Aid groups scramble to help as Israel-Hamas war intensifies and Gaza blockade complicates efforts
Humanitarian groups are scrambling to assist civilians caught in the war between Israel and Hamas and determine what aid operations are still safe to continue, efforts that are being complicated by an intensified blockade of Gaza and the ongoing fighting.
UN authorizes a second malaria vaccine. Experts warn it's not enough to stop the disease spreading
The World Health Organization has authorized a second malaria vaccine in a decision that could offer countries a cheaper and a more readily available option than the worldโs first shot against the parasitic disease.
Aid groups dock 2 rescue vessels with 500 migrants in Italy
Two European aid groups have docked their rescue vessels in Italian ports and some 500 would-be refugees have disembarked, even as the Italian government insists it isn't backing down on its hard line against migrant smuggling operations from North Africa.
UN, Ethiopia rights agency to conduct joint Tigray probe
FILE - In this Monday, Nov. 30, 2020 file photo, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed responds to questions from members of parliament at the prime minister's office in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene, File)KAMPALA โ The United Nations and an Ethiopian rights agency said on Thursday they had agreed to carry out a joint investigation into abuses in the embattled region of Tigray, where fighting persists as government troops hunt down the region's fugitive leaders. The United States has characterized some abuses in Tigray as โethnic cleansing,โ charges dismissed as unfounded by Ethiopian authorities. The U.S. also has urged Eritrean troops, who are fighting on the side of Ethiopian government forces, to withdraw from Tigray. Humanitarian officials have warned that a growing number of people might be starving to death in Tigray.
African Union says Ethiopia acted legitimately in Tigray
(AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)JOHANNESBURG โ Ethiopia took โlegitimateโ military action in its Tigray province to preserve the country's unity and stability, the chairman of the African Union Commission said. In early November, Ethiopiaโs federal government launched a military attack on Tigrayโs provincial leaders saying they had provoked the federal forces. The Tigray leaders remained defiant and are still at large. The conflict in Tigray has alarmed the international humanitarian community, as communications have been cut off with large parts of the region. The U.N. refugee agency said more than 50,000 Ethiopians, mainly from Tigray, have fled across the border to Sudan.
Aid group helping French nursing homes as virus deaths jump
A man leaves after being tested with a PCR COVID-19 test in a nursing home of Ammerschwihr, eastern France, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)PARIS โ Aid group Doctors Without Borders is recruiting emergency help for French nursing homes, where more people with the coronavirus have died so far in November than reported in the previous five months combined, as a season of resurgent infections has caught up with France's most vulnerable populations. The group, founded in Paris in 1971 and renowned for its work in impoverished or conflict-torn countries, issued an appeal this week for medics, psychologists and other volunteers to work in Paris region nursing homes. Known by its French acronym MSF, Doctors Without Borders also deployed emergency help in Europe earlier this year when the virus first hit. COVID -19 patients fill more than 93% of Franceโs ICU space, in addition to non-virus patients also receiving intensive care treatment.
ClickOnDetroit NIGHTSIDE report -- Wednesday, June 24, 2020
DETROIT Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy spoke to Local 4 Defenders after a Farmington Hill man was arrested at his home for a crime he didnt commit. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a complain Wednesday against the Detroit Police Department. WATCH Local 4 News at 114 Fast FactsBe InformedThere is a Saharan dust plume heading for North America. Dust plumes from the Sahara are not unusual. Theyre also calling for more surveillance testing -- to find people who are asymptomatic but are still able to spread the virus.
Doctors Without Borders assists Metro Detroit nursing homes with COVID-19 precedures
DETROIT Doctors Without Borders is a humanitarian organization known for bringing medical care to conflict zones and nations in need around the globe. As coronavirus has rapidly spread across the world, Doctors Without Borders has gone to multiple areas with unmet needs. June 24, 2020 update: Michigan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases up to 61,953, Death toll now at 5,868When they looked at the U.S., the situation in Michigans nursing homes stood out as somewhere they could help. We brought those same tips and tricks to these facilities to say, This is how we help our staff cope.While nursing homes have been a point of controversy in Michigan, were not alone. Nursing home settings have really vulnerable people, but not the same resources as hospitals for instance, and that is a preexisting problem that COVID-19 has just exacerbated, Pagano said.
Virus spread feared where water is scarce around the world
In Zimbabwe, clean water is often saved for daily tasks like doing dishes and flushing toilets. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)HARARE Violet Manuel hastily abandoned her uncles funeral and grabbed two empty containers when she heard a boy running down the dirt road shouting, Water, water, water!The 72-year-old joined dozens of people seeking their daily ration in Zimbabwe's densely populated town of Chitungwiza. And yet her plans for the water did not include hand-washing but more important tasks such as cleaning dishes and flushing the toilet. Such choices underscore the challenges of preventing the spread of the coronavirus in slums, camps and other crowded settlements around the world where clean water is scarce and survival is a daily struggle. To encourage hand-washing in some parts of Africa, aid groups are using measures such as placing mirrors and soap at makeshift taps.