Category: Business

Hundreds have been injured and the country’s newly elected president said on Tuesday that more than 180 have died due to Monday’s 7.4 magnitude quake, which flattened homes and buildings in the west of the country and caused landslides. “Nearly 5,000 homes have been damaged and 387 have been destroyed; 61 buildings have collapsed and […]

Key points Red Sea is a vital global trade route  Even greater uncertainty for shipping  Seafarers must be protected, says IMO “It is with sadness and regret to know that, once again, innocent seafarers have lost their lives in an indefensible attack on international shipping. I offer my deepest condolences to the families of those […]

Key points The West Bank has been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war  Israeli settlements began expanding in the occupied West Bank soon after 1967 In 2005, Israel evacuated four settlements in the northern West Bank The occupied territory is central to plans for a future Palestinian state, but violent settlement expansion is […]

The conflict there killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions, and caused severe damage to infrastructure across the country estimated at over $100 billion.  Joelle-Seme Park works for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and recently travelled to Syria to visit recovery projects. “Standing in the middle of a neighbourhood in Rural Damascus, it was […]

Desertification, the phenomenon whereby fertile land becomes unproductive and desert-like, is spreading at alarming rates across the globe due to rising temperatures, droughts and deforestation.  Alarming Sword of Damocles  “Land is our most vital infrastructure — underpinning food security, water, livelihoods and stability,” stressed UN Executive Yasmine Fouad ahead of a major UN conference to tackle […]

Concrete is the world’s most used material after water and plays a fundamental role in building the sustainable world of tomorrow. At the same time, the cement and concrete industry is working to accelerate its journey to net zero.That transformation will require new technologies, new partnerships, and new ways of bringing innovation into real-world industrial […]

As maritime tensions ripple across parts of the Middle East, security officials from Ethiopia, Yemen, Djibouti and Somalia gathered in Nairobi this week to tackle a shared concern: how to protect the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from growing threats that no country can manage alone. The two-day Maritime Law Enforcement Dialogue, facilitated by […]

Key points Hundreds remain missing after devastating floods in Nepal and China  $2 million funding released by UN emergency relief chief  World Health Organization (WHO) sends medicines, supplies and tents  An initial $2 million has been released from the United Nations Global Emergency Fund (CERF) “to save lives with emergency medical care, shelter, water”, the UN’s […]

This week, politicians in the UK pushed forward with plans to eviscerate privacy and free speech on the internet by announcing a ban on social media for users under 16 that is set to take effect in Spring 2027.  The UK government continues to falsely characterize this policy as a necessary response to growing concerns […]

With no serious debate, including on proposed amendments, Canada is blazing full speed ahead with Bill C-22, which would threaten encryption and increase surveillance. Also known as the Lawful Access Bill, Bill C-22 is currently moving forward quickly to a vote despite the many, many criticisms civil liberty groups and the tech industry have hurled […]