Nearly 900 mn poor people exposed to climate shocks, UN warns

Nearly 80 percent of the world’s poorest, or about 900 million people, are directly exposed to climate hazards exacerbated by global warming, bearing a “double and deeply unequal burden,” the United Nations warned Friday.”No one is immune to the increasingly frequent and stronger climate change effects like droughts, floods, heat waves, and air pollution, but it’s the poorest among us who are facing the harshest impact,” Haoliang Xu, acting administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, told AFP in a statement.COP30, the UN climate summit in Brazil in November, “is the moment for world leaders to look at climate action as action against poverty,” he added.According to an annual study published by the UNDP together with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, 1.1 billion people, or about 18 percent of the 6.3 billion in 109 countries analyzed, live in “acute multidimensional” poverty, based on factors like infant mortality and access to housing, sanitation, electricity and education.Half of those people are minors.One example of such extreme deprivation cited in the report is the case of Ricardo, a member of the Guarani Indigenous community living outside Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia’s largest city.Ricardo, who earns a meager income as a day laborer, shares his small single-family house with 18 other people, including his three children, parents and other extended family. The house has only one bathroom, a wood- and coal-fired kitchen, and none of the children are in school.”Their lives reflect the multidimensional realities of poverty,” the report said.- Prioritizing ‘people and the planet’ -Two regions particularly affected by such poverty are sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia — and they are also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.The report highlights the connection between poverty and exposure to four environmental risks: extreme heat, drought, floods, and air pollution.”Impoverished households are especially susceptible to climate shocks as many depend on highly vulnerable sectors such as agriculture and informal labor,” the report said. “When hazards overlap or strike repeatedly, they compound existing deprivations.”As a result, 887 million people, or nearly 79 percent of these poor populations, are directly exposed to at least one of these threats, with 608 million people suffering from extreme heat, 577 million affected by pollution, 465 million by floods, and 207 million by drought.Roughly 651 million are exposed to at least two of the risks, 309 million to three or four risks, and 11 million poor people have already experienced all four in a single year.”Concurrent poverty and climate hazards are clearly a global issue,” the report said.And the increase in extreme weather events threatens development progress. While South Asia has made progress in fighting poverty, 99.1 percent of its poor population exposed to at least one climate hazard.The region “must once again chart a new path forward, one that balances determined poverty reduction with innovative climate action,” the report says.With Earth’s surface rapidly getting warmer, the situation is likely to worsen further and experts warn that today’s poorest countries will be hardest hit by rising temperatures.”Responding to overlapping risks requires prioritizing both people and the planet, and above all, moving from recognition to rapid action,” the report said.

Nearly 900 mn poor people exposed to climate shocks, UN warns

Nearly 80 percent of the world’s poorest, or about 900 million people, are directly exposed to climate hazards exacerbated by global warming, bearing a “double and deeply unequal burden,” the United Nations warned Friday.”No one is immune to the increasingly frequent and stronger climate change effects like droughts, floods, heat waves, and air pollution, but it’s the poorest among us who are facing the harshest impact,” Haoliang Xu, acting administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, told AFP in a statement.COP30, the UN climate summit in Brazil in November, “is the moment for world leaders to look at climate action as action against poverty,” he added.According to an annual study published by the UNDP together with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, 1.1 billion people, or about 18 percent of the 6.3 billion in 109 countries analyzed, live in “acute multidimensional” poverty, based on factors like infant mortality and access to housing, sanitation, electricity and education.Half of those people are minors.One example of such extreme deprivation cited in the report is the case of Ricardo, a member of the Guarani Indigenous community living outside Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia’s largest city.Ricardo, who earns a meager income as a day laborer, shares his small single-family house with 18 other people, including his three children, parents and other extended family. The house has only one bathroom, a wood- and coal-fired kitchen, and none of the children are in school.”Their lives reflect the multidimensional realities of poverty,” the report said.- Prioritizing ‘people and the planet’ -Two regions particularly affected by such poverty are sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia — and they are also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.The report highlights the connection between poverty and exposure to four environmental risks: extreme heat, drought, floods, and air pollution.”Impoverished households are especially susceptible to climate shocks as many depend on highly vulnerable sectors such as agriculture and informal labor,” the report said. “When hazards overlap or strike repeatedly, they compound existing deprivations.”As a result, 887 million people, or nearly 79 percent of these poor populations, are directly exposed to at least one of these threats, with 608 million people suffering from extreme heat, 577 million affected by pollution, 465 million by floods, and 207 million by drought.Roughly 651 million are exposed to at least two of the risks, 309 million to three or four risks, and 11 million poor people have already experienced all four in a single year.”Concurrent poverty and climate hazards are clearly a global issue,” the report said.And the increase in extreme weather events threatens development progress. While South Asia has made progress in fighting poverty, 99.1 percent of its poor population exposed to at least one climate hazard.The region “must once again chart a new path forward, one that balances determined poverty reduction with innovative climate action,” the report says.With Earth’s surface rapidly getting warmer, the situation is likely to worsen further and experts warn that today’s poorest countries will be hardest hit by rising temperatures.”Responding to overlapping risks requires prioritizing both people and the planet, and above all, moving from recognition to rapid action,” the report said.

