Author: Injusticeto Team

The Republic of Congo set up a REDD+ program in the Sangha and Likouala regions, aiming to reduce deforestation and store carbon from 2020 through to 2024.However, in the Sangha region alone, the country’s mining minister has issued at least 79 semi-industrial gold mining and exploration permits since the project began.Scientists reviewing images of these mining activities condemn the “reckless” destruction of biodiversity.The government says the program stored more than 1.5 million metric tons of carbon in 2020, for which it expects to be paid more than $8 million from the World Bank.See All Key Ideas This article…

The curtains had barely closed on the global United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP29, in Baku when Azerbaijani authorities resumed their crackdown on government critics. On December 6, they detained seven independent journalists on bogus charges, in keep with a well-documented pattern of arrests aimed at silencing critics.This time, the prime target was Meydan TV, Azerbaijan’s largest exile-based independent media outlet. Among those arrested were Meydan TV’s editor-in-chief, Aynur Ganbarova (Elgunesh), and five reporters, Aytaj Ahmadova (Tapdig), Khayala Agayeva, Natig Javadli, Aysel Umudova, and Ramin Jabrayilzade (Deko). The same day, police arrested Ulvi Tahirov, a journalist and deputy director of the Baku…

This story was originally published by The Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The global economy could face a 50 percent loss in gross domestic product between 2070 and 2090 from the catastrophic shocks of climate change unless immediate action by political leaders is taken to decarbonize and restore nature, according to a new report. The stark warning from risk management experts at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, or IFoA, hugely increases the estimate of risk to global economic well-being from climate change impacts such as fires, flooding, droughts, temperature rises, and nature breakdown. In a report…

TOKYO (AP) — Dozens of people soaked and splashed themselves in painfully icy cold water on Saturday in a pool at a Tokyo shrine, adhering to Japanese tradition to purify the soul and pray for good health in the new year.Mostly half-naked men with just white loincloth around their hips and several women in white robes joined the annual cold endurance ritual at the Kanda Myojin, a Shinto shrine in downtown Tokyo. Scantily clad shrine parishioners prepare to participate in the annual cold-endurance festival at Kanda Myojin Shinto shrine in Tokyo, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, a traditional Japanese way of…

(Jerusalem) – The Israeli military killed, wounded, starved, and forcibly displaced Palestinian civilians in Gaza in 2024, and destroyed their homes, schools, hospitals, and infrastructure at a scale unprecedented in recent history, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025. Tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza were killed and wounded. The military forcibly displaced Palestinians from their homes, a crime against humanity, and Israeli authorities deliberately deprived civilians of food, water, and other objects necessary for survival in Gaza, comprising atrocity crimes, acts of genocide, and mounting evidence of genocidal intent.For the 546-page world report, in its 35th edition, Human Rights…

A recent analysis has revealed that India’s groundwater contains pollutants in excess of permissible limits. This contamination is driven by both natural geochemical processes and human activities like agricultural and industrial practices, reports contributor Esha Lohia for Mongabay India. To understand the state of groundwater in India, the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) assessed more than 15,000 groundwater samples from across the country in 2023. It found that nearly 20% of the samples had high levels of nitrates, while 13.2% exceeded permissible limits for iron, 9.04% for fluoride, 6.6% for uranium and 3.55% for arsenic. Each of these…

Ukraine’s parliament has taken a critically important step towards providing survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) with interim reparations, by adopting a law to codify the definition of CRSV in national legislation.The new law addresses acts of sexual violence—such as rape, forced pregnancy, and sexual exploitation—committed after February 20, 2014. It recognizes the status of CRSV survivors, as well as their immediate family members in the case of a victim’s death. It includes parents of minor victims, spouses, children, and dependents, and provides pathways to receiving essential legal, social, and medical support.Since February 2022, Ukrainian authorities have documented 331 cases of CRSV…

MANHEIM, Pa.—Stephen Haldeman has four apps on his phone just to check air quality, and they have become part of his morning routine: a shot of hot coffee in his favorite white mug, his seat by the sunlit kitchen window and some quick research on his phone that will decide if he can go out that day. “I wish I wouldn’t have to do it. But for me, unfortunately, when the air is bad, my throat goes tight. My eyes water. Suzy gets headaches,” Haldeman said, referring to his wife, Suzy Hamme. Retired and in their 70s, Haldeman and Hamme…

SYDNEY —  Authorities declared a natural disaster Saturday in parts of eastern Australia where gales have toppled trees and knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes. Heavy rain, lightning and winds as strong as 100 kph have swept across Sydney and other areas of New South Wales since Wednesday. With many power lines felled, about 30,000 properties remained without electricity Saturday — down from a peak of more than 260,000, said the state’s emergency services minister, Jihad Dib. “This is an incident that is affecting the whole state,” he told reporters. Emergency services had responded to more than…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Attorneys for a woman who is among thousands who lost their homes in the Eaton Fire outside Los Angeles say Southern California Edison crews working to repair and restore power in the area may have destroyed evidence that could help determine what sparked the wildfire. The fire has killed at least 16 people and destroyed more than 7,000 structures in Altadena. Video and photos taken by residents captured flames beneath Edison’s electrical towers in the Eaton Canyon area in the early minutes of the fire. One resident said he heard a loud pop at the outset…