Dear COP29, it’s time to put women-led climate solutions on the agenda

Dear COP29, it’s time to put women-led climate solutions on the agenda

It’s way past time to make gender equity an integral part of global climate policy and investing. This isn’t about PR, CSR, or even ESG. This is about basic common sense. Women are more likely to be affected by the impacts of climate change than men, meaning they are more likely to see and feel it coming, learn how to adapt, and care for others during extreme weather and natural disasters.

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World Bank suspends $150m funding for Tanzania tourism project citing extrajudicial killings, sexual abuse in parks

World Bank suspends $150m funding for Tanzania tourism project citing extrajudicial killings, sexual abuse in parks

At least $100 million has already been disbursed for the project, which started in 2017. The suspension of World Bank financing took effect April 18. The Oakland Institute, a California-based rights watchdog whose work focuses on marginalized communities, for years led calls for the World Bank to stop funding the project known by the acronym REGROW, documenting serious rights abuses suffered by Indigenous communities in the area.

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World War III is on, but it’s not some conquering army sweeping its way across the continent

World War III is on, but it’s not some conquering army sweeping its way across the continent

South of Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia continue to simmer. Last year, Azerbaijan attacked the breakaway republic of Artsakh. With the backing of Turkey and Israeli weapons, Azerbaijan attempted to permanently squash the ethnic Armenian enclave, successfully driving tens of thousands of civilians into neighbouring countries.

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Shift in character and tenor of modern conflicts gives Israel attack on Iran tone of World War III

Shift in character and tenor of modern conflicts gives Israel attack on Iran tone of World War III

As the media and the world awaits full-scale war between Iran and Israel and even frets about nuclear escalation, a huge reality of modern warfare is being overlooked: We are already fighting World War III. No, it is not empires marching armies through countries, conquering continents. And no, it isn’t millions of young men (and now women) pressed in uniform on scales of nearly 100 years ago. And no, in most societies where war is a constant, the public doesn’t even have to feel the pain of war, except in that the military dominates everything and robs everything else of resources: programmes to fight poverty, food, housing, health care, transportation, climate change.

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Why WHO report predicts 77 per cent rise in cancers by 2050: ‘Covid vaccines damage immune system’

Why WHO report predicts 77 per cent rise in cancers by 2050: ‘Covid vaccines damage immune system’

The cancer occurred in a 66-year-old man, mere days after he got his third Pfizer shot. Ironically, he got the shot to protect him during chemotherapy, and in eight days, the cancer just exploded and spread like wildfire. According to Makis, that kind of progression would normally take a couple of years or at least a few months.

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South African police accused of helping criminals register security companies to access firearms

South African police accused of helping criminals register security companies to access firearms

Naidoo told the court Gounden allegedly had the Verulam Police Station under his control and some detectives were on his payroll.

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IMF says while Sub-Saharan Africa debt levels to fall, new funding has become scarce

IMF says while Sub-Saharan Africa debt levels to fall, new funding has become scarce

After painful defaults for Zambia, Ghana and Ethiopia since 2020, a rise in external debt servicing and a fall in funds from overseas has led to the lowest net foreign flows into Sub-Saharan Africa since the global financial crisis of 2008-9, the IMF said.

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Gang violence kills 2,500 in Haiti in four months as  international support takes a backseat

Gang violence kills 2,500 in Haiti in four months as  international support takes a backseat

Gang violence, which has worsened for years, escalated on February 29 when unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry travelled to Kenya to fast-track a planned international security support mission, but days later he resigned under US pressure.

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Iran-Israel hostility spirals rapidly from sub-threshold level to overt war that sucks in Middle East

Iran-Israel hostility spirals rapidly from sub-threshold level to overt war that sucks in Middle East

Israel’s targeting of the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 has been widely regarded as a step up in its openness to hit at Iran directly, though Tehran is accused of targeting an Israeli embassy in the past. The recent behaviour is a departure from the past when either party often tried to shroud their actions in the cloak of plausible (or sometimes implausible) deniability.

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Israel retaliatory strikes on Iran rattle stocks but US Treasuries report recovery after attacks

Israel retaliatory strikes on Iran rattle stocks but US Treasuries report recovery after attacks

Oil prices jumped $3 a barrel on concern that Middle East oil supply could be disrupted, but later pared some of the gains after Iran said it has no plans for an immediate retaliation, denying that any attack had taken place.

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