"ANGELA MERKEL"

From peacekeeping, to the protection of refugees and providing life-saving humanitarian aid, the work of the United Nations remained vital in a year marked by multiple overlapping crises. UNIFEED

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

From peacekeeping, to the protection of refugees and providing life-saving humanitarian aid, the work of the United Nations remained vital in a year marked by multiple overlapping crises. UNIFEED / FILE

At the opening of the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, UN chief Antonio Guterres called for greater ambition on mitigation and immediate concrete action to reduce global emissions by 45 per cent by 2030. He told world leaders, “Enough treating nature like a toilet,” adding, “We are digging our own graves.” UNIFEED

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), inaugurated a new WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, based in Berlin. WHO

Briefing by Florencia Soto Niño, Associate Spokeswoman for the Secretary-General.

An international hub for pandemic control is to open in Berlin to ensure better preparedness and transparency in the fight against likely future global health threats, the UN health agency announced today. UNTV CH

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Federal Republic of Germany will establish a new global hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence, data, surveillance and analytics innovation. The Hub, based in Berlin and working with partners around the world, will lead innovations in data analytics across the largest network of global data to predict, prevent, detect prepare for and respond to pandemic and epidemic risks worldwide. WHO

The international community should work together “towards a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response” to build a more robust global health architecture that will protect future generations, world leaders said in a commentary published today in several newspapers around the world. WHO

The Holocaust memorial ceremony is organized jointly by the United Nations Department of Global Communications and UNESCO, in partnership with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The online commemoration was followed by a panel discussion on Holocaust denial and distortion, with contributions of diverse experts in the field.