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Sports, scandals, music, memes… Take our bumper quiz of all the highs and lows of the year that was (answers at the end)

1. In October, who unexpectedly walked through a Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest, causing police to get involved to disperse the growing crowds?

a. Donald Trump

b. A protester dressed as a giant sandworm

c. Timothée Chalamet

d. Un secretary general António Guterres

2. In April, a new Lennon-McCartney single, Primrose Hill, was released. But why did it cause little excitement among Beatles fans?

a. It was a collaboration between Sean Ono Lennon and James McCartney, and not their more famous fathers

b. It was an AI creation made to advertise a cryptocurrency

c. It used made up of previously recorded material the band had disavowed

d. Most Beatles superfans have simply moved on to other interests...

Actress Meryl Streep declared that cats, squirrels and birds are granted more freedom than women in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

After the Taliban took control of power in Afghanistan in August 2021, it gradually strengthened restrictions on women and girls. Women’s bodies need to be entirely covered, and they are prohibited from looking at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa.

Streep made her claim about Afghan women’s freedom during an event at the United Nations called “The Inclusion of Women in the Future of Afghanistan.”

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“The way that this culture and this society has been upended is a cautionary tale for the rest of the world,” Streep stated. “Today in Kabul, a female cat has more freedoms than a woman.”

“A cat may go sit on her...

Netflix's sci-fi thriller series 3 Body Problem ends with a cliffhanger, paving the way for a second season. Created by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with Alexander Woo, it's adapted from Chinese author Liu Cixins celebrated Remembrance of Earth's Past book trilogy. The eight-episode first season mainly draws on the first book The Three-Body Problem. Initially, 3 Body Problem's story begins during the early days of China's Cultural Revolution, with a harrowing moment when astrophysics prodigy Ye Wenjie (first portrayed by Zine Tseng in her youth and later by Rosalind Chao) witnesses her professor father's brutal demise at the hands of Red Guards.

The narrative then catapults forward to contemporary England, where Detective Da Shi (Benedict Wong) is tasked with probing a series of scientist suicides. It turns out that Ye, disillusioned and recruited to a clandestine military facility aimed at making contact with extraterrestrial life,...

Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to see action, and he is not talking about the movies. Schwarzenegger was talking about climate change and said it is time for the talking to stop and for there to be concrete solutions.

“All we care about is action,” Schwarzenegger said at the latest edition of the Austrian World Summit, the event he launched eight years ago. “Talking alone won’t save us – but action will. We all share the same vision of a pollution-free world. We have to do whatever it takes to stop the bleeding in order to save our children, to save our planet, to save our future.”

The summit ran under the banner “Be Useful: Tools For a Healthy Planet” and was held at Vienna’s Hofburg, the official residence of the President of Austria. The aim was to find concrete solutions to fight climate change and Schwarzenegger told attendees: “You have the power.

Last week’s killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers by Israeli air strikes is by no means the first time staffers for the humanitarian group have had a brush with Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza. According to a report from NBC News, on at least two occasions preceding the deadly air strikes, Wck workers came under fire from Idf forces despite having communicated its movements and operations to the Idf — an experience echoed by several aid groups that spoke to the publication.

In the attacks last week, three vehicles carrying staffers for Wck,...

The Green Carpet Fashion Awards (Gcfa) returned to Los Angeles on March 6th, 2024.

Zendaya and Donatella Versace attend the 2024 Green Carpet Fashion Awards

Credit/Copyright: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Green Carpet Fashion Awards

The annual awards show united the power of fashion and entertainment for positive transformation and champions interconnected cultural change and the most inspiring efforts that drive it. The selection of the yearly honorees is evaluated according to six cultural archetypes – The Visionary, The Messenger, The Rebel, The Healer, The Sage, and The Futurist. Embodying these roles in the sustainable landscape, the Gcfa recognizes those who offer a new lens on true intersectional transformation while bringing together the next generation of global leaders driving political, social, and environmental solutions for a brighter collective future.

Annie Lennox speaks onstage during the 2024 Green Carpet Fashion Awards

Credit/Copyright: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Green Carpet Fashion Awards

Among those...

