Author: Injusticeto Team

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday blamed years of deforestation for a deadly mudslide that buried a mountainside community amid last week’s torrential rains set off by a storm that has left more than 130 people dead across the country.During an aerial inspection of the widespread damage wrought by Tropical Storm Nalgae in southern Maguindanao province, the president said he pointed out to the provincial governor how the mudslides cascaded on denuded slopes of Mount Minandar.“I noticed that in all places where the landslides came down, the mountains were bald. That’s the problem,” Marcos Jr.…

Rapid Support Forces fighters and allied militias have raped scores of women and girls, including in the context of sexual slavery, in Sudan’s South Kordofan state since September 2023.Conflict-related sexual violence is a serious violation of international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, and a war crime. Sexual violence may constitute crimes against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population.United Nations and African Union member states should urgently act to assist survivors, protect other women and girls, and ensure justice for these heinous crimes.(Nairobi, December 16, 2024) – Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters…

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — More introductions than normal were needed Tuesday as the South Carolina General Assembly started its latest two-year session.Nearly one in five lawmakers in the legislature are new to their jobs. In the Senate, 13 of the 46 members were elected in November to the chamber where people usually serve longer and it can normally take decades to obtain power.The new legislators could change the character of a General Assembly well-known for prioritizing economic growth and its slow response to change on other issues. In 2000, lawmakers didn’t vote to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse…

The most extensive global assessment of freshwater animals to date has revealed that a quarter of all freshwater animal species on the IUCN Red List are threatened with extinction. The largest number of these threatened species are found in East Africa’s Lake Victoria, South America’s Lake Titicaca, Sri Lanka’s Wet Zone, and India’s Western Ghats mountain range, the new study found. Researchers evaluated 23,496 species of freshwater fish, dragonfly, damselfly, crab, crayfish and shrimp, and found that 24%, are threatened with extinction. This means one in four freshwater specie are categorized as either extinct in the wild, critically…

The Brazilian government failed to follow through on its commitment to enact a National Pesticide Reduction Program on International Pesticide Free Day today. Brazil is among the top consumers of pesticides in the world, many of which are highly hazardous.Though the original plan was drafted in 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (Ministério da Agricultura e Pecuária, MAPA) has repeatedly blocked it from moving forward. The failure of the ministries involved to reach an agreement today is a striking blow to the Brazilian scientists, activists, and family farmers who have advocated for the plan for over a decade.Any current revisions to the plan have…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters in Southern California readied for another round of critical fire weather after calmer than expected winds Tuesday gave them a much-needed reprieve in which they were able to make progress battling the Los Angeles area’s largest blaze and quickly snuff out several smaller new fires.With winds not reaching dangerous levels Tuesday evening, the National Weather Service pushed back its dire warning of critical fire weather until 3 a.m. Wednesday. The so-called red flag warnings were to remain in effect from Central California to the Mexican border until late afternoon Wednesday as firefighters battled two massive…

The end of the year is often a time for reflection. As we consider 2024, and look toward the year ahead, the NPQ team presents a collection of articles that impacted us this year. These articles further the conversations that offer positive solutions for the global climate crisis and center voices on the ground: from the young leaders bringing energy and momentum to the climate movement to new environmental policies, from community resilience to the changing climate’s influence on insurance, education, environmental conservation, philanthropy, and more. Please consider joining NPQ  in amplifying the voices, solutions, and stories of climate justice,…

One of motorcade for impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol leaves for the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials from the gate of the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. Lee Jin-man/AP hide caption toggle caption Lee Jin-man/AP SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean law enforcement officials on Wednesday detained impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief imposition of martial law last month. In a video message recorded before he was escorted to the headquarters of an anti-corruption agency, Yoon lamented that the “rule of law has completely collapsed in this country” but…

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — One day after Michael Thomas Lewis was charged with felony stalking of Indiana Fever star and WNBA rookie of the year Caitlin Clark, the 55-year-old Texas man shouted “guilty as charged” as soon as he sat down in a courtroom Tuesday.Lewis is accused of repeated and continued harassment of the 22-year-old Clark beginning on Dec. 16, the Marion County prosecutor’s office wrote in a court filing.WISH-TV of Indianapolis reported that Lewis behaved “very erratically” in his first court appearance and, at times, appeared to be laughing and joking while noting he had not been taking his medication…

Anthony Honore was accustomed to seeing brush fires far up in the San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena during yearly dry seasons. But last Tuesday night’s blaze was different.  Fueled by Santa Ana winds of up to 100 miles per hour and unusually bone-dry vegetation in what is typically a moist time of year, the Eaton Fire quickly leapt from plants to homes. Honore’s childhood neighborhood was ablaze. But the life-long Pasadena resident had no time to grieve.  He had a family member to rescue.  “I was running through the streets to find my auntie,” he said, recalling when the evacuation…