The image is striking: a young woman, alone, standing above the crowd, urging them on with songs of revolution. Taken on Monday night in the centre of Khartoum, as tens of thousands thronged the roads in front of the heavily-guarded complex housing the headquarters of the military and the feared intelligence services, the picture of the woman in white with gold circular earrings has become an icon of a protest.

Lana Haroun told CNN she had taken the picture. “She was trying to give everyone hope and positive energy and she did it,” she said. “She was representing all Sudanese women and girls and she inspired every woman and girl at the sit-in. She was telling the story of Sudanese women … she was perfect.” She added: “We have a voice. We can say what we want. We need a better life and to stay in a better place.” She said when she saw the photo on her phone, “I immediately thought: this is my revolution and we are the future.” That the woman in white has become such a symbol in a country that has long known systematic repression of women by the state has surprised some observers. But women have played a central role in the demonstrations in Sudan in recent months, with men often in a minority amongst the crowds calling for President Omar al-Bashir to step down.(theguardian)…[+]

BANGKOK,  – At least 11 million people in India risk being uprooted from their homes and land as authorities build highways and airports and cordon off forests, activists said on Tuesday, undermining a government push to provide housing for all citizens by 2022. The estimate includes about 1.9 million indigenous families whose land claims under the Forest Rights Act have been rejected, said advocacy group Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN). Last year alone, authorities demolished at least 114 houses every day, evicting about 23 people every hour, according to HLRN’s report published Tuesday in New Delhi.

Slum clearance and city “beautification” drives accounted for nearly half the evictions, while infrastructure and development projects, and forest protection made up a fourth each, it said.“Evictions have become so common, they are normalised, and we don’t see the outpouring of sympathy and help that we see when there is a big natural disaster,” said Shivani Chaudhry, executive director of HLRN.(Thomson Reuters Foundation)…[+]

Port of Spain – Medium, small and microenterprises (MSMEs) comprise the majority of businesses in the region and must be recognised as key pathways towards achieving climate resilient, inclusive and environmentally sustainable economies in the Caribbean. This was one of the key priorities identified by government, private sector and civil society organisations, including the
Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Caribbean Private Sector Engagement Workshop from April 2-4, 2019 in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The workshop explored mobilising private sector investment for climate action in the Caribbean and introduced participants to the GCF Private Sector Facility, as part of Jamaica’s GCF Readiness and Preparatory Support grant – Mobilising private sector support for low carbon and climate resilient development in Jamaica and other CARICOM States. The workshop was attended by over 90 persons
from National Designated Authorities, Accredited Entities, large and small private sector organisations (national development banks, credit unions, insurance companies) and private sector umbrella groups in the Caribbean.

At the workshop, CANARI urged meeting participants on the need to reform climate finance to increase MSME participation and investment, and enhance climate change adaptation and mitigation in the Caribbean. CANARI noted the issue of scale as a major limiting factor for MSMEs in the Caribbean and called for strategies for MSMEs to invest in new business opportunities and commercialise climate-friendly products and services, especially in priority sectors. Partnerships
between private sector and public sector entities were also noted as an important strategy to mobilise private sector participation in the Caribbean and to access further climate financing such as from the GCF…[+]