By THOMAS FULLER, with additional reporting by Poypiti Amatatham in Bangkok. 1 November 2011 BANGKOK – In the rush to defend Bangkok from monsoon floodwaters on Tuesday, Thai officials were faced with the choice of saving men or machines. Angry residents of a northern Bangkok neighborhood are demanding that officials open a barrier that is […]
By Lord Julian Hunt and Professor Yuguo Li Oct 31, 2011 08:41 EDT The world population has officially reached seven billion, according to the UN. This historic landmark reminds us of the massive challenges, including here in Europe, created by an ever-increasing number of humans on the planet. Growing populations are also driving another mega […]
By arevamirpal::laprimavera30 OCtober 2011 […] ContAct, did an interview with Mika Noro, which was webcasted on July 14, 2011. Ms. Noro has been active in helping children in areas affected by the Chernobyl nuke plant accident, and after the Fukushima accident her organization has been setting up free medical consultations for mothers and children […]
Editor: Wang Guanqun, english.news.cn 29 October 2011 ISLAMABAD, October 29 (Xinhua) – The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Saturday that needs of flood-hit Pakistani people are rising as winter approaches and reported outbreaks of waterborne diseases. Heavy monsoon rains in August caused floods in southern Sindh province and affected […]
By Will Ross BBC East Africa correspondent26 October 2011 A combination of a military build-up in Somalia and heavy rains are making the humanitarian relief effort in the country even harder, the UN has warned. Some four million people in Somalia need food and other assistance because of the drought and famine. Eleven days ago, […]
London, October 17 (AFP) – Climate change poses an immediate and serious threat to global health and stability, as floods and droughts destroy people’s homes and food supplies and increase mass migration, experts warned Monday. In a statement issued at a meeting in London, they urged tougher action to reduce climate change including upping the […]
By Bryan Walsh18 October 2011 Earlier this month, officials in the South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu had to confront a pretty dire problem: they were running out of water. Due to a severe and lasting drought, water reserves in this country of 11,000 people had dwindled to just a few days’ worth. Climate change […]
By Orla Guerin17 October 2011 Sindh (BBC News) – Muhammad Hanif rarely let his youngest son Abid out of his sight. The poor farmer was devoted to the lively three-year-old: “I was always picking him up and playing with him. He was the baby of the family. I couldn’t be without him for five minutes,” […]
October 5 (Save the Children) – The lives of at least three million children in Pakistan are at risk from malnutrition and disease because of a huge shortfall in emergency funding needed to help families left destitute by recent heavy flooding in Sindh province, says Save the Children. Only 9% of the £233 million required […]
By Elizabeth Grossman16 May 2011 New York City’s low-income neighborhoods and California’s Salinas Valley, where 80 percent of the United States’ lettuce is grown, could hardly be more different. But scientists have discovered that children growing up in these communities — one characterized by the rattle of subway trains, the other by acres of produce […]