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PM Harris pays tribute to Pastor Emeritus Eric Maynard of Shiloh Baptist Church

PM Harris pays tribute to Pastor Emeritus Eric Maynard of Shiloh Baptist Church

 

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, August 9, 2021 (MMS-SKN) — Founder of the Charlestown-based Shiloh Baptist Church, Pastor Emeritus Eric Maynard, was on Sunday August 8 celebrated for his fifty years of ministry to the people of St. Kitts and Nevis and the wider Caribbean.

Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris, Health Minister the Hon Akilah Byron-Nisbett and members of their entourage are joined by some members of the Shiloh Baptist Church for a group picture.

At a special morning worship service held at the church in Charlestown, Nevis, which was attended by Prime Minister of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis Dr the Hon Timothy Harris, Federal Minister of Health the Hon Akilah Byron-Nisbett, and Commissioner of Police Mr Hilroy Brandy among others, Pastor Eric and Mrs Marilyn Maynard were honoured exactly fifty years to the day when the ministry was started on Sunday August 8, 1971.

 “We are very grateful for the Prime Minister and his delegation who came over in honour of this special day,” said Pastor Wayne Maynard, who is the son of Pastor Emeritus Eric Maynard. “We are so grateful and delighted that you took the time out of your busy schedule to come across the Narrows, and to be here with us.”

 The younger Pastor Maynard added that the Shiloh Baptist Church was officially started on October 22, 1974. Sermon was delivered by Pastor Emeritus Eric Maynard.

Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris delivering remarks at the special service held to honour 50th anniversary of Pastor Eric Maynard’s service in Shiloh Baptist Church. Pastor Eric and Marilyn Maynard are seated in the front row.

When invited to make brief remarks, Prime Minister Harris gave God thanks for having created churches like the Shiloh Baptist Church, and for providing pastors like Senior Pastor Emeritus Eric Maynard who has shepherded God’s flock and has brought people together to magnify God and to continue His work, noting that fifty years is not like fifty days.

 “It is wonderful when we have good messengers of God who by their stability of spiritual work, who by their own example help encourage us the weaker ones to come see a man called Jesus,” said Prime Minister Harris. “As we celebrate your fiftieth anniversary, I bring heartiest congratulations from myself, from the government and people of St. Kitts and Nevis for a wonderful job and encourage you to continue to praise God.”

 He commended the leadership of the church for being as welcoming as it has always been, for being as diversified as it is in its membership, for its outreach to the young people, and in its outreach to the womenfolk in particular.

 The church was further commended for the special appreciation day that it has introduced for non-nationals of St. Kitts and Nevis. The Prime Minister noted that it reminded “us that we all are one – we all are one people with one God to serve, and together in unity we can build a stronger St. Kitts and Nevis.”

Pastor Wayne Maynard welcomes Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris and members of his entourage to Shiloh Baptist Church for the special anniversary service honouring his father Pastor Emeritus Eric Maynard.

The Prime Minister requested Pastor Emeritus Eric Maynard to continue to stay close to God, continue to pray for the leaders of the country, and to continue to pray for him (Prime Minister). In further thanking Pastor Maynard he said that there were times he used to call him from St. Kitts and ask for his prayers, and the pastor would reply and say that he had been praying for him and that he would say a special prayer for him.

 While leadership is a blessing, Dr Harris pointed out that it is tough. He noted that there are so many times when leaders must do what they expect their own membership and fellowship to do, which is the true sense of leading by example. He added that the Shiloh Baptist Church has shown a good example and that something good is happening in the church as leadership was transferred from father to son, which is a blessing.

 In his conclusion, Prime Minister Harris observed that it had rained early morning in St. Kitts and fearing that the waters might be too choppy for travel, he called Commissioner of Police Mr Hilroy Bandy who advised it was okay to travel, “and so we have come in thankfulness to let you know that at the highest level of the government, we hold you in deep appreciation.”

Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris (left) pictured with Mrs Marilyn Maynard and Pastor Emeritus Eric Maynard at the end of the special service.

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Woman Pleads Not Guilty to Attacking St Vincent’s Prime Minister

Annamay Lewis, a 56-year-old vendor of Layou, appeared before a Kingstown Magistrate this morning charged with wounding Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves during a protest last Thursday in Kingstown.

She entered a not guilty plea to the charge and was granted bail with one surety in the sum of EC $3,000 dollars.

The matter was adjourned to September 15.

The Kingstown Magistrate’s court which drew many curious onlookers was heavily guarded by police.

