December 06, 2021 No comments
Myanmar: UN deplores conviction and sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi
INTERNATIONAL, 6 December 2021, Human Rights - The UN’s top human rights official on Monday condemned the imprisonment of Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi by a military-controlled court, and called for her release. She also faces additional charges of corruption and electoral fraud. The development follows media reports that a military vehicle slammed into demonstrators in the city of Yangon over the weekend, leaving an unknown number injured and at least five dead. Political motives In a statement on Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet maintained that Ms. Suu Kyi’s guilty verdict was the result of a “sham trial”. “The conviction of the State Counsellor following a sham trial in secretive proceedings before a military-controlled court is nothing but politically-motivated,” she said. “It...
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December 06, 2021 No comments
COVID-19: Students face $17 trillion loss in lifetime earnings
INTERNATIONAL, 6 December 2021, Culture and Education - School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic could result in a staggering $17 trillion in lost lifetime earnings for today’s students, according to a UN-backed report issued on Monday. The projection is among the findings of The State of the Global Education Crisis: A Path to Recovery, published by the World Bank, the UN Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The figure is calculated in present value, representing roughly 14 per cent of current Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It far exceeds the $10 trillion estimates from a year ago, revealing that the impact is more severe than previously thought. Loss ‘morally unacceptable’ The pandemic brought education systems across the world to a halt, said Jaime Saavedra, World Bank Global Director for Education. More...
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December 06, 2021 No comments
COVID contributed to 69,000 malaria deaths WHO finds, though ‘doomsday scenario’ averted
INTERNATIONAL, 6 December 2021, Health - Disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in considerable increases in malaria cases and deaths between 2019 and 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. However, “the doomsday scenario” projected by the WHO has not materialised,” Dr Pedro Alonso, Director, WHO Global Malaria Programme said at the launch of the UN agency’s annual World Malaria Report in Geneva. According to the analysis, moderate disruptions in the delivery of malaria services contributed to 14 million malaria cases and 69,000 deaths. Two thirds (or 47,000) of the additional malaria deaths, were due to disruptions in the provision of malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment during the pandemic. Early in the pandemic, WHO had projected a doubling of malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, as a...
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December 06, 2021 No comments
DR Congo: Limitations to ‘strictly military approach’ to stem violence, mission chief warns
INTERNATIONAL, 6 December 2021, Peace and Security - The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo told the Security Council on Monday that “a lasting solution” to the violence “requires a broader political commitment to address the root causes of conflict.” Bintou Keita argued that, for stability to return to eastern Congo, “the State must succeed in restoring and maintaining the confidence of the people in their ability to protect, administer, deliver justice and meet their basic needs.” Ms. Keita, who also acts as the head of the UN Stabilization Mission in the country (MONUSCO), said that she has stressed this regularly in her exchanges with the Head of State and with the Prime Minister. Armed violence Starting on November 30, the Congolese Armed Forces initiated joint military operations with the Ugandan army against the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in...
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December 06, 2021 No comments
Severe cash crunch threatens WFP operations in Ethiopia
INTERNATIONAL, 6 December 2021, Humanitarian Aid - Millions of people in Ethiopia could be pushed deeper into hunger as the World Food Programme (WFP) faces a major funding shortfall that threatens its operations there over the coming six months, the UN agency warned on Monday. WFP urgently needs $579 million to deliver food aid and livelihood support to some 12 million Ethiopians and refugees. This includes $316 million for food and nutrition assistance to nearly four million people in the war-ravaged north. The Ethiopian authorities, together with WFP and other partners, are struggling to address the hunger crisis in the country. Food aid ‘critical’ An estimated 13.6 million people are now food insecure due to the combined effects of conflict, drought, flooding, desert locust invasions, market disruptions,...
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