All eyes were on Zendaya as she stepped out in a flapper-esque vintage Roberto Cavalli dress at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards on Wednesday night at 1 Hotel’s Harriet’s in West Hollywood.

As co-chair of the event, which also drew Chrissy Teigen, Helen Hunt, Jennifer Coolidge, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, and Annie Lennox, Zendaya has long embraced vintage for red carpet appearances.

Most impressively, her last look — a chrome suit of armor from Mugler’s Fall Winter 1995 couture collection — reportedly generated $13.3 million in media exposure after wearing the piece to the Dune: Part Two premiere in London.

To mark this occasion, she rocked a silver roaring twenties-inspired gown from Cavalli’s spring 2011 collection. But the night was about much more than just sustainable sartorial selections.

“Fashion has always been a lens that we use to look at the world,” the awards show’s founder Livia Firth explained. “When you want...

Picturehouse Entertiainment has picked up From Hilde, With Love, the new drama from German director Andreas Dresen (Stopped on Track) for the U.K. and Ireland, adding to a swath of European deals for the title, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last month.

Liv Lisa Fries (Babylon Berlin) stars in the 1940s-set drama as Hilde Coppi, a member of a left-wing anti-Nazi resistance cell. Beta, which is handling international sales for the movie, previously announced deals for From Hilde, With Love with Haut et Court in France, Teodora in Italy, Angel Film across Scandinavia, September Film for Benelux and Outsider for Portugal, among other deals. Palace Film will release From Hilde, With Love in Australia and New Zealand. Pandora Film Verleih is handling the German release and will bow the movie in German-speaking territories this October.

Beta also announced a series of deals for its upcoming Bill Nighy road movie 500 Miles,...

After nearly two weeks of controversy and contentious negotiations, nations at the Un’s 2023 global climate summit, COP28, have signed a historic agreement to “transition away” from fossil fuels and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The agreement, signed by more than 200 nations, almost fell apart at the finish line. On Monday, oil-dependent nations removed language calling for a full “phase out” of fossil fuel energy resources from its draft, prompting international outrage. The European Union threatened to walk away from the agreement. France’s minister of energy transition, Agnes Pannier-Runacher called the proposed text “insufficient.

Gal Gadot has called out the silence over media reports of sexual violence committed by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, and the ongoing danger female hostages face as their captivity nears almost three months.

“The world has failed the women of October 7th,” the Israeli actress wrote in an impassioned message posted on her Instagram on Sunday. “We claim we stand against rape, violence against women. We will not let women be victimized and then silenced. We say we believe women, stand with women, speak out for women.”

Gadot appeared to be referring to some Western countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., questioning the validity of Israeli media reports of sexual violence by Hamas on Oct. 7. Several prominent figures in Hollywood, including Julianna Margulies, have also questioned the silence of women’s advocacy groups over reports of horrific cases of rape, sexual torture and mutilation of women by Hamas.

The host of the United Nations’ COP28 climate change summit cast doubt on whether eliminating fossil fuels would help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, saying there is “no science” behind it. Scientists told The Guardian, which first reported the comments, that his remarks are “incredibly concerning” and “verging on climate denial.”

“There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C,” Sultan Al-Jaber, who is CEO of United Arab Emirates state oil company Adnoc,...

Jews are not a monolith. And yet, for the past several decades, those in favor of Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration have mendaciously branded any criticisms of the Israeli government as antisemitism. It is a curious conflation, given how a 2021 Pew Research Center survey revealed that only 58% of Jewish adults in the U.S. “feel very/somewhat attached to Israel.” In that same survey, 33% said “the Israeli government is making sincere effort toward peace.” And in March of this year, a Gallup poll stated that “for the first time in its...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled that there “could be” a potential deal for hostage release with Hamas on the horizon, though he did not share any additional details.

“We’ll talk about it when it’s there. We’ll announce it if it’s achieved,” he told NBC’s Kristen Welker on Sunday’s Meet the Press. Two unnamed Israeli officials told Politico that the deal most likely would be for the release of a few dozen hostages, including children and the elderly as well as some American citizens.