There were emotional scenes outside the court as relatives of Lewis gathered to lend support.

According to reports, on August 5, the accused allegedly unlawfully and maliciously wounded Ralph Gonsalves, 74, Prime Minister of Old Montrose (Dasent Cottage) by striking him on the right side of his head with an unknown object.

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Dixie Fire: 8 Missing in Largest Single Wildfire in California History

Climate change

Judge demands information from PG&E utility as investigators seek cause of blaze spanning 698 sq miles

Dixie Fire rages in California<br>U.S. Forest Service firefighter Ben Foley lights backfires to slow the spread of the Dixie Fire, a wildfire near the town of Greenville, California, U.S. August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Fred Greaves
Wildfire tears through northern California gold rush town – video
in New York and agencies
Guardian

At least eight people were missing on Saturday as what has become the largest single wildfire in California’s recorded history continued to scorch through northern communities, forest and tinder-dry scrub in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

People in the scenic region were already facing a weekend of fear as the huge Dixie fire threatened to reduce thousands of homes to ashes.

The blaze, which has been raging for three weeks and incinerated much of the gold rush-era town of Greenville this week, was threatening more than 14,000 buildings in the northern Sierra Nevada. It had engulfed an area larger than New York City.

“We have received reports of eight unaccounted-for individuals,” the Plumas county sheriff’s office, about 160 miles north of Sacramento, said on Saturday afternoon, asking for the public’s help in finding them.

Five of the missing belong to Greenville.

 

Eulogy for Greenville, my beautiful hometown lost to wildfire

Dixie, named for the road where it started, spanned an area of 698 sq miles as of early Saturday evening, the largest current wildfire in the nation covering the largest area in recorded state history, and was less than a quarter contained.

In the first reported injuries of the Dixie blaze, four firefighters were taken to the hospital on Friday after being struck by a fallen branch, a California department of forestry and fire protection firefighter and spokesman, Edwin Zuniga, said.

“We’re hoping to gain ground. There are favorable weather conditions, with less wind and a blanket of smoke that blocks direct sunlight. It allows a higher humidity, which helps us,” Zuniga said.

Meanwhile, a federal judge has ordered the California utility Pacific Gas & Electric to “explain its role” in the Dixie fire’s combustion, according to a number of news reports on Saturday.

Investigators are still trying to pinpoint the cause of the fire. On Friday, the US district judge William Alsup issued an order demanding information from PG&E on a tree that fell on a power line at the point of ignition.

Wind-driven flames destroyed dozens of homes and most of Greenville’s downtown on Wednesday and Thursday, and also heavily damaged Canyondam, a hamlet with a population of about three dozen people. The fire reached Chester but crews managed to protect homes and businesses there, officials said.

Charlene Mays kept her gas station in Chester open as long as she could, telling weary firefighters not to apologize for the trail of ash their boots left on the floor. But when the small town on the north-west shore of Lake Almanor lost power two days ago, Mays decided it was time for her to leave.

She ran home to grab a box of valuables. The smoke was so thick it was hard to breathe. Chunks of ash broke apart as they hit the ground, making a sound like broken glass.

Since then, Mays has been living in the parking lot of Lassen College in Susanville. Her husband stayed behind to maintain some water tanks firefighters were using. It’s just her, a miniature pinscher chihuahua named Jedidiah and a pit bull named Bear.

Her home was still standing on Friday but her fate was bound with the direction of the wind and she wasn’t alone.

A firefighter surveys the Greenville library in a decimated downtown Greenville, California.
‘My heart is crushed’: US’s largest wildfire levels beloved California town

“I’ve got probably 30 of my regular customers right here,” she said.

Weather at the fire site was expected to have higher humidity and calmer winds on Saturday, with temperatures topping 90F (32.2C) instead of the 40mph gusts and triple-digit highs recorded earlier in the week.

Heatwaves and historic drought tied to the climate crisis have made wildfires harder to fight in the American west.

The burned-out remains of a gas station along Main Street in downtown Greenville.
The burned-out remains of a gas station along Main Street in downtown Greenville. Photograph: Peter DaSilva/UPI/REX/Shutterstock

Scientists say climate breakdown has made the region much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

Smoke from the fires blanketed central California and western Nevada, causing air quality to deteriorate to very unhealthy levels and, in some areas, the worst levels in the world as measured by World Air Quality Index, especially in Plumas county, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Air quality advisories extended through the San Joaquin Valley and as far west as the San Francisco Bay Area, where residents were urged to keep their windows and doors shut.

