Climate-related disasters in the US have cost more than $100 billion in the first nine months of 2021, according to scientists from an environmental body.

A report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Environmental, Safety, and Sustainability Office said that since January, as many as 18 weather and climate disasters took place in the country, each incurring losses that exceeded $1 billion.

The disasters included nine severe storms, four tropical cyclones, two flooding events, one combined drought and heat wave, one wildfire, and one combined winter storm and cold wave, the report noted.

A staggering number of 538 people lost their lives in these disasters, "which is more than twice the number of deaths from all billion-dollar disasters that occurred in 2020."

"Total losses due to property and infrastructure damage is up to $104.8 billion so far — eclipsing $100.2 billion incurred last year (adjusted for 2021 inflation)," the report pointed out.

This is the seventh consecutive year the US experienced 10 or more billion-dollar disasters.

Warmest September in 127 years

The climate scientists further noted that September 2021 has been recorded as the fifth-warmest September over the last 127 years; with an average of 67.8 F (19.88 C) temperature across the US. It was 3 F above the 20th-century average.

They also added that the first nine months of 2021 had an average of 57 F (13.88 C), making it 1.9 F above average.

The US has been tormented with numerous diseases since the beginning of 2021, including flooding from Hurricane Ida, landfall of Hurricane Nicholas, and ongoing drought and wildfires tormenting communities in the West./aa

Most households in Africa received no support despite many African governments introducing measures such as cash transfers and food assistance programs to combat rising poverty and hunger brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global rights group said on Tuesday.

The pandemic highlighted the need for African governments “to strengthen social protection systems” as, according to World Bank estimates, the crisis push 29 million more Africans into extreme poverty by the end of this year, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Some countries have discontinued the assistance programs, leaving thousands helpless and suffering.

“The COVID-19 crisis has wreaked havoc on the livelihoods of millions of households across Africa, leaving families hungry and desperate for help,” said Mausi Segun, Africa director at HRW.

“African governments should urgently invest in the social protection systems needed to ensure that Africans can endure the pandemic’s devastating economic impact with dignity.”

Between March 2020 and August 2021, HRW interviewed more than 270 people in Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda.

In Kenya and Nigeria, researchers “documented job losses, falling income, and widespread hunger among people living in poverty in Nairobi and Lagos,” the report said.

There was also a spike in violence against women in Kenya during COVID-19 lockdowns and curfews, it added.

“In Ghana and Uganda, researchers examined an increase in child labor due to the pandemic. In Cameroon, the research highlighted corruption and a lack of transparency in the government’s use of funds intended to address the health and economic impacts of COVID-19,” read the report.

HRW also found evidence of corruption and how it deprived deserving people of assistance in Kenya and Nigeria.

“For many African governments, the COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call that investing in social protection systems is vital not only to ensure that people have access to food and other basic goods but also to their country’s economic resilience,” Segun said.

“Now the challenge is to improve and expand the temporary measures introduced to build robust and transparent programs that will permanently protect people's right to an adequate standard of living.”

Authorities respond to HRW report

Cameroon has distributed “a lot of money to support businesses” as they deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, a Finance Ministry official told Anadolu Agency.

“A lot of money has been deployed to support businesses. Some of it was sent to the Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry and some of it was managed directly by the general budget section of the Finance Ministry,” said Adjomo Gedeon, head of communications at the ministry.

“For large companies, it was managed by the General Budget Directorate. In addition to the direct assistance that the state provided to companies, there were very significant tax breaks. The funds were indeed deployed, and I am one of the beneficiaries because I have a company,” he explained.

The HRW report had testimony from a hotel secretary in Cameroon’s southwestern port city of Douala, who claimed that they had received no support from the state.

Gedeon insisted that the money earmarked to help businesses have been “partly disbursed and the rest is still due to given out.”

“Payments have already been made to some companies in the hotel sector,” he said.

In Uganda, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja asserted that authorities are cracking down on people accused of corruption and misuse of COVID-19 funds.

“We are not here to joke with people who play with public funds. All those who misappropriated COVID-19 relief funds have to be arrested and brought to book,” she told Anadolu Agency, adding that she has personally ordered the arrest of four senior officials in her office.

Edith Nakalema, head of the Ugandan government’s anti-corruption unit, said President Yoweri Museveni has ordered strict action against anyone found to be involved in embezzling funds.

“We have arrested some people who misappropriated COVID-19 relief funds. We are looking for others who are on the run,” she said, vowing that the government “will leave no stone unturned.”

In Nigeria, authorities, and officials, including the president’s special media adviser Femi Adesina, did not respond despite repeated attempts.

The same was the case with Kenya’s Interior Ministry and Health Ministry, while Ghana’s Information Ministry and Gender, Children and Social Protection Ministry also did not comment by the time this report was filed.

*Aurore Bonny from Cameroon and Godfrey Olukya from Uganda contributed to this report./aa

The University of Bristol, which recently sacked the pro-Palestine Professor David Miller, has now exonerated another lecturer accused of Islamophobia.

In a ruling that has angered the university’s Islamic society (BRICSOC), the University of Bristol concluded that Law School Professor Steven Greer was not guilty of discrimination or harassment.

The university said: “Allegations made against Professor Greer centered on the content of an optional human rights module which he has taught for 15 years at the University… A QC appointed to review and advise on the content of the module found no evidence of Islamophobic speech and concluded that the material did not amount to discrimination or harassment and was intended as the basis for academic debate by the students who elected to study it.