Roger Waters, in classic Roger Waters fashion, suggested he’s not ready to rule out the possibility that Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel might’ve been a “false flag operation” during a recent interview with Glenn Greenwald.

During the conversation, Waters couched his discussions of the attack — during which Hamas militants killed more than 1,4000 people, many unarmed civilians, and took hundreds of hostages — in heavy speculation. For instance, he said his initial reaction to Oct. 7 was, “let’s wait and see what happened,” and that his second was: “How the...

Prince William is flying like a commoner.

On Monday, the royal arrive in New York on his first visit to the city since 2014, where he will be speaking at Tuesday’s Earthshot Summit.

Read More: Why Prince William’s Kids Won’t Be Following In His Footsteps For School

According to Vanity Fair, William also took the unusual step of flying commercial for the trip.

The visit to New York for the summit comes after the prince was forced to cancel a planned trip last year in the wake of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth’s death.

“As he remarked previously, the prince was incredibly appreciative for the love and support shown by the American people during that time,” a Kensington Palace spokesperson said of William’s previous visit to the city. “He is very much looking forward to being back in New York this week and hopefully meeting as many New Yorkers as possible.

Prince William will be traveling to the U.S. next week, but it appears he won’t be taking quite the same path as his younger brother, and has turned down interview requests with all the major networks.

The Times of London reports that William, the Prince of Wales, will be stepping up his global statesman duties in the coming years, and this trip will concentrate on his high-priority Earthshot project, a £50million environmental award he is spearheading to inspire solutions to climate change. Winners will be announced later in the year in Singapore, at an event attended by William and his wife Kate.

The Award is now in its third year, and William will be in Boston to announce this year’s 15 finalists. With this his focus, while The Times says that all the major U.S. networks have bid for interviews with the prince, the answer is a uniform no.

United Nations, Aug 28 (Ians) Un Secretary General Antonio Guterres sees the potential of the Cricket Asia Cup to bring countries together, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday.

Asked by a reporter about the trournament that begins on Wednesday, he said that sports have “great potential to bring people together to bring countries together, to bring cultures together and cricket does that”.

“Cricket, like football and rugby in many sport played around the world” has this “great potential,” he said.

Six South Asian nations will be vying for the trophy in the tournament that will be played in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

India and Pakistan, which have few avenues for dircet people-to-people contacts, will face off in Kandy in Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Dujarric, who is French-American, prefaced his statement humourously about the intricacies of the game being a mystery to people most countries. He said: “I love to watch cricket.

United Nations, Aug 11 (Ians) The Who and India are convening the first global summit on traditional medicine in Gandhinagar next week with the participation of G20 Health Ministers.

Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Thursday that the meeting would seek to enhance the scientific basis of traditional medicine and help meet the Un targets for health.

The summit next Thursday and Friday would “explore ways to scale up scientific advances and realise the potential of evidence-based knowledge in the use of traditional medicine for people’s health and well-being around the world,” he added.

Who emphasises that traditional medicine can be a catalyst for “achieving the goal of universal health coverage and meeting global health-related targets that were off-track even before the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Haq said.

Who Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will be at the summit along with G20 Health Ministers and scientists,...

United Nations, July 1 (Ians) Following an upsurge in Covid-19 cases in Zambia, the Un team is providing technical and material support to aid the government response, a Un spokesman said.

The Un Children’s Fund is helping rehabilitate and service medical oxygen plants at three main provincial hospitals, said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Friday.

The fund also reactivated the distribution of personal protective equipment, including about 400,000 masks, one million gowns, 855,000 gloves, 78,000 goggles, and 42,000 face shields, Haq added.

The Who is restocking laboratories with test kits and monitoring Covid-19 variants, he said.

The Un team led by the resident coordinator, Beatrice Mutali, reported that in the last few weeks, Zambia had a positivity rate of seven per cent for Covid-19, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Who said there was a general decline in the Covid-19 rate over the previous four weeks globally, including in the rest of Africa,...

New Delhi, June 20 (Ians) United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on the eve of International Day of Yoga said that benefits of this ancient practice (Yoga) are precious in today’s dangerous and divided world.

