US veto sinks Palestinian UN membership bid in Security CouncilTwelve countries voted in favor of the draft resolution recommending full Palestinian membership. Britain and Switzerland abstained. Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas's office called the US veto "a blatant aggression" and "an encouragement to the pursuit of the genocidal war against our people… which pushes the region ever further to the edge of the abyss."
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/04/us-veto-sinks-palestinian-un-membership-bid-security-councilAlgerian journalist says he was expelled from his country without explanationAlilat said he regularly takes flights from Paris to Algiers to report on Algeria, where he has for years been a well-known journalist due to his work for French-language daily newspapers including Liberté, which was shuttered in 2022 amid financial problems and scuffles with the government and Algeria’s state-owned oil company, both of which are major advertisers for the country’s newspapers.
https://apnews.com/article/algeria-journalist-expelled-farid-alilat-france-press-88cc12ce1fc6de125e33913a354edcae Turkey continues to cut off water supply to Alouk Station in Hesekê The Turkish state and its mercenaries cut off the Alouk Station, which provides water to more than one and a half million people in Hesekê and its district. The Turkish state has cut off the water supply more than 40 times since the occupation of Serêkaniyê. According to the Hesekê Water Directorate, the last water cut was 7 months ago and the water cuts still continue.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-syria/turkey-continues-to-cut-off-water-supply-to-alouk-station-in-heseke-72691Deadly heat in West Africa warns of climate change-driven scorchers to come, says reportTemperatures soared so high in Mali and Burkina Faso they equated to a once in 200-year event, according to the report on the Sahel region by World Weather Attribution (WWA).T he severity of the heatwave led WWA's team of climate scientists to conduct a rapid analysis, which concluded the temperatures would not have been reached if industry had not warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels and other activities.
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/deadly-heat-west-africa-warns-climate-change-driven-scorchers-come-says-report-2024-04-18/Biden administration to end sanctions waiver on Venezuelan oilSix months after lifting U.S. sanctions on Venezuela's key oil and gas sectors, the Treasury Department announced Wednesday it will let those temporary licenses expire – saying Maduro's government did not uphold its end of the bargain.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/biden-administration-end-sanctions-waiver-venezuelan-oil/story?id=109359510Growing demand for minerals sparks Indigenous outcry over “business as usual” mining practices“We recognize and support the need to end fossil fuel reliance and shift to renewable energy as critical in addressing the climate crisis,” the statement read. “However, the current trajectory of the energy transition fails to meet the criteria of justice, social equity, and environmental sustainability, particularly from the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples’ rights and well-being.”
https://apnews.com/article/indigenous-rights-energy-transition-bolivia-mining-5bfc90d265315319e34e330103ec5744Young people trapped in cost-of-living face desperate choice between essentialsA report by the YMCA, published today, highlighted testimonies from young people living in supported housing and how their struggles are driving a “significant decline” in mental and physical wellbeing. The report also highlights funding difficulties faced by YMCA’s local groups, which have seen a surge in demand for housing, amid soaring rents and energy bills, limit their ability to provide essential services.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/young-people-trapped-cost-living-face-desperate-choice-between-essentialsGerman minister kidnap plot: Sixth suspect charged German prosecutors said on Wednesday that they had charged a sixth suspect in an alleged far-right plot to kidnap Health Minister Karl Lauterbach over COVID-19 restrictions. Prosecutors added that the groups also allegedly intended to overthrow the government as a whole. The 61-year-old male suspect was charged with "the preparation of a treasonous enterprise and membership in a terrorist organization," Frankfurt prosecutors said in a statement.
https://www.dw.com/en/german-minister-kidnap-plot-sixth-suspect-charged/a-68847998https://archive.is/HwNDEEcuador: Police Repress Student Protest Against ReferendumOver the past week, blackouts have severely disrupted daily life in Ecuador, where citizens have taken to social media to express their discontent with President Daniel Noboa and his way of handling the energy crisis. … These protests occurred four days before a referendum through which the Noboa administration seeks constitutional reforms related to labor issues, international arbitration of foreign investments, penalties for crimes, and participation of the army in internal security.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuador-Police-Repress-Student-Protest-Against-Referendum-20240417-0019.htmlBrazil's Lula recognizes two more Indigenous lands, but postpones four othersBrazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva officially recognized two more Indigenous territories on Thursday, but said he decided not to sign off on four others because they still need to be cleared by people currently occupying them. The recognition grants the territories legal protection as reservations to be defended against invasions by illegal loggers, gold miners and cattle ranchers.
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-lula-recognizes-two-more-indigenous-lands-postpones-four-others-2024-04-19/