Nearly 900 mn poor people exposed to climate shocks, UN warns

Nearly 80 percent of the world’s poorest, or about 900 million people, are directly exposed to climate hazards exacerbated by global warming, bearing a “double and deeply unequal burden,” the United Nations warned Friday.”No one is immune to the increasingly frequent and stronger climate change effects like droughts, floods, heat waves, and air pollution, but it’s the poorest among us who are facing the harshest impact,” Haoliang Xu, acting administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, told AFP in a statement.COP30, the UN climate summit in Brazil in November, “is the moment for world leaders to look at climate action as action against poverty,” he added.According to an annual study published by the UNDP together with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, 1.1 billion people, or about 18 percent of the 6.3 billion in 109 countries analyzed, live in “acute multidimensional” poverty, based on factors like infant mortality and access to housing, sanitation, electricity and education.Half of those people are minors.One example of such extreme deprivation cited in the report is the case of Ricardo, a member of the Guarani Indigenous community living outside Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia’s largest city.Ricardo, who earns a meager income as a day laborer, shares his small single-family house with 18 other people, including his three children, parents and other extended family. The house has only one bathroom, a wood- and coal-fired kitchen, and none of the children are in school.”Their lives reflect the multidimensional realities of poverty,” the report said.- Prioritizing ‘people and the planet’ -Two regions particularly affected by such poverty are sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia — and they are also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.The report highlights the connection between poverty and exposure to four environmental risks: extreme heat, drought, floods, and air pollution.”Impoverished households are especially susceptible to climate shocks as many depend on highly vulnerable sectors such as agriculture and informal labor,” the report said. “When hazards overlap or strike repeatedly, they compound existing deprivations.”As a result, 887 million people, or nearly 79 percent of these poor populations, are directly exposed to at least one of these threats, with 608 million people suffering from extreme heat, 577 million affected by pollution, 465 million by floods, and 207 million by drought.Roughly 651 million are exposed to at least two of the risks, 309 million to three or four risks, and 11 million poor people have already experienced all four in a single year.”Concurrent poverty and climate hazards are clearly a global issue,” the report said.And the increase in extreme weather events threatens development progress. While South Asia has made progress in fighting poverty, 99.1 percent of its poor population exposed to at least one climate hazard.The region “must once again chart a new path forward, one that balances determined poverty reduction with innovative climate action,” the report says.With Earth’s surface rapidly getting warmer, the situation is likely to worsen further and experts warn that today’s poorest countries will be hardest hit by rising temperatures.”Responding to overlapping risks requires prioritizing both people and the planet, and above all, moving from recognition to rapid action,” the report said.

Nearly 900 mn poor people exposed to climate shocks, UN warnsFri, 17 Oct 2025 04:12:27 GMT

Nearly 80 percent of the world’s poorest, or about 900 million people, are directly exposed to climate hazards exacerbated by global warming, bearing a “double and deeply unequal burden,” the United Nations warned Friday.”No one is immune to the increasingly frequent and stronger climate change effects like droughts, floods, heat waves, and air pollution, but …

Nearly 900 mn poor people exposed to climate shocks, UN warnsFri, 17 Oct 2025 04:12:27 GMT Read More »

Army colonel to be sworn in as Madagascar presidentFri, 17 Oct 2025 03:49:47 GMT

Madagascar is set Friday to swear in an army colonel as president, just days after a military power grab that sent President Andry Rajoelina fleeing and raised international alarm about a new coup on the island.The country’s highest court was expected to formalise the appointment of Colonel Michael Randrianirina in a ceremony at 9:00 am …

Army colonel to be sworn in as Madagascar presidentFri, 17 Oct 2025 03:49:47 GMT Read More »

Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley dies: family

Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist for US glam rock group KISS, has died, his family said. He was 74.The guitar wizard died at home, surrounded by family, following a recent fall, a representative told AFP.A statement from Frehley’s family said they were “devastated and heartbroken” by their loss.”In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth,” the family said.”Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will continue to live on forever!”In 1973, Frehley was a founding member of KISS, alongside bass guitarist Gene Simmons, lead singer Paul Stanley and drummer Peter Criss.The band posted to social media Thursday night, calling Frehley “an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier.” Simmons said on his X account, “No one can touch Ace’s legacy. I know he loved the fans.””Sadder still, Ace didn’t live long enough to be honored at” the 48th Kennedy Center Honors event in December, Simmons added.  Even at a time of outrageous costumes, KISS stood out from the crowd, with full-face Kabuki-style makeup, wild hair and impossibly high platform shoes. Their distinctive look played into the success of a group whose hits included “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” “God of Thunder” and “Strutter.”Performances were often theatrical events, involving pyrotechnics and smokebombs.The band’s artwork — lightning bolts for the SS of KISS — is indelibly linked with the makeup and Simmons’s ever-present and incredibly long tongue.Frehley left the band in 1982 amid substance misuse and as creative differences surfaced.He continued to work as a solo artist, and founded the band Frehley’s Comet, producing a number of hit albums. He reunited with KISS in the mid-1990s for a six-year stint.Frehley is survived by his wife, Jeanette, and his daughter, Monique.