“In a dangerous and divided world, the benefits of this ancient practice (Yoga) are particularly precious. Yoga offers a heaven of calm,” he said in a message on Tuesday, on the eve of the International Day of Yoga, which is observed on June 21 every year.

He further added that, “On this International Day of Yoga, let us embrace the spirit of unity, and resolve to build a better, more harmonious world for people, planet and ourselves.”

Prime minister Narendra Modi is set to lead a yoga session at Un headquarters in New York on Wednesday during the course of his ongoing US visit.

–Ians

ans/dan...

United Nations, June 15 (Ians) Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for efforts to curb online hate and invest in social cohesion.

“Hate is a danger to everyone — and so fighting it must be a job for everyone. We must collectively strengthen our defences,” the top Un official told the Security Council meeting on “the Values of Human Fraternity in Promoting and Sustaining Peace” on Wednesday

“We must reign in the hate that is spreading online,” said Guterres.

The Un Chief underscored that hate “fuels humanity’s worst impulses,” noting that it is a catalyst for polarisation and radicalisation, and a conduit for atrocity crimes, Xinhua news agency reported.

“It is also a result of these crimes, contributing to horrific cycles of violence that can churn for decades. It greases the wheels of violence, frays the social fabric, and corrodes the pillars of stability. It is, in short, often the bloody heart of conflict,...

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Planet of the Apes #2!A shocking secret in the new Planet of the Apes comics has completely redefined the franchise. Planet of the Apes has become one of the most well-known science fiction franchises ever since the 1968 Charlton Heston classic first came to the big screen. The hostile relationship between humans and apes provided an interesting glimpse at the dystopian society where humans have lost their footing as the dominant species. However, Marvel's newest comic from 20th Century Studios shows that humans may not be as low on the totem pole as fans thought.

In Planet of the Apes #2 by David F. Walker and Dave Wachter, it's revealed that a small society in an orangutan preservation habitat in Borneo actually houses a society where humans and apes live side-by-side. This is during the early days of the Alz-113 outbreak from the modern Planet of the Apes film trilogy,...

Geneva, May 22 (Ians) The 76th World Health Assembly (Wha), kicked off here, focused on “saving lives, driving health for all,” the Who said in a statement.

As 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the Who, this year’s Wha which began on Sunday will determine the immediate and longer-term future of the organisation, starting with the programme budget for the next two years, key decisions about the sustainable financing and changes to improve Who’s processes and accountability, Xinhua news agency reported.

During the 10-day meeting, delegates will deliberate about the critical role that the Who has in the Global Health Emergency Architecture. The assembly will also review last year’s progress, accomplishments and challenges along with future priorities across the key pillars of the Who’s work: Universal Health Coverage, Emergencies, Promoting Health and Well-being.

“Peace depends on health, disease in one nation endangers all, achieving the greatest possible health...

Today, Time and its climate-action platform and new sustainability division Time CO2 announced the inaugural Time CO2 Earth Awards, a new editorial franchise and event extension that recognizes individuals from a range of disciplines who are influencing the future of the planet through their leadership on sustainability and climate.

Time CO2 Earth Awards

The inaugural Time CO2 Earth Award recipients are: Mark Ruffalo, actor, director, producer, Co-Founder, The Solutions Project and Gloria Walton, President & CEO, The Solutions Project; António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Lisa P. Jackson, Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, Apple; and Vanessa Nakate, climate activist and Unicef Goodwill Ambassador.

To celebrate the honorees and spotlight climate-action leadership, Time will host the Time CO2 Earth Awards Gala at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City on April 25 following the 2023 TIME100 Summit featuring Time CO2 earlier that day. Time CO2 Earth Award honorees Lisa P.

United Nations, April 7 (Ians) The Un team in Ethiopia is vaccinating thousands of children and vulnerable people inaccessible during fighting in the Tigray region, a Un spokesman said.

“The aim is to close the immunisation gap resulting from lack of access to services due to the two-year conflict,” said Stephane Dujarric, the Chief Spokesman for Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Thursday.

The Un resident and humanitarian coordinator, Catherine Sozi, leads the Un team.

The Who, the Un Children’s Fund and national health authorities kicked off the measles supplemental immunisation campaign last week to last 12 days, Dujarric added.

