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Mit Kappe und Sonnenbrille: Darum versteckt Leonardo DiCaprio so oft sein Gesicht

Blick.ch - 12 hours 30 min ago
Es ist fast zu einer Art Markenzeichen von Leonardo DiCaprio geworden: Wo immer Paparazzi den Hollywoodstar auch erwischen, trägt er meist Kappe, Sonnenbrille und Co. Wie der Schauspieler jetzt dem «Time Magazine» erzählt hat, gibt es dafür einen bestimmten Grund.
Categories: European Union, Swiss News

Kein Geld vom Steuerzahler: Nationalrat schickt Nachtzug nach Malmö aufs Abstellgleis

Blick.ch - 12 hours 34 min ago
Letzte Woche lehnte der Ständerat ab, den Nachtzug-Ausbau nach Malmö mit Steuerfranken zu subventionieren. Nun hat der Nationalrat das Geschäft behandelt. Und ebenfalls ein Subventionsveto gesprochen.
Categories: Afrique, Swiss News

«Zeit, auf Papa zu hören und Europa zu retten»: Putin-Berater teilt gegen Europäer aus

Blick.ch - 12 hours 35 min ago
Der russische Präsidentenberater Kirill Dmitrijew wettert erneut gegen Europa – und diesmal sogar gegen den ehemaligen US-Präsidenten Joe Biden. Europa solle jetzt auf «Papa Trump» hören.

Fahrer mit Helikopter gerettet: 60-Jähriger stürzt mit Auto in Graubünden den Hang hinunter

Blick.ch - 12 hours 41 min ago
Ein 60-jähriger Autofahrer stürzte in Tiefencastel GR einen Hang hinunter. Rettungskräfte bargen den Verletzten aus dem Wrack, bevor er ins Kantonsspital Graubünden geflogen wurde. Die Polizei untersucht die Unfallursache.

Von der Leyen: a jóvátételi kölcsön célja növelni a háború költségeit Oroszország számára

Bumm.sk (Szlovákia/Felvidék) - 12 hours 41 min ago
Az európai bankokban tárolt, majd az uniós szankciók nyomán befagyasztott orosz pénzeszközök lefoglalását, majd annak Ukrajna finanszírozását lehetővé tevő jóvátételi kölcsönre vonatkozó uniós bizottsági javaslatnak a célja: növelni a háború költségeit Oroszország számára - jelentette ki Ursula von der Leyen, az Európai Bizottság elnöke, miután megbeszélést folytatott hétfőn az Ukrajnát támogató országok koalíciójának tagjaival.

Sri Lanka & the Global Climate Emergency: The Lessons of Cyclone Ditwah

Africa - INTER PRESS SERVICE - 12 hours 51 min ago

Gampaha, a district on Colombo's outskirts, has been among the areas hardest hit by flooding after Cyclone Ditwah. Credit: UNICEF/InceptChange

By Asoka Bandarage
WASHINGTON DC, Dec 9 2025 (IPS)

Tropical Cyclone Ditwah, which made landfall in Sri Lanka on 28 November 2025, is considered the country’s worst natural disaster since the deadly 2004 tsunami. It intensified the northeast monsoon, bringing torrential rainfall, massive flooding, and 215 severe landslides across seven districts.

The cyclone left a trail of destruction, killing nearly 500 people, displacing over a million, destroying homes, roads, and railway lines, and disabling critical infrastructure including 4,000 transmission towers. Total economic losses are estimated at USD 6–7 billion—exceeding the country’s foreign reserves.

The Sri Lankan Armed Forces have led the relief efforts, aided by international partners including India and Pakistan. A Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter crashed in Wennappuwa, killing the pilot and injuring four others, while five Sri Lanka Navy personnel died in Chundikkulam in the north while widening waterways to mitigate flooding.

The bravery and sacrifice of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces during this disaster—as in past disasters—continue to be held in high esteem by grateful Sri Lankans.