The Dixie fire has not burned across such a large area as certain massive multi-fire so-called complexes, including last year’s August Complex inferno, which surpassed the Mendocino Complex that burned for more than three months in 2018.

California is on track to surpass last year, which had the worst fire season in recent recorded state history.

Since the start of the year, more than 6,000 blazes have destroyed more than 1,300 sq miles, more than triple the losses for the same period in 2020, according to state fire figures.

The Dixie fire ignited less than 10 miles from the start of the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest in California’s history, also sparked by PG&E equipment, in the thickly forested Feather River Canyon, 100 miles north of state capital Sacramento. The Camp fire destroyed the towns of Paradise and Concow and killed 85 people.

California’s raging wildfires were among more than 100 large, active fires burning across 14 states, mostly in the west where historic drought conditions have left lands parched and ripe for ignition.

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Corona Effect: A&B in Anti Vax Protests

The protest fever over concerns about mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 has spread to Antigua and Barbuda with protest marches.

Citizens heeded the call from a group called Freedom Fighters for Antigua and Barbuda, to protest about several issues including no to jab IDs, mandatory jabs, state of emergency, curfew and masks.

A group converged earlier this afternoon on Market street chanting “No vaccine” and “No vaccine for the children.”

One female protester said their freedom should not be taken away from them as well as expressed concern about children being vaccinated from the age of 12.

There are reports that teargas was used to disperse the crowd.

According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Health, 38,605 people have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine of which 31, 298 have received their second dose.

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World View: Alarming Climate Report, Nagasaki Plea, War Merchants Stranded, More

Aug 09, 2021

  • The bipartisan effort in the Senate is holding steady as a coalition of Democratic and Republican senators brushes off critics to push the $1 trillion infrastructure package toward final passage.
  • “Code Red for Humanity”: A U.N. report says Earth’s climate is getting so hot that temperatures in about a decade will probably reach a worrying level.
  • Nagasaki marks the 76th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the Japanese city with its mayor urging Japan, the United States and Russia to do more to eliminate nuclear weapons.
  • Some of the foreign contractors who powered the logistics of America’s “forever war” in Afghanistan now find themselves stranded on an unending layover in Dubai without a way to get home.
  • “Modern Family” medicine: Television series star Julie Bowen and her sister come to the rescue of a hiker who fell at Arches National Park in Utah.

ANDREW MELDRUM

Africa News Editor, Johannesburg

The Associated Press

 

The Rundown

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Often elusive, the political center is holding steady in the Senate as a coalition of Democratic and Republican senators brushes off critics to push the $1 trillion infrastructure package toward final passage. …Read More

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BERLIN (AP) — A U.N.-appointed panel of experts is releasing a key report Monday summarizing the latest authoritative scientific information on climate change. The report will provide governments with up-to-date facts on the curr…Read More

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TOKYO (AP) — Kara Winger is the American record-holder in the javelin throw who just wrapped up her fourth Olympics. She has never finished higher than sixth place. When she got the call over the weekend telling her she would be …Read More

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Some of the foreign contractors who powered the logistics of America’s “forever war” in Afghanistan now find themselves stranded on an unending layover in Dubai without a way to get home. …Read More

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TOKYO (AP) — Nagasaki on Monday marked the 76th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the Japanese city with its mayor urging Japan, the United States and Russia to do more to eliminate nuclear weapons. …Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has dug in for the fight of his political life despite the threat of potential criminal investigations and widespread calls for…Read More

MOAB, Utah (AP) — A woman who fainted and hit her head on a rock after stopping to rest in Utah’s Arches National Park woke up to hear a familiar voice and wondered if she mi…Read More

Canada on Monday is lifting its prohibition on Americans crossing the border to shop, vacation or visit, but the United States is keeping similar restrictions in place for Ca…Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Moviegoing, once expected to be closer to semi-normal levels by now, continues to be battered by the pandemic, the delta variant of the coronavirus and in-hom…Read More

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Nevis Offering UK Uni Scholarships to Local Students

NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (August 06, 2021) — The following is an announcement from the Ministry of Human Resources in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) regarding the offer of 2022/2023 Chevening Scholarships in the United Kingdom (UK).

The Ministry of Human Resources wishes to inform of the United Kingdom’s Chevening Scholarship Programme. The Chevening Scholarship Programme offers students the opportunity to pursue a fully funded master’s  degree course at a UK university and comes with the following added benefits: 

 – Fully funded tuition fees to your chosen university;

 – Living expenses for the duration of your studies;

 – Return flight to the UK;

 – Access to exclusive events across the UK; and

 – Joining an international Chevening network.

