Latest news with #OliviaLePoidevin
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
More than 200 jobs cut at International Labour Organization as US slashes funding
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA (Reuters) - The Geneva-based International Labour Organization (ILO) has axed about 225 jobs due to cutbacks in U.S. funding at the United Nations agency, its head said on Wednesday. The job losses, which affect posts at the ILO's Geneva headquarters and in the field, follow the U.S. administration's decision to reduce voluntary contributions under President Donald Trump, ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said. "One job loss is too many ... You would not imagine the mood that has generated within my staff," he told reporters in Geneva. The ILO head also raised the possibility of relocating some of the agency's operations out of Geneva, one of the world's most expensive cities, to ease financial pressures, which is also part of broader talks on reform. Potential locations could be European cities such as Turin, Budapest, or Bonn, or further afield in places including Doha and Pretoria, Houngbo said. Short-term contractors and employees at some other U.N. agencies like the International Organization for Migration have already been informed of redundancies. But thousands more job losses could be on the way as international agencies grapple with funding shortages due to the withdrawal of aid by the Trump administration and other donors. "The U.S. is the top contributor for assessed and voluntary contribution, so our challenge is double," Houngbo said, highlighting also a broader pullback in financial support among member states. The U.S. accounts for 22% of the ILO's $880 million two-year budget for 2026-2027, expected to be approved at the ILO's International Labour Conference next week. "Worst case scenario, we may have to consider a revised budget. I don't recall the last time that happened to the ILO," Houngbo said. He said he is developing a business continuity plan in case of further cuts to financial support, and that the ILO will be implementing a freeze on external recruitment, as well as launching a voluntary redundancy programme.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Arctic warming seen at three times global average in years ahead, UN weather agency says
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA (Reuters) -The world is expected to experience more record temperatures over the next five years, with Arctic warming predicted at more than three times the global average, a new report by the U.N. weather agency said on Wednesday. There is an 80% chance that at least one of the next five years will see record heat, with a high likelihood that average warming will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, according to the report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Last year, the hottest year on record, saw the first breach of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which committed countries to avoid global warming of more than 1.5 C. From this year until the end of 2029, the mean near-surface temperature globally is forecast to be between 1.2 C and 1.9 C higher than pre-industrial levels of the years 1850-1900, the WMO said, adding that this would fuel more extreme weather. "Every additional fraction of a degree of warming drives more harmful heatwaves, extreme rainfall events, intense droughts, melting of ice sheets, sea ice, and glaciers, heating of the ocean, and rising sea levels," it said in a statement. In the Arctic, the above-average projected warming will accelerate ice melt in the Arctic and northwest Pacific Ocean. The report said Arctic warming was predicted to be more than three-and-a-half times the global average, at 2.4 C above the average temperature during the most recent 30-year baseline period over the next five winters. Overall global temperatures will remain at or near record levels until the end of the decade, the WMO report said. Above-average rainfall is forecast in parts of the world including the Sahel, northern Europe, Alaska and northern Siberia, for the months between May and September between 2025 and 2029, while drier-than-average conditions are foreseen this season over the Amazon, according to the weather agency.