He said the Un team and partners plan to vaccinate more than 8,30,000 children under the age of five in 76 districts of Tigray, which were, for the most part, inaccessible because of fighting during the two-year rebellion against Addis Ababa rule, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Spokesman added the campaign in Ethiopia’s northernmost region conducts Vitamin A,...

United Nations, March 14 (Ians) Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the gender digital divide is fast becoming the new face of gender inequality.

Women and girls now face a new source of discrimination and bias: digital technology. Today’s digital technology often uses algorithms designed by a male-dominated tech industry, based on male-dominated data, he said on Monday.

Rather than presenting facts and addressing bias, technology based on incomplete data and badly designed algorithms is digitising and amplifying sexism — with deadly consequences, he warned.

Medical decisions based on data essentially from men can damage women’s health. Safety features based on men’s bodies can put women’s lives at risk. And policies based on men’s data will leave women and girls even farther behind, he told a townhall meeting with civil society at the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Un and its humanitarian partners are bracing for a second landfall of the long-running tropical cyclone Freddy on Mozambique, a top official said.

“The Un is providing food, tents, kitchen sets, water purification and health supplies, and we are preparing for the second landfall,” said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The world body and its partners continue to support government-led relief efforts in Mozambique and on the isle of Madagascar.

Dujarric said more than 81,000 people in Madagascar received humanitarian assistance, including food, water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

In addition, given the humanitarian needs, Martin Griffiths, the Un’s Emergency Relief Coordinator, allocated $8.5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund.

The Un Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), headed by Griffiths, said in its latest situation report 10 people died in Madagascar due to the latest rains, bringing Freddy’s death toll to at least 27 people,...

United Nations, March 2 (Ians) The Un and the Lebanese Humanitarian Fund have allocated $9.5 million to prevent the spread of cholera in Lebanon, a Un Spokesman said.

Stephane Dujarric, the Chief Spokesman for Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said on Wednesday that the funds from the world organisation’s Central Emergency Response Fund with the non-governmental organisation humanitarian funds are for targeting more than 1.5 million people across Lebanon, including refugees from Syria and Palestine.

“The Un team in Lebanon, led by Un Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Imran Riza, is working with authorities and partners to combat the spread of cholera in a country that is already plagued by a severe economic and financial crisis,” Dujarric added.

“There has been more than 6,500 suspected and confirmed cases of cholera and 23 associated deaths since the first case was reported five months ago.”

He said that as of February 15, with the support of the World Health...

Moscow, Feb 25 (Ians) Hackers have defaced several Russian websites with a video showing the Kremlin on fire on the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.

At least 32 Russian websites were hacked. However, it was unclear how many sites were defaced, or how the hackers were able to deface them, reports TechCrunch.

A hacker group called “CH01” took the responsibility of defacing a series of Russian websites.

“Hacker group CH01 in solidarity with the entire civilised world, in order to restore justice and the triumph of the forces of light and goodness, on the anniversary of the terrorist invasion of dictatorial Russia into a strong and independent Ukraine, we declare cyber war on dictatorship and totalitarianism and the idiocy of Putin’s criminal regime,” read the message in Russian language the hackers posted on a Telegram channel.A

“Let the prophecy come true,” the message said.

The hackers replaced the websites...

United Nations, Feb 21 (Ians) The Un seeks 45.3 million to aid Malawi in the fight against its deadliest cholera outbreak in recent history, said a Un spokesman.

The world body, joined by its humanitarian partners, launched the appeal to help 4 million people devastated by the outbreak in Malawi, said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Monday.

“This funding will support the government-led response over the next five months,” Dujarric added.

“The flash appeal aims to help the people who are most at risk and hardest hit by the outbreak, through health, water and sanitation, nutrition, education and protection services.”

The spokesman said that cholera cases and deaths increased exponentially since the start of the year, with nearly 1,450 fatalities and 45,000 cases recorded, Xinhua news agency reported.

“We along with our partners have been supporting oral cholera vaccination campaigns and patient care,” he told a daily press briefing.

United Nations, Feb 11 (Ians) The Un team in Zambia is supporting the government’s response to the cholera outbreak along with ongoing severe floods that have displaced more than 170,000 people in 22 districts of Zambia, said a Un spokesman.

The disaster challenges the access to basic services, like schools and hospitals. This has also impacted agriculture and livestock and destroyed critical infrastructure, like roads, bridges, schools, clinics and houses, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Friday.

“Our team is providing technical support to authorities while mobilising funding to bridge a gap of 32 million for risk communication, water and sanitation, food and other items, among other needs. We are also tackling a cholera outbreak in three districts, where 90 cases and three deaths have been recorded,” the spokesman added as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

Since December 2022, the Un Children’s Fund has provided 4.5 ton of granular chlorine,...

United Nations, Dec 28 (Ians) Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued a global “wake-up call” on the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, which is observed annually on December 27.

“The world must come together. Covid-19 was a wake-up call,” Guterres said in his message for the international day, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The costs have been catastrophic,” he said, noting that since the pandemic struck, millions of lives have been lost, and hundreds of millions fallen ill; economies have been shattered, health systems stretched, and trillions of dollars lost.

Moreover, progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals has been “thrown off track,” the top Un official said.

“Developing countries were often left to fend for themselves, shamefully denied the vaccines, tests or treatments they needed to protect their people,” he said.

Covid-19 will not be the last epidemic or pandemic humanity faces, he warned.

“As a global community, we must heed the harsh...

White House Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar called it "an engineering marvel beyond belief".

"This is such a wonderful example of a possibility realised, a scientific milestone achieved, and a road ahead to the possibilities for clean energy," she said at the announcement in Washington.

Fusion technology is the process by which two or more smaller atoms are combined or fused into a bigger one and in nature, it is how the sun and stars are powered.

What makes the breakthrough achieved at the National Ignition Facility (Nif) of the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Laboratory (Llnl) a gamechanger is that it produced more energy than it used for lasers to create fusion, unlike in current energy production methods that consume more power than they put out.

Scientists Robbie Scott with the Central Laser Facility (Clf) Plasma Physics Group who was involved in the research explained to Science Media said...

Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt), Nov 8 (Ians) It will cost the equivalent of just 50 cents per person per year for the next five years to reach everyone on Earth with early warnings against increasingly extreme and dangerous weather, according to a plan unveiled by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Supporting the Secretary General’s agenda, India said there was an urgent need for the world to acknowledge the cascading natural hazards that cause substantial losses around the world.

The Executive Action Plan for the Early Warnings for All initiative calls for initial new targeted investments between 2023 and 2027 of 3.1 billion — a sum which would be dwarfed by the benefits.

This is a small fraction (about 6 per cent) of the requested 50 billion in adaptation financing. It would cover disaster risk knowledge, observations and forecasting, preparedness and response, and communication of early warnings.

Guterres announced the plan at a meeting of government and Un organisation leaders,...

Jaipur Oct 19 (Ians) The three-day World Health Summit (Whs) 2022 was held in Berlin from October 16 to 18 under the patronage of the World Health Organization (Who).

The theme of this year’s summit was ‘Finding Solutions for Global Health’.

At the summit, Who’s Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan informed the gathering of the lowest link about ‘Social Communication’ established by Who for health related services and information related to epidemics.

The Whs 2022 aimed to bring together health leaders and policy makers from all parts of the world, along with representatives working in the field of medicine. It also stressed on synergy for global health development and encouraging innovations for the pandemics that may occur in the coming times.

The summit was inaugurated in the presence of Un Secretary General Antonio Guterres, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Who Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and more than 2,000 delegates from more than 100 countries.

United Nations, Oct 11 (Ians) Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for making mental health a global priority and urged actions to promote universal quality mental health care.

Nearly 1 billion people live with a mental health condition. But mental health remains one of the most neglected aspects of health care, Guterres said on Monday in a message marking the World Mental Health Day, which falls on October 10, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Some countries have only two mental health workers for every 100,000 people. The social and economic repercussions are profound,” he said, noting that anxiety and depression alone cost the global economy an estimated 1 trillion dollars per year.

The Un chief stressed the need to strengthen the capacity of health services to offer quality care to those in need, in particular young people.