“In addition, the issues discussed in relation to Islam were within the scope of the curriculum and therefore exempt from constituting harassment or discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. Although the complaint has not been upheld, we recognise BRISOC’s concerns and the importance of airing differing views constructively. We welcome further discussions with the society to explain our decision and reaffirm our commitment to providing a positive and inclusive university experience for all our students.

“In response to claims that the human rights module taught by Professor Greer has been cancelled, we can confirm that this is not the case. The fundamental structure and content of the module remains; the changes made are of emphasis and in part designed to future proof the course by allowing a level of flexibility in the development of new teaching material to match students’ current interests, the specialisms of the course’s new conveners and their wish to deliver the material in a context that is both broad-reaching and respectful of sensitivities of students on the course.”

Nearly 3,800 people signed a petition urging the University of Bristol to take swift action against Greer due to his alleged “use of discriminatory remarks and Islamophobic comments.”

The petition said that law students reported that “Professor Greer frequently expresses views in his classes that can be deemed Islamophobic, bigoted and divisive.”

For example, the BRISOC said that Professor Greer provided justification for the Chinese government policy of targeting Uyghur Muslims by stating that “if a particular piece of legislation impacts disproportionately against a group, it looks ‘superficially’ like it is discrimination […] this is the case with China and Muslims in re-education camps.”

They claimed he expanded on this by saying that “most difficulties [in reference to the Uyghur’s plight] stem from the Islamic influence upon it.”

Greer has reportedly used the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris as “evidence of Islam’s stance on freedom of speech” which BRISOC view as “an example of the kind of Islamophobic rhetoric that aims to posit the actions of killers as being representative of the entire Muslim community and Islam.”

And when asked in a video if the Prevent Duty is “racist, Islamophobic and discriminatory,” Greer responded: “The Prevent strategy includes all forms of terrorism but the fact that most of those that had come to its attention are Muslims is simply a reflection that jihadi terrorism is the principal terrorist threat that the UK currently faces.”

According to MailOnline, Prof Greer also highlighted the “inferior treatment” of women and non-Muslims in Islamic nations, and the harsh penalties handed out under sharia law.

University ‘failed in duty of care’

Following the outcome of the investigation, Bristol Islamic Society told The Bristol Tab that the university had failed in their duty of care to students, failed in their promise to  “decolonise the curriculum” and are “celebrating bigoted menfolk and advancing colonial thought.”

In a statement they added: “We have seen no comment from the University acknowledging its impact on students, rather the spotlight has been on Greer’s wellbeing. The university should, at the very least, acknowledge and support those students who have spent months in distress, with low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts.”

In a statement, Professor Greer told The Bristol Tab: “Following an almost eight-month University inquiry and review, it is a huge relief to have been completely and unreservedly exonerated with respect to the utterly groundless allegations of Islamophobia made against me by the University of Bristol Islamic Society (BRISOC). This decision, originally reached at the end of July, was unanimously confirmed by a University review panel on 8 October 2021.

“While the University’s statement of 8 October announces my complete and unequivocal exoneration, it simultaneously undermines it. Recognising ‘BRISOC’s concerns’ is utterly incompatible with the result of the inquiry and review which found these to be totally without foundation. restructure the degree unit at the heart of BRISOC’s baseless allegations, in order to be ‘respectful of the with the result of the officia

“It is also grossly defamatory in so far as it implies that there was any disrespect hitherto. The modification of the syllabus in question also calls the University’s commitment to academic freedom into question.”

Eight asylum seekers were rescued by Turkish coast guards on Tuesday after Greek authorities pushed them back into Turkish territorial waters.

The incident occurred off the coast of Ayvalik district in Balikesir province in western Turkey, and the asylum seekers were in a fiber boat, according to a statement by the Coast Guard Command.

They were taken to the command office on the island of Cunda before being referred to a provincial migration office.

Turkey and human rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece's illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.

Meanwhile, Turkey also held 58 irregular immigrants – 49 Afghans, 5 Iranians, 3 Syrians, and one Iraqi – in the Fethiye district of the western province of Mugla.

Acting on a tip-off, local gendarmerie forces found the immigrants as they were preparing to go abroad.

After routine checks, they were sent to provincial migration authorities. One suspect was held for allegedly organizing human trafficking./agencies

A UN Human Rights office spokeswoman on Tuesday said her office is receiving “mounting evidence” of pushbacks of asylum seekers from Greece to Turkey in recent times.

“Push backs are illegal under international law and should not happen,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokeswoman Marta Hurtado said at a UN press conference.

“Every person, every migrant, trying to cross an international border has the right of an individual assessment,” Hurtado said.

To a question by Anadolu Agency about the pushbacks, Hurtado said her office is currently talking with the EU.

“For a few months, we’ve been trying to confirm and see what the EU should do to stop the undertaking of these pushbacks on the external borders,” Hurtado said.

Last Friday, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson urged Greece to investigate illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting of EU interior affairs ministers in Luxembourg, Johansson said she expects Greece to “take it seriously, do the investigation, and find out what really happened.”

At Tuesday’s news conference, Hurtado said her office is “extremely worried about the continued suffering of migrants and asylum seekers in Libya who are experiencing a myriad of daily violations and abuses.

“We also call on the Libyan authorities to release all arbitrarily detained migrants and asylum seekers, cease the raids on their settlements, halt evicting them, and stop criminalizing them,” Hurtado said.

“We encourage the authorities to reform the legislation to decriminalize irregular entry, stay, and exit of people,” she added./aa