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António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General (r) meets Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, on the margins of the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama, Japan, on 28 August 2019.
UN Japan/Ichiro Mae

Wednesday's Daily Brief: Guterres talks technology for Africa’s development, ‘extinction crisis’ prompts stronger wildlife protection, Greta Thunberg reaches New York, funding shortfalls in Iraq, a positive step for Indigenous women

A recap of Wednesday’s stories: Secretary-General António Guterres says ‘winds of hope are blowing ever stronger’ for Africa’s development; Swedish climate youth activist Greta Thunberg reaches New York by boat; Chief of UN Mission for Iraq warns on funding shortfalls; and in Canada, a new bill recognizes the rights of indigenous women.

City view of Bogotá, Colombia. (11 January 2016)
World Bank/Dominic Chavez

Marginalized groups hit hardest by inequality and stigma in cities

Millicent Auma Otieno, a Kenya-based human rights and community activist, campaigns on behalf of women and persons with disabilities who face stigmatization, as a result of cultural and religious beliefs.  In an interview with UN News, Ms. Otieno reinforced the message that many people in cities are forced to live in informal settlements, which have proven to be hotbeds of unemployment, violence, drug abuse and early pregnancies.

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A young boy in Bangladesh navigates a river swollen from days of monsoon rain. He is collecting plastic bottles washed into the river to sell to recyclers to help his family purchase food.
UNICEF/Thomas Nybo

Relentless sequence of disasters in Asia-Pacific ‘sign of things to come’, cautions UN regional body

Changing patterns and worsening impacts of natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific, coupled with environmental degradation and climate change, are not only making efforts to predict such catastrophes more difficult, but are also a “sign of things to come”, the United Nations development arm in the region has warned.