Month: July 2021

(Xinhua)08:50, November 26, 2020

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday urged the international community to heed the needs of women and girls suffering from violence and discrimination.

The global community must continue to build on the momentum we have created to prioritize the voices, experiences and needs of women and girls, the UN chief said in his remarks to a virtual meeting to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which falls on Nov. 25.

We must take into account the needs of women who experience violence, particularly those who face multiple and intersecting forms of violence and discrimination, said the secretary-general.

The UN chief noted that violence against women and girls is a pervasive global human rights challenge, rooted in unequal gender power relations, structural inequality and discrimination.

He said that was the major reason that the United Nations launched the global UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign.

The COVID-19 crisis has further exposed violence against women and girls as a global emergency requiring urgent action, he said. Rates of violence, in particular domestic violence, have dramatically escalated around the world.

Guterres stressed that it is clear that the pandemic has exacerbated risk factors and laid bare the shortcomings of previous efforts to prevent and respond to this shocking emergency.

The UN chief said he has been heartened to see so many governments taking action to address gender-based violence during the pandemic.

Civil society partners and grassroots womens rights organizations have been indispensable in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Guterres added.

But, the UN chief said, much work remains to be done.

Millions of women are being pushed further into poverty by the COVID-19 crisis, and all forms of violence against them are rising, he said.

Our priorities must first and foremost include urgent and flexible funding for womens rights organizations, who so often act as first responders during crises, said the secretary-general.

It is critical that services for survivors are regarded as essential and remain open, with adequate resources and measures in place to support health and social services to care for survivors of violence, he said.

Guterres said measures should not only focus on intervening once violence has occurred. They should aim to reduce the risk of violence occurring in the first place.

This includes providing financial and material support to women and households; encouraging positive messaging around gender equality, stereotypes and norms; supporting access to mental health services; and engaging key stakeholders, including women and girls, men and boys, and traditional and faith-based leaders, he added.

This years theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!

(Xinhua)08:53, November 26, 2020

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) — Argentinas government on Wednesday declared three days of national mourning for the death of football legend Diego Armando Maradona, the office of the presidency said.

The President of the Nation will decree three days of national mourning from the day (of his death), according to the statement.

Maradona died Wednesday due to cardiorespiratory arrest at his home in the Tigre district on the northern outskirts of the capital Buenos Aires.

The former star player and coach, most recently of the Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata football team, underwent surgery following a stroke in early November.

On October 30, Maradona celebrated his 60th birthday.

(Xinhua)09:00, November 26, 2020

A woman and a boy wearing face masks are seen in front of a mural in Agartala, the capital city of Indias northeastern state Tripura, on Nov. 25, 2020. Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 60 million on Wednesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. (Str/Xinhua)

NEW YORK, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) — Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 60 million on Wednesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The global case count reached 60,037,735, with a total of 1,413,325 deaths worldwide as of 12:27 p.m. local time (1727 GMT), the CSSE data showed.

The United States reported the most cases and deaths around the world, which stood at 12,642,245 and 260,591, respectively. India recorded 9,222,216 cases, ranking second in the world. Brazil followed India with 6,118,708 cases and 170,115 deaths, the worlds second largest death toll.

Countries with more than 1.5 million cases also include France, Russia, Spain and Britain, while other countries with over 50,000 deaths include India, Mexico, Britain, Italy and France, according to the CSSE tally.

Global cases topped 40 million on Oct. 19, and hit 50 million on Nov. 8. It took 20 days for the global caseload to jump from 40 million to 50 million, and only 17 days from 50 million to 60 million.

The United States remains the worst-hit nation, accounting for more than 20 percent of global cases.

On Tuesday, the United States identified 172,935 new cases, marking the 22nd consecutive day that the country had reported more than 100,000 new cases.

U.S. medical professionals and experts feared the case number will continue to surge after the Thanksgiving holiday.

(Xinhua)09:05, November 26, 2020

LONDON, Nov. 25(Xinhua) — The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 696 to 56,533, marking the highest daily death number since May 5, according to official figures released Wednesday.

Another 18,213 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,557,007, the data showed.

The figures came as some scientists warned that the British governments plan to relax coronavirus restrictions over Christmas risk throwing fuel on the COVID fire.

If restrictions are changed to allow greater mixing at Christmas then infections will inevitably go up, David Spiegelhalter from the University of Cambridge told Times Radio earlier this week.

Up to three households can get together during a five-day period over Christmas, British Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove announced Tuesday.

According to Gove, three different households can meet in a private home, a place of worship or outdoor public spaces on Dec. 23-27.

However, the groupings must be exclusive, which means people cannot get together with those who are not from other two households.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday a tougher tiered system of coronavirus restrictions to replace Englands current lockdown when it ends on Dec. 2.

Johnson said he will announce which areas will fall into which tier later this week, probably on Thursday.

England is currently under a month-long national lockdown, the second of its kind since the coronavirus outbreak in Britain, in a bid to quell the resurgence of coronavirus.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.