Yemen, 5 September – In response to the severe flooding and violent windstorms affecting nearly 562,000 people in Yemen, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched a USD 13.3 million appeal to deliver urgent life-saving assistance. The unprecedented weather events have compounded the humanitarian crisis in the country, leaving thousands of internally displaced persons and host communities in dire need of assistance. “Yemen is facing yet another devastating chapter in its relentless crisis, exacerbated by the intersection of conflict and extreme weather events,” said Matt Huber, IOM Yemen’s Acting Chief of Mission. “IOM teams are on the ground, working…
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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor, in partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission, Delta Regional Authority and the Northern Border Regional Commission, today announced $49 million in grant awards to prepare workers for good-quality, secure jobs in high-demand industries in their communities. These awards deliver on the Biden-Harris administration’s promise to bring economic opportunity back to places that are too often left out or behind.The Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities Initiative grants awarded today will support 35 projects across 18 states. Each grant ranges from $150,000 to $1.5 million. Nine of the WORC grants – totaling more than $12.5 million –…
Over the past two decades African leaders have become increasingly drawn to Chinese financing and investment. These investments are made rapidly and with reportedly less stringent conditions than traditional financing sources. Some also suggest that China’s approach aligns more closely with African priorities. This sentiment was summarised by the former president of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, in 2008: China’s approach to our needs is simply better adapted than the slow and sometimes patronising post-colonial approach of European investors, donor organisations and non-governmental organisations … China has helped African nations build infrastructure projects in record time. African leaders attending this year’s 8th…
In her final, annual report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Special Rapporteur on the rights situation in Belarus, Anaïs Marin, echoed wider, longstanding concerns from the UN and the international community about a crackdown on democratic freedoms and other serious rights abuses in the country. President Lukashenko, 69, has been in power since 1994 and is Europe’s longest-serving leader. “Repression in Belarus has reached such a scale and intensity that it should not be considered a safe country for anyone who ever showed disagreement with the government or its policies. I therefore reiterate my call to refrain from extraditions and expulsions…
On September 4 in Riga, Latvia, the United States and the Republic of Latvia signed the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Latvia on Scientific and Technological Cooperation. The Agreement will expand cooperation in science and technology and deepen the vital partnership between the United States and Latvia. The Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement notes our mutual pledge to facilitate dynamic and effective international cooperation, our recognition of the value of open data for scientific research, technological cooperation, and evidence-based decision-making, and our shared goals of preserving the norms…
The call for applications to the Gender Equality Champions opens today. Interested organisations can apply online via the Funding and Tenders Portal until 16 October 2024 at 17:00 CET.This prize awards outstanding achievements reached through the implementation of Gender Equality Plans (GEP) put in place by universities, higher education institutions, and other research performing organisations (public or private), established in an EU Member State or a Third Country associated to Horizon Europe.There are 3 award categories:Sustainable Gender Equality Champions: Organisations that can demonstrate a significant and sustained record of activity and a high level of achievement through the implementation of their GEP.Newcomer Gender Equality…
HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $450,000 from a Honolulu air cargo carrier that shortchanged 250 employees of their full pay and benefits while fulfilling a $113 million U.S. Postal Service contract to move mail between airports in Hawaii.The recovery follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division of Rhoades Aviation Inc., operating as TransAir, that determined the employer recklessly disregarded requirements in the Service Contract Act that sets prevailing wages and fringe benefits that employers under federal contract must pay. Specifically, division investigators found TransAir violated federal regulations by doing the following:Paying incorrect and lower prevailing…
The US stock market took a tumble early in August 2024 as fears rose of an economic slowdown. Then a few days later calm was restored, reminding us how quickly things can change in the financial world. And of all the market rises and falls, one type of stock has become particularly volatile. Known as “meme stocks”, they are shares that gain viral popularity with large numbers of investors through social media. This means that meme stocks often have a price which doesn’t reflect the true estimated value of the firm that has issued them. One of the most famous…
Issuing the appeal in Geneva on his behalf, Chief Spokesperson for his Office OHCHR, Ravina Shamdasani, “unequivocally” rejected the “false allegations” for which one staff member appeared to have been made to confess under duress. “These are completely made-up allegations,” she told journalists, highlighting “a video of our staff member that was put on social media as well which was clearly a forced confession. Our colleague looked very distressed in that video.” Total of 17 detained The six UN human rights staff – one woman and five men – were arrested on 6 June together with seven other UN personnel.…
Economist Milton Friedman’s influential maxim, that a company’s sole obligation is to maximize profits, is outdated. Many companies have voluntarily integrated social concerns into their business operations through corporate social responsibility, or CSR, policies for years. More recently, some companies have broadened their notion of what’s required of them beyond a traditional CSR approach by adopting what’s known as environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies that can be more appropriate for confronting challenges that go beyond the social realm, such as climate change. What happens when a company or a nonprofit operating at a national or global scale commits to…