Governments that change policies to move from a single-use system to a circular economy with real recycling could cut plastic use by half and reduce waste by more than 80% by 2040, according to a report from the UN Environment Programme. The analysis also showed that plastic could undermine efforts to limit carbon emissions to 1.5C under the Paris Agreement due to its inherent large carbon footprint. The report's authors said significant shifts are needed in deposit-return and packaging-takeback schemes and to limit polymer use in production to make recycling easier. Governments and companies need to put these shifts in place before plastic waste climbs from 238 million metric tonnes in 2020 to 408 million metric tonnes by 2040, they said, posing grave risks to visiting and local tourist areas, fisheries and wildlife.
A mausoleum dedicated to Pele's golden coffin has opened to the public nearly half a year after the Brazilian football legend died of colon cancer. Located on the second floor of a high-rise cemetery in Santos, the mausoleum welcomes visitors with two golden statues of Pele, an artificial grass turf, and images of fans in a stadium with an endless soundtrack of cheers playing in the background. After a funeral that saw hundreds of thousands of people come to Santos to pay their respects, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Pele was laid to rest in January. He is one of the greatest football players of all time and the only player to win the World Cup three times.
The International Court of Justice will hear Ukraine’s claim on June 6 that Russia violated a UN treaty by supporting pro-Russian separatists who shot down Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine in 2014. Last November, a Dutch court convicted two Russians and one Ukrainian national of murder in relation to the incident, sentencing them to life imprisonment. The court also found that Russia had “overall control” over Donetsk forces in the region from mid-May 2014. The new case is one of two brought by Ukraine against Russia at the ICJ. The other relates to Russia’s claim that it invaded Ukraine to prevent genocide.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has predicted a slight uptick in financial growth rates for China, the European Union and the US, but warns the global economy will remain weak owing to a number of factors, including inflated pricing and the ongoing impact of COVID-19. The body flagged stubbornly high inflation rates, alongside credit squeezes and environmental factors, as negatively impacting growth in emerging markets. While revised projections indicate a 2.3% rise in the world GDP in 2023, this is far below a 3.1% increase experienced in 2022.
Hong Kong's ageing population is set to create a serious housing shortage for retirees. Property consultancy JLL forecasts the shortage will top 60,000 homes by 2032 and trigger a "huge social problem" for the city. Meanwhile, in Kwun Tong only one in every 41 elderly people is expected to find senior care beds. Hong Kong's population is expected to age rapidly, with almost one-third of residents aged over 65 by 2039 - nearly double the current figure. Hong Kong is predicted to have the world’s oldest population by 2050, with more than 40% of people aged 65 and above.
Hundreds of people have been feared dead after the Cyclone Mocha hit Myanmar, including Rohingya Muslims, as rescue efforts remain hampered by damage to infrastructure. The region has a large population of Rohingya Muslims, a persecuted minority that successive Myanmar governments have refused to recognise. Myanmar has been gripped by political and economic chaos since the military overthrow in a coup in 2021. The storm was the worst since Cyclone Nargis swept across parts of southern Myanmar killing nearly 140,000 people in 2008 while being one of the few times the region has experienced a storm of cyclonic strength.
The UN has confirmed that the last ship is due to depart a port in Ukraine en route to Turkey under a deal that allows the safe export of Ukraine grain, a day before Russia could quit the pact over obstacles to grain and fertiliser exports. Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN make up a Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul, which implements the Black Sea export deal. Given Russia's warning that it will not approve of any new vessels to take part in the deal after 18 May, it appears unlikely that any ship owners or insurance companies would be willing to continue transporting Ukrainian grain exports if Russia does not agree to an extension of the deal.
According to Amnesty International, executions across the world rose to their highest number in five years in 2022 despite growing moves to ban the death penalty. The annual report recorded 883 executions globally, up from 579 in 2021. Including information from countries such as China, where high levels of secrecy make it difficult to determine numbers, could mean that thousands more people were executed globally. Such information means the true scale of executions across the world could be even higher. Approximately 90% of the documented executions were carried out in Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. The report found that non-lethal crimes such as drug offences were common in Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is in violation of international law. Executions in the Middle East and North Africa rose by 59% in 2022. In total four countries, Kazakhstan, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, abolished the death penalty for all crimes, however. Also, public support for the death penalty decreased in certain countries.
India is set to host a G20 meeting on tourism in Indian-administered Kashmir, in the first global event in the region since the Indian government removed its special status in 2019. The event has been organised to boost tourism in the region, promoting its picturesque Himalayan valley to G20 delegates. However, residents and experts have said the meeting is aimed at projecting a false image of normality and downplaying India’s “brutal and repressive denial of democratic and other rights of Kashmiri Muslims and minorities”. Much of the international community regards India as a key trade partner, meaning that few have spoken out on human rights violations in the region.
Attempts to combat armed groups linked to ISIL, al-Qaeda and other extremist organisations across Africa's Sahel region have failed, according to United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee. Presenting her report to a Security Council meeting, Pobee urged greater international support and regional cooperation. "Resolute advances in the fight against terrorism, violent extremism and organised crime in the Sahel desperately need to be made,” she said.
