ASTROCOHORS CLUB Embassy

20251121

Security Council Briefing by Lisa Doughten, Director of Financing and Outreach Division, Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on the humanitarian situation in Syria OCHA’s Lisa Doughten spoke on behalf of Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Doughten said, “We continue to prioritize the response in Suweida and neighbouring governorates, working with Syrian authorities and affected communities to provide assistance and basic services.” She added, “We have reached 357,000 people per month, sending over 1,300 aid trucks and working with a range of partners, including 25 national NGOs.” The OCHA official also noted that more than 1.2 million refugees have now returned from neighbouring countries since last December. More than 1.9 million people who were displaced internally have also returned. “But these people still need support to reestablish their lives, including – in the immediate term – humanitarian aid,” Doughten emphasized. On funding, the OCHA official stressed, “with just over a month left in the year, our Syria appeal is only 26 per cent funded, leading to continued gaps and reductions in critical assistance.” “Our partners are currently seeking to assist 2 million vulnerable people with winter supplies, including heating fuel and stoves, winter clothing, blankets and other household items. But just 12 per cent of the funding has been mobilized,” she added.

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Flower of Srebrenica - Permanent Memorial to the Victims of the Genocide | United Nations

The United Nations has unveiled the “Flower of Srebrenica” memorial, honoring the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide. Gifted by Bosnia and Herzegovina, this powerful symbol serves as a space for remembrance, reflection, and learning for all who visit. The memorial stands beside another significant site at UN Headquarters — the Kwibuka flame, which commemorates the victims and survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. As Denis Bećirović, Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, stated: “The monuments to the genocide committed in the heart of Europe and in the heart of Africa are witness to the truth, but also warn humanity to never again allow genocide to be repeated.” This video explores the meaning behind these memorials, the history they represent, and why remembering past atrocities is essential to preventing future ones.

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20251120

How a Network for Uniformed Women Enhances Peace Operations

Launched in 2023, the Network for Uniformed Women Peacekeepers connects women from police, military, and justice & corrections serving in United Nations peace operations. Two years into the project, the Network has meaningfully enhanced the deployment experience for uniformed women peacekeepers and also brought about broader strategic benefits for peacekeeping overall. When women thrive, teams perform better, and in the end, everyone benefits for better peacekeeping. More info: https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/women-peacekeeping More info on the Network: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwLrnz-YQ7k #WomenPeaceSecurity

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World Urbanization Prospects 2025 - Press Conference | World Population Prospects 2025

Press Briefing by Mr. Bjørg Sandkjær, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), along with Mr. John Wilmoth, Director, Population Division, UN DESA, and Ms. Sara Hertog, Population Affairs Officer, Population Division, UN DESA. They brief journalists on the World Urbanization Prospects 2025: Summary of Results. -------------------- “Fast-growing Dhaka, Bangladesh, will surpass Jakarta to become the world's largest city by 2050,” The United Nations on Tuesday unveiled its World Urbanization Prospects 2025, outlining how population growth and shifting settlement patterns will reshape cities, towns and rural areas over the coming decades. Bjørg Sandkjær, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) emphasized that “sustainable development requires integrated planning that treats cities, towns and rural areas as interconnected and interdependent,” adding that policies must “recognize the unique role of all settlement types” and be tailored to their specific needs. She also underscored the importance of data-driven decision-making. “Timely and reliable data are going to effective planning,” she said, noting that regular censuses and the integration of geospatial and statistical information can enable better monitoring of settlement patterns and access to services. Indicators tracking population density and built-up land per capita, she added, “provide useful information about human interactions with the environment.” John Wilmoth, Director of the Population Division, said the release provides estimates and projections based on a new standard methodology called the Degree of Urbanization, which maps population data into one-square-kilometer grid cells and classifies all land areas into seven categories ranging from mostly uninhabited rural areas to densely populated cities. Sara Hertog, a Population Affairs Officer with DESA, detailed the report’s latest demographic findings. “In 2025, 45 per cent of the world's 8.2 billion people live in cities, 36 per cent live in towns, and the remaining 19 per cent live in rural areas,” she said. By 2050, “two thirds of the growth of the world's population will occur in cities,” with most of the rest happening in towns. The global rural population, she noted, is expected to peak in the 2040s before gradually declining. Hertog added that “cities have more people than either towns or rural areas in 104 countries or areas,” representing nearly half of all locations for which UN estimates were produced. She also highlighted the concentration of mega-cities in Asia. “Jakarta, Indonesia, with nearly 42 million inhabitants, is the world's most populous city today,” she said, but projections indicate that “fast-growing Dhaka, Bangladesh, will surpass Jakarta to become the world's largest city by 2050.”

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20251119

Lindsey Halligan told a judge that the grand jury that indicted Comey did not see the indictment

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Overnight Deadly Attacks Killed Civilians, Injured Children and Disrupted Vital Services in Ukraine

On the night of 19 November, a new wave of deadly attacks by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation claimed at least 20 civilian lives and left over a hundred more injured—including children. Homes and critical civilian infrastructure were heavily damaged across the country, including health and educational facilities.

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Gen Z's Age Obsession and FEAR of Turning 30 is INSANE

The Kavernacle: Gen Z's Age Obsession and FEAR of Turning 30 is INSANE

The Kavernacle is a YouTube Channel covering internet culture and politics.
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Dealing with unexploded ordnance in Gaza | United Nations

The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has been supporting mine action activities throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) since 2009. Since the escalation of hostilities on 7 October 2023, UNMAS operations have considerably evolved to adapt to the emerging needs of local populations and humanitarian partners in both Gaza and the West Bank. As the lead humanitarian coordinating body for mine action response in Gaza, UNMAS supports humanitarian partners by assessing explosive ordnance threats and providing guidance to enable safe humanitarian operations. In ceasefire periods, UNMAS supports early recovery efforts, as mine action is critical for reconstruction tasks like debris and rubble removal. UNMAS also collaborates with local and international partners to deliver explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) to civilians, promoting safe behaviours. A production with support from the European Union.

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20251118

Conflict-related food insecurity: Fuels displacement and violence - Deputy UN Chief | United Nations

UN Deputy Secretary-General said, “Food itself has become a weapon.” Addressing the Security Council Amina J. Mohammed said, “Armed conflict drives acute food insecurity in 14 of 16 hunger hotspots worldwide. Last year, 295 million people faced acute hunger - 14 million more than the year before. The number of people experiencing catastrophic hunger have more than doubled to 1.9 million.” She also said, “This is the new arithmetic of conflict: when food systems are attacked, weaponized, the impact is global. Food itself has become a weapon. Through deliberate starvation tactics, which we are seeing all too often, including recently in Gaza. But also, through the systematic destruction of agricultural systems.” She highlighted, “And in a spiral of death, we continue to invest in military expenditure rather than putting and end of hunger. The world’s total military expenditure over the past decade, estimated at $21.9 trillion, yet ending hunger by 2030 costs much less - $93 billion per year.” She stressed, “We cannot and must not accept these examples as the new normal. The hunger-conflict nexus is a strategic and existential threat, and this Council must treat it as such.”

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Indiana homeowner Curt Anderson charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a house cleaner