A few items from OneWorld.net Daily Headlines:
The human toll from weekend flooding and avalanches in Afghanistan will likely eclipse that of the Solomons’ tsunami, which is getting all the headlines. Thousands of families have been made homeless in 13 provinces, where the UN and NATO are aiding in the response.
OneWorld US: United Nations’ Integrated Regional Information NetworkRelated: Perspectives: Dealing with Disasters
Aid Falls in 2006
Official development assistance from industrialised countries fell 5.1% in 2006 – the first fall in real terms since 1997.
OneWorld UK: OECD
* ActionAid’s policy co-ordinator Patrick Watt said today: “These are not lucky numbers for over one billion people living in extreme poverty. Two years on from Gleneagles, underlying aid to Africa is back to where it was in 2004. The promise of an extra $50bn to fight poverty will become an impossible challenge unless Angela Merkel uses this June’s G8 to get the international community on track.”
Chinese company tops Greenpeace “Green Ranking” of electronics industry
Apple still bottom of the barrel
03 April 2007
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Electronic waste in Guangdong, China As much as 4,000 tonnes of toxic e-waste are discarded every hour. Vast amounts are routinely and often illegally shipped as waste from Europe, USA and Japan to places where unprotected workers recover parts and materials.
Amsterdam, Netherlands — The latest Greenpeace ranking of electronic manufacturers’ recycling and toxic content policies has a couple of surprises: a previously low ranked Chinese company leaps to the number one spot, and Apple stays in last place.