded, directly affecting half of the world’s population. The number and duration of droughts has increased by 29 per cent since 2000 – without urgent action, droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population by 2050.
4 June 2024 (UNEP)* —The world is warming at arecord pace, with unseasonable heat baking nearly every continent on Earth. April, the last month for which statistics are available, marked the 11th consecutive month the planet has set a new temperature high.
Photo: PSI/Science Photo Library via AFP
Experts say that is a clear sign the Earth’s climate is rapidly changing. But many believe – or at least say they believe – that climate change is not real, relying on a series of well-trodden myths to make their point.
(UN News)* — The UN Secretary-General has called for safeguarding Earth’s vital ecosystems from rampant pollution, worsening climate impacts and “biodiversity decimation”.
In a message marking 5 June 2024’s World Environment Day, António Guterres emphasized that countries “must deliver” on all their commitments to restore degraded ecosystems and land, and on Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework, the global agreement to protect biodiversity.
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 28 May 2024 (UNFPA)* – Every month, nearly 2 billion people menstruate, but gender inequality, poverty and other forms of marginalization mean the world has still not adapted to become period-friendly. In a humanitarian crisis, these inequities are greatly exacerbated.
When forced to flee their homes because of violence, conflict or climate disasters, people leave most of their possessions behind – including, usually, sanitary items.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 30 2024 (IPS)* –The World Bank expects the international economic slowdown to be at its worst in over four decades in 2024. This is mainly due to powerful Western nations’ contractionary macroeconomic and geopolitical policies.
Dismal outlook According to the Bank’s last Global Economic Prospects report, world economic growth will be weakest by the end of 2024. Only the US economy’s strength will statistically prevent a world recession.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
World economic growth was expected to slow to 2.4 per cent in 2024. But even the US-controlled World Bank acknowledges growing geopolitical tensions are the main threat.
Medium-term prospects for most developing economies have worsened due to slower growth in most major economies. This has been exacerbated by tighter monetary policy and credit, sluggish trade and investment growth.
PORT AU PRINCE/NEW YORK, 28 May 2024 (UNICEF)* -– As armed violence continues to drive the deteriorating conditions across Haiti, the UN has estimated that 30 to 50 per cent of armed group members are children who are subject to coercion, abuse and exploitation stemming from persistent social, economic and political fragility caused by ongoing violence that has spiraled parts of the country into chaos.
UNICEF/UNI557180/ErolChildren display artwork they created during psychosocial and educational activities organized by APADEH, in collaboration with UNICEF, at a school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The situation for children in Haiti is dire. Ninety per cent of Haiti’s population live in poverty and three million children remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
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