World News in Brief: Vaccine ‘patches’ trial shows promise, lowering catheter infection risk, Guantanamo detainee facing revictimisation

World News in Brief: Vaccine ‘patches’ trial shows promise, lowering catheter infection risk, Guantanamo detainee facing revictimisation

But now, there could be an easier alternative in the form of patches that can be simply applied to the skin, much like a sticking plaster. Early data from a vaccine patch trial in the Gambia has shown promising indications that it could be effective in protecting children from measles. The UN World Health Organization…

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First UN civil society forum held in Africa heralds ‘inclusive’ Summit of the Future

First UN civil society forum held in Africa heralds ‘inclusive’ Summit of the Future

Bringing together civil society actors, government representatives, senior UN officials, young changemakers, academic and other stakeholders, the UN Civil Society Conference is the premier event on the civil society calendar at the United Nations, ahead of the Summit of the Future, set for this coming September.  Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, in a video message to…

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Gaza: 80,000 displaced from Rafah as Israeli bombardment intensifies, say UN aid teams

Gaza: 80,000 displaced from Rafah as Israeli bombardment intensifies, say UN aid teams

Most of those uprooted by Israeli military evacuation orders in eastern Rafah have already been displaced from other areas of Gaza; they are now leaving with everything they can carry “in vehicles, trucks, (on) motorbikes and donkey carts”, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). An estimated more than 47,500 people left their…

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Another climate record: Extreme heat, hurricanes, droughts ravage Latin America and Caribbean

Another climate record: Extreme heat, hurricanes, droughts ravage Latin America and Caribbean

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) attributed the temperatures to a “double whammy” of El Niño and long-term climate change, leading to droughts and wildfires, combined with extreme rainfall and hurricanes.  “Unfortunately, 2023 was a year of record climatic hazards in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said the agency’s head, Celeste Saulo. “El Niño conditions during…

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Stories from the UN Archive: Stevie Wonder sounds a note against apartheid

Stories from the UN Archive: Stevie Wonder sounds a note against apartheid

UN Photo/Allan Tannenbaum A segregated beach at Stranofontein near Cape Town, South Africa, in 1985. (file) The music legend held a press conference following an epic performance at a meeting of the UN Special Committee against Apartheid to honour him on his 35th birthday. “All people are created equal, not created to take care of another race of…

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Unprecedented flooding displaces hundreds of thousands across east Africa

Unprecedented flooding displaces hundreds of thousands across east Africa

In an alert, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) noted that torrential rains have unleashed catastrophic flooding and mudslides while also severely damaging roads, bridges and dams.  More than 637,000 people have been affected by weeks of deluges including 234,000 displaced in just the last five days. There is no official figure for the number of…

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Rights chief urges Russia to end crackdown as journalist detentions reach all-time high

Rights chief urges Russia to end crackdown as journalist detentions reach all-time high

Volker Türk said he was concerned by the increasing number of journalists charged, convicted and jailed for their independent reporting, in what appears to be an intensification of a crackdown on dissenting voices. He described the continuous attacks on free speech and the criminalization of independent journalism in Russia as “very troubling”. “The intensification of the crackdown on journalists’ independent…

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