The UN is seeking $2.56bn to help people affected by the Sudan crisis, with as much as $472m of it to be spent over the next six months to help more than one million people flee into neighbouring countries. The conflict has caused a humanitarian crisis that threatens to destabilise the region, with more refugees being displaced than at any other time in Sudan’s history.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has pledged to prevent an emergency in the Taiwan Strait, despite the body being bound by the "One China" policy. Guterres said the UN would seek to prevent escalation through negotiations involving all parties. Tensions have increased in the region as China ramped up military exercises near Taiwan. The latter claims to have recently thwarted a Chinese intrusion into its airspace, though Beijing denies the incident. The US, which is Taiwan's largest arms supplier, has also stepped up military activity in the area.
The final vessel containing Ukrainian grain left a port last week, sent under a deal whereby UN mediators and Turkey brokered a 120-day agreement in July 2021 allowing four countries in the Black Sea region to export wheat again. The move followed Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which has caused a global food crisis, seeking to halt a rapid economic downturn caused by the outbreak of COVID-19. This extension was due to expire on 21 March, when Russia imposed new restrictions on Black Sea grain shipments. The Kremlin granted a 60-day extension, due to expire on 18 May, threatening the renewal of Black Sea exports. UN officials met in Istanbul last week to discuss the Black Sea pact; Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu suggested the deal could be extended for two more months at least, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Pesko called for 'decisions to be made.' The Joint Coordination Centre, made up by representatives from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the UN in Istanbul, typically authorizes and inspects each ship permitted to travel Black Sea waters.
The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization has warned the next five years are likely to be the warmest ever recorded, with global temperatures now having more chance than not of breaching the critical 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels until 2027. The heating is blamed on both El Nino and greenhouse gas emissions. But a cooling La Nina weather pattern that has restricted the temperature rises in the last three years has ended, while an El Nino, which will heat waters in the tropical Pacific, will spike temperatures, inevitably affecting health, food security, water management and the environment worldwide.
UK-based pension schemes and other asset owners are raising concerns about how asset managers are voting on climate-related issues at European oil and gas firms. The Brunel Pension Partnership, Scottish Widows and The Church of England Pension Board are among those who have voiced unease that fund managers are prioritising short-term interests over pension funds' long-term interests. UK Asset Owner Roundtable Chair Faith Ward said that after the current proxy voting season, the group would meet with significant fund managers. It plans to commission an academic to investigate how fund managers interpret their clients' long-term interests at key meetings.
A new report from the World Meteorological Organization suggests there is a 66% chance the world will temporarily surpass the globally recognised temperature cap, outlined in the Paris climate agreement, of 1.5 degrees Celsius within the next five years. El Niño, which can cause spikes in temperature, is expected to cause this potential breach. The temporary breach in the cap is expected to be fleeting, but, if it becomes a regular occurrence, the risks associated with climate change will become much greater, causing more destruction and damage to ecosystems across the globe.
Around the world, cities are expanding. In North America, according to figures from the United Nations, 82% of the population live in urban areas, closely followed by Latin America. In Europe the figure is 74%. Compared to this, Africa is still fairly rural, less than half of its population (43%) live in cities. According to UN forecasts, more than two-thirds of the world's population will live in urban areas by 2050, with Africa and Asia driving this increase. Of the an additional two and a half billion people who will be added to the global urban population, 90% will be Africans and Asians. Africa’s urban population will exceed its rural population by 2033, rising to 60% by 2050. Currently, 60% of the urban population of sub-Saharan Africa lives in informal settlements, which the African Cities Research Consortium describes as areas that increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. More than 90% of Africa's cities have fewer than 100,000 inhabitants.
Florida, Kentucky and Pennsylvania saw municipal and state elections take place, with nearly all ballots counted. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a former endorsed of Donald Trump, won the Republican nomination for governor with almost 48% of the votes. Republican candidate and a Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis-backed Kelly Craft, failed to come in the top two, with voters electing Democrat Donna Deegan in the mayor’s race in Florida's Jacksonville. Lastly, in Philadelphia, Cherelle Parker has won the Democratic mayoral primary after running on a platform of public safety calling for more law enforcement for the area.
Vigilante justice in Haiti risks worsening the escalating levels of violence, according to a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Suspected Haitian gang members have been killed and lynched amid the latest vigilante justice wave, which has already led to the deaths of nearly 1,500 gang members since the beginning of the year. Schools and clinics have closed, while crops lie unharvested following the violence. Haiti’s de facto leader, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, has faced a crisis of legitimacy and UN observers have expressed concern over the ability of Haitian police to respond.
Almost 250,000 flee floods in Somali city that 'became like an ocean'
Reuters
23-05-17 17:16
Floods in central Somalia resulting from the Shabelle river breaking its banks have caused nearly a quarter of a million people to leave their homes. The floods have struck even as the country is experiencing its most severe drought in 40 years. Aid agencies and scientists have blamed climate change for increasing such emergencies. Seasonal rains in Somalia and the Ethiopian highlands affected almost 500,000 people and killed 22. Over six seasons of low rainfall will need to be undone before vegetation will completely regrow and the adverse impact of the drought will be overcome, according to the UN humanitarian office.