Verdict au procès de Cédric Jubillar, après quatre semaines de débats

Epilogue d’un procès hors normes, la cour d’assises du Tarn dira vendredi si Cédric Jubillar est coupable ou non du meurtre de son épouse Delphine, dont le corps n’a pas été retrouvé depuis fin 2020.Le ministère public a requis 30 ans de réclusion criminelle à son encontre, ses avocats réclament son acquittement. Vendredi, à l’ouverture de l’audience à Albi, le peintre-plaquiste de 38 ans, qui clame son innocence, aura une dernière opportunité de s’exprimer devant la cour. Les trois magistrats et les six jurés se retireront ensuite pour délibérer, avec pour consigne que le doute doit profiter à l’accusé. Sept sur neuf doivent déclarer Cédric Jubillar coupable, pour qu’il soit condamné. Si trois d’entre eux votent “non coupable”, il sera acquitté.- Semer le doute -Invariablement, l’accusé, stoïque dans son box mais régulièrement secoué de mouvements nerveux, a martelé qu’il n’avait rien à voir avec la disparition de la mère de ses deux enfants, dans la nuit du 15 au 16 décembre 2020 à Cagnac-les-Mines, près d’Albi. “Je conteste toujours les faits qui me sont reprochés”, a-t-il dit dès sa première prise de parole le 22 septembre, au premier jour du procès de quatre semaines. Et il n’aura pas dévié jusqu’à la fin.Lors de leurs plaidoiries, jeudi, ses avocats ont cherché à semer le doute dans l’esprit des jurés. Alors que parties civiles et avocats généraux estiment qu’un “pétage de plomb” de l’accusé a pu conduire au meurtre de l’infirmière de 33 ans, Emmanuelle Franck a affirmé: “Un pétage de plomb, c’est ce qu’on appelle un crime pulsionnel, un crime passionnel, celui qui laisse le plus de traces, parce qu’on ne contrôle rien, on éclabousse tout”. Or il n’y a aucune trace, a insisté l’avocate, adressant ses dernières salves aux enquêteurs et aux juges d’instruction.”Vous ne serez pas le jury du festival de Cannes qui vient récompenser le meilleur scenario”, a lancé aux jurés son confrère Alexandre Martin. Faute de preuves, les enquêteurs ont en effet, selon lui, imaginé “un faisceau d’indices” et bâti un scénario, qui vient conclure une instruction “à charge”.- Féminicide -Depuis le 16 décembre 2020, une “machine effrayante” s’est mise en marche, “quinze jours après la condamnation de Daval, cela ne peut être que le mari”, a fustigé Me Martin, en référence à la condamnation de Jonathann Daval pour un féminicide retentissant, jugé en novembre 2020.”La conviction des gendarmes dès le premier jour” a empêché la manifestation de la vérité et le procès, quatre ans et demi plus tard, n’a fait que dérouler un “tapis rouge à l’erreur judiciaire”, a-t-il plaidé.Pour les parties civiles et l’accusation, la culpabilité de Cédric Jubillar ne fait en revanche aucun doute. L’avocat général Pierre Aurignac a estimé que “pour défendre l’idée de l’innocence de M. Jubillar, il faut écarter quatre experts, faire taire 19 témoins et tuer le chien pisteur” qui a établi que la mère de famille n’a pas quitté son domicile la nuit de la disparition.”Le crime parfait attendra, a-t-il ajouté, le crime parfait, ce n’est pas le crime sans cadavre mais celui pour lequel on n’est pas condamné, et vous allez être condamné M. Jubillar”.Pour Me Laurent Boguet, avocat des enfants du couple, “il ne l’a pas seulement tuée, il l’a étranglée pour la faire taire, il l’a effacée en faisant disparaître le corps”.Pauline Rongier, avocate d’une amie de la disparue, a quant à elle demandé aux jurés de trouver le “courage” de condamner l’accusé malgré l’absence de corps. Dénigrement, “surveillance”, “violences sur les enfants”, elle décrit la “chape de plomb, la prison dans laquelle était Delphine”, ce “contrôle coercitif” qui, selon elle, précède la plupart des féminicides.Incarcéré en juin 2021, Cédric Jubillar est détenu à l’isolement à la prison de Seysses, près de Toulouse. Le prononcé de l’arrêt de la cour d’assises mettra fin aux quatre semaines de procès, au cours desquelles les jurés -deux femmes, quatre hommes- auront pu se forger une intime conviction.Quelle que soit la décision, elle fera l’objet d’un appel, ont fait savoir les parties. Et un nouveau procès se tiendra en 2026, probablement devant la cour d’appel de Toulouse.