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Press Review: Electronic waste to grow 33% in four years & UN asks for 6.5b in aid

December 17, 2013
tags:#Africa, #conflict, #conflict minerals, #developing countries, #drone attacks, #electronic waste, #human rights violation, #humanitarian aid, #natural resources, #Qatar, #refugees, #Saudi Arabia, #Syria, #United Nations, #United States of America, #Yemen
located:Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, USA, Yemen
by:Rebecca Silus
After estimating that three–fourths of Syria’s population will need humanitarian aid in 2014, the UN announced a record-breaking appeal for 6.5 billion dollars in aid for Syrian residents and refugees.

Syria’s neighbors Saudi Arabia and Qatar have yet to donate any aid for Syria to the UN. [BBC]

The money used to buy the natural resources used in electronics, automobiles, and aeronautical equipment continues to fund groups and governments that perpetrate human rights abuses. Requiring businesses like BMW and Volkswagen to participate in enforcing standards that avoid financing conflicts is the only way to stop the funding.  [The Guardian]

Electronic waste is projected to grow by 33% over the next four years. The UN warns that toxic substances contained in the e-waste generated by wealthy nations is polluting the land, water, and air of the developing nations that dispose of it. [The Guardian]

The human rights lawyer, activist, and leader of Syria’s peaceful protest movement has been kidnapped along with her husband and two colleagues. Her most recent project, which catalogs the deaths and disappearances associated with the civil war and abuses by rebels, prompted threats against her. [Washington Post]

A US drone strike that killed 14 innocent civilians prompted Yemen’s parliament to call for an end to the strikes. Although the vote is non-binding, it reflects public anger and sends a message to the United States and the Yemeni government. [CNN]

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