The scourge of opium-based drugs and cocaine are a bigger global threat to public health and law enforcement than ever before, according to the latest World Drug Report, released on 26 June 2018 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
World Bank/Trinn Suwannapha | Methadone Maintenance Therapy is offered in Thailand to reduce harm for people dependent on injected opioids, like heroin. | Photo from UN News Centre.
The findings “show that drug markets are expanding, with cocaine and opium production hitting absolute record highs, presenting multiple challenges on multiple fronts,” said UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov.
The 2018 Report provides an overview of the supply and demand of drugs as well as their impact on health.
Torture in any form, is absolutely unacceptable and can never be justified, top United Nations officials on 26 June 2018 said, urging great support for victims worldwide.
UN Photo/Tobin Jones | Singers wearing hats advocating “No Torture” line up before performing at a Human Rights Day event outside of Mogadishu Central Prison in Somalia on 10 December 2013.
GENEVA, 26 June 2018 (IOM)*— William Lacy Swing, Director General of IOM, the UN Migration Agency, said today that he was ”greatly concerned” for the fate of migrants who find themselves stranded and left to fend for themselves in the no man’s land desert between Algeria and Niger.
In the open truck, migrants vainly tried to shade their bodies from the sun. Photo by Liberian migrant Ju Dennis. Photo: AP Photo/Ju Dennis | Photo from IOM
“Irregular migrants, including many pregnant women and minors, should not be left without food or water or expected to walk for miles in blistering 30-degree temperatures to seek safety in the desert,” he said.
**Photo: Syrian and Iraqi refugeesarrive from Turkey to Skala Sykamias, Lesbos island, Greece| Ggia | Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
The political threat lies at the heart of the European Union. If German Chancellor Angela Merkel – leader of the bloc’s strongest member – cannot find a solution to the immigration problem, then her coalition government is doomed. The collapse in Berlin will in turn reverberate across the EU, unleashing yet more tensions between the EU establishment in Brussels and the newer populist governments.
25 June 2018 (Wall Street International)* — Being a popular tourist destination can be overwhelming. Many business-minded people would take advantage of it – which, actually, is human nature. But oftentimes, in our hunger to gain more profits, we can become greedy and insatiable. We tend to oversee the essential things that give us the opportunity to make it big in our endeavor.
I’m referring to what’s currently happening in Boracay Island in Central Philippines. The tourist destination famous for its powdery white sand, turquoise waters, and wonderful views is now under a state of calamity.
25 June 2018 (UN Women)* — Papiya Parvin from Debhata Upazilla, Bangladesh, has just bought a cow to start her own farm.
Papiya Parvin poses with her cow, purchased with a small loan as part of UN Women’s Empowered Women, Peaceful Communities programme. Photo: UN Women/Snigdha Zaman
She is also the first woman from her village who travelled to Tokyo to share her experience as part of a UN Women and BRAC programme that is empowering women to curb the rising tide of extremism in rural communities.
The ICD is the foundation for identifying health trends and statistics worldwide, and contains around 55 000 unique codes for injuries, diseases and causes of death. It provides a common language that allows health professionals to share health information across the globe.
“The ICD is a product that WHO is truly proud of,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “It enables us to understand so much about what makes people get sick and die, and to take action to prevent suffering and save lives.”
Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa have a new digital weapon in their agricultural armoury to take on the Fall Armyworm– a crop pest that’s threatening the food security of 300 million people – the United Nations on Monday 25 June 2018 said.
FAOLesotho/Lechoko Noko | Armyworm eating on maize cob in Lesotho. (file)
Atrocity crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing – are not “inevitable”, the United Nations Secretary-General on 25 June 2018 said, stressing that the international community must do more to end violence against innocent people.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe | Secretary-General António Guterres (left) addresses the UN General Assembly meeting on the responsibility to protect and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 