Interested persons can apply during the period August 3rd to November 2nd, 2021.  Please visit the website www.chevening.org  to apply and to access additional information

 

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Argentina: Mass Street Protests Over Jobs, Poverty

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 7 (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Argentines took to the streets of Buenos Aires on Saturday to protest over poverty and a lack of jobs amid a lengthy economic crisis that has only deepened with the coronavirus pandemic.

Organisations working with the unemployed and leftist groups led the protest that started at a church to the west of the Argentine capital where thousands of pilgrims travel each year to pray at the shrine of San Cayetano, the patron saint of work, whose feast day is Saturday. It ended in the Plaza de Mayo, a massive square in front of the seat of government where protests habitually take place.

“I come on behalf of people who do not have work: my brother, my neighbors and many people who you see really struggling everywhere,” Néstor Pluis, a 41-year-old educational assistant, told Reuters.

Protests also took place in other parts of the country, including in Argentina’s second city of Cordoba and the western city of Mendoza.

Lawmaker Juan Carlos Alderete, leader of the left-wing party Corriente Clasista y Combativa, said the needs of people in some neighbourhoods were “tremendous.”

“The soup kitchens are seeing whole families coming to eat and many of the children have to be attended to by health professionals because they are malnourished,” he said.

A total of 19 million people, 42% of Argentina’s population, was classified as living below the poverty line in the second half of 2020 and unemployment at present stands at 10.2%.

Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said on Friday that he saw brighter days ahead, and the first rebound in the economy in three years this year with 7% growth.

“Argentina is growing, recuperating jobs and will recover income,” Fernandez pledged.

Ahead of the legislative elections in November, the government also announced on Friday a relaxation of COVID restrictions in the hope of speeding economic recovery.

Reporting by Nicolas Misculin, writing by Aislinn Laing; editing by Diane Craft

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US: Nicaragua’s Ortega Clinging to Power ‘At All Costs’

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks about refugee programs for Afghans who aided the U.S. during a briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC, U.S. August 2, 2021. Brendan Smialowski/Pool via RUTERS

Aug 7 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega of taking new “undemocratic, authoritarian actions” after police arrested another rival politician ahead of elections later this year.

Singling out both Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo, who holds the position of vice president, Blinken said in a statement on Saturday that the pair were seeking to hold on to power “at all costs” with a strategy of disqualifying potential opposition candidates.

“The United States views the regime’s latest undemocratic, authoritarian actions — driven by Ortega’s fear of an electoral loss — as the final blow against Nicaragua’s prospects for a free and fair election,” Blinken said.

The Central American country’s presidential election in November has already “lost all credibility”, the statement said.

Ortega’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Wednesday, police put opposition politician Berenice Quezada under house arrest, accusing her of inciting hatred and violence.

A former beauty queen turned Ortega critic, Quezada had been tapped last week by the Citizens Alliance for Liberty Party, or ACXL, to be the running mate of Oscar Sobalvarro. read more

Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla who has turned against many of his one-time rebel allies, is seeking to retain his grip on power with a fourth consecutive term.

His government has in recent months repeatedly detained political adversaries, including to date seven presidential hopefuls plus a couple dozen other opposition figures. Many have been accused of undermining Nicaragua’s independence and sovereignty, and banned from running for office.

On Friday, the U.S. State Department imposed visa restrictions on 50 relatives of Nicaraguan officials, including family members of lawmakers, prosecutors and judges. read more

Reporting by Ismael Lopez; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Daniel Wallis

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Bolsonaro: Sowing Doubt in Brazil’s Electoral System Could Hurt His Own Candidacy.

OSão Paulo, Brazil (CNN) As Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro falls further and further behind in the polls, his unsupported claim that the 2022 elections could be rigged have only increased in fervor and frequency.

But those freewheeling statements have now sparked investigations that could threaten his very eligibility to run as a presidential candidate at all.

