November 27, 2023 No comments
Hopes for a sustainable planet must not ‘melt away’: Guterres
INTERNATIONAL, 27 November 2023, Climate and Environment - World leaders at this week’s climate conference, COP28, must break the deadly cycle of global warming before a “deadly tipping point” is reached, said the UN chief on Monday. UN Secretary-General António Guterres was briefing reporters in New York after seeing for himself over the weekend the “profoundly shocking” speed at which ice is melting in Antarctica – three times faster than the rate in the early 1990s. New figures reveal that sea ice at the South Pole is now 1.5 million square kilometres below average for this time of year; that’s equal to the combined surface area of Portugal, Spain, France and Germany combined. Nowhere to hide “What happens in Antarctica doesn’t stay in Antarctica”, Mr. Guterres said. “We live in an...
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November 27, 2023 No comments
Gaza: Vital aid reaches shattered north as halt to fighting enters fourth day
INTERNATIONAL, 27 November 2023, Peace and Security - Desperate Gazans in the north of the enclave had their first sip of clean water in weeks on Monday as a continuing pause in fighting enabled broadening aid access to the Strip, UN humanitarians said. "This aid barely registers against the huge needs of 1.7 million displaced people," a statement from the UN Secretary-General's office said on Monday, highlighting his call for a full humanitarian ceasefire. "The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is getting worse by the day." And as the UN emergency relief coordination office, OCHA, reported that people in the south were queuing for kilometres to obtain cooking gas and resorting to burning window frames and doors for cooking, it added that the four-day humanitarian pause agreed upon by...
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November 27, 2023 No comments
World News in Brief: Delivering on health at COP28, aid for north Darfur, food standards watchdog turns 60
INTERNATIONAL, 27 November 2023, Climate and Environment - Climate action is health action and the legacy of the COP 28 climate conference opening later this week in Dubai should be a commitment to a healthier planet. That’s the message from UN health agency WHO, which said on Monday that negotiators at the upcoming meeting must recognize their responsibility “for the health of populations worldwide”. “Leaders must deliver in Dubai, providing the strong health outcomes their peoples expect and their economies urgently need,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), some 3.5 billion people – nearly half of humanity – live in areas highly vulnerable to climate change, and curbing greenhouse gas emissions is urgent to mitigate the disastrous health effects of...
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November 26, 2023 No comments
Fighting gender-based violence door-to-door with support of Ugandan men
INTERNATIONAL, 26 November 2023, Women - A Ugandan man, who is employed as a village health worker, has told the UN how men and boys must play a critical role in eliminating gender-based violence to change their communities for the better. In the second of a two-part series from Uganda, Timothy Mbene Masereka spoke to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) ahead of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, marked annually from 25 November to 10 December, Human Rights Day. As a village health worker, Mr. Masereka goes from house to house in some of the remotest locations in Kasese district in western Uganda. He enjoys helping people and is adept at managing illnesses such as malaria and pneumonia. However, there was one health emergency that he...
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November 26, 2023 No comments
Hitching a ride to a better future: Sustainable Transport Day
INTERNATIONAL, 26 November 2023, Climate and Environment - There is an urgent need for a transformative shift towards more sustainable transport the UN chief said on Sunday, emphasizing the importance of cleaner energy to combat climate change. "This first World Sustainable Transport Day reminds us that the road to a better future depends on cleaner and greener transportation systems," Antonio Guterres explained, spotlighting the relationship between transportation and global sustainability. Fuelling climate chaos "Transportation represents the world’s circulatory system, delivering people and goods across countries and around the world, creating jobs, and supporting prosperity," Mr. Guterres said, underscoring the important feature of transportation as essential facilitator of human development. "But it is also fuelling climate chaos," added the Secretary-General, acknowledging the sector's role in exacerbating the global climate crisis. The...
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