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U.N. peacekeeping missions prepare for possible shutdown

Henry Williams
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U.N. peacekeeping missions prepare for possible shutdown

United Nations peacekeeping missions globally are preparing for a possible shutdown on Thursday if the 193-member U.N. General Assembly is unable to agree a new $6 billion budget for the year to June 30, 2022, officials and diplomats said on Monday.

Some diplomats blamed changes to negotiating procedures, issues with logistics and tough talks pitting China against Western countries for the delay in reaching an agreement.

Catherine Pollard, the U.N. head of management strategy, policy and compliance, said the world body’s 12 peacekeeping missions – most of which are in Africa and the Middle East – had been advised to start putting contingency plans in place in case a new budget is not adopted in time.

“At the same time, we remain hopeful and confident that member states will conclude their negotiations,” Pollard told reporters.

She said that if the June 30 deadline is missed then Secretary-General Antonio Guterres can only spend money to safeguard U.N. assets and ensure the protection of the staff and the peacekeepers.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said missions would be severely limited and unable to carry out such measures as protecting civilians, helping tackle COVID-19 and supporting political efforts and mediation.

The United States is largest assessed contributor to the peacekeeping budget, responsible for about 28%, followed by China with 15.2% and Japan with 8.5%.

Rugby-No fans at stadiums but Lions tour will go ahead: SA Rugby

Henry Williams
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Rugby-No fans at stadiums but Lions tour will go ahead: SA Rugby

South African Rugby President Mark Alexander has accepted there will be no fans at stadiums for the British and Irish Lions series but is confident the COVID-19 protocols in place will allow all the scheduled games to go ahead.

The Lions, who will face the Springboks in three tests from July 24, have arrived in South Africa with the country gripped by a third wave of COVID-19 infections, prompting tightened restrictions including a 9 p.m. curfew.

The country, the worst-hit on the African continent in terms of recorded cases and deaths, reported almost 18,000 new cases on Saturday, approaching the peak of daily infections seen in a second wave in January.

The Springboks reported three positive COVID-19 cases in their camp on Sunday, though scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies was later cleared after a second test, which called the fate of the tour into question.

Alexander told South Africa’s Sport24, however, that they were moving forward.”I don’t see things drastically changing overnight,” he said.

“We have to make peace with the fact that there won’t be spectators, but the tour will go on, and we’ll have all the games, even the provincial ones.

“The Springboks have not played a test since winning the Rugby World Cup in November 2019 and the resulting loss of revenue forced SA Rugby to shave R1.2-billion ($84.12 million) off their budget for 2020.Alexander said that had the Lions series been cancelled and the Springboks went through another year without playing a test, it could have spelled the end of professional rugby in South Africa.

“If we did not play rugby this year, we would have closed our doors,” he said. “South African rugby depends on generating money, of which 99.9% comes from playing.

“The more you cut back and if we lose money, it has an effect on everybody’s budget all the way down from the Springboks to school rugby.

“Alexander said the measures Lions tour organisers have put in place to safeguard players and team officials from COVID-19 will be enough to ensure it goes ahead successfully.

Canoeing-Women paddlers set to make history in Tokyo

Henry Williams
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Canoeing-Women paddlers set to make history in Tokyo

As many women as men will compete in an Olympic canoeing event for the first time when the paddlers gather at the artificial slalom and sprint courses in Tokyo on July 23 for the 2020 Summer Games.

That push for equality on the water parallels changes in sports such as boxing, judo and shooting, and is part of an International Olympic Committee goal to reach gender parity, with women in Tokyo expected to represent almost 49% of all athletes competing at the Games.

The additions of two canoe sprint events and one canoe slalom event for women, who until now have only competed in kayaks using doubled-bladed paddles, means women athletes can use the greater attention that brings to win funding and access better training and coaching.

To make way for those, however, the International Canoe Federation (ICF) has cut three events for male athletes in Japan that were in Rio De Janeiro five years earlier, including the 200-metre singles canoe sprint, kayak doubles 200-metre sprint and the canoe doubles slalom.

The change has spurred some opposition from men who will have fewer chances to win Olympic medals.

In Rio, Czech paddler Josef Dostal, who won a bronze medal, in kayak sprint, and Erik Vlcek of Slovakia, a silver medal winner, expressed reservations about what at the time was only a proposed change.

Nigeria’s slowing inflation leaves investors little to cheer

Henry Williams
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Nigeria’s slowing inflation leaves investors little to cheer

For the first time in two years, Nigeria’s inflation rate slowed for the second successive month in May. The slowdown however does not provide much relief to fixed income-investors reeling from a negative real return.

While the slowdown is good news for investors as it tends to increase real return on investment, the decline in Treasury Bills (T-bills) rates, which has dropped marginally in the last three auctions to June 16, leaves investors with little to cheer.

After hitting more than 17 months high at 9.75 percent on May 14, yields on the Federal Government risk-free T-bills dropped marginally to 9.4 percent on June 16, as compiled from Nigerian Treasury bills primary market auction results.

The recent slowdown in treasury bills rate on account of increased demand for the risk-free government instrument is responsible for the fewer benefit investors will be enjoying from the ease in the inflation rate.

While investors bid at a rate as high as 10 percent for the 91-day bill, 12 percent and 10.8 percent for the 182-day and 364-day bills, respectively, the Central Bank of Nigeria settled at 2.5 percent, 3.5 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively.

Stop rates for the 91-day and 182-day bills have remained unchanged for most of this year, but the 364-day bill has been declining since the third week of May.

According to Ayorinde Akinloye, investment research analyst at United Capital, the high demand that is chasing after the bills the CBN has been issuing is the reason behind the drop in rates.

Man Finds Fortune In Discarded Trinket In Southern France

Precious Obazee
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Man Finds Fortune In Discarded Trinket In Southern France

A man in south-western France has found €85,000 (£73,000; $100,000) in a discarded trinket left on the pavement.

According to local newspapr Sud-Ouest, the cash was discovered inside a hollow, elephant-shaped object picked up in the town of Mérignac.

The paper says the surprised recipient immediately took trinket along with the cash, to the police station, adding that the discovery could be linked with drug traffickers.

Police have launched an inquiry into the origin of the object and the cash.

The man will not keep the €85,000, which has been placed into a state investment fund.

“They Kicked Our Face, Hands And Shoulder” – Freed US Editor In Myanmar

Angel Gimalo
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“They Kicked Our Face, Hands And Shoulder” – Freed US Editor In Myanmar

Myanmar security forces punched, slapped and beat a US journalist and kept him blindfolded for more than a week of interrogation, he said after being deported to the United States following three months in detention.

Nathan Maung, 44, editor in chief of the online news platform Kamayut Media, was detained on March 9 in a raid and freed on June 15. His colleague Hanthar Nyein, who remains in detention, had been tortured more harshly, as had other people he met in prison, Maung said.

“They kicked our face, hands and shoulder, all the time,” Maung, who was born in Myanmar, told CNN. “For every answer, they beat us. Whatever we answered — whether correctly or incorrectly — they beat us. For three days, nonstop.”

A military spokesman did not respond to a request by the Reuters news agency for comment on the account by Maung, which echoes those of some of the thousands of others who have been detained since the army overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February.

Myanmar’s military has said detainees are being treated in accordance with the law, but as the military struggles to consolidate control over a country in revolt, it has arrested journalists and begun to target lawyers defending political prisoners.

Security forces in Myanmar have arbitrarily detained thousands who rebelled against the military coup in February and subjected many to torture, beatings and ill-treatment, according to a June 22 report by Human Rights Watch.

“The first three to four days were the worst,” Maung told Reuters in a telephone interview from Virginia.

“I was punched and slapped several times. No matter what I said, they just beat me. They used both their hands to slap my eardrums many times. They punched my cheekbones on both sides. They punched my shoulders. I was not allowed to stand up. My legs were swollen. I could not move any more,” he said.

Maung, who was born in Myanmar and fled to the US as a refugee in the 1990s, said he was seized at Kamayut Media’s office and was taken for questioning about his publication, his role there and how it operates.

“They handcuffed my hands behind my back, tied my eyes with a cloth and covered that with another cloth,” he said.

“They did not allow me to sleep for about three or four days. Nonstop interrogation. There was no time to sleep,” he said. He said the beatings diminished on the fourth day, after they discovered he was a US citizen.

Post-Brexit Deal: European Union Approves Data Flow to UK, Adds Sunset Clause

Precious Obazee
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Post-Brexit Deal: European Union Approves Data Flow to UK, Adds Sunset Clause

The European Commission has adopted two data adequacy decisions which means flows of personal data from the EU to the UK will continue.

The commission revealed that the decisions include a sunset clause, which runs out after four years but will be renewed only if the UK ensures an adequate level of data protection.

UK firms had been facing making costly alternative plans with EU counterparts to keep data flowing once a post-Brexit transition period expires this month.

The agreement also covers data from countries in the wider European Economic Area.

Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, said the adequacy agreement was important for smooth trade and the effective fight against crime.

Welcoming the decision, the UK government said it plans to promote the free flow of personal data globally and across borders, adding that all future decisions will be based on what maximises innovation and keeps up with evolving technology.

CBI director of policy, John Foster, called the agreement a breakthrough. He wrote that the free flow of data is the bedrock of the modern economy and essential for firms across all sectors.

Tigray conflict: Ethiopia Declares Unilateral Ceasefire

Precious Obazee
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0
Tigray conflict: Ethiopia Declares Unilateral Ceasefire

Ethiopia has declared a ceasefire in the Tigray region, eight months after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to oust its leadership.

The announcement came as witnesses reported anti-government troops in the streets of Tigray’s capital, Mekelle.

All sides have been accused of carrying out mass killings and human rights violations with more than five million people in urgent need of food aid and 350,000 facing famine, according the United Nations.

On Monday, reports began to emerge that the Tigrayan fighters who launched a new offensive last week, had forced the interim administration from Mekelle.

Spokesperson for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), Getachew Reda, told journalists that the city was now under their control

Though Ethiopia’s government is yet to comment on reports that its troops have been pulled out, a statement released late on Monday did clarify some of the details around the ceasefire, saying it would stay until the farming season ends, allow aid to reach those in need and give space to find a political solution.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who spoke with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Monday, said it was essential that civilians are protected, humanitarian aid reaches the people in need and a political solution found.

U.S. backs initiative to focus anti-ISIS fight on Africa -Blinken

Henry Williams
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday the United States strongly supports Italy’s initiative to focus the fight against the Islamic State militia on Africa.

Blinken also said that a discussion on Syria at a meeting in Rome to renew international efforts to combat the Islamic State militia would focus on how to get humanitarian assistance into the country.

“We strongly support Italy’s initiative to make sure that the coalition against Daesh focuses its expertise on Africa, while keeping our eye closely on Syria and Iraq,” Blinken told a news conference with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, referring to Islamic State.

Wheezing when lying down: Causes and Remedies

Olasunbo Okoromi
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Wheezing when lying down: Causes and Remedies

Wheezing is a sensation that occurs when a person breathes through obstructed airways. Some people find that their wheezing gets worse when lying down. This can occur because lying down may adversely affect the ability of the chest to rise and fall, making it difficult to breathe.

Lying down may also cause problems with mucus drainage from the nose, which could trigger a cough. Wheezing is a common symptom of asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and obstructive sleep apnea.

In this article, we will take a closer look at the potential causes of wheezing when lying down and their treatments. We will also provide tips on how to sleep while experiencing this symptom.

Asthma

Asthma is a chronic condition that affects over 300 million people worldwide. It is characterized by coughing, wheezing, or shortness of breath. It is common for asthma symptoms to affect people at night. This is known as nocturnal asthma.

The symptoms of nocturnal asthma can include:

Chest tightness

Shortness of breath

Coughing

Wheezing

According to the United Kingdom charity, Asthma UK, nocturnal asthma can be a sign that a person’s asthma is not well-controlled. People with asthma symptoms at night may be at risk for asthma attacks.

Doctors can prescribe preventive inhalers to improve breathing. People can use these regularly to maintain reduced asthma symptoms. Emergency inhalers can help with sudden and sometimes severe symptoms. Those with allergies may find that identifying and removing the allergen helps, along with taking an antihistamine.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

OSA is a serious medical condition that causes a decrease or abrupt halt in airflow while sleeping. This occurs due to the relaxation of the pharyngeal muscles and soft tissues, which are located at the back of the throat. This blocks the airways, disrupting breathing.

The symptoms of sleep apnea include

Frequent or loud snoring, which may stop and start

Choking, snorting, or gasping sounds

Waking with a dry mouth or sore throat

Morning headache

Difficulty concentrating during the day

Treatment for OSA may include wearing a device over the mouth at night to help keep the airways open. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines are often the best option, but in complex cases where a CPAP machine is not suitable, surgery may be necessary.

Anxiety

Anxiety disorders are a common mental health condition. A 2015 study from Germany found that they affect up to 33.7%Trusted Source of the population.

In addition to causing emotional changes, anxiety can cause physical symptoms. Examples include:

Rapid or shallow breathing (hyperventilation)

Sweating

Rapid heart rate, heart palpitations, or both

A suffocating or choking sensation

If a person feels anxious at night, they may find that the feeling of additional pressure of gravity on the chest leads to bronchospasm (narrowing of the airways) that can cause a wheezing noise. Anxiety and stress can also make it more likely a person will react to allergens, which can trigger asthma.

