Conflict-hit Middle Eastern countries are among those most exposed to climate change impacts but receive almost zero help to mitigate its effects, according to a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Norwegian Red Cross. The report covers Iraq, Syria and Yemen and says that climate change effects combined with the impact of conflicts have exacerbated the regions' humanitarian crises. The report points out that there are only 19 funding projects in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, totalling $20.6m, according to the Climate Funds Update database. This accounts for less than 0.5% of worldwide climate project expenditure.
Global wheat prices fall as Russia-Ukraine grain deal extended
CNN
23-05-18 12:09
Wheat futures fell 2% on Thursday after Russia and Ukraine extended their deal which allows the export of grain from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea. Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell to $6.12 a bushel, taking the total fall in prices to 23% since the start of the year and 57% since record highs of $14.30 a bushel in March last year. Russia had threatened to pull out of the agreement, which was signed in July, complaining about a related UN agreement made to facilitate shipments of Russian grain and fertilizers.
Turkey is voting in a presidential election on May 28, weighing whether to give incumbent President Tayyip Erdogan another five-year term. Erdogan won 49.5% of the first-round vote on May 14, falling just short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. The vote is viewed as a referendum on his autocratic rule. Erdogan's challenger is Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The May 14 parliamentary election saw Erdogan's AK Party emerge as the largest party and his alliance with nationalists and Islamists win a majority in parliament.
The Myanmar military has imported over $1bn worth of weapons largely from China and Russia since the February 2021 coup, according to a report by the UN. While the military has been increasingly turning to airstrikes and heavy weapons against internal opposition, Tom Andrews, the UN independent investigator on human rights in Myanmar, notes the weapons shipments continue to flow despite overwhelming evidence of atrocities and war crimes committed by the military. Andrews warns that if Singapore exits the arms trade, the Myanmar military will be significantly impacted.
The UN's humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, is in discussions with Lloyd's to secure insurance coverage for Russian agricultural exports to developing countries suffering from high food prices. Griffiths said the UN is liaising at all levels of the private sector, including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as the organisation seeks to ensure it can facilitate Russian food and fertiliser exports. The country has complained that sanctions have hurt its shipping, insurance and financing situations, although the implementation of wheat exports via other ports appears to belie the claims.
The Spanish government has launched a domestic labour-tracking app for women to monitor their husbands’ housework and ensure tasks are split equally. The yet-to-be-developed software is part of Spain’s central government's attempts to cut down on gender inequality within heterosexual relationships and is expected to track current domestic workload, assign tasks and record progress. A recent Instituto Nacional de Estadística study found half of women in straight relationships believe they carry out the majority of household chores, compared to 4% of men. An additional 40% of women are also primary carers for children, compared to 5% of men.
US tells UN it will shield Venezuela humanitarian fund from creditors -sources
Reuters
23-05-18 20:00
The US has informed the UN that it will protect a proposed UN-run $3bn Venezuela humanitarian fund from creditors, removing a hindrance to getting the money flowing. The funds had been delayed as questions arose over whether donations were at risk of being seized by lenders to repay debt. The Biden administration clarified recently that the fund could operate within the US financial system and survive without fear of such action. The people familiar with the matter did not specify whether the assurance was communicated orally or in writing.
Head of the US Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, visited Chad on 24 June to meet with officials and refugees who have fled fighting in Sudan. Around 60,000 Sudanese refugees, mostly women and children, have streamed into the impoverished country since 15 April, causing additional strain on Chad, which was already coping with 600,000 refugees. Power will meet with government, civil, and aid organisations providing help on the ground.
G7 Hiroshima summit: Who’s participating, what will be discussed?
The Globe and Mail
23-05-19 01:27
Leaders of the world's seven most powerful democracies will attend the G7 summit in Hiroshima to discuss issues including economic policy, security, climate change, energy and gender. The G7 leaders will also host discussions with leaders outside the G7, such as Vietnamese Prime Minister Tan Dung, to address the rise of developing nations. Chinese military aggression from North Korea and Russia will be among the topics to be covered. Pledges of continuing support for Ukraine will see Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky join the session via the internet, and there will also be a focus on Beijing's increasing threats against Taiwan.
The United States faces significant threats from Iran, including the country's development of a nuclear weapon and its support for terrorist groups like al-Qaida, according to an op-ed for The Daily Signal. In recent months, Iran has brazenly breached the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement on its nuclear programme, with uranium enrichment levels close to those needed for a nuclear weapon and by putting advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges online, the article said. Reports indicate that al-Qaida's new leader is also now based in Iran. While US President Joe Biden has said the Iranian deal is "dead", there is no Plan B offered to manage the situation.
The US government's decision to push campaigner Amy Pope into the International Organization for Immigration (IOM) contest for Director General is causing tension with its European allies, says Jamestown Foundation contributor Daniel Runde. The IOM is a significant organisation in the humanitarian community, tasked with aiding the resettlement of refugees. The US is one of the largest contributors to the organisation, providing approximately 27% of its total revenue in 2021. Historically, a US national has held the position but Portuguese incumbent Antonio Vitorino took the position from the former Trump administration pick Ken Isaacs in 2018.
