UK’s cost-of-living crisis, high prices to cause thousands of premature deaths: Study
A new study has shown that Britain’s cost-of-living crisis that mainly results from the government’s economic policy is set to cause premature deaths among thousands of people this year. The results of the research were published by the BMJ Public Health journal on Sept. 25, as millions of Britons are facing levels of inflation not seen since the 1970s as a result...
Rights experts warn against forced separation of Uyghur children in China
Forced separations and language policies for Uyghur and other minority Muslim children at State-run boarding schools in China’s Xinjiang region carry the risk of forced assimilation, three UN independent human rights experts said on Sept. 26. Classroom teaching at these institutions is almost exclusively in Mandarin, with little or no use of the Uyghur language, they said in a statement. They warned that...
Nations of Africa demand a bigger voice, role on the global stage
If you listened to African leaders addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA-78) as I did, you would have discovered a singular unanimous message of being fed up with Western powers’ dominance over global affairs. In unison, African leaders expressed dissatisfaction with living in a world that pretends present-day economic and social conditions are not connected with historical injustices. Much...
UN rights experts slam ‘systemic racism’ in U.S. police and courts
Police and criminal justice systems in the United States require urgent reform to eradicate “systemic racism” against people of African descent, UN-appointed independent rights experts said on Sept. 28. A new report by UN International experts advancing racial justice and equality in policing, published after an official visit to the country, shows that Black people in the U.S. are three times more likely to be...
Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger sign agreement to defend each other if attacked
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have signed a trilateral defense agreement binding the three Sahel countries to assist one another in the event of a military attack on any one of them. The agreement, known as the Liptako-Gourma Charter, was inked by the three states’ military leaders on Sept. 16 and according to Mali’s junta leader, Assimi Goita, it establishes...
Sudan conflict continues and is spilling into neighboring countries
With Sudan entering its sixth month of a brutal conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, the country appears to be metastasizing into a catastrophe that has spilled over into neighboring countries. The result of fighting between the two factions in the capital city of Khartoum resulted in General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan,...
Nearly 100 migrants rescued from a yacht off southwestern Greece
ATHENS, Greece—Nearly 100 migrants were safely evacuated Sept. 20 from a yacht reported to be in difficulty off the southwestern coast of Greece, authorities said. The Coast Guard said in a statement that the yacht carrying 93 people was located about 40 nautical miles (46 miles, 74 kilometers) West of the small town of Pylos. There were no reports of...
Unprecedented child migration crisis across Latin America and Caribbean
Record numbers of children are on the move through Latin America and the Caribbean, facing perilous journeys marked by violence, exploitation and abuse, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned in Sept. 5. Children in the region driven from their homes by gang violence, instability, poverty and climate change represent around 25 percent of migrants said—almost double the global average of...
Israel closes Gaza crossings again, hinders Palestinians’ access to work
The Israeli regime has sealed crossing points with the besieged Gaza Strip, preventing thousands of workers from getting to their jobs in the occupied Palestinian territories and further exacerbating the humanitarian situation in the impoverished enclave. Israeli authorities on Sept. 20 confirmed that the Erez crossing into Gaza was closed and said it would be re-opened “in accordance with situational assessments.” The...
Symbolism or substance? African Union granted seat in the G-20
The Group of 20 leading industrial and developing nations concluded their annual summit of leaders in New Delhi, India, recently, under the theme: “One Earth, One Family, One Future.” World leaders held talks on issues ranging from climate change and green growth to gender equality and countering terrorism. Among major outcomes in the closing G-20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration...