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Les habitants d'une ville du Nigeria racontent à la BBC qu'ils sont sans abri et sans sou après des inondations dévastatrices.

Ce dimanche matin du 1er juin 2025, un drame inattendu a perturbé le quartier El Madania, à Alger. À 7h20, un homme s’est présenté à […]

L’article Il tente de s’immoler devant le ministère de la Justice : les premiers éléments de l’enquête dévoilés est apparu en premier sur .

The small blaze ocurred in the area where construction work is ongoing.

Waste pickers in New Delhi are marginalized yet provide essential services, often in extreme heat. Credit: Aishwarya Bajpai/IPS

By Aishwarya Bajpai
NEW DELHI, Jun 2 2025 (IPS)

Every day, Delhi’s waste pickers walk three to four kilometers under the blazing sun, collecting and sorting the garbage that keeps India’s capital functioning. Their work is essential—yet largely invisible.

There are an estimated 200,000 waste pickers in Delhi, many of whom are migrants from landless, rural families in northern and eastern India. Pushed out of agriculture and informal rural economies, they arrive in the city with little more than the hope of survival, often ending up in the informal recycling sector. Labeled as “unskilled” or “semi-skilled” labor, they perform some of the city’s most crucial work—without contracts, protection, or recognition.

Sheikh Akbar Ali, a waste picker from Seemapuri who has worked with the community for over 15 years, paints a grim picture.

“We’re often denied access to public buses because people say we smell,” he says. With a daily income of ₹300 (roughly USD 3.60), even a single auto ride costing ₹150 (USD 1.80) one way is unaffordable. For women waste pickers, things are worse—no access to toilets, no place to change, and no shelter from the searing heat.

“Since COVID-19, we’ve been pushed off shaded footpaths and society corners to work under the open sky,” he adds.

The Smart Cities Mission, aimed at modernizing urban infrastructure, has only shrunk their access to public spaces, replacing common corners with beautified zones and surveillance.

Sumit Chaddha, another waste picker in Kamla Nagar, recalls how there once was a rule to stop work by 10am during peak summer hours. “Now, the heat is unbearable, but we have to keep going. One man collapsed while working—he started vomiting and died,” Sumit says. “There’s no medical card or health service for us through the MCD. We handle waste for the whole city but don’t even get gloves, let alone health insurance.”

In 2024, Delhi recorded a temperature of 52.3°C during what the World Meteorological Organization declared the hottest year in 175 years. The city also continues to rank among the world’s most polluted, with 74 of the 100 most polluted cities in the world located in India, according to the 2024 World Air Quality Report.

Though public perception often blames stubble burning or fireworks for Delhi’s toxic air, a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) analysis confirms that vehicular pollution is the leading contributor among combustion sources.

Pollution in Delhi is Not Seasonal.

Delhi breathes hazardous air nearly all year round—99 percent of the time. PM2.5 levels, which measure the concentration of fine particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs, regularly exceed the World Health Organization’s safe limit by 30 times. Even short-term exposure to PM2.5 has been linked to heart attacks, strokes, and severe respiratory illnesses.

Yet, the poorest—those already battling extreme heat, living in cramped settlements, and working with hazardous waste—remain stranded. Public buses, their main mode of mobility, are in a state of collapse. Over 100,000 bus breakdowns were reported in just nine months of 2024 alone.

Transport-related emissions, while relatively easier to reduce, are still not a priority in most countries. Globally, the transport sector accounts for 15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, with road transport alone responsible for 71 percent of that figure in 2019. India, now the third-largest emitter of CO₂ in the world, released 2.69 billion tons of fossil CO₂ in 2022—up by 6.5% from the previous year.

Increase in the CO₂ Emissions by the Transport Sector in India from 2000 to 2022.

 

In this context, public transport could be the most direct and transformative intervention—not just for the climate, but for the lives of the working poor.

As Sumana Narayanan, ecologist and environmental researcher, puts it, “We treat public transport like charity—something to be handed down to the poor. But mobility isn’t a favor; it’s a right, just like access to water, health, and clean air.”

She points to the success of Delhi’s fare-free bus scheme for women, introduced in 2019, which allowed women to save money, travel longer distances, and even gain greater say in household decisions. “Public transport doesn’t just move people—it carries dignity, opportunity, and the right to be part of public life,” she adds.

Other Countries are Showing What’s Possible

Germany’s €49 climate ticket has made low-emission travel more affordable. Luxembourg now offers free public transport to all its citizens. Bogotá’s TransMilenio system connects informal workers to opportunity while reducing emissions, and Paris is reducing car dependency with better metros and cycling infrastructure. These models demonstrate that transport, when reimagined, can be a cornerstone of both climate resilience and social justice.

But in India, such possibilities remain out of reach for communities like Delhi’s waste pickers. While programs like the National Electric Bus Programme (NEBP) aim to roll out 50,000 electric buses by 2030, implementation is slow and piecemeal. Without systemic reforms, vulnerable communities are left walking miles in dangerous heat, inhaling the city’s poison air, and risking their lives for the cleanliness everyone else takes for granted.

Nishant, Coordinator of the Public Transport Forum in Delhi, argues that existing schemes often serve short-term electoral agendas.

“What we really need is consistent investment in the quality and coverage of public buses. Public transport is a great equalizer in any society. And in terms of emissions and energy use, it’s at least ten times more efficient than private vehicles. It’s not just people-friendly—it’s climate-friendly too,” he says.

For Delhi’s waste pickers, a working bus route is not a luxury. It is a pathway to dignity, safety, and survival. In a city battling extreme heat, toxic air, and rising inequality, climate justice might just begin with a seat on a functioning, inclusive bus.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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On Thursday, MEPs will host prominent Russian opposition voices for a discussion on EU support for Russia’s pro-democracy forces in the new geopolitical context.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On Thursday, MEPs will host prominent Russian opposition voices for a discussion on EU support for Russia’s pro-democracy forces in the new geopolitical context.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On Thursday, MEPs will host prominent Russian opposition voices for a discussion on EU support for Russia’s pro-democracy forces in the new geopolitical context.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On Thursday, MEPs will host prominent Russian opposition voices for a discussion on EU support for Russia’s pro-democracy forces in the new geopolitical context.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On Thursday, MEPs will host prominent Russian opposition voices for a discussion on EU support for Russia’s pro-democracy forces in the new geopolitical context.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

L’entreprise américaine renforce ses centres de données à Genève et Zurich. Elle ambitionne également de former un million de Suisses à l’intelligence artificielle d’ici à 2027.

Ce lundi 2 juin 2025, la Cour de répression des infractions économiques et du terrorisme (CRIET) au Bénin a rendu son verdict dans le procès très médiatisé de Steve Amoussou, présenté comme le controversé chroniqueur politique anonyme "Frère Hounvi".

Steven Amoussou a été fixé sur son sort. Ce lundi 2 juin 2025, la chambre correctionnelle de la CRIET a condamné le présumé Frère Hounvi à deux ans de prison ferme et à un million FCFA d'amendes. La Cour a requalifié les faits de harcèlement par le biais d'une communication électronique, initiation et diffusion de fausses nouvelles, provocation à la rébellion en « injure avec motivation politique, initiation et diffusion de fausses nouvelles ».

Le ministère public avait initialement requis en avril 2025 deux ans de prison ferme et un million de francs CFA d'amende à l'encontre de Steve Amoussou, soupçonné d'être à l'origine des virulentes critiques envers le régime du président Patrice Talon sous le pseudonyme de "Frère Hounvi".

Lors du procès, le prévenu a toujours nié être le fameux "Frère Hounvi", malgré les éléments à charge présentés par l'accusation. Steve Amoussou a notamment contesté les conditions de son arrestation, affirmant avoir été kidnappé à Lomé en août 2024 avant d'être ramené de force au Bénin.

Cette affaire remonte à l'arrestation de Steve Amoussou le 20 août 2024, quelques jours après son enlèvement au Togo. Il était alors soupçonné d'être derrière le compte anonyme "Frère Hounvi" qui distillait depuis des années des critiques acerbes envers le pouvoir en place.

Lors de l'audience du 7 avril 2025, le juge a confronté Steve Amoussou à des éléments retrouvés dans le téléphone d'un autre individu incarcéré, à savoir un numéro de téléphone appartenant au présumé "Frère Hounvi" avec lequel ce dernier discutait d'une de ses chroniques. Steve Amoussou a reconnu avoir utilisé ce numéro, mais a nié être l'auteur de l'avatar "Frère Hounvi".

Le ministère public a souligné que depuis l'incarcération de Steve Amoussou, les chroniques du "Frère Hounvi" avaient cessé, et que l'accusé avait reconnu devant le parquet être l'auteur de ces publications "à caractère corbeaux".

Les avocats de la défense ont quant à eux dénoncé tout au long du procès les "conditions inhumaines" de l'arrestation de leur client, estimant que son procès n'aurait jamais dû avoir lieu.

Cliquez ici pour lire la suite

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On 26 March, the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) jointly launched the new EU Preparedness Union Strategy, which will be presented in a joint meeting of the SEDE, ENVI, and LIBE committees, on 3 June. The strategy outlines how the EU aims to better anticipate, prevent and respond to risks such as cyberattacks, disinformation, and climate impacts.
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Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

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