Tedros re-elected as head of World Health Organization
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) members re-elected Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as Director General by a strong majority for another five years, the president of the World Health Assembly said on Tuesday.
The vote by secret ballot, announced by Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh from Djibouti at a major annual meeting, was seen as a formality since Tedros was the only candidate running.
Ministers and delegates took turns to shake hands and hug Tedros, a former health minister from Ethiopia, who has steered the UN agency through a turbulent period dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The president had to use a gavel several times to interrupt the applause.
Addressing the assembly soon after his re-election, Tedros said the WHO’s focus will be on emergency preparedness and improvement of the agency.
“This pandemic has been very unprecedented and many lessons that we should learn and we are learning. But, at the same time we cannot just pause, learn and implement…instead of pausing to learn, we’re saying while learning let’s implement.”
(Reuters)
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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy offers condolences over Texas school shooting
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday offered his condolences to the relatives of the victims of the Texas school shooting, the worst school massacre in the United States for nearly a decade.
“I would like to express my condolences to all of the relatives and family members of the children who were killed in the awful shooting in a Texas elementary school,” Zelenskiy said as he addressed an event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos via video link.
“As far as I know, 21 people were killed, including 19 children. This is terrible, to have victims of shooters in peaceful time,” he added.
(Source: Reuters)
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Filled with rage and grief, and so broken by the murders in Uvalde. By Buffalo, Laguna Woods and so many others. By the ways in which we, as a nation, have become conditioned to unfathomable and unbearable heartbreak. Steve’s words ring so true and cut so deep. https://t.co/Rb5uwSTxty
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) May 25, 2022
Taylor Swift ‘filled with rage and grief’ as celebrities react to Uvalde shooting
Sharing a video of NBA coach Steve Kerr’s passionate plea for tighter gun control, Taylor tweeted: “Filled with rage and grief, and so broken by the murders in Uvalde.
“By Buffalo, Laguna Woods and so many others. By the ways in which we, as a nation, have become conditioned to unfathomable and unbearable heartbreak.
“Steve’s words ring so true and cut so deep.”
Golden State Warriors coach Kerr emotionally urged politicians to take action as he blasted the “pathetic” state of affairs, and refused to discuss basketball during his press conference.
He said: “I’m tired. I’m so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there.
“I’m so tired of the – I’m sorry – I’m tired of the moments of silence. Enough.”
(Source: BANG ShowBiz)
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Today in my home state of Texas 18 innocent students were killed while simply trying to get an education. A teacher killed doing her job; an invaluable yet sadly under appreciated job. If children aren’t safe at school where are they safe?
— Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) May 25, 2022
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French cases of monkeypox rise to five, versus three previously -minister
The number of confirmed cases of the monkeypox virus in France has risen to five, from three earlier in the week, French Health Minister Brigitte Bourguignon told RTL radio on Wednesday, as she promoted a targeted vaccination campaign against it.
France’s health authority said earlier this week that it recommended that at-risk adults who have been in contact with a patient with confirmed monkeypox should be vaccinated. Health staff who have been exposed to a monkeypox patient should also receive the vaccine, it added.
(Source: Reuters)
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Russia ready to set up corridor for ships carrying food to leave Ukraine
Russia is ready to provide a humanitarian corridor for vessels carrying food to leave Ukraine, the Interfax news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying on Wednesday.
Russia will discuss the possibility of holding a prisoner exchange with Ukraine once prisoners who surrendered have been convicted, Rudenko also said. Russian and separatist officials have said some of those who surrendered should be put on trial for war crimes.
He added it was premature to establish a Russian military base in the Russian-controlled area of Ukraine’s Kherson region.
(Source: Reuters)
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Monkeypox virus detected in Portugal less aggressive, researcher says
The monkeypox virus circulating in Portugal belongs to a less aggressive lineage spreading in West Africa, the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge said Tuesday.
The research team of Joao Paulo Gomes, head of the Bioinformatics Unit of the Institute’s Department of Infectious Diseases, has completed the genome-sequencing of the monkeypox virus spreading in the country, Gomes told Lusa news agency.
The virus in Portugal “is more closely related to the monkeypox virus from Nigeria,” which was detected in 2018 and 2019 in countries, including Britain, Israel, and Singapore, the expert said, noting that there is another more aggressive lineage of monkeypox circulating in Central Africa.
“In theory, it evolves more than we expected. Eventually, we will be able to see that these genomic traits may be associated with greater transmissibility, we don’t know yet,” he said.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
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WATCH: 19 students, 2 adults killed in Texas primary school mass shooting, teenage gunman shot dead
A total of 19 students and two adults were killed on Tuesday when a teenage gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Texas before the shooter was shot dead, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed on Tuesday.
According to CNN, At least 19 children and two adults were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Tuesday afternoon. Officials say that the suspect, an 18-year-old student at Uvalde High School has been killed.
Investigators say the suspect was armed with a handgun, an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and high-capacity magazines, according to reports by BBC News.
The teenager is suspected of shooting his grandmother at the start of the rampage.
Read more here.