Treatment typically involves talking therapy, but can also include medications to manage symptoms.

Obesity

Another potential cause for wheezing is obesity.

A randomized study of just over 86,000 adults found that a higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with wheezing, while a 2019 study found that a higher BMI was associated with fat deposits in the lungs. This may explain why individuals with obesity can experience wheezing, as well as other breathing difficulties.

People can reach a moderate weight by making dietary changes, doing regular exercise, and treating any underlying conditions that may be contributing to excess weight.

Bronchitis

Bronchitis refers to the inflammation of the bronchi, which are the large air passages inside the lungs. In 95%Trusted Source of all cases, acute bronchitis occurs because of a viral infection, such as a cold. Bronchitis can also occur due to bacteria, allergens, or pollutants, such as smoke.

The symptoms of acute bronchitis include:

A productive cough

Loud wheezing or difficulty breathing

Sore throat, runny nose, or other symptoms of a viral infection

Low-grade fever

Acute bronchitis that is caused by a virus will often get better on its own. The cough may last 10–20 days.

Treatments for bronchitis will vary depending on the cause. For viral infections, doctors typically recommend rest and treatments that can reduce a cough. This could include throat lozenges, hot tea, or over-the-counter (OTC) cough medications.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

GERD occurs when stomach contents, including stomach acid, flow back up into the esophagus. The symptoms of GERD include:

Acid reflux

Heartburn

Difficulty or pain when swallowing

Regurgitation of food

Bad breath

Chronic sore throat

A recurring or chronic cough

Wheezing

There is a greater risk for GERD to occur in people with asthma. This is because asthma episodes can cause the lower part of the esophagus to relax, allowing stomach acid into the esophagus. Stomach acid can also cause asthma or COPD symptoms, such as wheezing, by entering and irritating the airways.

Lifestyle changes, such as avoiding foods that contribute to flare-ups, can reduce GERD symptoms. Doctors can also prescribe medications to reduce stomach acid production.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

COPD is a condition that progressively makes it more difficult to breathe. The main cause is tobacco smoking, although around 25% of cases are not linked to smoking. The symptoms of COPD include:

Chronic, productive cough

Wheezing, whistling, or a squeaky sound when breathing

Shortness of breath

Chest tightness

Some people with COPD have different symptoms to these. Some can also have mild symptoms that they do not notice to begin with.

There is no cure for COPD, but there are things doctors can do to relieve symptoms and slow the progression of the disease. These include prescribing medications to help open the airways, pulmonary rehabilitation, supplemental oxygen therapy, and surgery.

Heart failure

Heart failure prevents the heart from pumping enough blood to support organ health and normal breathing. It is a serious condition that can be fatal. The potential symptoms of heart failure include:

Shortness of breath

Persistent cough

Decreased tolerance for exercise

Swelling of the limbs and extremities due to fluid overload

Many of these symptoms may not be noticeable until the condition has become advanced.

People can reduce the symptoms of heart failure through medications, such as diuretics, beta-blockers, ACE-inhibitors, and aldosterone antagonists. Some drugs, as well as devices such as implantable cardioverter defibrillators, can prolong a person’s life.

How to sleep with wheezing

People who experience wheezing when lying down may find it difficult to sleep. To improve quality of sleep, people can try:

Avoiding food before bed: People with GERD should aim to eat at least 2–3 hours before lying down. This can reduce acid reflux at night, reducing irritation in the esophagus.

Avoiding caffeine and alcohol: Both caffeine and alcohol make it more likely a person will experience asthma symptoms. Caffeine can also worsen acid reflux.

Removing allergens: If a person has asthma or bronchitis caused by allergies, identifying and removing allergens that may be present while sleeping could help. For example, if a person allows a pet to sleep on their bed, the dander may cause wheezing at night.

Trying decongestants: OTC chest decongestants may help with breathing at night, particularly for people with acute bronchitis. Decongestants may also help people with asthma, though some find that they can make symptoms worse.

Elevating the head: Elevating the head, neck, and shoulders may help to open the airways during sleep, preventing wheezing. It can also reduce acid reflux.

Keeping medications nearby: Keep medications or inhalers that help with breathing nearby while lying down or sleeping. This allows people to use them as soon as they wake due to wheezing.

When to seek help

It is important for people who regularly wheeze while lying down to seek medical attention. Doctors can help pinpoint the exact cause of the wheezing, and recommend treatments.

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