International
The climate crisis threatens the lives of 41 million people in Latin America, according to the UN
The climate crisis threatens the livelihoods and health care of 41 million people in low-altitude coastal areas in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a new study by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) published on Tuesday.
The report, for which satellite images, geospatial data and population estimates were used, establishes that these low coastal communities in the region are more exposed to risks such as drought, desertification, hurricanes or storms.
“The extreme weather events usually result in widespread floods that destroy homes, companies and essential services, in addition to health care,” the document adds.
The data were presented at the fourth Conference of Small Island Developing States (SIDS4), which is held in Antigua and Barbuda until Thursday, where UNFPA is mainly asking the participating countries for greater investments to reduce the inequalities of their population and better management of water resources.
According to this UN agency specialized in demographic policy, the population most affected by these conditions are women and girls who, “fruit of inequalities,” suffer “disproportionately” from the lack of access to safe childbirth or protection against gender violence.
“Millions of vulnerable women and girls, who are the least responsible for the climate crisis, pay a high price when climate-related catastrophes occur and basic health and protection services are altered, as well as livelihoods,” said UNFPA executive director, Dr. Natalia Kanem, in the study.
The analysis also shows that 1,448 hospitals vital for maternal health and family planning are located in low-altitude coastal areas more prone to natural risks.
In territories such as Aruba, Cayman Islands, Suriname, Bahamas and Guyana, more than 80% of hospitals are located in these low coastal areas, while in the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean, the countries with the highest number of medical centers in these latitudes are Ecuador (11.9%), Haiti (10%) and Brazil (7.2%), according to UNFPA.
PEID4, which pays special attention to the “existential threat” of the climate crisis, is celebrated before the start of the hurricane season in the Atlantic and that could have a “brutal” impact on the region this year, according to the organization.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction