World

In a new report, ALLEA examines the potential of technical and policy measures to tackle science disinformation and calls for improved European exchange and coordination in this field. While disinformation strategies are intoxicating public discourses in many fields, science disinformation is particularly dangerous to democratic governance and society at large. As highlighted by the ongoing pandemic, […]

People working in the petroleum industry or living near petroleum facilities are at increased risk of developing several different cancer types, according to a new report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARCWHO), part of the UN World Health Organization (WHO). The findings add to increasing evidence of the health consequences of air pollution from […]

April 29, 2021 – Parliament is deeply concerned by the recent Russian military build-up on Ukraine border and revelations of Russian agents behind explosions in Czechia. In a resolution adopted on Thursday, MEPs confirmed how deeply worried they are about Russian military posturing close to the country’s border with Ukraine as well as in illegally […]

April 27, 2021 – India is facing a humanitarian catastrophe, unprepared, and unable to confront a deadly new surge of COVID-19. What is happening in India? How and why is it happening? And what must be done to stop this tragedy?  A webinar yesterday sponsored by Brown University’s School of Public Health, Watson Institute and […]

Geneva – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency are deeply saddened by the latest loss of at least two lives after a boat capsized off Venezuela’s shores on Thursday 22 April.  According to local authorities, at least 24 people including several children are believed to have been on board […]

Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said: “Governments have brought shame on themselves by wasting vast sums of money on the military and increasing spending while urgent requirements for public health and economic reconstruction and resilience from the COVID-19 pandemic have not been met. “This is a scandalous misuse of resources at a time when the […]

Geneva, April 24, 2021 –  UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are deeply disturbed by reports of a tragic shipwreck off the coast of Libya. Fears are that this latest incident could have claimed the lives of up to 130 people.   The rubber boat, which reportedly embarked from the Al Khoms area east of Tripoli, is said […]

April 23, 2021 – In a report adopted on Thursday, MEPs call on Turkey to credibly demonstrate the sincerity of its commitment to closer relations with the European Union. Despite the fact that Turkey is an EU accession candidate country, in recent years the Government of Turkey distanced itself deliberately and increasingly from European values […]

April 22, 2021 – The Leaders’ Climate Summit today brought together over 40 world leaders to outline ambitious new actions that will steer the world to a 1.5C pathway. Current climate targets, including announcements made today by the US, Japan, and Canada, fail to meet the level of ambition needed to avert climate catastrophe. This […]

GENEVA (22 April 2021) – UN human rights experts* today called on Switzerland to repatriate two sisters, aged 8 and 14, who are being held at a squalid camp in north-eastern Syria after they were allegedly abducted by their mother five years ago when she went to join Islamic State fighters. The two fathers of […]

GENEVA, April 21, 2021 – Ahead of a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting on Thursday to discuss a proposal to waive certain intellectual property on COVID-19 medical tools during the pandemic, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) commended a recent statement by the new WTO General Director Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, calling on governments to move forward with […]

Greater understanding of the ocean is essential if the world is to recover better from the COVID-19 pandemic and achieve agreed targets on sustainable development and climate action, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday in launching a major study on what he called “the life support system of our planet.”  The second World Ocean […]

Ensuring COVID-19 vaccine access for refugee and displaced populations, and addressing health inequities, is vital for an effective pandemic response. Yet, vaccine allocation and distribution has been neither equitable nor inclusive, despite that global leaders have stressed this as a critical aspect to globally overcoming the pandemic, according to a paper published by Columbia University […]

GENEVA (19 April 2021) – A group of UN human rights experts today strongly rejected a UK government-backed report into racism and ethnic disparities in the country, saying the review further distorted and falsified historic facts, and could even fuel racism, racial discrimination and negative racial stereotypes. The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, which […]

April 16, 2021 – From engineered pandemics to city-toppling cyber attacks to nuclear annihilation, life on Earth could radically change, and soon. Scientists will forecast the fate of the planet at a press conference during the 2021 APS April Meeting. “Our Earth is 45 million centuries old. But this century is the first when one […]

Kuala Lumpur/Delhi, 16 April 2021 – A humanitarian calamity is engulfing South Asia as COVID-19 skyrockets across several countries setting new records, with more than 200,000 people infected per day.  South Asia is fast becoming the new global epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic. This deadlier and more infectious new wave is overwhelming hospitals and social […]

The UN is set to launch a funding appeal to support Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where ongoing volcanic “explosions” continue to disrupt life in the Caribbean island nation and nearby countries, a top official in the region said on Wednesday.  Didier Trebucq, UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Caribbean, briefed journalists on response […]

Three independent UN human rights experts expressed deep regret on Thursday over Japan’s decision to discharge potentially still radioactive Fukushima nuclear plant water into the ocean, warning that it could impact millions across the Pacific region.  ‘Very concerning’  Given the warnings from environmentalists and some governments that the discharge would affect many people as well […]

GENEVA (13 April 2021) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday urged States to take immediate, decisive and impactful measures to push Myanmar’s military leadership into halting its campaign of repression and slaughter of its people. “We have witnessed yet another weekend of coordinated bloodshed in many parts of the country, […]