International
WHO urges ‘rational’ measures against Omicron Covid variant
AFP
The World Health Organization called Tuesday for countries to keep calm and take “rational” measures in response to the new, fast-spreading Covid variant Omicron, which has sparked global panic.
“We call on all member states to take rational, proportional risk-reduction measures,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing to countries.
“The global response must be calm, coordinated and coherent.”
First reported to the WHO in southern Africa less than a week ago, the new strain has rapidly spread across continents, with dozens of countries announcing travel restrictions.
The UN health agency has cautioned against such restrictions, fearing that blocking travel from countries where new variants are first spotted could be unfair and dissuade surveillance.
“I thank Botswana and South Africa for detecting, sequencing and reporting this variant so rapidly,” Tedros said, adding that it was “deeply concerning to me that those countries are now being penalised by others for doing the right thing.”
Scientists in South Africa said they had detected the new variant with at least 10 mutations, and WHO has cautioned that it poses a “very high” risk globally.
– ‘More questions than answers’ –
At the same time, Tedros stressed that it remains unclear how dangerous the variant is.
“We still have more questions than answers about the effect of Omicron on transmission, severity of disease, and the effectiveness of tests, therapeutics and vaccines,” he said.
The WHO chief said it was understandable that countries wanted to protect their citizens “against a variant that we don’t yet fully understand”.
“But I am equally concerned that several member states are introducing blunt, blanket measures that are not evidence-based or effective on their own, and which will only worsen inequities.”
Tedros also highlighted the glaring vaccine inequity that has seen abundant supplies in wealthy countries, which are rolling out booster shots, as even many of the most vulnerable in poorer nations are still waiting for their first jabs.
Health experts have long warned that allowing Covid to spread unabated in some places dramatically increases the chances that new, more dangerous variants could emerge, placing the entire world at risk.
“The longer we allow the pandemic to drag on, by failing to address vaccine inequity, or to implement public health and social measures in a tailored and consistent way, the more opportunity we give this virus to mutate in ways we cannot predict or prevent,” Tedros said.
International
Brazil’s Lula wishes Trump a successful term focused on prosperity and peace
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wished the new U.S. President, Donald Trump, a “successful” term that promotes “prosperity and well-being for the U.S. people” and “a fairer and more peaceful world.”
“On behalf of the Brazilian government, I congratulate President Donald Trump on his inauguration,” said the progressive leader on his social media, shortly after Trump took the oath of office at the Capitol in Washington.
Lula, 79, highlighted that the relationship between Brazil and the United States, one of its most important trade partners, is “marked by a history of cooperation, based on mutual respect and historical friendship.”
“Our countries maintain strong ties in various areas such as trade, science, education, and culture. I am confident that we can continue to make progress in these and other areas,” he added.
International
Iran hopes U.S. will adopt realistic approaches under Trump administration
Iran declared on Monday that it hopes the new U.S. administration under Donald Trump will adopt “realistic approaches” toward Tehran and show “respect” for the interests of the countries in the region.
The Republican tycoon will take the oath for his second term as president of the United States on Monday at noon Washington time (17:00 GMT).
“We hope that the approaches and policies of the new U.S. government will be realistic and based on respect for the interests… of the countries in the region, including the Iranian nation,” said the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, during a weekly press briefing.
During his first term (2017-2021), Trump implemented a “maximum pressure” policy toward Iran.
In 2018, under his administration, the United States withdrew from the international nuclear deal with Iran, concluded three years earlier, which offered Tehran relief from sanctions in exchange for assurances that the country would not seek to acquire nuclear weapons. Tehran denies any such intentions.
In response, Tehran significantly increased its stockpile of enriched materials and raised the enrichment threshold to 60%, approaching the 90% required to produce an atomic bomb, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Tehran, which has expressed a desire to relaunch negotiations to revive the deal, defends its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and denies any intention to develop nuclear weapons.
International
Trump to sign executive order recognizing only two sexes
Donald Trump will sign an executive order instructing his administration to “recognize” the existence of only “two sexes,” future White House officials announced on Monday, just before the Republican’s inauguration.
