World
North Korea: Children and elderly risk starvation
The strict pandemic restrictions imposed on the people of North Korea is leaving many at risk of starvation
The UN is warning that vulnerable children and the elderly impacted by a growing food crisis in the isolated Asian nation are at risk of starvation.
UN Investigator Tomás Ojea Quintana stated in a report to the UN General Assembly that North Korea’s agriculture sector appears to be facing multiple challenges due to a drop in imports of fertiliser and other agricultural items from neighbouring China.
The impact of UN and international sanctions stemming from its nuclear program, and an outbreak of African swine fever is also proving challenging.
He said prolonged and strict pandemic measures since January 2020 have resulted in “severe economic hardship and increased vulnerability to human rights violations among the general population.”
Among the measures include a full-scale border shutdown, travel restrictions between cities and regions, and restricted imports of non-essential supplies including humanitarian goods.
Quintana stated that prior to the COVID pandemic, over 40 per cent of North Koreans were “food insecure,” with many suffering from malnutrition and stunted growth.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un urged officials to overcome the “grim situation” and “unprecedented difficulties” facing the country and make stronger efforts to improve the food and living conditions of his people.
Jeff Bezos’ space tourism company, Blue Origin, has announced plans to launch a space station in Earth’s orbit.
The station will be named “Orbital Reef,” and is projected to be built and operational by the end of the decade.
The company says the station will be serve as a “mixed-use business park” in space and will host up to 10 people.
Promotional material released by the company revealed the 32-thousand square foot station will provide customers with an ideal location for “filmmaking in microgravity”, or “conducting cutting-edge research”.
It’s also speculated that the space station will include a “space hotel”.
The company will partner with Sierra Space and Boeing to build the outpost.
The announcement comes amid NASA efforts to find a proposal to replace the International Space Station (ISS), which is now more than 20 years old and in desperate need of repair.
This will include $400m in private contracts to space companies to help the agency replace the ageing outpost.
There is likely to be stiff competition for the funding, and Blue Origin is the latest firm to unveil their space station concept, joining space firms Nanoracks, Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin, who have teamed up to launch a station into low orbit by 2027.
Jeff Bezos unveils plans for commercial space station
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