After a series of claims by Bolsonaro that the country’s electronic voting system is insufficient and that it has been “violated” in past years, Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE), which oversees elections, has opened an administrative inquiry into the president’s statements. It has also requested that Bolsonaro be investigated as part of a larger ongoing probe into the proliferation of “fake news” and disinformation campaigns in Brazil.
Both could come with significant political consequences for Bolsonaro.
If the TSE inquiry finds that the president abused his position to spread misinformation, Bolsonaro could be barred from running for office for eight years, according to Wallace Corbo, professor of constitutional law at Getúlio Vargas Foundation University (FGV).
“As president, Bolsonaro is allowed and expected to take part in public discussions,” Corbo said. “What he cannot do — and has been doing — is systematically attack the electoral system by which he was elected.”
In a press conference last week, Bolsonaro promised to prove that Brazil´s internationally praised voting system is rigged, but provided no evidence and acknowledged, “we don’t have proof.” He only played a series of inconclusive YouTube videos and media reports, examples that Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) refuted.

Brazil's scandal-plagued President may face a reckoning as lawmakers consider impeachment

Brazil’s scandal-plagued President may face a reckoning as lawmakers consider impeachment
This week, he doubled-down on his attempts to foster doubts about the electoral system, tweeting confidential documents from a 2018 federal investigation that Bolsonaro claims show the country’s voting system was “violated
But according to the TSE, which has repeatedly rebutted Bolsonaro’s claims about election-rigging, the hacking episode did not result in fraud. “It is worth reiterating that electronic voting machines are never networked. As they are not connected to the internet, they are not subject to remote access, which prevents any kind of external interference in the voting and counting process. For this reason, it is possible to say, with a margin of certainty, that the investigated invasion had no impact on the outcome of the elections,” the court said in a statement.
In response to the court’s decision to investigate him, the President has insisted that his concern is purely about the elections’ integrity, and said that he “won’t accept [any] intimidation.”
“Questionable elections will not be permitted next year. Brazil will have an election next year. Clean, democratic elections,” Bolsonaro said.
Nevertheless, his repeated attacks on the current systems have raised concerns that the incumbent is preparing to reject unfavorable results.
During a YouTube livestream on Thursday, Bolsonaro — who has repeatedly insisted on the need to audit ballots with paper records — said he would not ask to audit the 2022 elections if he emerges victorious. “Any side can question the elections. If I win I won’t question them … I won’t waste my time,” he said.
A Datafolha poll from July 7 and 8 currently shows Bolsonaro more than 20 points behind his main opponent, former leftwing president Lula da Silva, in a first round of voting.

Electronic voting

Bolsonaro’s comments have particularly targeted electronic voting, warning that his supporters may not accept the results of the current system. Brazil has had fully computerized elections since 2000 and the TSE has identified no fraud since then.
“If this method continues, they’re going to have problems,” the President said in a July radio interview, according to Reuters. “Because one side, which is our side, may not accept the result.”
Earlier this year, in the wake of the January 6 Capitol riot in Washington, Bolsonaro claimed that Brazil could face even worse repercussions if it doesn’t implement paper ballots. “If Brazil doesn’t have a printed vote in 2022, a way of auditing the vote, we will have a worse problem than the US,” he told supporters in front of the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia then.
(Electronic voting systems can however be audited, as they were when 2014 presidential candidate Aecio Neves demanded a recount after losing to Dilma Rousseff. The audit, which took one year, confirmed Rousseff’s victory.)

'The biggest mistake of my life': Why Bolsonaro fans are turning on him

‘The biggest mistake of my life’: Why Bolsonaro fans are turning on him 03:28
In an interview with CNN Brasil on Wednesday, Brazilian parliamentary leader and Bolsonaro ally Arthur Lira said that he trusts electronic voting machines, but that he would support changing legislation about voting procedure in order to increase public trust, including the potential use of the printed vote system.
But some election officials fear Bolsonaro’s claims may have already damaged public confidence in the upcoming vote. “The threat against elections, polluting the public debate with disinformation, lies, hatred and conspiracy theories is an anti-democratic behavior,” wrote TSE President Luis Barroso this week.
Bolsonaro nevertheless argues that even in his role as president, he has the “right to criticize” electoral processes — wrong or not. “The TSE has taken certain steps to investigate and accuse me of undemocratic acts,” Bolsonaro responded in an interview with the radio program Jovem Pan on Wednesday. “I can be wrong, but I have the right to criticize. We are not wrong. We didn’t make mistakes!”

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Climate Change: Low-IncomeCountries ‘Can’t Keep Up’ with Impacts

By Navin Singh Khadka
Environment correspondent, BBC World Service

Low-income countries are struggling to protect themselves against climate change, officials and experts have told the BBC.

Organisations representing 90 countries say that their plans to prevent damage have already been outpaced by climate-induced disasters, which are intensifying and happening more regularly.