The Star
4 days ago
- Climate
- The Star
Arctic warming seen at three times global average in years ahead, UN weather agency says
FILE PHOTO: A general view of sea ice in the arctic ocean close the coast of Svalbard, Norway, April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo GENEVA (Reuters) -The world is expected to experience more record temperatures over the next five years, with Arctic warming predicted at more than three times the global average, a new report by the U.N. weather agency said on Wednesday. There is an 80% chance that at least one of the next five years will see record heat, with a high likelihood that average warming will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, according to the report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Last year, the hottest year on record, saw the first breach of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which committed countries to avoid global warming of more than 1.5 C. From this year until the end of 2029, the mean near-surface temperature globally is forecast to be between 1.2 C and 1.9 C higher than pre-industrial levels of the years 1850-1900, the WMO said, adding that this would fuel more extreme weather. "Every additional fraction of a degree of warming drives more harmful heatwaves, extreme rainfall events, intense droughts, melting of ice sheets, sea ice, and glaciers, heating of the ocean, and rising sea levels," it said in a statement. In the Arctic, the above-average projected warming will accelerate ice melt in the Arctic and northwest Pacific Ocean. The report said Arctic warming was predicted to be more than three-and-a-half times the global average, at 2.4 C above the average temperature during the most recent 30-year baseline period over the next five winters. Overall global temperatures will remain at or near record levels until the end of the decade, the WMO report said. Above-average rainfall is forecast in parts of the world including the Sahel, northern Europe, Alaska and northern Siberia, for the months between May and September between 2025 and 2029, while drier-than-average conditions are foreseen this season over the Amazon, according to the weather agency. (Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin;Editing by Helen Popper)
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Swiss authorities exploring probe into US-backed Gaza aid group
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA (Reuters) -Swiss authorities said on Sunday they were exploring whether to open a legal investigation into the activities of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organisation that plans to oversee aid distribution in the Palestinian enclave. The move comes after a Swiss NGO submitted a request for a probe into GHF's aid plan, which the United Nations has opposed, saying it is not impartial or neutral and forces further displacement and exposes thousands of people to harm. The GHF, which has said it hopes to start work in Gaza by the end of May, told Reuters it "strictly adheres" to humanitarian principles, and that it would not support any form of forced relocation of civilians. Israel has allowed limited aid deliveries to resume this week after having stopped all aid deliveries to Gaza on March 2. TRIAL International, a Switzerland-based NGO, on Friday said it had filed two legal submissions asking Swiss authorities to investigate whether the Swiss-registered GHF complies with Swiss law and international humanitarian law. The submissions were made to the Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) on May 20 and 21. The FDFA on Sunday confirmed to Reuters that both authorities had received the submissions. TRIAL International said it asked the Swiss FDFA to explain if the GHF had submitted a declaration, in accordance with Swiss law, to use private security companies to distribute aid, and if it had been approved by Swiss authorities. The FDFA told Reuters it is investigating whether such a declaration would be required for the foundation. It said that the Federal Supervisory Board for Foundations cannot review whether foundations comply with their statutes until they start their activities. The GHF told Reuters that though using private security firms represents a change from prior aid delivery frameworks, it would ensure aid is not diverted to Hamas or criminal organizations.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Swiss NGO asks authorities to investigate Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA (Reuters) -A Swiss-based NGO has asked authorities to investigate the activities of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S.-backed organisation that plans to oversee a new model of aid distribution in the Palestinian enclave that the UN opposes. The United Nations has said the GHF's aid plan is not impartial or neutral, and forces further displacement and exposes thousands of people to harm, and that it will not be involved. The GHF, which has said it hopes to start work in Gaza by the end of May, told Reuters it "strictly adheres" to humanitarian principles, and that it would not support any form of forced relocation of civilians. Israel has allowed limited aid deliveries to resume this week after having stopped all aid deliveries to Gaza on March 2. TRIAL International, a Switzerland-based NGO, on Friday said it had filed two legal submissions asking Swiss authorities to investigate GHF, which is registered in Geneva. A May 20 submission to the Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations, and one on May 21 to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), requested an investigation into whether the GHF complies with Swiss law and international humanitarian law. The Swiss FDFA and the Federal Department of Home Affairs were not immediately available for comment. "We're asking Switzerland to exercise their own obligation under the Geneva Conventions to respect international humanitarian are very grave issues at stake," Philip Grant the Executive Director of TRIAL International told Reuters. TRIAL International said it asked the Swiss FDFA to explain if the GHF had submitted a declaration, in accordance with Swiss law, to use private security companies to distribute aid, and if it had been approved by Swiss authorities. The GHF told Reuters that though using private security firms represents a change from prior aid delivery frameworks, it would ensure aid is not diverted to Hamas or criminal organizations.
