International

Hunger in the world remains at high levels for the third consecutive year

Hunger levels remained worryingly high in 2023 for the third consecutive year, with about 733 million people chronically undernourished worldwide, according to a report released on Wednesday by five United Nations agencies.

The report on “The state of food security and nutrition in the world,” presented in Rio de Janeiro, coinciding with the ministerial meetings of the G20, shows an alarming global scenario in which one in eleven people went hungry last year.

Hunger continues to increase in Africa, where 20.4% of its population suffers, stabilizes in Asia (8.1%) and is experiencing progress in Latin America (6.2%), except in the Caribbean region.

“In Africa, conflicts have increased and access to finance has been greatly reduced,” Máximo Torero, chief economist of the UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO), told EFE.

The world has gone back 15 years in the fight against hunger, with levels of undernourishment comparable to those of 2008-2009, in the heat of wars, the climate crisis, the loss of purchasing power corroded by inflation, the lack of funding and the growing social inequality.

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These phenomena, especially wars, climatic catastrophes and economic crises, “are increasingly frequent and serious,” the report warns.

The ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic remain. Today, there are 152 million more people who go hungry compared to 2019.

Between 2022 and 2023 there were advances in the rates of growth retardation and exclusive breastfeeding, but access to adequate food continues to be an “unattainable” chimera for many

Last year, about 2,33 billion people, that is, almost a third of the world’s population, faced moderate or severe food insecurity, practically the same level that was reached during the coronavirus crisis.
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“The pandemic has greatly exacerbated inequalities,” Torero said.

This year’s report emphasizes the “urgent” need for “greater and more profitable financing, with a clear and standardized definition” in favor of food security and nutrition, especially in poor countries.

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“You need to invest more and do it smarter. Investments should not come only from governments; also from the private sector, which we hope will have a part in this fight against rural hunger and poverty,” Rossana Polastri, IFAD’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, told EFE.

Not covering that financing deficit will have “social, economic and environmental” consequences that will require solutions that will also cost several billion dollars.

If the trend continues, “582 million people will be chronically undernourished by 2030, half of them in Africa,” warn FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Program (WFP) and the Children’s Fund (Unicef), authors of the study.

A figure far removed from the target of zero famine set for that year.

To get closer to that goal that seems impossible today, Brazil, which holds the rotating presidency of the G20, launches this Wednesday a Global Alliance against Hunger with which it intends to end this scourge through better coordination and greater investment.

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International

Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka

Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.

The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.

An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.

The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.

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Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.

Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.

Internacionales

Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages

May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.

In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.

Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.

International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.