The UN says the number of developing countries with climate adaptation plans has increased. But it stresses that there’s limited evidence these plans have reduced any risks.

“We need to adapt our plans to the worsening climate crisis. Our existing plans are not enough to protect our people,” says Sonam Wangdi, chair of the UN’s Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group on climate change.

Their call for action comes as the UN’s climate science body prepares to publish its latest assessment on Monday about the state of global warming.

The report, compiled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will provide a scientific assessment of current and future climate change, and be a key reference for policymakers at the UN climate summit in Glasgow this November.

The world has already warmed by about 1.2C since the industrial era began, and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.

Chaos in the Caribbean

An aerial view of damaged homes on the nearly destroyed island of Barbuda on December 8, 2017 in Cordington, Barbuda.image sourceGetty Images
image captionClimate experts say houses in the Caribbean countries are unable to stand against category five hurricanes

Last year, the Caribbean had a record-breaking 30 tropical storms – including six major hurricanes. The World Meteorological Organisation says the region is still recovering.

On islands like Antigua and Barbuda, experts say that many buildings have been unable to withstand the intense winds these storms have brought.

“We used to see category four hurricanes, so that’s what we have prepared for with our adaptation plans, but now we are being hit by category five hurricanes,” says Diann Black Layner, chief climate negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States.

“Category five hurricanes bring winds as strong as 180 miles per hour which the roofs cannot withstand because it creates stronger pressure inside our houses,” she said.

Falling seawalls in Pacific islands

Kids play on an area of reclaimed land stacked with sandbags, a countermeasure to the rising in Funafuti, Tuvalu.image sourceGetty Images
image captionPacific island countries say their defences against rising seas and cyclones are proving to be increasingly weak

Several Pacific Island countries were hit by three cyclones between the middle of 2020 and January 2021.

“After those three cyclones, communities in the northern part of our country have seen the sea walls built as part of their adaptation plans crumbling,” says Vani Catanasiga, head of the Fiji Council of Social Services – a group representing Fijian NGOs in the country’s Disaster Management Council.

“The water and the wind repeatedly battering the settlements even displaced some locals.”

Although it’s rare to see so many storms in such a short space of time, experts say sea storms have been growing in strength.

Studies suggest tropical cyclones have become more intense in the past 40 years, but an increase in the overall number of cyclones has not been established.

Uganda’s mountain menace

A woman carries a rolled-up mattress at a landslide site in Shisakali village of Bududa district, eastern Uganda,image sourceGetty Images
image captionSome African countries say intensified landslides and floods have rendered their adaptation efforts useless

In Uganda, communities in the Rwenzori region have been trying to protect themselves from landslides and floods by digging trenches and planting trees, helping to prevent soil erosion.

But it has not always been a success.

“The rains have become so intense that we have seen huge, sudden floods sweeping away these defences,” said Jackson Muhindo, a local climate change and resilience coordinator for Oxfam.

“As a result, there have been multiple landslides on mountain slopes which have buried settlements and farms,” he adds. “Adaptation works based on soil conservation are proving to be increasingly useless in the wake of these extreme weather events.”

Adaptation low on the agenda

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change says more than 80% of developing countries have begun formulating and implementing their national adaptation plans.

But a study by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), published last month, suggests that the 46 of the world’s least-developed countries don’t have the financial means to “climate proof” themselves.

The IIED says these countries need at least $40bn (£28.8bn; €33.8bn) a year for their adaptation plans. But between 2014-18, just $5.9 billion of adaptation finance was received.

An inundated village in Savra of Bangladesh after monsoon floods.image sourceGetty Images
image captionDeveloping countries say adaptation has not been a priority issue among their wealthier counterparts

Under the UN climate convention, the EU and 23 developed countries have pledged to make $100bn available every year to fund climate-related projects in developing nations – like schemes to cut emissions, and adaptations to mitigate damage caused by weather-induced disasters.

From 2020, this money will be passed on through the Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility and other such agencies. But developing countries argue that promise has largely been unkept. A report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed developed countries had made nearly $80bn available in 2018 as total climate finance. But it found that only 21% of that money was provided for adapting to climate impacts, while most went towards cutting carbon emissions.

Developing countries have criticised climate finance figures provided by developed world, pointing out they also include money from regular aid payments.

Some experts say adaptation plans have been hampered by politics.

“When you have other issues like [bad] governance, poverty and now Covid, it becomes very difficult for the plans to work. They simply aren’t a government’s priority,” according to Carlos Aguilar, a climate adaptation expert with Oxfam.

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