The World Health Organization and UNICEF have appealed for ‘humanitarian pauses’ in the grinding Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip in August and September to facilitate a massive polio booster campaign – as three suspected polio cases were being investigated by a Jordanian laboratory. The appeal came as the entire region see-saws between the possibility […] Continue reading ->
Humans are ingesting and inhaling more microplastics than at any time in recorded history, a Cornell University study revealed. The research shows microplastic consumption has risen sixfold globally since 1990, with Asian, African, and American countries all experiencing increases. People in China and the United States are among those consuming record levels of tiny plastic […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) aims to begin a major polio booster vaccination campaign in Gaza next week with the dispatch of over 1.2 million vaccines to the war-torn Palestinian enclave – against a backdrop of spiralling regional tensions.   WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned again on Wednesday that the presence of polio virus […] Continue reading ->
Hurricane Beryl, which has destroyed homes and infrastructure in large parts of the eastern Caribbean, is the first first-ever Category 4 hurricane recorded in the region in June – and a portend of devastating changes in weather patterns. It also underscores the need for urgent international assistance to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to strengthen […] Continue reading ->
NEW DELHI – On 2 November 2023, extreme air pollution caught Delhi off-guard. It shut down schools and led to flight cancellations, curbs on construction and other emergency responses.  That every little increase in air pollution increases the risk of death has been well-established for some years. But till now the effect of short-term air […] Continue reading ->