Alliance sets sights on minerals needed for global shift to green energy
The U.S. government’s representative to the Minerals Security Partnership, an alliance of mostly Western countries that aims to speed the development of energy mineral supply chains, said last month that a Chinese company was using “predatory” tactics to hold down…
Russia suffers massive losses in Ukraine, but effect on Kremlin policy unclear
Several recent journalistic investigations have provided statistics showing that Russia’s military has suffered staggering losses since launching its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In late June, independent Russian outlet Important Stories found “more than 71,000 Russian men died in…
US manufacturing contraction deepens in June
Washington — U.S. manufacturing activity edged lower in June, deepening a recent slump on continued weak demand, according to industry survey data published Monday. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing index came in at 48.5% last month, down 0.2…
Amazon sidesteps carbon offset standard Bezos helped fund
Amazon AMZN.O has become the first company to sidestep a global standard for verifying carbon offsets that was developed by a non-profit funded largely by the U.S. technology conglomerate’s founder and executive chair, Jeff Bezos. Amazon is backing the development…
Street medicine teams search for homeless people to deliver lifesaving IV hydration in extreme heat
Phoenix — Alfred Handley leaned back in his wheelchair alongside a major Phoenix freeway as a street medicine team helped him get rehydrated with an intravenous saline solution dripping from a bag hanging on a pole. Cars whooshed by under…
UN pushes for inclusive future in Afghanistan at Doha talks
Speaking in the Qatari capital, Doha, after the Third Meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan, UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo expressed deep concern over the situation of women and girls in the country. “Running through all the discussions was the…
Haiti: Violence displaces one child every minute, reports UNICEF
Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, highlighted the horrific impact of violence on children and adolescents. “The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our eyes is taking a devastating toll on children. Displaced children are in desperate need of a safe and protective…
Sudan: UN food convoy attacked, supplies looted amid worsening crisis
Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the top UN humanitarian official for Sudan expressed “outrage” at the incident. “The aid looted from a WFP convoy in Central Darfur will no longer go to the most vulnerable people in need,” she said in a post…
Tens of thousands displaced in new Gaza City escalation
The exodus from Gaza City’s eastern Shujaiya district follows days of reported intense bombardment by the Israeli military, whose tanks have been sighted “around 100” metres east of Salah El Din road, the main north-south axis. “People in this area…
Economic turmoil in Bolivia fuels distrust in government and its claim of a ‘failed coup’
LA PAZ — Signs reading “I’m buying dollars” line the doors of Víctor Vargas’ shoe shop in the heart of Bolivia’s biggest city, a desperate attempt to keep his family business alive. Just a few years ago, the 45-year-old Vargas…