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☆ Kenya drought: Hundreds of elephants, wildebeests and zebras reported dead
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Idris Mukhtar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Hundreds of elephants, wildebeests, and zebras have died across Kenya amid the nation’s longest drought in decades. “The Kenya Wildlife Service Rangers, Community Scouts, and Research Teams counted the deaths of 205 elephants, 512 wildebeests, 381 common zebras, 51 buffalos, 49 Grevy’s zebras, and 12 giraffes in the past nine months,” a report released Friday by the country’s Ministry of Tourism said. An elephant keeper rests next to a month-old calf at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in Samburu, Kenya on October 12, 2022. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images“The drought has caused mortality of wildlife, mostly herbivore species,” Malonza said. According to the ministry, Kenya had just 36,000 elephants left last year.

The COP27 climate summit gets underway in Egypt from Nov. 6. Climate Change Conference will see more than 30,000 delegates convene in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss collective action on the climate emergency. Loss and damage funding, meanwhile, is recognized by many as the third pillar of international climate policy. Kerry's openness to talks on loss and damage funding marked an abrupt change in tone from just one month earlier. Singh said political mobilization over loss and damage funding makes COP27 the most important COP yet.

☆ Ethiopia: Warring parties agree to a truce in two-year civil war. Here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Eliza Mackintosh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

CNN —When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, he was lauded as a regional peacemaker. A year later, he launched a conflict that spiraled into a brutal civil war, spawning one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. In November 2020, Abiy ordered a military offensive in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and promised that the clash would be resolved quickly. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Tigray conflict has its roots in tensions that go back generations in Ethiopia. For months at the start of the conflict, Abiy denied that civilians were being harmed or that soldiers from Eritrea had joined the fight.

☆ Ethiopia, Tigray: Warring parties agree on 'permanent cessation of hostilities'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Bethlehem Feleke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels will eventually be disarmed and demobilized, according to the statement. “This is not the end of the peace process but the beginning of it,” Obasanjo said. ‘Horrific’ tollThe peace process has been fitful until now. Renewed peace talks began on October 24, marking the first time the two warring parties had met publicly since the conflict erupted. In a separate statement, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also celebrated the conclusion of the talks saying, “our commitment to peace remains steadfast.

☆ Russia rains missiles on Kyiv, other cities after pulling out of grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Instead of fighting on the battlefield, Russia fights civilians,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. “Don’t justify these attacks by calling them a ‘response.’ Russia does this because it still has the missiles and the will to kill Ukrainians.”Foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said missiles had hit energy infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities, causing electricity and water outages. Russia and Ukraine are both among the world’s biggest food exporters, and a Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain shipments caused a global food crisis earlier this year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of “blackmailing the world with hunger” by pulling out of the food export deal negotiated by the United Nations and Turkey. The United Nations said it had agreed with Turkey and Ukraine on a transit plan for Monday for 16 ships to move Black Sea grain — 12 outbound and four inbound.

Feb 24, on Saturday halted its role in the Black Sea deal for an "indefinite term", cutting shipments from one of the world's top grain exporters, because it said it could not "guarantee safety of civilian ships" travelling under the pact after an attack on its Black Sea fleet. During Sunday's session among the grain deal delegations, Russian officials said Moscow will continue the dialogue with the United Nations and the Turkish delegation on pressing issues, the U.N. said in its statement. FALSE PRETEXT'The Russian defence ministry said Ukraine attacked the Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol with 16 drones early and that British navy "specialists" had helped coordinate what it called a terrorist attack. Russia said it repelled the attack but that the ships targeted were involved in ensuring the grain corridor out of Ukraine's Black Sea ports. SHIPS BLOCKEDThe grain deal had restarted shipments from Ukraine, allowing sales on world markets, targeting the pre-war level of 5 million metric tonnes exported from Ukraine each month.

☆ Ethiopia government, Tigray forces to meet for first peace talks since conflict began
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File PhotoNAIROBI, Oct 24 (Reuters) - An Ethiopian government delegation and rival Tigray forces were due to meet in South Africa for the first formal peace talks since war broke out two years ago. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe conflict has killed thousands, displaced millions and left hundreds of thousands on the brink of famine. Kindeya Gebrehiwot, a spokesman for the Tigray forces, said the Tigrayan delegation had already arrived. Both sides had committed to the talks in South Africa earlier this month, but they were delayed for logistical reasons. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Nairobi Newsroom Editing by Alexander WinningOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Malawi police find more bodies near mass grave that contained 25 Ethiopians
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Four more bodies of suspected illegal migrants from Ethiopia have been found near the site of a mass grave in northern Malawi that contained the remains of 25 Ethiopian nationals, according to police in the southern African country. The four bodies were discovered a day after the corpses of 25 Ethiopian migrants were exhumed from a mass grave in northern Malawi’s Mzimba district. The 25 victims were males aged between 25 and 40 years, police found. Malawi's Minister of Homeland Security, Jean Sendeza visited Mtangatanga forest where villagers discovered a mass grave with 25 bodies, and five more bodies were found after further search around the forest. More than 200 illegal migrants were intercepted in the last eight months, he stated, adding that 186 of them were Ethiopian nationals.

