5 November 2018 — One year since the Saudi-led Coalition imposed a blockade on sea, land and air routes in Yemen, millions more are edging closer to famine and fatal disease.
A girl stands inside the Al Habbari informal settlement for displaced people in Sana’a. The settlement is on private land and receives a very small amount of support from its owner. Families living here lack basic services such as showers and latrines. Photo: Becky Bakr Abdulla/NRC, 30 August 2018
“The past 12 months have been a never-ending nightmare for Yemeni civilians. The parties to the conflict have consistently disavowed the laws of war and employed tactics that exacerbate suffering for civilian populations,” said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
18 November 2018 (Wall Street International)* – In January 1984, Dr. Seuss, one of the most popular authors of children’s books ever, who sold hundreds of millions of copies of his books, published The Butter Battle Book. It was a totally unexpected book from a children’s author―an overt political satire and protest against the nuclear arms race. Dr. Seuss considered it his best book, but one that ends pessimistically unlike most of his others.
The Butter Battle bookis full of references to the US-Soviet Cold War, from the building of the Berlin Wall to the deployment of more and more kinds of “advanced” weaponry.
19 November 2018 (FAO)* — Biodiversity may sound complicated, but it’s a fairly simple concept: the existence of many different types of plants and animals makes the world a healthier and more productive place. A mix of genetics, species and habitats allows Earth’s ecosystems to keep up with challenges like population growth and climate change. Biodiversity is important to us because it plays a crucial role in food and nutrition security, and subsequently in human health.
About three-quarters of the genetic diversity once found in agricultural crops has been lost over the last century. Preserving our agricultural biodiversity is vital for coping with a changing climate and securing our future of food. | Photo from FAO.
NEW YORK, Nov 16 2018 (IPS)*– A coalition of over 50 civil society organizations (CSOs), from more than 20 countries, have urged two of the world’s largest multi-billion dollar E-commerce retailers – Amazon and eBay – to stop marketing “dangerous and illegal mercury-based skin lightening creams.”
The protest is part of a coordinated global campaign against a growing health hazard in the field of cosmetics.
So far, the groups have reached out to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) and INTERPOL, the Lyon-based international law enforcement agency whose mandate includes investigating the sale of illegal health products online.
Michael Bender, International Coordinator of the Zero Mercury Working Group, told IPS internet moguls must stop breaking the law with their toxic trade in illegal cosmetics.
“Amazon and eBay have the responsibility and resources to prevent exposing their customers to this dangerous neurotoxin,” he added.
18 November 2018 (Norwegian Refugee Council)* — Did you know that more people have a mobile phone than a toilet? Marking world toilet day, we give you five reasons why you should care about toilets.
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In crowded camps it is essential that people have proper sanitation facilities and good hygiene practices in order to prevent diseases. In order to address the needs, NRC is conducting the following activities in Mtendeli refugee camp in Tanzania: • Constructing family latrines • Providing basic hygiene items, such as soap • Conducting hygiene promotions on good hygiene practices • Providing drinking taps and latrines in schools Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC
Almost 30 percent of the world do not have access to latrines. The lack of access deprives people of a good health, safety and dignity.
With all we have to work for — species diversity, forests, climate, oceans, and basic justice — must we really be concerned about the state of Earth’s sand?
We might wonder why there would ever be a sand shortage, since deserts cover more than a third of Earth’s land surface, but wind-formed desert sand is too fine for construction.
Highly valued river and lake sand contains the right-sized particles for landfill and strong concrete. Dubai, on the edge of the vast Arabian desert, imports sand from Australia. Qatar imports over $6 billion worth of sand annually.
— While trying to save the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the Iran nuclear deal, some European leaders have stepped up pressure on Iran’s ballistic missile programme, simultaneously demanding talks and threatening sanctions. Iran—which sees ballistic missiles as crucial to the country’s defence—has responded by saying that its missile programme is non-negotiable.
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The UN Security Council Adopts Resolution on Iran Nuclear Deal (Resolution 2231), taken on 20 July 2015. Photo: Flickr/UN Photo/Loey Felipe.
Life hangs in the balance in Tsitongambarika, Madagascar’s anti-extinction frontline
UN Environment / Lisa Murray
14 November 2018 (UN Environment)* – It’s nearing midnight, when our guide, Andry, darts into the undergrowth.
In the velvet dark of the forest, lit only by the sharp stabs of our torches and the gentle glow of the waning moon filtering through the canopy, it’s hard to see what the excitement is all about until he crouches down, pointing.
“Chameleon,” he says, barely louder than a whisper
Only four centimetres long, and the mottled light brown of a fallen leaf, it’s only the deep green of a seedling pushing through the leaf litter beside it that lets us see it—tiny and immobile except for a single eye swivelling back to observe us.
16 November 2018 (FAO)* — What does William Shakespeare have in common with Mexican beekeeper Francisco Lenin Bartolo Reyes? Both men understand the importance of the honey bee, a small but invaluable ally of the human race.
The women of South Sudan are leading calls for political and militia leaders to honour the recent revitalized peace agreement, and end what they regard as a “futile man’s war”, the head of the UN gender equality agency, UN Women, told the Security Council on 16 November 2018.
UNMISS/Isaac Billy | A high-level delegation from the United Nations and African Union meets Nyamile Malual Jiech (far right) who walked with her children through violent clashes to reach the safety of the United Nations protection site in Bentiu in the north of South Sudan.
Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, told the 15-member Council that following September’s agreement between President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar, who is due to be reinstated as Vice President, fighting was continuing.
The protest is part of a coordinated global campaign against a growing health hazard in the field of cosmetics.
