Day: July 16, 2021

UNITED NATIONS– United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, yesterday, called on all parties to conflict, to observe the Olympic Truce, during the Tokyo Olympic Games, which are to open on Jul 23.

“I call on all parties to conflict, to observe the Olympic Truce during the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, and to build on it, in the weeks and months ahead,” the UN chief said, in a pre-recorded video message for the Tokyo Olympics.

“In a few days, athletes from around the world will come together in Japan, for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. They have had to overcome enormous obstacles to participate, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the secretary-general.

“We need to show the same strength and solidarity in our efforts to bring peace to our world,” he added.

Noting that the Olympic Truce is a traditional call to silence the guns, while the games proceed, the top UN official said that “people and nations can build on this temporary respite to establish lasting ceasefires and find paths towards sustainable peace.”

“Seeking peace and uniting around common goals is even more important this year, as we strive to end the pandemic and build a strong, sustainable and inclusive global recovery,” Guterres stressed.

The ancient Greek tradition of the ekecheiria, or “Olympic Truce,” was born in the eighth century B.C., serving as a hallowed principle of the Olympic Games. In 1992, the International Olympic Committee renewed this tradition by calling upon all nations to observe the Truce.

Through its resolution 48/11 of Oct 25, 1993, the UN General Assembly urged member states to observe the Olympic Truce from the seventh day before the opening to the seventh day following the closing of each Olympic Games.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

PARIS— HIV is a “significant” risk factor for severe Covid-19, the World Health Organization said in research that showed a major increase in deaths among patients who have the virus that causes AIDS and are also hospitalised with Covid-19.

There are more than 37 million people known to be living with HIV globally, and up to 45 million have died from the virus since the start of the AIDS pandemic.

Previous studies had failed to establish a clear link between HIV and a higher likelihood of Covid-19 severe illness and death, given that many patients also suffer from additional health complications such as high blood pressure or obesity.

Researchers analysed data on more than 15,500 people living with HIV who were hospitalised for Covid-19.

The average age of patients was 45.5 years and more than a third had severe or critical Covid-19.

Ninety-two percent had received anti-retroviral therapy prior to hospitalisation.

Among patients for whom an outcome was recorded, 23 percent died in hospital.

“HIV appears to be a significant independent risk factor for severe or critical illness at hospital admission and in-hospital mortality,” said authors of the study, which was released Thursday during the 11th annual International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science.

IAS President Adeeba Kamarulzaman said the study results showed the importance of prioritising people living with HIV in national Covid-19 vaccination programmes.

“The global community must do more to ensure immediate vaccine supply to countries with high HIV disease prevalence,” said Kamarulzaman.

“It is unacceptable that as of today, less than three percent of the entire African continent has received a single dose of the vaccine, and less than 1.5 percent have received both doses.”

The United Nations’ UNAIDS programme said on Wednesday that the pandemic had severely disrupted HIV diagnosis and treatment services.

In some regions of South Africa, HIV testing fell nearly 50 percent during the first lockdown in April 2020 as more than 28,000 health workers were shifted from HIV programmes to Covid-19 screening.

“Rich countries in Europe are preparing to enjoy the summer as their populations have easy access to COVID-19 vaccines, while the global South is in crisis,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS executive director.

“We have failed to learn the lessons of HIV, when millions were denied life-saving medicines and died because of inequalities in access. This is totally unacceptable.”

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

JAKARTA– An Indonesian court, yesterday, sentenced the country’s former Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Minister, Edhy Prabowo, to five years in jail for bribery on lobster larvae export permits.

Prabowo, a politician of the Gerindra Party, was found guilty of violating the 2001 Corruption Law, prohibiting civil servants or state organisers from receiving bribes.

He shall also pay a fine of 400 million Indonesian rupiahs (about 27,600 U.S. dollars) as a substitute of another six-month imprisonment, should he fail to pay, the chairman of the panel of judges, Albertus Usada said, reading out the verdict at the Jakarta Corruption Court.

Prabowo’s right to run for public office shall also be suspended for three years, after serving his punishment.

Prabowo resigned from his post, shortly after his arrest.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

YANGON– Myanmar will receive six million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from China by Aug, according to a report.

A senior official from Myanmar’s information industry, told the agency on Wednesday that, the government has bought four million doses of the vaccine from China, which will also donate two million more.

The first one million doses will arrive late Jul, the official added.

Around 1.75 million individuals have so far been vaccinated in Myanmar, which has a population of some 54 million, according to health officials.

Myanmar is facing resurging COVID-19 cases.

According to the latest figures by the Ministry of Health and Sports, Myanmar reported 212,545 COVID-19 infections, with 4,346 deaths, as of late yesterday

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK