Міністр внутрішніх справ України Арсен Аваков підписав з державним секретарем Міністерства економіки та фінансів Франції Дельфін Жені-Стефан угоду на закупівлю 55 гелікоптерів французької компанії Airbus Helicopters, повідомляє прес-служба МВС. «Сьогодні ми підписали угоду між французькою і українською стороною, загальна вартість якої близько 551 мільйона євро. За умовами угоди, французька сторона в два етапи передасть Україні спочатку 37 вертольотів компанії Airbus, а потім ще 18 вертольотів. З них 21 гелікоптер – моделі Н225 – гвинтокрили, які мають вантажопідйомність більше 10 тонн. Така техніка не випускається в Україні, а нам вона дуже потрібна. Уже цього року ми отримаємо перші чотири машини», – розповів Аваков. Згідно з повідомленням, у МВС підписали угоду на закупівлю гелікоптерів трьох моделей – Н145, Н125 та Н225. В українському міністерстві зазначили, що основними завданнями вертолітних підрозділів МВС буде аеромедична евакуація, рятувальні операції, підтримання громадського порядку, антитерористичні та спеціальні операції, охорона державного кордону й підтримання безпеки на дорогах. За словами Авакова, вертольоти будуть виконувати завдання для Державної служби із надзвичайних ситуацій, Державної прикордонної служби, Національної гвардії та Національної поліції України. Міністр анонсував закупівлю гелікоптерів ще в березні. …
Nigerian Health Workers Blame Cultural Practices for Fistula Epidemic
Every morning, Asma’u Muhammadu removes the wet sheets from her bed and sets them out to dry. She opens the door to let in the fresh breezes that will air out the smell of urine in the mud-walled room. Along with the sheets, she brings out wet rags she uses to line her inner garments. “I am dealing with yoyon fitsari. I don’t know when the urine pours out from my body until I see it leaking down the sides of my legs,” says the 27-year-old woman. Yoyon fitsari is the term used in the Hausa language to describe vesicovaginal fistula (VVF), a medical condition in which a hole between the birth canal and bladder leaves women unable to control their urine. Women with a hole between the birth canal and the rectum, rectovaginal fistula (RVF) experience uncontrollable leakage of stool. Some women have both VVF and RVF. Some women are born with fistula, which is rare. Other causes include injuries sustained during pelvic surgery and hysterectomies, inflammation and infections in the genital area, and sexual violence. But the leading cause of fistula is prolonged and obstructed labor. In Nigeria, between 400,000 and 800,00 women are currently living with fistula. The World Health Organization describes fistula as “the single most dramatic aftermath of prolonged or neglected childbirth,” and estimates more than two million women live with fistula worldwide. Young marriage only partly to blame Nigeria has the world’s highest occurrence of obstetric fistula and the Nigerian government says early marriage …
Study: AI Better at Finding Skin Cancer than Doctors
A computer was better than human dermatologists at detecting skin cancer in a study that pitted human against machine in the quest for better, faster diagnostics, researchers said Tuesday. A team from Germany, the United States and France taught an artificial intelligence system to distinguish dangerous skin lesions from benign ones, showing it more than 100,000 images. The machine — a deep learning convolutional neural network or CNN — was then tested against 58 dermatologists from 17 countries, shown photos of malignant melanomas and benign moles. Just over half the dermatologists were at “expert” level with more than five years of experience, 19 percent had between two and five years’ experience, and 29 percent were beginners with less than two years under their belt. “Most dermatologists were outperformed by the CNN,” the research team wrote in a paper published in the journal Annals of Oncology. On average, flesh and blood dermatologists accurately detected 86.6 percent of skin cancers from the images, compared to 95 percent for the CNN. “The CNN missed fewer melanomas, meaning it had a higher sensitivity than the dermatologists,” the study’s first author Holger Haenssle of the University of Heidelberg said in a statement. It also “misdiagnosed fewer benign moles as malignant melanoma… this would result in less unnecessary surgery.” The dermatologists’ performance improved when they were given more information of the patients and their skin lesions. The team said AI may be a useful tool for faster, easier diagnosis of skin cancer, allowing surgical removal before …
Northern Ireland Rally Calls on Britain’s May to Ease Abortion Rules
Hundreds of women’s rights activist rallied in Belfast on Monday to put pressure on British Prime Minister Theresa May to reform Northern Ireland’s highly restrictive abortion rules after neighboring Ireland’s vote to liberalize its laws. Voters in Ireland on Friday backed the removal of a constitutional abortion ban by two-to-one. That leaves British-ruled Northern Ireland as the only part of the British Isles with a restrictive abortion regime, and May on Sunday faced calls from within her cabinet and the opposition to scrap Northern Ireland’s strict rules. Not May’s call? A spokeswoman for May said on Sunday changing the rules should only be undertaken by a government in Northern Ireland. The province, divided between unionists who favor continued British rule and nationalists who want to unify with Ireland, has had no devolved regional government since January last year after a power-sharing agreement collapsed between the two communities’ main parties. Activists gathered outside Belfast City Hall carrying placards emblazoned with messages such as “I am not a vessel” and “Mind Your Own Uterus.” They said it was May’s responsibility to act. “1, 2, 3, 4, we won’t be silenced any more,” the crowd chanted. “5, 6, 7, 8, it’s time for May to legislate.” Abortion is permitted in Northern Ireland only if a woman’s life is at risk or there is a risk to her mental or physical health that is long-term or permanent. It is not permitted in cases of rape, incest or fatal fetal abnormality. Both Northern Ireland’s mainly …
Ebola Vaccinations Begin in Congo’s Northwest Town of Bikoro
Officials began vaccinating health workers and others on Monday in Bikoro, where Congo’s current Ebola outbreak was first declared at the beginning of May. Congo’s Health Minister Oly Ilunga traveled to oversee the Ebola vaccinations of at least 10 people in Bikoro, where at least five of 12 Ebola deaths have happened. Bikoro Hospital director Dr. Serge Ngalebato said he and other health officials were vaccinated for protection when treating Ebola patients. “We who are on the front lines of caring for the sick. We are reassured,” he told The Associated Press by telephone. Monday’s vaccinations included three doctors at Bikoro Hospital, two health experts, two nurses, one representative of women in the community and one pygmy representative, he said. The procedure, which is voluntary, will take time and follow up to make sure there is a positive response, Ngalebato said. Congo’s vaccination campaign, which began in Mbandaka last week, is targeting more than 1,000 health workers and contacts of the sick in three health zones. More than 360 people were vaccinated before Monday, said health ministry spokeswoman Jessica Ilunga. As of Monday Congo updated that there were 54 cases of hemorrhagic fever: 35 confirmed Ebola cases, 13 probable and six suspected. Amid worries of the spread of Ebola, several schools in the Iboko health zone, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) southeast of Mbandaka, have been closed, according to reports by U.N.-backed Radio Okapi. Many residents in one of the Iboko localities told Radio Okapi that they prefer to stay …
Study: Great Barrier Reef Has Had 5 Near-Death Experiences in 30,000 Years
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, under severe stress in a warmer, more acidic ocean, has returned from near-extinction five times in the past 30,000 years, researchers said Monday. And while this suggests the reef may be more resilient than once thought, it has likely never faced an onslaught quite as severe as today, they added. “I have grave concerns about the ability of the reef in its current form to survive the pace of change caused by the many current stresses and those projected into the near future,” said Jody Webster of the University of Sydney, who co-authored a paper in the journal Nature Geoscience. In the past, the reef shifted along the sea floor to deal with changes in its environment — either seaward or landward depending on whether the level of the ocean was rising or falling, the research team found. Based on fossil data from cores drilled into the ocean floor at 16 sites, they determined the Great Barrier Reef, or GBR for short, was able to migrate between 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) and 1.5 meters per year. This rate may not be enough to withstand the current barrage of environmental challenges. The reef “probably has not faced changes in SST (sea surface temperature) and acidification at such a rate,” Webster told AFP. Rates of change “are likely much faster now — and in future projections.” The World Heritage-listed site, which attracts millions of tourists, is reeling from successive bouts of coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures …
Study: Millions Could Avoid Dengue if World Limits Warming
More than three million cases of dengue fever, the world’s fastest-spreading tropical disease, could be avoided annually if global warming is capped at 1.5C, said a study that purports to be the first to show the health benefits of a cooler planet. The mosquito-borne viral infection causes flu-like symptoms and can be fatal if it develops into severe hemorrhagic form. The annual number of cases has increased 30-fold in the last 50 years, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Using computer models, researchers from the University of East Anglia in Britain found that capping warming at 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) could cut annual dengue cases in Latin America and the Caribbean by up to 2.8 million by the end of the century. A further half a million cases could be prevented if the rise in global temperatures is kept down to 1.5C, the report said, with parts of South America most likely to benefit. “There is growing concern about the potential impacts of climate change on human health,” said lead author Felipe Colón-Gonzále. “This is the first study to show that reductions in warming from 2C to 1.5C could have important health benefits.” Since the year 2000, climate change has caused severe harm to human health by stoking more heatwaves, the spread of some mosquito-borne diseases and under-nutrition as crops fail, according to a Lancet report last October. Current national pledges to curb emissions put the world on track for a warming of about 3C above pre-industrial times, far …
Archaeologists Discover New Geoglyphs Near Nazca Lines in Peru
Archaeologists using drones have discovered more than 25 geoglyphs etched into a swath of coastal desert in southern Peru near the Nazca Lines, a culture ministry official said Monday. Most of the newly found geoglyphs, which include figures of a killer whale and a woman dancing, appear to have been made by the Paracas culture more than 2,000 years ago, hundreds of years before the Nazca people created similar giant drawings nearby, said Johny Isla, an archaeologist who heads the culture ministry’s conservation efforts in the region. An additional 25 geoglyphs that had previously been spotted by local residents have also been mapped with drones, Isla said. Drones “have allowed us to broaden our documentation and discover new groups of figures,” Isla said on a tour of the geoglyphs in the province of Palpa. But unlike the Nazca lines, most of which can only be seen by flying above them, many of the so-called Palpa Lines were carved into hillsides and can be seen from below, Peru’s culture ministry said in a statement. The geoglyphs created by the Nazca and Paracas cultures are striking reminders of Peru’s rich pre-Columbian history and are considered archeological enigmas, as no one knows for sure why they were drawn, or so large and for so long. “In total we’re talking about 1,200 years in which geoglyphs were produced” in the region, said Isla. Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1994, the Nazca Lines have faced damage by squatters looking for land to settle …
Starbucks to Close Stores for Anti-Bias Training
In an effort to stem the outcry over the arrest of two black men at one of its stores, Starbucks will close 8,000 U.S. stores Tuesday afternoon for anti-bias training for its employees. On April 12, two black men went to a Philadelphia store and did not buy anything; instead, they told the store manager they were waiting for a friend to join them. They were asked to leave and an employee called police, which led to their arrest, prompting protests and accusations of racism. A video of the incident that was posted on social media became a major embarrassment for the coffee chain. Soon after, Starbucks announced a policy change, welcoming anyone to sit in its cafes or use its restrooms, even if they don’t buy anything. Previously, it was left to individual store managers to decide whether people could access Starbucks premises without making a purchase. “We are committed to creating a culture of warmth and belonging where everyone is welcome,” Starbucks said in a statement. The company has asked employees to follow established procedure when dealing with “disruptive behaviors,” and are still asked to call 911 in case of “immediate threat or danger” to customers or employees. The men who were arrested in April, settled with Starbucks earlier this month for an undisclosed sum and an offer of a free college education for each of them. They also reached a deal with the city of Philadelphia for a symbolic $1 each and a promise from city officials …
Starbucks Training a First Step, Experts Say, in Facing Bias
Starbucks will close more than 8,000 stores nationwide Tuesday to conduct anti-bias training, the next of many steps the company is taking in an effort to restore its tarnished diversity-friendly image. The coffee chain’s leaders reached out to bias training experts after the arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks last month. The plan has brought attention to the little-known world of “unconscious bias training” used by corporations, police departments and other organizations. It’s designed to get people to open up about implicit biases and stereotypes in encountering people of color, gender or other identities. A video previewing the training says it will include recorded remarks from Starbucks executives as well as rapper and activist Common. From there, the company says, employees will “move into a real and honest exploration of bias.” …
China Rejects US Charge of "Forced Technology Transfer’ at WTO
China told the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement body on Monday that U.S. accusations that Beijing forced companies to hand over technology as a cost of doing business in China were groundless. U.S. President Donald Trump has accused China of stealing American ideas and announced a plan for a $50 billion tariff penalty against Chinese goods. Both sides launched legal complaints at the WTO over the issue earlier this year. “There is no forced technology transfer in China,” Chinese Ambassador Zhang Xiangchen told the meeting, according to a copy of his remarks provided to Reuters. “According to the U.S.’s view, China forces the U.S. companies to transfer technologies by imposing joint venture requirements, foreign equity limitations and administrative licensing procedures,” Zhang said. “But the fact is, nothing in these regulatory measures requires technology transfer from foreign companies.” Zhang said the U.S. argument involved a “presumption of guilt.” The U.S. Trade Representative believed U.S. firms in China faced an obligation to hand over technology, while failing to produce a single piece of evidence. Some of its claims were “pure speculation,” he said, adding that the USTR saw Chinese M&A activity as a Chinese government conspiracy. ‘Diligence and entrepreneurship’ Technology transfer was a normal commercial activity that benefited the United States most of all, he said, while Chinese innovation was driven by “the diligence and entrepreneurship of the Chinese people, investment in education and research, and efforts to improve the protection of intellectual property.” Legal experts say Washington needs WTO backing to …
New Zealand Begins Mass Cull to Eradicate Cow Disease
New Zealand will slaughter more than 100,000 cows in an effort to eradicate a bacterial disease. The government and agricultural leaders announced Monday that it will spend over $600 million over the next decade to rid the country of Mycoplasma bovis, which causes udder infections, pneumonia, arthritis and other illnesses. The bacteria is not a threat to humans, but can cause production delays on farms. “This is a tough call,” said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. “But the alternative is to risk the spread of the disease across our national herd.” Mycoplasma bovis has been detected on more than three dozen farms since it was first detected in New Zealand last year, leading to the slaughter of about 26,000 cattle. The country is the world’s largest exporter of milk and dairy products. …
Myanmar’s Anti-Corruption Fight Gathers Steam
Myanmar’s anti-corruption commission has in recent weeks sued a senior bureaucrat and begun investigating a disgraced minister, indicating a crackdown on corruption promised by the government is finally happening. Often criticized as weak and unambitious, the commission’s stepped-up efforts suggest the Southeast Asian country is joining a regional trend. On May 25, the Myanmar President’s Office confirmed the resignation of Planning and Finance Minister Kyaw Win, after the Anti-Corruption Commission revealed he was being investigated for bribery. The commission is also pursuing a criminal case against Food and Drug Administration Director-General Than Htut for allegedly demanding more than $11,000 in bribes from a construction company. Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Aung Kyi told VOA that, at this stage in the probe against Kyaw Win, “I do not have any obligation to reveal what type of corruption he committed.” The commission has announced they delivered the investigation report to the President’s Office on May 25, but its findings aren’t yet public. Last week, Myanmar’s upper house of parliament passed amendments to the Anti-Corruption Law that would grant the commission powers to investigate conspicuously wealthy office-holders on their own initiative. Currently, the commission, which was reconstituted in November, must wait for complaints to be submitted to it with “strong evidence.” Political will The commission had previously only pursued cases against low-ranking officials, and was noticeably absent in large scandals. One example was the multi-million-dollar misappropriation of development funds by the former chief minister of Magwe Region, who was merely ordered to return a portion …
China Approves 13 New Ivanka Trump Trademarks in 3 Months
Ivanka Trump’s brand continues to win foreign trademarks in China and the Philippines, adding to questions about conflicts of interest at the White House, The Associated Press has found. On Sunday, China granted the first daughter’s company final approval for its 13th trademark in the last three months, trademark office records show. Over the same period, the Chinese government has granted Ivanka Trump’s company provisional approval for another eight trademarks, which can be finalized if no objections are raised during a three-month comment period. Taken together, the trademarks could allow her brand to market a lifetime’s worth of products in China, from baby blankets to coffins, and a host of things in between, including perfume, make-up, bowls, mirrors, furniture, books, coffee, chocolate and honey. Ivanka Trump stepped back from management of her brand and placed its assets in a family-run trust, but she continues to profit from the business. Noah Bookbinder, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said on Twitter that the recent approvals create “more conflicts of interest and more potential for using the White House for self-enrichment.” His government watchdog group was behind one of several lawsuits against President Donald Trump for violations of the emoluments clause of the constitution, which bars officials from accepting gifts from foreign states unless they are approved by Congress. As Ivanka Trump and her father have built their global brands, largely through licensing deals, they have pursued trademarks in dozens of countries. Those global …
У Донецьку вперше за кілька днів з’явилися гроші в банкоматах
У банкоматах підконтрольного сепаратистам Донецька з’явилася готівка, якої не було з четверга, 24 травня. Як повідомляє Радіо Донбас.Реалії, проект Радіо Свобода, люди поспішать зняти гроші, побоюючись, що вони знову закінчаться. Готівка у банкоматах зникла 24 травня, тоді підконтрольне Росії угруповання «ДНР» пояснило це технічними роботами і наступного дня оголосило про відновлення роботи системи. Проте гроші з’явилися лише ненадовго у суботу і знову зникли, а біля банкоматів утворилися черги. На непідконтрольній Україні території Донецької області працює лише одна «банківська установа» – «Центральний республіканський банк». «ЦРБ» використовує банкомати, які належали раніше приватним та державним українським банкам і були захоплені проросійськими силами. У робочому стані перебуває лише частина АТМ. Через «ЦРВ» підконтрольні Росії угруповання нараховують пенсії та соціальні виплати жителям непідконтрольної території, для багатьох людей це єдине джерело доходу. …
Vietnam Is Following China in its Economic Development
Vietnam is imitating China in its efforts to grow economically and lags its larger neighbor only by about a decade, experts say. The two communist countries, though political rivals, have built up their state-controlled economies on job creation through factory work for export. China opened that effort to foreign investment in 1978 and Vietnam got started 10 years later. Now Vietnam is grappling with corruption, traffic gridlock and the sinking performance of state-run companies as its middle class grows, all hallmarks of China’s development. In the latest sign of similarity, Vietnam’s National Assembly is examining a bill to let the country run three special economic zones. It has a chance of passing next month. The zones would offer foreign factory investors tariff exemptions and long land leases, Vietnamese news website VnExpress International says. China created its first four zones in 1979 to attract foreign investment. It now has 32. “I don’t know whether it’s deliberate or otherwise, but it seems there is that hint of taking that page from the CPC playbook — Chinese Communist Party,” said Song Seng Wun, economist in the private banking unit of CIMB. “Vietnam has a Communist Party, so I suppose there is that kind of ‘if China is doing it, we can also perhaps adapt it to Vietnamese conditions.’” Controlled economy and factory work Governments in both countries turned to factory work to employ large, uneducated populations, said Ralf Matthaes, founder of the Infocus Mekong Research consultancy in Ho Chi Minh City. Reliance on …
India’s Modi Opens 2 Expressways Around Delhi to Reduce Pollution
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday he expected around a 30 percent drop in the number of vehicles entering Delhi, as he opened two new expressways around the capital aimed at decongesting its streets and reducing deadly pollution. A damning report by the World Health Organization this month said India was home to the world’s 14 most polluted cities, with Delhi ranked sixth most polluted. Air quality has worsened over recent winters, prompting Modi’s office to directly monitor measures to clean up the capital’s air. “The expressways will greatly benefit the people of Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) by reducing pollution and will bring down traffic jams,” Modi said. The NCR is a rapidly urbanizing and polluted area around New Delhi that is one-third the size of New York state, but houses 2.5 times more people. Illegal crop burning in farm states surrounding New Delhi, vehicle exhausts and swirling construction dust have contributed to what has become an annual crisis. The 135-kilometer (84-mile), six-lane Eastern Peripheral Expressway was built in 17 months at a total cost of around 110 billion rupees ($1.62 billion), the government said. More than 50,000 vehicles that transit the capital city on their way to other destinations would no longer need to enter New Delhi, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told reporters on Saturday. It offers signal-free connectivity and is the first green highway fully lit by solar power, has drip pumps for watering plants alongside the highway and has rain water harvesting. …
1 New Ebola Death Confirmed in Congo, Bringing Total to 12
Another person has died in Congo of a confirmed case of Ebola, bringing the number of fatalities to 12, said the country’s Health Ministry. The new death happened in Iboko, a rural area in northwestern Equateur province, said the Health Ministry statement released Sunday. There are also four new suspected cases in the province, said the statement. Congo now has 35 confirmed Ebola cases. Health workers have identified people who have been in contact with confirmed Ebola cases in three areas in Equateur province, the rural areas of Bikoro and Iboko and Mdbandaka, the provincial capital of 1.2 million that is a transport hub on the Congo River. Congo’s health minister Saturday flew by helicopter to Bikoro and Iboko to see the deployment of health workers who will be tracing those who have been in contact with Ebola cases and inoculating them with a new experimental vaccine. Health minister Oly Ilunga was accompanied by representatives of the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The vaccination campaign in those rural is to begin Monday. The vaccination campaign is already under way in Mbandaka, where four Ebola cases have been confirmed. About 100 health workers have been vaccinated there as front-line workers face high risk from the virus, which is spread via contact with the bodily fluids of those infected, including the dead. The next few weeks are crucial in determining whether the outbreak can be brought under control, according to the World Health Organization. Complicating factors include …
New York Clothing Store Sells Gender Neutral Lifestyle
New shops appear in New York City every day, but Phluid Project, which recently opened its doors on Broadway, is different. One of the first gender-fluid boutiques in the world, Phluid Project sells clothing for men, women and everyone in between. Both the clothes and the mannequins here are gender-neutral, and as an added selling point, its store owners say the prices are more than affordable. Elena Wolf visited the one-of-a-kind store, where no one feels out of place. …
English Streams May Yield Clues to Martian Life
Streams flowing in the south of England may hold clues to the search for life on Mars. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more. …
Noise Pollution Reaching Unsafe Levels in Karachi, Pakistan
Smog, industrial waste and contaminated water are just a few of the environmental problems facing many of the biggest cities today. But there is another type of pollution that’s becoming increasingly prevalent in our cities: noise pollution. Medical experts say people exposed to constant noise can suffer from a variety of psychological and physical ailments. As Saleem Shayan reports, it’s a particularly serious problem in megacities like Karachi in Pakistan where noise is a constant companion. …
Russia, Turkey OK Pipeline Deal, End Gas Dispute
Russian state gas giant Gazprom said Saturday it had signed a protocol with the Turkish government on a planned gas pipeline and agreed with Turkish firm Botas to end an arbitration dispute over the terms of gas supplies. The protocol concerned the land-based part of the transit leg of the TurkStream gas pipeline, which Gazprom said meant that work to implement it could now begin. Turkey had delayed issuing a permit for the Russian company to start building the land-based parts of the pipeline, which, if completed, would allow Moscow to reduce its reliance on Ukraine as a transit route for its gas supplies to Europe. A source said in February the permit problem might be related to talks between Gazprom and Botas about a possible discount for Russian gas. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said earlier Saturday that Turkey and Russia had reached a retroactive agreement for a 10.25 percent discount on the natural gas Ankara buys from Moscow. Gazprom said in the Saturday statement, without elaborating, that the dispute with Botas would be settled out of court. …
Italy’s President Pressured to Accept Euroskeptic Minister
Italy’s would-be coalition parties turned up the pressure on President Sergio Mattarella on Saturday to endorse their euroskeptic pick as economy minister, saying the only other option might be a new election. Mattarella has held up formation of a government, which would end more than 80 days of political deadlock, over concern about the desire of the far-right League and anti-establishment 5-Star Movement to make economist Paolo Savona, 81, economy minister. Savona has been a vocal critic of the euro and the European Union, but he has distinguished credentials, including in a former role as an industry minister. Formally, Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte presents his cabinet to the president, who must endorse it. Conte, a little-known law professor with no political experience, met the president on Friday without resolving the deadlock. “I hope no one has already decided ‘no,’ ” League leader Matteo Salvini shouted to supporters in northern Italy. “Either the government gets off the ground and starts working in the coming hours, or we might as well go back to elections.” Later, 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio said he expected there to be a decision on whether the president would back the government within 24 hours. 5-Star also defended Savona’s nomination. “It is a political choice. … Blocking a ministerial choice is beyond [the president’s] role,” Alessandro Di Battista, a top 5-Star politician, said. Mattarella has not spoken publicly about Savona, but through his aides he has made it clear he does not want an anti-euro economy minister and that he would not accept the “diktat” of the parties. Jittery markets Savona’s criticism of the euro and German economic policy has further spooked …
WHO Chief Looks Forward to Ambitious Reform Program
The World Health Organization’s annual conference ended on a high note Saturday, with the organization’s director general praising delegates for giving him a strong mandate to implement an ambitious program of reforms and initiatives that will improve global health. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus paid homage to his predecessor, Margaret Chan, saying the reforms begun under her leadership to make the World Health Organization more responsive and better able to tackle emergencies were now paying off. “The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has demonstrated exactly that. … Let me assure you that I am personally committed to ensuring that we do everything we can to stop this outbreak as soon as possible,” Tedros said. “And the commitment of the government, of course, and the leadership is at the center, which we really admire.” The World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO, passed a number of resolutions aimed at improving global health. Some deal with diseases that have plagued humanity for centuries, while others are newly emerging. But all these decisions, Tedros said, involve commitments to make the world a healthier, safer place. For example, he noted the assembly had approved a road map to reduce deaths from cholera by 90 percent by 2030. “You endorsed our five-year strategic plan on polio transition, to strengthen country health systems that could be affected by the scaling down of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative,” he said. “You passed resolutions on tuberculosis and noncommunicable diseases. … And you have …