Stigma and discrimination must be addressed along with breaking down the barriers that stop people from seeking care and support,...

United Nations, Sep 28 (Ians) The Un has voiced concern over the outbreak of vector-borne and water-borne diseases in flood-hit Pakistan.

The outbreak of vector-borne and water-borne diseases is a growing concern in Sindh and Balochistan provinces, where many districts remain inundated by floodwaters, said Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The floods have also damaged nearly 1,500 health facilities across the country, including more than 300 refrigerators and solar power systems, which is disrupting vaccine cold chains, he added.

Assessments are continuing. But an estimated 7.9 million people remain displaced by the catastrophic floods. Nearly 600,000 people are living in relief camps, and more than 7,000 schools across Pakistan are being used as temporary relief camps, said the Spokesman.

More than 2 million houses have been damaged by the heavy rains and floods. More than 25,000 schools and 13,000 km of roads have also reportedly been damaged, he added as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

United Nations, Sep 28 (Ians) The Un has voiced concern over the outbreak of vector-borne and water-borne diseases in flood-hit Pakistan.

The outbreak of vector-borne and water-borne diseases is a growing concern in Sindh and Balochistan provinces, where many districts remain inundated by floodwaters, said Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The floods have also damaged nearly 1,500 health facilities across the country, including more than 300 refrigerators and solar power systems, which is disrupting vaccine cold chains, he added.

Assessments are continuing. But an estimated 7.9 million people remain displaced by the catastrophic floods. Nearly 600,000 people are living in relief camps, and more than 7,000 schools across Pakistan are being used as temporary relief camps, said the Spokesman.

More than 2 million houses have been damaged by the heavy rains and floods. More than 25,000 schools and 13,000 km of roads have also reportedly been damaged, he added as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

United Nations, Sep 28 (Ians) After weeks of gang violence and protests in Haiti, humanitarians warn that life-saving services could halt, a Un spokesman said.

“After almost two weeks of complete blockade of the country’s main fuel entry point, water distribution is seriously compromised and health facilities are running dangerously low on fuel,” said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

He added that some hospitals cannot admit new patients and are preparing to close, adding that many hospitals are running out of oxygen, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Who and its affiliate Pan American Health Organisation are working with health authorities and partners to refurbish emergency medical services at one major public hospital, he said.

The Un agencies joined the Un Population Fund (Unfpa) to provide medical supplies for two public hospitals in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, the spokesman added.

He said the Un Children’s...

United Nations, Sep 28 (Ians) After weeks of gang violence and protests in Haiti, humanitarians warn that life-saving services could halt, a Un spokesman said.

“After almost two weeks of complete blockade of the country’s main fuel entry point, water distribution is seriously compromised and health facilities are running dangerously low on fuel,” said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

He added that some hospitals cannot admit new patients and are preparing to close, adding that many hospitals are running out of oxygen, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Who and its affiliate Pan American Health Organisation are working with health authorities and partners to refurbish emergency medical services at one major public hospital, he said.

The Un agencies joined the Un Population Fund (Unfpa) to provide medical supplies for two public hospitals in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, the spokesman added.

He said the Un Children’s...

With those explosive words, Un Secretary General Antonio Guterres opened the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on Tuesday listing the crisis upon crisis piled upon the world.

He listed them: war, conflicts, climate change, hunger, financial crises, challenges of runaway technology developments, hate speech, global divisions and inequalities, and massive human rights violations.

"The United Nations Charter and the ideals it represents are in jeopardy," he said. "And yet we are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction".

In the midst of the gloomy prognosis, Guterres projected on the giant screens at the General Assembly chamber the image of a ship navigating the troubled waters of the Black Sea.

It was the ship, Brave Commander, carrying food grains from Ukraine to Africa and he called it "an image of promise and hope" in "the hell of war".

"At its essence, this ship is a symbol of what the world can accomplish when we act together,...

Qatar launched "Scoring For The Goals" at the Un Headquarters on Sunday, 62 days from becoming the first Arab and Muslim country to host the World Cup. Organisers call it the most sustainable edition in the history of the global event.

