Around 40,000 Syrians return from Turkey after quake; WHO’s Tedros pledges support after Turkey visit
Cilvegozu, TurkeyReuters Around 40,000 Syrians who had fled areas affected by the deadly 6th February earthquake have returned from Turkey to rebel-held north-western Syria in the two weeks since Turkey eased restrictions on their movements, a Turkish official and a Syrian rebel official said. The immigration was recorded at four border crossings held by Syrian armed groups opposed to Syrian […]
Rescuers toil on in rubble of Turkey and Syria; survivors harder to find
Antakya, Turkey/Jandaris, Syria Reuters Rescuers pulled some survivors from rubble on Saturday, five days after Turkey’s most devastating earthquake since 1939 that also killed thousands of people in Syria, but hopes were fading for many more to be found. In Kahramanmaras, close to the epicentre in south Turkey, there were fewer visible rescue operations amid […]
WHO maintains highest alert over COVID, but sees hope ahead
Reuters The World Health Organization said on Monday that COVID-19 continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern, its highest form of alert. A nurse prepares a shot for Jonathan Halter as the German Embassy begins its roll out of BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for German expatriates at a Beijing United Family hospital in […]
Uganda declares itself Ebola-free after swiftly turning tide on outbreak
Kampala, Uganda Reuters Uganda on Wednesday declared the end of a nearly four-month Ebola outbreak that it briefly struggled to contain but was then able to swiftly bring under control despite the absence of a proven vaccine against the viral strain in question. “We have successfully controlled the spread of Ebola in Uganda,” Health Minister […]
Hearses queue at Beijing crematorium, even as China reports no new COVID deaths
Beijing, China Reuters Dozens of hearses queued outside a Beijing crematorium on Wednesday, even as China reported no new COVID-19 deaths in its growing outbreak, sparking criticism of its virus accounting as the capital braces for a surge of cases. After widespread protests, the country of 1.4 billion people this month began dismantling its unpopular […]
WHO chief hopes COVID will no longer be emergency next year
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday he is “hopeful” that the COVID-19 pandemic will no longer be considered a global emergency some time next year. His comments at a briefing with media come as China dismantles its rigid “zero-COVID” policy and allows people to live with the virus, […]
Tuberculosis deaths rose during pandemic, reversing years of decline – WHO
Reuters Global deaths from tuberculosis are estimated to have increased between 2019 and 2021, reversing years of decline as the COVID-19 pandemic severely derailed efforts to tackle the disease, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. Global efforts to tackle deadly diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The […]
WHO says COVID-19 is still a global health emergency
Reuters The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that COVID-19 remains a global emergency, nearly three years after it was first declared as one. The WHO’s emergency committee first made the declaration for COVID-19 on 30th January, 2020. Such a determination can help accelerate research, funding and international public health measures to contain a disease. […]
WHO’s Tedros says narrow window to “prevent genocide” in Ethiopia
Nairobi, Kenya Reuters World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday there was a “very narrow window now to prevent genocide” in his home region of Tigray in northern Ethiopia. Tedros, who previously served as Ethiopia’s health minister and foreign affairs minister, has been sharply critical of Ethiopian authorities throughout the two-year war. […]
WHO sees October COVID surge in Ukraine, cites polio concerns
JerusalemReuters The World Health Organisation expects a rise in COVID-19 in Ukraine to peak in October, possibly bringing hospitals close to their capacity threshold, WHO’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday. “We are now seeing an increase in cases of COVID-19 in Ukraine. We project that transmission could peak in early October and hospitals […]