(UN News)* — More women and children were killed and wounded in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021 than in the first six months of any year since records began in 2009, a United Nations report revealed on Monday [26 July 2021].
UNAMA/Dilawar Khan Dilawar | A record number of children and women have been killed or wounded in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021.
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A particularly sharp rise in casualties occurred in May when international military forces began withdrawing from the country and fighting intensified following the Taliban offensive to take territory from Government forces.
With the Israeli government in permanent coma, the Palestinian house split against itself, the US and Israel sharing the bad karma of being built on stolen land, pushing the inhabitants into bantustans or worse, the Washington voice has been absent, silent on peacebuilding and supporting the Zionists in detriment of the Palestinians.
But peacebuilding is not sufficient; we need also peacemaking–a political solution–and peacekeeping. And here the EU enters: not only as a mediator, but as model, brilliantly accommodating a Germany that had made itself very difficult to digest by surrounding countries. Yesterday. Like Israel. Today.
Starting with the beginning, the only place to start, with a constructive approach to the future, the thesis is that a sustainable solution to Israel-Palestine has three levels:
(UN News)* — Landmark elections in the Occupied Palestinian territory must be rescheduled soon and include East Jerusalem, three UN independent human rights experts said in a statement on Monday 26 July 2021.
Rafique Gangat | The market in Old City of East Jerusalem.
The first parliamentary and presidential elections in 15 years were scheduled to take place in May and July, respectively. But they were postponed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on 29 April, amid concerns about the ability to vote in East Jerusalem.
(UN News)* — Negotiations began on 26 July 2021 to approve a UN science report which will anchor high level summits later this year, charged with boosting climate action worldwide.
UNDP Tuvalu | The low-lying archipelago, Tuvalu, in the Pacific Ocean is reclaiming land as it fights the effects of climate change.
.The assessment comes as record-breaking heat waves, devastating floods and drought struck across three continents in recent weeks.“This report has been prepared in exceptional circumstances, and this is an unprecedented IPCC approval session,” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair, Hoesung Lee, told the opening session of the meeting.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jul 26 2021 (IPS)* – Undoubtedly, the world needs to reform existing food systems to better serve humanity and sustainable development. But the United Nations World Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) must be consistent with UN-led multilateralism.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
For the first time ever, the World Economic Forum (WEF), a partnership of some of the world’s most powerful corporations, is partnering the UN in launching the Summit, now scheduled for September, with its ‘Pre-Summit’ beginning today.
Food insecurity is primarily due to inequalities and deprivations as victims lack the means to obtain the food they need.
The UN should not serve those who cynically use hunger, starvation and deprivation to advance private commercial interests.
Opening ceremony features refugee athletes marching out under the Olympic flag, showcasing the power of sport and sending a message of hope to 82 million displaced people worldwide.| Français | عربي
One is a marathon runner who as a child fled fighting by crossing a desert on foot. Another is a swimmer escaping conflict who helped steer a boatful of people to safety when its motor broke down by jumping into the water.
Space travel was once about collective efforts to go beyond the limits of one’s imagination. Now it’s an exhibition of extreme entitlement
Billionaire Jeff Bezos is launched into space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket on 20 July 2021 | Joe Skipper/Reuters/Alamy
24 July 2021 (openDemocracy)* — On 20 July, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos became the second billionaire in a matter of weeks to take a flashy joyride into space. The date was significant, marking 52 years since the first moon landing in 1969.
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 26 2021 (IPS)* – As a wisecracking cynic once remarked: “The sun would never set on the British empire because God wouldn’t trust an Englishman in the dark“. Perhaps it was an uncharitable remark because most of the British colonies have long gone.
Trusteeship Council. Credit: UN Photo/CCOI
But when I quoted this witticism to a British journalist, he countered: “I am sure it was told by a Scotsman.“
Since Scotland is not a colony, its demand for independence is not a matter of decolonization, which is virtually dead on the UN’s political agenda.
A family flees Panjwai district in Kandahar province on July 4, 2021, after the Taliban captured the area. © 2021 Javed Tanveer / AFP via Getty Images
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 