“What we are doing today is defining that the policy of the United States is to recognize two sexes: male and female,” said the official, speaking to the press on the condition of anonymity.
The aim of the decree is “to defend women against the ideological extremism of gender and to restore biological truth within the Federal Government,” the official added, explaining that a person’s sexual identity will be defined solely by the gametes they possess.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to put an end to the “transgender delusion.”
The elected president also plans to eliminate federal funding for programs supporting diversity in the administration, the same officials from his incoming cabinet stated.
“We are going to end this type of funding, we are going to put an end to these programs,” said one source from the future team, speaking anonymously about antiracism and diversity training courses.
-
Central America5 days ago
Venezuelan opposition leader to meet Costa Rican president Rodrigo Chaves on thursday
-
International4 days ago
The Government of Israel accuses Hamas of wanting to modify the truce agreement and postpones its vote
-
International4 days ago
Russia attacks Kiev in the middle of British Prime Minister Starmer’s visit
-
International4 days ago
An Australian influencer is accused of poisoning her baby to earn money
-
International3 days ago
Noboa once again entrusts the Vice President of Ecuador to the vice president he appointed by decree
-
International4 days ago
Far-right Israeli minister will leave the Netanyahu government if his country does not resume the war after the truce
-
International3 days ago
Mark Carney announces his candidacy to replace Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada
-
International3 days ago
Musk’s Starship was lost after a smooth takeoff
-
International3 days ago
HRW assures that Sheinbaum “inherited a crisis” from López Obrador due to “extreme violence” in Mexico
-
International5 days ago
Marco Rubio warns of China’s threat and criticizes Venezuela and Cuba in Senate hearing
-
International4 days ago
Pope Francis suffers a fall without fractures and his arm is immobilized as a precaution
-
International3 days ago
The Prosecutor’s Office asks Boluarte to hand over the documents that justify the surgery he kept hidden
-
International2 days ago
Trump appoints Stallone, Voight, and Gibson as special ambassadors to Hollywood
-
International5 days ago
Biden warns “Soul of America” still at stake ahead of farewell address
-
International5 days ago
Canadian business leaders meet with president Sheinbaum to boost investments in Mexico
-
International2 days ago
Latin American and Caribbean diplomats voice concern over U.S. mass deportation plan
-
International4 days ago
Emotional support dogs help firefighters fighting fires in California
-
International4 days ago
Indigenous peoples of Mexico help migrants stranded in the south far from the border
-
International3 days ago
Edmundo González Urrutia’s team says that the anti-chavista will attend Trump’s investiture
-
International3 days ago
Antony Blinken assures that the Panamanian sovereignty of the Panama Canal “will not change”
-
International4 days ago
Russia and Iran will sign a strategic agreement three days before Trump’s inauguration
-
International4 days ago
French justice saves a domesticated boar threatened with euthanasia by the authorities
-
International3 days ago
China, Israel and Burma, the countries in the world with the most journalists imprisoned in 2024
-
International3 days ago
At least five peace signatories and social leaders are killed in fighting in Colombia
-
International16 hours ago
Trump to sign over 200 executive orders, declaring National Emergency at U.S.-Mexico Border
-
International4 days ago
Separate negotiators and last-minute details, this is how the ceasefire in Gaza was negotiated
-
International4 days ago
The ‘Supersopa’, created during the great crisis of 2002, returns to the canteens of Argentina
-
International4 days ago
Carlos Correa, director of the Venezuelan NGO Espacio Público, has been released from prison
-
Sin categoría17 hours ago
Paraguayan president Santiago Peña meets Venezuela’s opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia in Washington
-
International3 days ago
Foreign Affairs confirms the kidnapping of a Spaniard in North Africa by a jihadist group
-
International14 mins ago
Pope Francis hopes Trump will build a more just society free of hatred
-
International11 mins ago
Trump to sign executive order recognizing only two sexes
-
International8 mins ago
Iran hopes U.S. will adopt realistic approaches under Trump administration
-
International6 mins ago
Brazil’s Lula wishes Trump a successful term focused on prosperity and peace