Call for action on Islamophobia as Canada Muslims remember Afzaal family killing
Muslim community leaders in Canada have renewed demands from the government to deal with Islamophobia a year after four members of a Muslim family were killed in a terrorist hate attack. They met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and lawmakers in the capital, Ottawa, on June 6 to call for meaningful measures to address persisting Islamophobia and hate crimes in the British Commonwealth...
WHO calls for action to provide migrant and refugee health care
Millions of refugees and migrants face poorer health outcomes than their host communities, which could jeopardize reaching the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for these populations. The warning from the World Health Organization (WHO) comes in its first ever report on the health of refugees and migrants, published on July 20. It calls for urgent action to ensure people on the...
Papua, New Guinea: Conflict and election-related violence trigger wave of displacement
Following conflict and election-related violence in Papua, New Guinea, more than 15,000 people have been internally displaced in Hela, Southern Highlands and Enga provinces, the International Organization for Migration´s (IOM) said on Sept. 6. From August 13 to 30, IOM partnered with local authorities in deploying its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) team to track and monitor internal displacement and identify the needs...
Death toll from migrant boat sinking in Greece rises
ATHENS, Greece—Rescue crews searching for dozens of migrants missing from the sinking of a sailing boat in rough weather off an island near Athens were recovering mostly bodies on November 2, with only one more survivor—the 12th so far—rescued from the sea. The coast guard said it had recovered 20 bodies by the afternoon of November 2. Thirty-six people were...
Upheaval, conflict and confusion on the world stage
The global stage went through upheavals in 2022 that included war, redrawn geopolitical alliances, and an ongoing fall of White world rule. Observers said the world plunged into deeper crisis and insecurity and they aren’t optimistic the challenges would simmer down in 2023. “The world has never been in great shape,” said Bill Fletcher Jr., author, activist, and commentator. “I...
Around two million facing food insecurity across Lebanon
Some two million people in Lebanon, including 1.29 million Lebanese residents and 700,000 Syrian refugees, are suffering some form of food insecurity as a result of the multiple crises afflicting the country, with the situation expected to get worse in the months ahead, UN agencies said in mid-January. Lebanon’s first ever Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Acute Food Insecurity Analysis predicts that the...
Thousands of Portuguese hold nationwide demonstrations to protest country’s housing crisis
Thousands of people in Portugal have taken to the streets in the capital city of Lisbon and other cities across the country in protest against increasing rents and house prices at a time when high inflation is making it even tougher for people to make ends meet. “There is a huge housing crisis today,” Rita Silva, from the Habita housing...
U.S. power continues to slip in the Middle East
As strong and solid as the United States government purports to be on the world stage, recent developments in the Middle East are causes to question that perception. There is no question America was the influencer in the region for decades. However, with chief rivals China ascending and Russia in the region; although still powerful, U.S. influence is slipping,...
Thousands take to Colombia’s streets to protest 50 percent increase in gasoline prices
BOGOTA, Colombia—Thousands of protesters on cars and motorbikes took to the streets of Colombia’s main cities on August 28 to reject recent hikes in gasoline prices that have drastically increased the price of fuel in the South American country. Protesters say that the monthly price hikes set by Colombia’s first leftist government are making it harder for small businesses to...
Colombia stepping up efforts to achieve historic peace goals, UN envoy says
As Colombia prepares to mark the seventh anniversary of the peace agreement that ended the decades-long conflict there, the Government has increased its efforts to realize the accord’s goals, the UN envoy for the country said on October 11. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, told ambassadors at the Security Council, that soon in southern Colombia, land purchased by...