Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Alert: ‘Urgent need’ to scale up search and rescue in the Mediterranean

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'Urgent need' to scale up search and rescue in the Mediterranean

United Nations agencies have called for search and rescue to be stepped up in the central Mediterranean, in the wake of a tragic shipwreck that claimed the lives of 45 migrants and refugees, including five children. 

Full story on UN News

[Daily article] August 20: George Tucker (politician)

George Tucker (August 20, 1775 – April 10, 1861) was an American
lawyer, politician, author, and educator. He wrote the first in-depth
biography of Thomas Jefferson, the first fictional account of colonial
life in Virginia, and the four-volume History of the United States.
Despite a social life which had been profligate, and at times even
scandalous, at age 50 he was named Professor of Moral Philosophy at
Jefferson's newly founded University of Virginia and served in that
post for twenty years. A son of the first mayor of Hamilton, Bermuda, he
immigrated to Virginia at age 20, was educated at the College of
William and Mary, and was admitted to the bar. He was elected in 1816 to
the Virginia House of Delegates, then served in the United States House
of Representatives from 1819 to 1825. In 1827 he wrote A Voyage to the
Moon, one of America's earliest works of science fiction. He also
produced diverse compositions on slavery, suffrage, morality,
intracoastal navigation, wages, and banking.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tucker_%28politician%29>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1882:

The 1812 Overture by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
debuted in Moscow, conducted by Ippolit Al'tani.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_Overture>

1920:

The American Professional Football Association, a predecessor
of the National Football League, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League>

1950:

Korean War: United Nations forces repelled an attempt by North
Korea to capture the city of Taegu.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Taegu>

2008:

Spanair Flight 5022 crashed just after take-off from Madrid's
Barajas Airport, killing 154 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanair_Flight_5022>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

gamin:
(dated, also attributively) A homeless boy; a male street urchin; also
(more generally), a cheeky, street-smart boy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gamin>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

  To see a promising solution to a dilemma and then just leave it
to questionable development at its own pace without trying to aid its
implementation would seem a dereliction.  
--Roger Wolcott Sperry
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Wolcott_Sperry>

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Daily Wrap

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MINUSMA
Mali coup: UN peacekeeping mission 'must and will continue' operations

The United Nations continues to monitor the ongoing situation in Mali, where soldiers arrested the President and several members of his cabinet in a military coup on Tuesday. 

UN News/Jing Zhang
Jordan: Closing teachers' union, detaining officials, 'serious' rights violations

Jordan must reverse the decision to close a 140,000-strong teachers' union and detain its leaders, independent UN human rights experts said on Wednesday, while also urging the authorities to lift gag orders prohibiting public discussion of the case. 

© OCHA/Halldorsson
Syria constitutional reform talks, hold promise for new social contract

Constitutional reform talks between Syria's Government and opposition leaders next week in Geneva, offer an opportunity to reconcile differences and establish a social contract with people across the country, who are desperate for progress after more than nine years of war, the Special Envoy told the Security Council on Wednesday. 

© UNICEF/UNI340770/
G20 countries urged to stop 'COVID generation' from being locked out of the classroom

A group of 275 former world leaders, economists and business leaders on Wednesday, urged the G20 group of leading industrialized nations to help stop the pandemic from leaving tens of millions of children from becoming known as the "COVID generation", denied a proper education.

WHO/Lindsay Mackenzie
UN salutes real-life heroes doing 'extraordinary things, in extraordinary times'

Marking World Humanitarian Day, top UN officials are honouring the workers overcoming "huge challenges" to save and improve the lives of millions of women, men and children, hit hard by crises and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

UNSMIL
Libya: UN human right chief appoints independent investigators to probe abuses

UN-led efforts to address serious rights violations in Libya, received a boost on Wednesday with the appointment of three independent investigators to document abuses in the war-torn country.
 


 

© UNICEF/LeMoyne
Bosnia and Herzegovina should recognise sex crime survivors' rights, say experts

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, tens of thousands of victims of sexual violence committed during conflict in the 1990s still await justice, UN-appointed rights experts said on Wednesday.

Coronavirus Portal & News Updates

Readers can find information and guidance on the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from the UN, World Health Organization and UN agencies here.

For daily news updates from UN News, click here.

Senators press suspension of more PhilHealth officials. Inquirer Newsletter. August 20, 2020

What Are Buffett, Dalio, and Druckenmiller So Worried About?

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