The government, however, is facing intense criticism for its handling of Cyclone Ditwah, including failure to heed early warnings available since November 12, a slow and poorly coordinated response, and inadequate communication with the public.

Floodwaters entered several hospitals across Sri Lanka, further straining the health system. Credit: UNICEF/ InceptChange

Systemic issues—underinvestment in disaster management, failure to activate protocols, bureaucratic neglect, and a lack of coordination among state institutions—are also blamed for avoidable deaths and destruction.

The causes of climate disasters such as Cyclone Ditwah go far beyond disaster preparedness. Faulty policymaking, mismanagement, and decades of unregulated economic development have eroded the island’s natural defenses. As climate scientist Dr. Thasun Amarasinghe notes:
“Sri Lankan wetlands—the nation’s most effective natural flood-control mechanism—have been bulldozed, filled, encroached upon, and sold.

Many of these developments were approved despite warnings from environmental scientists, hydrologists, and even state institutions.”

Sri Lanka’s current vulnerabilities also stem from historical deforestation and plantation agriculture associated with colonial-era export development. Forest cover declined from 82% in 1881 to 70% in 1900, and to 54–50% by 1948, when British rule ended. It fell further to 44% in 1954 and to 16.5% by 2019.

Deforestation contributes an estimated 10–12% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond removing a vital carbon sink, it damages water resources, increases runoff and erosion, and heightens flood and landslide risk. Soil-depleting monocrop agriculture further undermines traditional multi-crop systems that regenerate soil fertility, organic matter, and biodiversity.

In Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands, which were battered by Cyclone Ditwah, deforestation and unregulated construction had destabilized mountain slopes. Although high-risk zones prone to floods and landslides had long been identified, residents were not relocated, and construction and urbanization continued unchecked.

Sri Lanka was the first country in Asia to adopt neoliberal economic policies. With the “Open Economy” reforms of 1977, a capitalist ideology equating human well-being with quantitative growth and material consumption became widespread. Development efforts were rushed, poorly supervised, and frequently approved without proper environmental assessment.

Privatization and corporate deregulation weakened state oversight. The recent economic crisis and shrinking budgets further eroded environmental and social protections, including the maintenance of drainage networks, reservoirs, and early-warning systems. These forces have converged to make Sri Lanka a victim of a dual climate threat: gradual environmental collapse and sudden-onset disasters.

Sri Lanka: A Climate Victim

Sri Lanka’s carbon emissions remain relatively small but are rising. The impact of climate change on the island, however, is immense. Annual mean air temperature has increased significantly in recent decades (by 0.016 °C annually between 1961 and 1990). Sea-level rise has caused severe coastal erosion—0.30–0.35 meters per year—affecting nearly 55% of the shoreline. The 2004 tsunami demonstrated the extreme vulnerability of low-lying coastal plains to rising seas.

The Cyclone Ditwah catastrophe was neither wholly new nor surprising. In 2015, the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) identified Sri Lanka as the South Asian country with the highest relative risk of disaster-related displacement: “For every million inhabitants, 15,000 are at risk of being displaced every year.”

IDMC also noted that in 2017 the country experienced seven disaster events—mainly floods and landslides—resulting in 135,000 new displacements and that Sri Lanka “is also at risk for slow-onset impacts such as soil degradation, saltwater intrusion, water scarcity, and crop failure”.

Sri Lanka ranked sixth among countries most affected by extreme weather events in 2018 (Germanwatch) and second in 2019 (Global Climate Risk Index). Given these warnings, Cyclone Ditwah should not have been a surprise. Scientists have repeatedly cautioned that warmer oceans fuel stronger cyclones and warmer air hold more moisture, leading to extreme rainfall.

As the Ceylon Today editorial of December 1, 2025 also observed: “…our monsoons are no longer predictable. Cyclones form faster, hit harder, and linger longer. Rainfall becomes erratic, intense, and destructive. This is not a coincidence; it is a pattern.”

Without urgent action, even more extreme weather events will threaten Sri Lanka’s habitability and physical survival.

A Global Crisis

Extreme weather events—droughts, wildfires, cyclones, and floods—are becoming the global norm. Up to 1.2 billion people could become “climate refugees” by 2050. Global warming is disrupting weather patterns, destabilizing ecosystems, and posing severe risks to life on Earth. Indonesia and Thailand were struck by the rare and devastating Tropical Cyclone Senyar in late November 2025, occurring simultaneously with Cyclone Ditwah’s landfall in Sri Lanka.

More than 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions—and nearly 90% of carbon emissions—come from burning coal, oil, and gas, which supply about 80% of the world’s energy. Countries in the Global South, like Sri Lanka, which contribute least to greenhouse gas emissions, are among the most vulnerable to climate devastation.

Yet wealthy nations and multilateral institutions, including the World Bank, continue to subsidize fossil fuel exploration and production. Global climate policymaking—including COP 30 in Belém, Brazil, in 2025—has been criticized as ineffectual and dominated by fossil fuel interests.

If the climate is not stabilized, long-term planetary forces beyond human control may be unleashed. Technology and markets are not inherently the problem; rather, the issue lies in the intentions guiding them. The techno-market worldview, which promotes the belief that well-being increases through limitless growth and consumption, has contributed to severe economic inequality and more frequent extreme weather events.

The climate crisis, in turn, reflects a profound mismatch between the exponential expansion of a profit-driven global economy and the far slower evolution of human consciousness needed to uphold morality, compassion, generosity and wisdom.

Sri Lanka’s 2025–26 budget, adopted on November 14, 2025—just as Cyclone Ditwah loomed—promised subsidized land and electricity for companies establishing AI data centers in the country. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament: “Don’t come questioning us on why we are giving land this cheap; we have to make these sacrifices.”

Yet Sri Lanka is a highly water-stressed nation, and a growing body of international research shows that AI data centers consume massive amounts of water and electricity, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.

The failure of the narrow, competitive techno-market approach underscores the need for an ecological and collective framework capable of addressing the deeper roots of this existential crisis—both for Sri Lanka and the world.

Ecological and Human Protection

Ecological consciousness demands recognition that humanity is part of the Earth, not separate from it. Policies to address climate change must be grounded in this understanding, rather than in worldviews that prize infinite growth and technological dominance.

Nature has primacy over human-created systems: the natural world does not depend on humanity, while humanity cannot survive without soil, water, air, sunlight, and the Earth’s essential life-support systems.

Although a climate victim today, Sri Lanka is also home to an ancient ecological civilization dating back to the arrival of the Buddhist monk Mahinda Thera in the 3rd century BCE. Upon meeting King Devanampiyatissa, who was out hunting in Mihintale, Mahinda Thera delivered one of the earliest recorded teachings on ecological interdependence and the duty of rulers to protect nature:

“O great King, the birds of the air and the beasts of the forest have as much right to live and move about in any part of this land as thou. The land belongs to the people and all living beings; thou art only its guardian.”

A stone inscription at Mihintale records that the king forbade the killing of animals and the destruction of trees. The Mihintale Wildlife Sanctuary is believed to be the world’s first.

Sri Lanka’s ancient dry-zone irrigation system—maintained over more than a millennium—stands as a marvel of sustainable development. Its network of interconnected reservoirs, canals, and sluices captured monsoon waters, irrigated fields, controlled floods, and even served as a defensive barrier.

Floods occurred, but historical records show no disasters comparable in scale, severity, or frequency to those of today. Ancient rulers, including the legendary reservoir-builder King Parākramabāhu, and generations of rice farmers managed their environment with remarkable discipline and ecological wisdom.