The ceremony held on the sidelines of the 77th session of the Un General Assembly was attended by top officials of Qatar including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Hassan Al Thawadi, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the Un Sheikha AlyaAhmed bin Saif Al-Thani, and Un Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Built on General Assembly Resolution No. 76/259, "Scoring For the Goals" highlights the value of football in enhancing sustainable development, peace, tolerance, inclusion and climate action. It also emphasises the significance of unity for individuals and nations while enjoying the power of football when the...

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II — the longest-reigning leader of the United Kingdom — celebrities, musicians, and political leaders shared tributes in honor of the late monarch.

The White House shared a statement on behalf of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden shortly after her death was announced.

“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was more than a monarch. She defined an era,” the statement read. “In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons, including...

The success of President Joe Biden’s climate bill, which he’s slated to sign Tuesday, will not be judged by polls, or by the price of gas at the pump, or by the ferocity of the next hurricane that hits the Gulf Coast.

It will be measured in the clear air high above the Pacific Ocean at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. In 1958, when scientist Charles Keeling began measuring CO2 in the atmosphere at Mauna Loa, the level was 316 parts per million (250 years ago, before the industrial era,...

New York, Aug 13 (Ians) Author and creative freedom activist Salman Rushdie was on a ventilator fighting for his life on Saturday and his literary agent said: “The news is not good.”

Rushdie, 75, who has a multimillion-dollar bounty, was stabbed several times while getting ready to speak at a discussion on the US as “a home for freedom and creative expression” and was helicoptered from the venue in western New York State to a hospital in neighbouring Pennsylvania on Friday.

“Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed, and his liver was stabbed and damaged,” agent, Andrew Wylie, said in a statement.

New York State Police said that Hadi Matar, 24, who was arrested at the site of the stabbing is to be produced in court on Saturday to face charges of attempted murder and Assault 2nd degree.

A state police trooper, who was at the event with an explosive detection dog,...

The climate crisis is here, and heartbreak is all around us. The early promise of dramatic action from President Biden is sinking in the old mud bog of fossil-fuel politics. Meanwhile, despite 40 years of warnings from scientists and the decline in the cost of clean energy, carbon pollution is still increasing and the world is heating up as fast as ever. The final sentence of last February’s U.N.’s latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Ipcc) report on the impacts of that warming is stark and unequivocal: “Climate...

“God blessed our country with plenty of oil & gas,” Florida Senator Marco Rubio recently tweeted. “Lets use it.”

Rubio was talking about boosting drilling and mining for oil and gas as a way to stop importing Russian oil and gas and, thus, stop financing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. But it was more than that. Rubio’s tweet is an unintentionally revealing expression of the lizard brain of fossil fuel boosters, aligning America’s fight for freedom and democracy with the muscle and profit of the...

The latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is stark. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres describes it as “an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership.” If the world can’t solve this problem, there will be a lot of blame to go around, but one group in particular shouldn’t be able to skirt it: economists who have relentlessly downplayed the seriousness of climate change and overstated the costs of solving it.

Most mainstream economists believe government action, such as a carbon tax,...

Seven countries, 17 cities and one global pandemic later, The Amazing Race has finally crowned the winners of Season 33.

While best friends Ryan and Dusty led the pack in the early stages of the Race, married YouTubers Kim and Penn kicked it into high gear, winning three straight legs in a row along the way. But going into Wednesday’s finale, Raquel and Cayla were picking up some serious steam. Despite their fair share of errors throughout the run, the two flight attendants pulled it together to secure their first win of the season just last week.

More from TVLineTV Ratings: Fire,...

The Elders today condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and a reckless, unjustifiable act of aggression that threatens to destabilise world peace and security.

They reaffirmed their support for the Ukrainian people’s right to self-determination and dignity, and called on the international community to maintain a united stance in opposition to Russia’s actions, including comprehensive sanctions.

Ban Ki-moon, Deputy Chair of The Elders and former Secretary-General of the United Nations, said:

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an outrageous act that demands an immediate and decisive reaction by the international community. There is no justification for this unprovoked attack on an independent state. President Putin will find himself an international pariah if he persists on this course, and civilians on both sides will pay the price for his aggression.”

The Elders warned that if military operations continue to escalate,...