'Unseen' News and Views
Tobacco smokers who quit at least four weeks before undergoing surgery not only have a lower risk of complications, but also show better results six months later than those who continue, the United Nations health agency said on Monday [20 January 2020]. (*).
20 January 2020 (UN News)* — Twenty-two journalists were reported killed in the Latin America and Caribbean region in 2019, making it the deadliest part of the world for the press, followed by 15 in Asia-Pacific, and 10 in Arab States.
– As the United Nations commemorates its 75th anniversary this year, the financially-crippled Organization is also saddled with a rash of administrative problems, plus an ongoing cash crisis, perhaps one of the worst in history.
Credit: United Nations
At a town hall meeting with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month, UN staffers in Geneva, led by the Staff Coordinating Council (SCC), raised several issues, including the impact of the illegal pay cut on incomes, family life, and staff morale, and the growing number of obstacles to career development.
From sophisticated spyware attacks to mass phishing via smartphones and the rise of facial recognition technology, the range and reach of surveillance threats to human rights defenders is growing.
Sebastien Thibault/agoodson.com (Image from Amnesty International).
Cacique Raoni of Kayapo tribe delivers a speech in Xingu Indigenous Park, Brazil, Jan. 17, 2020. | Photo: Reuters (Photo posted here from teleSUR).
January 2020 (WHO)* – Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people.
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Credit: Getty (Photo posted here from WHO).
– The United States and 18 other UN member states have come under fire for denying a woman’s legitimate right to “bodily autonomy”—the right to self-governance over one’s own body without coercion or external pressure.
Credit: UN Women
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 