COVID-19: WHO designates JN.1 ‘variant of interest’ amid sharp rise in global spread

World News in Brief: Pandemic treaty in jeopardy, historic IOM appeal, ‘enormous obstacles’ facing Iran’s lawyers

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was addressing the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board when he said that “several outstanding issues” still needed to be resolved by governments and that time was “very short” to find consensus. “A failure to deliver the pandemic agreement and the International Health Regulations amendments will be a missed opportunity for which…

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Afghanistan: Guterres says women worker ban ‘unacceptable and puts lives in jeopardy’

Afghanistan: Guterres says women worker ban ‘unacceptable and puts lives in jeopardy’

Secretary-General António Guterres was speaking to reporters in Doha, Qatar, after convening an international meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan. He said they had agreed on the need for a “strategy of engagement” with the Taliban, to help the country’s most vulnerable people. No question of Taliban recognition Mr. Guterres made clear that the gathering had not focussed…

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