The primacy of nature became especially evident when widespread power outages and the collapse of communication networks during Cyclone Ditwah forced people to rely on one another for survival. The disaster ignited spontaneous acts of compassion and solidarity across all communities—men and women, rich and poor, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, and Hindus.

Local and international efforts mobilized to rescue, shelter, feed, and emotionally support those affected. These actions demonstrated a profound human instinct for care and cooperation, often filling vacuums left by formal emergency systems.

Yet spontaneous solidarity alone is insufficient. Sri Lanka urgently needs policies on sustainable development, environmental protection, and climate resilience. These include strict, science-based regulation of construction; protection of forests and wetlands; proper maintenance of reservoirs; and climate-resilient infrastructure.

Schools should teach environmental literacy that builds unity and solidarity, rather than controversial and divisive curriculum changes like the planned removal of history and introduction of contested modules on gender and sexuality.

If the IMF and international creditors—especially BlackRock, Sri Lanka’s largest sovereign bondholder, valued at USD 13 trillion—are genuinely concerned about the country’s suffering, could they not cancel at least some of Sri Lanka’s sovereign debt and support its rebuilding efforts?

Addressing the climate emergency and the broader existential crisis facing Sri Lanka and the world ultimately requires an evolution in human consciousness guided by morality, compassion, generosity and wisdom.

Dr Asoka Bandarage is the author of Colonialism in Sri Lanka: The Political Economy of the Kandyan Highlands, 1833-1886 (Mouton) Women, Population and Global Crisis: A Politico-Economic Analysis (Zed Books), The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka: Terrorism, Ethnicity, Political Economy, ( Routledge), Sustainability and Well-Being: The Middle Path to Environment, Society and the Economy (Palgrave MacMillan) Crisis in Sri Lanka and the World: Colonial and Neoliberal Origins, Ecological and Collective Alternatives (De Gruyter) and numerous other publications. She serves on the Advisory Boards of the Interfaith Moral Action on Climate and Critical Asian Studies.

IPS UN Bureau

 


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Categories: Africa, Swiss News

Zehn Kilo in acht Wochen: Barbara Wussow verblüfft mit Blitz-Diät

Blick.ch - 12 hours 53 min ago
«Traumschiff»-Star Barbara Wussow hat in acht Wochen zehn Kilo abgenommen. Sie setzte auf puren Verzicht. Auch andere Stars sorgten zuletzt mit ihren Diäten für Aufsehen.

Tief bewertet, hohe Dividende: Welche KI-Aktie abseits der Tech-Giganten du kennen solltest

Blick.ch - 13 hours 11 min ago
Lange fristete die Aktie des französischen Energieversorgers Engie ein Mauerblümchen-Dasein. In diesem Jahr hat sich der Titel aber zum Top-Performer entwickelt. Das steckt dahinter.

Verliebt mit Timothée Chalamet: Kylie Jenner strahlt die Krisengerüchte weg

Blick.ch - 13 hours 13 min ago
Beziehungsprobleme oder gar eine Trennung? Das scheint bei Timothée Chalamet und Kylie Jenner entgegen aller Spekulationen nicht der Fall zu sein. Am Montagabend feierten sie sichtlich verliebt ihren zweiten Red-Carpet-Auftritt.

Grosseinsatz in Steckborn TG: Mehrere Menschen müssen nach Brand ins Spital

Blick.ch - 13 hours 38 min ago
Am frühen Dienstagmorgen ist es in der Altstadt von Steckborn TG zu einem Brand in einem Mehrfamilienhaus gekommen. Beim Eintreffen der Feuerwehr drang dichter Rauch aus dem ersten Stock der Liegenschaft. Das betroffene Haus sowie angrenzende Gebäude wurden evakuiert.
Categories: Africa, Swiss News

Who will be Merz’s EU enforcer?

