The Israel Defence Forces on Friday (December 15, 2023) said it ‘mistakenly’ killed three hostages during its campaign in Gaza. IDF said they were misidentified as a ‘threat’. “During combat in Shejaiya, the IDF mistakenly identified 3 Israeli hostages as a threat and as a result, fired toward them and the hostages were killed,” the […]
Category: Global
WHO advocates ending E-cigarettes boom, lists dangers
E-cigarettes, which pose serious health risks, are being “aggressively marketed” to young people and in large parts of the world there are no rules in place to protect children from their harmful effects, UN health agency World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday (December 14, 2023). WHO said that 88 countries have no minimum age […]
UNICEF warns drop in vaccine coverage prompts measles surge in Europe, Central Asia
Measles, a vaccine-preventable disease which weakens children’s immune systems and can be fatal, is up by a staggering 3,200 per cent this year compared to 2022 in Europe and Central Asia, UN Children’s Fund UNICEF said on Thursday (December 14, 2023). Some 30,600 cases have been confirmed in the region so far in 2023 and […]
COP28 ends with call to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels
Nations at COP28 in Dubai approved earlier on Wednesday a roadmap for “transitioning away from fossil fuels” – a first for a UN climate conference – but the deal still stopped short of a long-demanded call for a “phaseout” of oil, coal and gas. Reacting to the adoption of the outcome document, UN chief António […]
Israel-Hamas Conflict: Gaza hospital capacity decimated, says WHO
The last barely functioning hospital in northern Gaza is a “humanitarian disaster zone”, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday (December 12, 2023), highlighting the disastrous consequences of ongoing Israeli bombardment for critically ill and injured civilians across the enclave. Briefing reporters from Gaza, Richard Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, […]
Israel-Hamas conflict: UN General Assembly votes to demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza
The UN General Assembly met on Tuesday (December 12, 2023) afternoon in Emergency Special Session on the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict and as the ongoing crisis in Gaza shows no signs of abating. Member States adopted a resolution, demanding an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and well as “ensuring […]
COP 28 Summit: Climate advocates demand stronger language on fossil fuels
The latest COP28 draft outcome text released to negotiators in Dubai on Monday (December 11, 2023) evening dropped a call to ‘phaseout’ fossil fuels, prompting outcry from climate-vulnerable countries and civil society. The 21-page text, prepared by the COP28 presidency, United Arab Emirates, makes no mention of fossil fuel ‘phasedown’ or ‘phaseout’, which UN Secretary-General […]
Australia: Country plans to halve immigration intake, new measures unlikely to impact Indian students
The Australian government on Monday (December 11, 2023) said it will attempt to fix the country’s “broken” immigration system by reducing the intake to half of its present quantity within two years. It aims to slash the annual intake to 250,000 – roughly in line with pre-pandemic levels – by June 2025, reported BBC. Under […]
UN Food and Agriculture Organization says acute hunger set to soar globally
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Monday (December 11, 2023) that acute hunger is set to soar globally, on the back of “massive underfunding” in agriculture support programmes during times of crisis. The announcement by FAO was made as part of the launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview, which covers 72 countries […]
Doctors remove 60 live worms from woman’s eyes in China
Doctors in China’s Kunming were left shocked by an unusual case presented by a woman. As many as 60 live worms were removed from her eyes, as per reports. The said woman approached a hospital after her eyes turned itchy, only to learn that she had contracted a worm infection. Medical experts at the facility […]
