Forensic investigation yields credible evidence 14 civilians were killed in just five strikes
More than 100 strikes by US drones and manned aircraft since early 2017
Strikes in Somalia tripled under Trump, outpacing Yemen and Libya combined
The US government must carry out impartial, thorough investigations into credible evidence its rapidly escalating air strikes in Somalia have killed numerous civilians, Amnesty International said in a new report today [].
The Hidden US War in Somalia details how 14 civilians were killed and eight more injured in just five of the more than 100 strikes in the past two years.
These five incidents were carried out with Reaper drones and manned aircraft in Lower Shabelle, a region largely under Al-Shabaab control outside the Somali capital Mogadishu.
22 March 2019 (WMO – World Meteorological Day)* — The Sun, the Earth and the Weather is the theme of this year’s World Meteorological Day. It highlights the role of the Sun in delivering the energy that powers all life on Earth, and drives the weather, ocean currents and the hydrological cycle.
World Meteorological Day on 23 March celebrates the anniversary of the convention establishing WMO in 1950 and showcases the essential contribution of the WMO community to the safety and wellbeing of society.
National Meteorological and Hydrological Services provide expertise and services both to harness the power of the Sun and to protect us from it.
Bihac/Sarajevo, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, 21 March 2019 (UNFPA)* –“We still risk our lives,” said Hatidza*, a 26-year-old migrant transiting through Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Last time when we tried to pass the border, you could see the footsteps of wolves and bears. Some migrants and refugees were killed by bears. By now we have tried three times to pass the border unsuccessfully.”
Hatidza is a member of the Ahwazis minority group in Iran. She and her brother fled the country after their father was murdered and their family was threatened.
Yangon– The Myanmar and Chinese governments have failed to stem the trafficking of ethnic Kachin women and girls as “brides” to families in China, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on 21 March 2019.
New York, 22 March 2019 (UN WOMEN)* — After two weeks of intense dialogue, the 63rd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) concluded on 22 March 2019 in New York with a strong commitment by UN Member States to safeguard and improve women’s and girls’ access to social protection systems, public services and sustainable infrastructure, ensuring that their design and delivery is transformed to prevent discrimination and create a ‘level playing field’ for women and girls.
Participants rejoice as the 63rd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women adopts Agreed Conclusions, delivering a roadmap that ensures women’s social protection, mobility, safety, and access to economic opportunities. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown
23 March 2019 (Wall Street International)* — The continuing rise of fascism around the world is drawing increasing attention particularly as it takes firmer grip within national societies long seen to have rejected it.
Some recent studies have reminded us of the characteristics of fascist movements and individuals, particularly as they manifest among politically active fascists.
A week after the flooded Mozambican port of Beira was hit by Cyclone Idai, “aid agencies are barely beginning to see the scale of the damage”, the head of UNICEF said on Saturday [23 March 2019], as she called for more international support to help quickly get relief to more than a million people across the country and prevent the possible spread of waterborne diseases like cholera.
UNICEF/UN0291728/Prinsloo | In Beira in Mozambique, (left) UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore speaks with internally displaced people as she visits a secondary school used to shelter evacuees from Cyclone Idai.
.
“We are in a race against time to help and protect children in the disaster-ravaged areas of Mozambique,” UNICEFExecutive Director Henrietta Fore said at the end of a visit to Beira, one of the areas worst affected by Cyclone Idai.
22 March 2019 — In the wake of a horrific mass shooting at two New Zealand mosques, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has announced his intention to launch a UN action plan for the safeguarding of religious sites, declaring that “mosques and all places of prayer and contemplation should be safe havens, not sites of terror.”*
UN Photo/Evan Schneider | UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaking during his visit to the Islamic Cultural Centre of New York, on 22 March 2019.
Mr. Guterres was addressing representatives of the press at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, to show his solidarity with the worldwide Muslim community, a week after the murder of some 50 Muslim worshippers by a gunman in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15.
22 March 2019 — Against a background of serious warnings against the effects of climate change, World Meteorological Day this year celebrates the crucial role played by the sun in powering all life on Earth, and in driving the weather, ocean currents and the hydrological cycle.*
WMO/Gyuho Shin | Stone tower with solar halo at sunrise at Kimso Mountain, Republic of Korea.
The report, to be released in the last quarter of the year, will provide a comprehensive picture of the many forms of inequality that are shaping the 21st Century. (Click here for FRENCH and SPANISH)
New York, March 2019 (HDRO)* — Today’s world remains deeply unfair. The life and prospects faced by a newborn in a poor country or in a poor household are radically different from those of wealthier children. In all societies, long-standing forms of inequality persist while gaps are opening in new aspects of life.