Euractiv.com - 13 hours 40 min ago
In Tuesday's edition: CDU vote, French budget, migration deal, Frontex offices, EEAS-gate
Categories: European Union, Swiss News

Grèce : les agriculteurs bloquent les routes et les aéroports

Courrier des Balkans - 13 hours 46 min ago

Les agriculteurs et les éleveurs grecs protestent contre le retard dans les versements des subventions européennes. Une vingtaine de barrages ont été dressés à travers le pays, bloquant les accès à plusieurs routes et même à deux aéroports en Crète.

- Le fil de l'Info / , , , , , ,

Vierte Moser-Pleite in Serie: Kevin Fiala skort bei Kings-Sieg doppelt

Blick.ch - 13 hours 47 min ago
In der Nacht auf Dienstag stehen in der NHL zwei Schweizer im Einsatz. Während Fiala mit einer überzeugenden Leistung einen Sieg einfahren kann, verliert Janis Moser ein weiteres Mal.
Categories: Afrique, Swiss News

Schwer verletzt: Auto fährt Fussgängerin auf Überlandstrasse im Tösstal an

Blick.ch - 14 hours 2 min ago
Am Dienstagmorgen kollidiert auf der Tösstalstrasse zwischen Winterthur und Turbenthal ZH ein Auto mit einer Fussgängerin. Das Opfer musste schwer verletzt in den Spital gebracht werden.
Categories: Afrique, Swiss News

Hier erwartet dich jetzt das grosse Königsklasse-Drama: Salah fliegt aus dem Kader – Schicksalsspiel für Star-Trainer?

Blick.ch - 14 hours 26 min ago
Bei mehreren Top-Teams brodelt es gewaltig – und jetzt wartet mit der Champions League die grosse Bühne: Real Madrid kämpft gegen Manchester City ums Weiterkommen, Liverpool streicht Mohamed Salah aus dem Kader und Ajax feuert Trainer Heitinga nach vier Pleiten.
Categories: Afrique, Swiss News

Spektakulärer Unfall in Rumänien: Mercedes-Lenker wird über Kreisel katapultiert

Blick.ch - 14 hours 29 min ago
Ein 49-jähriger Autofahrer ist viel zu schnell auf den Strassen von Oradea in Rumänien unterwegs. So viel zu schnell, dass es ihn bei einem Kreisel in die Luft katapultiert. Der Mann hat Glück im Unglück und überlebt den Unfall mit Knochenbrüchen.
Categories: Afrique, Swiss News

Neuvorstellung Mercedes-SUV GLB: Wird das der nächste Mercedes-Bestseller?

Blick.ch - 15 hours 12 min ago
Noch ist der GLC das meistverkaufte Mercedes-Modell. Doch mittelfristig könnte der neue GLB die neue Nummer 1 werden – wahlweise gibt es den kompakten SUV ab kommendem Frühling mit Elektro- oder Hybridantrieb.
Categories: Afrique, Swiss News

French PM Lecornu faces knife-edge vote on 2026 social security bill

Euractiv.com - 15 hours 19 min ago
The outcome could hinge on just a handful of votes
Categories: European Union, Swiss News

Verzweifelte Abnehm-Aktion: Deutsche verpasst Olympia – weil sie zu schwer war

Blick.ch - 15 hours 21 min ago
Die 1,78 Meter grosse Junioren-Weltmeisterin Viktoria Hansova verpasste wegen des Gewichtslimits von 102 kg für Frauen und Schlitten die Olympia-Qualifikation. Hansova kritisiert die Regel als unfair für grössere Athletinnen und gesundheitlich bedenklich.
Categories: Afrique, Swiss News

Kinder unter Zuschauern: Bär geht nach Vorstellung auf Pfleger los

Blick.ch - 15 hours 22 min ago
Nach der Vorstellung greift der Bär seinen Pfleger an. Der Vorfall ereignet sich in der ostchinesischen Millionenstadt Hangzhou. Der Clip hat die öffentliche Debatte über ein mögliches Verbot von Tier-Shows in China neu entfacht.
Categories: Afrique, Swiss News

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