“The science is clear: we are far off track from achieving global climate goals. 2023 was the warmest year on record by a huge margin. Leading international data sets say that the first eight months of 2024 are also the warmest on record,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. She appealed for “urgent and ambitious action” in support of sustainable development, climate action and disaster risk reduction as “the decisions we make today could be the difference between a future breakdown or a breakthrough to a better world”. Echoing the stark assessment of the latest UN-partnered United in Science report that…
Author: admin
Data from Kenya’s central bank show that public debt (total money owed) declined between December 2023 and June 2024. The drop in external debt – by 15.4 % – over this period does not mean that the country’s overall finances have improved. Rather, it is due to the gains in the value of the Kenyan shilling, thanks to pervasive state interventions since February 2024. So high is Kenya’s public debt that servicing it ate up 69.6% of domestic revenues as of June 2024. This is more than double the recommended limit of 30%, making the country’s public debt unsustainable. This…
Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Todd D. Robinson traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine on September 16 to engage Ukrainian partners on combatting corruption, strengthening the justice sector, and supporting police and other first responders. Assistant Secretary Robinson joined U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink in highlighting Ukraine’s progress in countering corruption and reinforcing the importance of continued criminal justice sector reform in meetings with Ukrainian members of parliament and civil society, and in remarks at an Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) conference on Anti-Bribery. Assistant Secretary Robinson attended a ceremony welcoming…
Alice Edwards, the UN Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteur on Torture, also condemned the killing of six Israeli hostages earlier this month and called for an immediate end to hostilities on all fronts. Approximately 250 Israelis and foreign nationals were taken hostage during the 7 October 2023 terror attack by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in southern Israel, which also claimed over 1,250 lives, including women and children. Ninety-seven hostages are still unaccounted for, presumed to be held in Gaza, which has been under an intense Israeli military offensive since the attacks. Threats intensify as time passes “As time…
The burden of supporting asylum-seekers with food and housing often falls to cities, creating severe budget crunches. But Denver is piloting a new approach designed to integrate immigrants into the workforce faster. The Denver Asylum Seekers Program offers six months of rent-free housing along with legal assistance, food aid and workforce training. The program started on April 10, 2024, with spots for up to 1,000 participants. Only asylum-seekers who were already living in Denver when the program launched are eligible – a provision designed to control costs and discourage hopeful participants from coming to Denver. This is an important detail…
“This is totally unacceptable and the latest in a series of unnecessary security incidents that have endangered the lives of WFP’s team in Gaza,” said the UN agency’s Executive Director Cindy McCain, calling on the Israeli authorities and all parties to the conflict to act immediately to ensure the safety and security of all aid workers in Gaza. Thankfully, no one was injured in the attack, WFP said. “As last night’s events show, the current deconfliction system is failing and this cannot go on any longer,” Ms. McCain added. Coordination ‘not working’ A “clearly marked UN humanitarian vehicle – part…
The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller: Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell spoke yesterday with Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs Diego Martínez Belío. The Deputy Secretary and the State Secretary discussed the importance of bringing lasting peace to the Middle East, defending democratic values in Venezuela, and our shared commitment to Ukraine. They also discussed shared priorities, including the Indo-Pacific region, economic prosperity, and migration. Source_link
ASHTABULA, OH ‒ Federal safety inspectors found a crew working aboard the Cuyahoga, a commercial iron ore vessel moored at the Port of Ashtabula, narrowly avoided disaster after a large fire erupted as they welded off paint in a cargo hold, an incident their employer could have avoided by following U.S. Department of Labor safety regulations. Acting on a referral from the U.S. Coast Guard, inspectors with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined the fire began while a worker used welding equipment to remove paint in the vessel’s hold in March 2024. Many crewmembers, who had been working below the…
Ambassadors in the UN General Assembly again discussed on Monday the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and the critical work of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, which is facing an existential threat, hearing a briefing by its Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, and holding a heated debate on the US veto of the latest Security Council draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in the war-torn enclave. Source link
It was always a brave promise. But John Lewis’s pledge to be “never knowingly undersold” – that it wouldn’t be beaten on prices – lasted for almost a century until it was dropped by the British department store in 2022. Now it’s back. And the company is hoping that those three familiar words will help boost its performance in a tough economic climate which has previously led to store closures and job cuts. Commenting on the John Lewis Partnership’s latest results, which show that it halved its losses over the first six months of this year, CEO Nish Kankiwala claimed…