☆ One child a minute being admitted for malnutrition treatment in Somalia: UNICEF
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Hajira Ali, a Somali woman displaced by the worsening drought due to failed rain seasons, holds her malnourished child Farhia Hassan, 2, at the paediatric ward in the Banadir Hospital of Mogadishu, Somalia September 24, 2022. REUTERS/Feisal OmarLONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - One child is being admitted for medical treatment for malnutrition every minute in Somalia as severe drought threatens to cause the deaths of children on a scale not seen in half a century, a spokesperson for UNICEF said on Tuesday. The situation in Somalia already looks worse now than in 2011, the spokesperson told a briefing in Geneva, when famine killed more than 250,000 people in the Horn of Africa country. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Matthias Williams Editing by Madeline ChambersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Aid worker killed in air strike in Ethiopia's Tigray region, IRC says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NAIROBI, Oct 15 (Reuters) - An aid worker was among three people killed during an air strike on the town of Shire in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, the International Rescue Committee said on Saturday. The aid worker, who worked for IRC's health and nutrition team, died of injuries sustained while delivering assistance to women and children on Friday, IRC said in a statement. Another IRC staff member was injured in the attack, while two other civilians were killed and three wounded, the statement said. Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu, military spokesperson Colonel Getnet Adane and the prime minister's spokesperson Billene Seyoum did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Friday's incident. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel and Getachew Reda, a spokesman for the Tigray forces, also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The United Nations warned at the beginning of September that two districts were projected to face famine between October and December, with more than half a million children in Somalia at risk of dying from malnutrition. A previous screening in June and July found 28.6% of children in the camps were suffering from acute malnutrition, including 10.2% with severe cases. The last four rainy seasons in the Horn of Africa region have failed, making this the worst drought in 40 years. An IPC Famine Review Committee of four to six independent experts is responsible for approving any famine declaration. In Somalia's last famine in 2011, half of the more than 250,000 victims were later determined to have died before the famine was officially declared.

☆ Kenya's drought wipes out 2% of the world's rarest zebras
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The Grevy Zebra, the world’s rarest of the zebra species, has been the worst hit species by the drought. “If the approaching rainy season fails, Grevy’s zebra face a very serious threat of starvation,” she said. “Since June, we have lost 58 Grevy’s zebra and mortality cases are rising as the drought intensifies.”Even the most drought-resistant animals are impacted. The Grevy’s Zebra Trust says it is helping endangered species survive the drought through supplementary feeding. The Grevy's Zebra Trust provides supplementary hay to help endangered Grevy's zebra survive the drought crisis in Northern Kenya.

☆ Droughts, Ukraine war push global grain stocks toward worrying decade low
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

But the United States, the world's top corn producer, is now expected to harvest its smallest corn crop in three years. That would be fewer days of corn stocks than the world had in 2012, when the last global food crisis spurred riots. Ukraine is expected to harvest 25 to 27 million tonnes of corn in 2022, down from 42.1 million tonnes in 2021, following Russia's invasion, according to official estimates. read moreSanctions related to the war mean Russia has also struggled to export what is expected to be a record-large wheat crop. read moreAgricultural lender Rabobank said the next U.S. wheat crop is also at risk and will be planted in dust this autumn unless rains fall.

☆ The climate crisis and the energy transition are exacerbating inequality, putting those least responsible in the worst position
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Leaders gathered for the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week focused on inequality. The climate crisis and the energy transition are widening disparities, leaders said. Rich countries must meet pledges to help those least responsible for the crisis, advocates say. These regions combined have contributed less than 1% of historical carbon-dioxide emissions yet are bearing the brunt of climate impacts. Meanwhile, Europe is in the midst of an energy crisis because Russian President Vladimir Putin has scaled back natural-gas supplies to retaliate against Western sanctions.

☆ U.S. says it's aware of Eritrean troops in northern Ethiopia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterNAIROBI, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa said on Tuesday the United States was aware of Eritrean troops crossing into Ethiopia's Tigray region and condemned it. "We have been tracking Eritrean troops' movement across the border ... and we condemn it," Mike Hammer told reporters in a briefing after a trip to Ethiopia to help facilitate African Union-led peace talks between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces. "All external foreign actors should respect Ethiopia's territorial integrity and avoid fuelling the conflict," he said. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Giulia Paravicini; Editing by Aaron Ross and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kenya: Drought and soaring grain prices fuel insecurity
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-02 | by ( Sam Kiley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Just as in west Africa, Kenya's problems are being deepened by climate change. A malnourished child being measured in Ileret, northern Kenya. Members of Akuagok's tribe, the Daasanach, crowded around her shouting their own stories of loss -- loss of friends to illness perhaps caused by hunger, loss of animals, and how now, even when they make a very little cash, it's never enough to get by. A mother feeding her malnourished child in Ileret, northern Kenya. The combination of drought, soaring food and fuel prices due to a distant war, a burgeoning population, and civil wars on Kenya's doorstep is an incendiary mix.

With the help of refugee hospital workers, he built a makeshift photo studio using hospital bed sheets and other materials available. Photographer Pieter ten Hoopen Pieter ten HoopenThe studio quickly became a sensation. The photos span several generations – some of the subjects were born at the refugee camp, some have been there for decades. It was a haven from the hustling and bustling of the camp hospital. Ten Hoopen used tilt-shift lenses, which are normally used with the large-format cameras used in classic photography.

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