Mami Mizutori, special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, has said that greater emphasis needs to be placed on the need for adaptation to climate change, rather than on mitigation. Mizutori headed a UN meeting in New York which highlighted the 80% increase in the number of people affected by natural catastrophes since 2015 and the role played by the Sendai Framework in producing national strategies aimed at reducing calamity. Mizutori’s goal is for the typical 96/4 percentage split between investment in disaster prevention and disaster rescue to be reversed. Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mizutori called for greater focus on vulnerability reduction as this area is currently underdeveloped. Mizutori has also advocated for early warning systems, with the Secretary-General targeting all countries, aiming to reach all people, to have an effective early warning system by 2027. The cost of implementing such a policy is estimated at $3.1bn – 50 cents per person each year.
The recent death of a 19-year-old lion, who strayed into a Kenyan village, was merely the most recent example of deaths due to hunger. Crops and livestock have been decimated by a lethal cocktail of climate change and conflict which has led to food shortages and malnutrition across east Africa. The crisis is due to kill one person every 28 seconds between now and July, yet it will not make the wider news. People most affected are those who have the least responsibility for climate change.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has said that more than one million people have been displaced by five weeks of fighting in Sudan, with a quarter of a million people becoming refugees. The violence began in April when disagreements between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, escalated. Both men had held the top positions on Sudan’s 2019 ruling council for two years and staged a military coup two years later. The fighting centres on disputes over the plans for the RSF to be absorbed into the army and about the chain of command in a new political transition. The conflict has killed hundreds of people and half of Sudan’s population needs humanitarian aid, with over $3bn needed this yearalone to provide assistance inside the country and for those that flee across its borders. The tension between the two groups has also reached the western region of Darfur, with rivalries taking an intercommunal dimension in the region.
Both the United States and the United Nations have condemned anti-Arab slogans chanted during an annual march in Jerusalem's Old City, with Israeli nationalists present. During the heavily policed and flag-waving procession, several groups of Jewish youths confronted and beat Palestinians, chanting "Death to Arabs" and waving racist banners. The march celebrates Jerusalem Day, when Israel marks its capture of eastern Jerusalem during the 1967 war. Palestinian shopkeepers shuttered their businesses along the route before the march, fearing potential abuse. In recent years, Jerusalem Day festivities have become a show of force for Jewish nationalists and a cause of concern for Palestinians.
Fraud costs businesses and individuals across the world more than $5tn every year, according to research by financial-advisory firm Crowe and the University of Portsmouth. The figure amounts to nearly 60% of the annual global spend on healthcare. Lower-level financial scams add up to this colossal total beneath the high-profile scandals such as Theranos, which resulted in the recent conviction of founder Elizabeth Holmes, and Wirecard. Among the causes of fraud are greed, covering financial shortfalls, pressure to exceed growth expectations and “fake-it-till-you-make-it” accounting techniques in some tech startups. Fraudsters also take advantage of world events like the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as seen in the $80bn stolen from the US Paycheck Protection Programme. More should be done to encourage whistleblowers and to recognise the bravery of people exposing fraud, the article concludes.
Russia's foreign ministry has indicated that former President Barack Obama is among 500 US citizens who will face a ban from entry into the country as part of a retaliation against the latest wave of US sanctions against Russia. The ministry also revealed that it has rejected the US's latest request for consular access to a detained Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested in March on suspicion of spying.
Cyclone Mocha has killed at least 145 people and left 800,000 at risk in Myanmar, according to the UN. Aid has been held up by the military government, with the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) ready to deploy urgently needed food, water, medical supplies and assistance as soon as possible. The WFP has warned of a “trail of devastation” as power lines, schools and hospitals have been destroyed and telecommunications disrupted in Rakhine State. Relief for this area has been particularly difficult to co-ordinate as it harbours a large population of Rohingya people, a mostly-Muslim minority that successive Burmese governments have refused to recognise.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made a passionate speech at an Arab League meeting in Saudi Arabia condemning Russia's aggression and seeking support from leaders of states that have experienced years of violence. He also appealed for condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression towards Ukraine and highlighted the plight of the Ukraine's Crimean Tatar population. Arab nations have generally remained indifferent during Ukraine's crisis and Friday's meeting was notable for the return of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has benefited from Russia's intervention in Syria's civil war.
No escape, no aid as fighting intensifies in Sudan’s West Darfur
Al Jazeera
23-05-19 14:58
Fighting between Sudan's army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has left a vacuum in the West Darfur region, where Arab fighters have killed hundreds of people in el-Geneina. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has not renewed its peacekeeping mission for Darfur, which expired at the end of 2020. Civilian protection under the peacekeepers had been criticised, but human rights groups said their presence had at least kept a check on attacks, since they monitored and reported atrocities that threatened to expose their perpetrators. Faced with attacks from snipers, aid agency Norwegian Refugee Council warns that people in West Darfur are running a gauntlet of danger since escaping has become almost impossible.
