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The Joe Biden administration imposed terrorism sanctions on two accountants in Lebanon and two companies that provided financial services to the militant group Hezbollah. As reported by AP, the Treasury Department will also sanction a third person for assisting Hezbollah, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, with weapons acquisitions. Adel Mohamad Mansour, executive director of Hezbollah’s Al-Qard Al-Hassan group, as well as another company he runs, Al-Khobara for Accounting, Auditing, and Studies, are targeted. Also sanctioned are the firm Auditors for Accounting and Auditing and its representative Naser Hasan Neser, as well as Hassan Khalil, who Treasury says helped Hezbollah acquire…

On this year’s International Day of People of Determination, which falls on Saturday, Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, called for transformative, innovative solutions in a world where crises disproportionately impact people of determination. Guterres emphasized the need for greater public-private sector collaboration in developing strategies that benefit people of determination, who should also be involved in their development. A road map to achieving this goal has been published by the UN in its Disability Inclusion Strategy. This is aimed at making the United Nations more accessible to people with disabilities. “From headquarters to the field, we work to assess,…

An average of five women or girls were killed by a member of their own family every hour in 2021, according to two UN agencies. This study was issued ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, observed annually on 25 November by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women. Nearly half of the 81,000 women and girls intentionally killed last year died at the hands of intimate partners or other family members. According to the report, 11 percent of all male homicides occur in the private sphere, indicating that many women…

Coral protection is envisioned by conservation group The Nature Conservancy by deploying speedboats and a global army of snorkelers and divers during tropical storms and hurricanes. The global Reef Brigades plan came closer to reality on Monday when the project purchased the first coral insurance contract in the U.S., which will provide funds for repair work, building on similar policies taken out in the Caribbean. Eric Roberts, a senior risk and resilience program manager at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), said conservation has really relied on philanthropy and government grants. According to Reuters, “We’re also tapping into the private sector by…

UNICEF launched a new climate finance initiative on Wednesday to support countries to cope with natural disasters and address the current impacts of climate change. For the first time, the Today and Tomorrow initiative combines funding for immediate resilience and risk prevention programmes for children to help them cope with future cyclones. This is combined with risk transfer financing provided by the insurance market to help them deal with these crises in the future. “We know more climate disasters are in the making. We just do not know where or when they will hit”, said Karin Hulshof, UNICEF Deputy Executive…

In Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, a multi-story residential building collapsed Tuesday. No official word on casualties was available immediately. The Associated Press reports that rescue operations have begun for construction workers trapped under the rubble. Local media reported that residents of Kasarani said the building showed signs of weakness, with visible cracks. According to the local Daily Nation newspaper, government officials inspected the construction site earlier on Tuesday and asked workers to leave. It was alleged that the site foreman told the workers to continue working. Witnesses say several injured people are being treated at a nearby hospital after the…

The United Nations chief told dozens of leaders to “cooperate or perish” to avoid further climate catastrophe on Monday, as the world speeds towards climate hell. In Antonio Guterres’ words, “Humanity must cooperate or perish.” It’s either Climate Solidarity or Collective Suicide. According to Guterres, “Today’s urgent crises cannot justify backsliding or greenwashing.” He wasn’t the only speaker preaching with tones of fire and brimstone, alternately interspersed with pathos and tragedy at the United Nations climate summit COP 27. “Choose life over death,” former U.S. Vice President Al Gore urged. “It is not time for moral cowardice.” “The people of…

The East African region’s most severe drought in decades has led to the death of hundreds of animals, including hundreds of endangered Grevy’s zebras, in Kenya’s wildlife preserves. This is according to a report released Friday. In the past nine months, the Kenya Wildlife Service and other bodies recorded the deaths of 205 elephants, 512 wildebeests, 381 common zebras, 51 buffaloes, 49 Grevy’s zebras, and 12 giraffes. Kenya has experienced four consecutive years of insufficient rain, resulting in dire consequences for people and animals, including livestock, according to The Associated Press (AP). Among the most affected ecosystems are Kenya’s most…

There are at least 150 deaths reported in the Philippines after severe tropical storm Nalgae caused flash floods and landslides over the weekend. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, 94 deaths have been confirmed and 56 are being verified. The agency confirmed 28 of the 36 missing, while the identities of the other eight are still unknown. Over 3.9 million people were affected by the tropical storm. 499 roads and 120 bridges were damaged, and many areas lost power. This is the 16th tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year. Early Saturday morning, the storm…

Australia’s most populous state is urging hundreds of residents to leave their homes as slow-moving floodwaters push downstream and the country’s fourth major flood crisis of the year continues. New South Wales authorities are urging residents of the regional towns of Wagga Wagga, Gunnedah, and Forbes to evacuate. A total of about 90,000 people live in the three towns. According to Reuters, flooding at Forbes, roughly five hours west of Sydney, may reach a seventy-year high on Friday. In the 24 hours leading up to Thursday morning, 15 flood rescues were carried out across Australia’s most populous state. A total…