International
2023, year of achievements, “avoidable suffering” – WHO chief

The Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, has described 2023 as a year of achievements and “avoidable suffering.”
Reflecting on 2023, which also marked the UN agency’s 75th anniversary, Ghebreyesus highlighted key achievements and set out objectives for the coming year.
The WHO chief said the outing year saw significant milestones and challenges in global public health but also immense and avoidable suffering.
“In May, I declared an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern.
“This marked a turning point for the world following three years of crisis, pain, and loss for people everywhere. I am glad to see that life has returned to normal,” he said in a video message on Tuesday.
Ghebreyesus also pointed to other achievements, such as the end of the Mpox outbreak as a global health emergency and the approval of new vaccines for dengue, meningitis, and malaria, which threaten millions worldwide, mainly the most vulnerable.
“Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Belize achieved malaria-free status, and progress was made in eliminating some tropical diseases in various countries, including sleeping sickness in Ghana, trachoma in Benin, Mali, and Iraq, and lymphatic filariasis in Bangladesh and Lao.
“The path to eradicating another vaccine-preventable disease—polio—has reached its last mile. Thirty more countries introduced the HPV vaccine, advancing our goal to eliminate cervical cancer,” he said.
“2023 also saw increased attention to the health impacts of the climate crisis,” he added.
According to him, health issues featured prominently on the agenda of the COP28 conference in Dubai, where a global declaration on climate and health was issued, emphasising the intersection of environmental and public health challenges.
Additionally, in September, Heads of State at the United Nations General Assembly committed to advancing universal health coverage, ending tuberculosis, and protecting the world from future pandemics.
“Each of these achievements, and many more, demonstrated the power of science, solutions, and solidarity to protect and promote health,” he said.
Ghebreyesus also acknowledged the “immense and avoidable suffering and threats to health” over the past year.
He said the barbaric attacks by Hamas on Israel on October 7 left around 1,300 people dead and over 200 taken hostage, while reports of gender-based violence and mistreatment of hostages were deplorable.
The devastating attack on Gaza that followed has killed more than 20,000 people—mainly women and children—and injured over 53,000, he said.
The WHO chief expressed deep concern over the impact on healthcare infrastructure, noting that “as of December 22, only nine of 36 health facilities in Gaza were partially functional, with only four offering the most basic of services in the north.”
He once again called for an immediate ceasefire.
The global landscape was also marked by conflict and insecurity in countries such as Sudan, Ukraine, Ethiopia, and Myanmar.
“Without peace, there is no health, and without health, there can be no peace,” Ghebreyesus said.
He noted that, in addition to conflict-related challenges, issues like poverty and lack of access to clean water and hygiene contributed to the spread of infectious diseases. The resurgence of cholera, with over 40 outbreaks worldwide, raised particular concern.
Looking to 2024, the WHO chief highlighted the opportunity to address gaps in global pandemic preparedness.
He said governments were currently negotiating the first-ever global agreement aimed at enhancing collaboration, cooperation, and equity in responding to pandemics of the future.
“The Pandemic Accord and plans to strengthen the International Health Regulations represent monumental actions by governments to create a safer and healthier world,” Ghebreyesus said.
The WHO Director-General concluded his message by expressing gratitude to health workers, partners, and colleagues, underscoring the shared journey to achieve health for all. (NAN)
Crime
Chinese national apprehended in Anambra for involvement in illegal mining.

A 45-year-old Chinese national, Mr. Mu Hua Qiang, has been arrested in Aguleri, Anambra State, for alleged involvement in illegal mining. He was apprehended by operatives of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA) Brigade during a surveillance operation and handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Awka.
Police spokesperson Tochukwu Ikenga confirmed the arrest, stating that the suspect’s statement was taken and he is in custody pending further investigation. Authorities say illegal mining remains a serious concern in Anambra due to its environmental and security risks.
International
Education: Denmark permitting use of AI for English exams from 2026
We are launching pilot schemes to try to find the right balance,” Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye said in a statement, emphasising the need to encourage digital learning while upholding teaching standards.

Image credit: Shutterstock
The Danish education ministry announced on Friday students in some high schools in Denmark will be allowed to use artificial intelligence to write English language exams from next year.
The move comes as education authorities around the world debate whether AI is a useful learning tool for those entering an increasingly digital economy, or a slippery slope to producing dumbed-down graduates.
The Danish government said the permitted use of AI in the English curriculum from 2026 would be experimental, and apply only to the oral component of the English exam for the high school diploma.
In that test, once a student is handed their topic, they would have one hour to prepare, during which they would be “permitted to use all available tools, including generative AI”, the ministry said.
The students would then have to give their oral presentation in person in front of an examiner.
“We are launching pilot schemes to try to find the right balance,” Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye said in a statement, emphasising the need to encourage digital learning while upholding teaching standards.
“With students growing up in both analogue and digital worlds, we need to ready them in the best way possible for the reality they will encounter after their schooling.
”When it comes to the written part of the English test, the ministry said students would have to do part of it handwritten to ensure no reliance on computers.
International
Trump pledges to maintain federal forces in Washington amid mounting criticism.

President Donald Trump on Thursday visited police and troops he has deployed in the US capital in what he calls a crackdown on crime, saying they were going to “stay here for a while.”
Trump ordered hundreds of members of the Guard, a reserve force, to deploy in Washington last week vowing to “take our capital back,” despite protests by some residents and statistics showing violent offenses falling.
“We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places, but we’re going to stay here for a while. We want to make this absolutely perfect,” he said outside a US Park Police facility in Washington.
The 79-year-old Republican was surrounded by law enforcement from various local and federal agencies as well as National Guard troops.
Earlier Thursday he suggested he would go on patrol with police and the military, but instead he made a short speech and gave out pizzas and hamburgers.
“Everybody feels safe,” Trump said, adding that he plans to get the capital “fixed up physically.”
“One of the things we’re going to be redoing is your parks. I’m very good at grass, because I have a lot of golf courses all over the place. I know more about grass than any human being,” he added.
Trump wrote on social media early Friday that “there were no murders this week for the first time in memory” in Washington.
He said Mayor Muriel Bowser “must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City!”
Bowser has said that violent crime in the capital has been its lowest level in three decades.
Trump’s visit came a day after his vice president, JD Vance, was greeted by boos and shouts of “Free DC” — referring to Washington’s formal name, the District of Columbia — on his own meet-and-greet with troops.
Vance dismissed the hecklers as “a bunch of crazy protesters.”
The DC National Guard has mobilized 800 troops, while Republican states Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia are sending a total of around 1,200.
They have been spotted in tourist areas such as the National Mall and its monuments, the Nationals Park baseball stadium and others.
The overwhelmingly Democratic US capital faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged.
But data from Washington police showed significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, though that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.
Some residents have welcomed the crackdown, pointing to crime in their areas — but others have complained the show of force is unnecessary, or has not been seen in parts of Washington where violence is concentrated.
– Sandwich guy –
Several incidents involving the surge of law enforcement have gone viral as residents voice their discontent, including the arrest of one man who was caught on camera throwing a sandwich at an agent.
Banksy-style posters honoring the so-called “sandwich guy” have popped up around the city.
The National Guard troops have provided “critical support such as crowd management, presence patrols and perimeter control in support of law enforcement,” according to social media statements.
In addition to sending troops into the streets, Trump has also sought to take full control of the Washington police department, attempting at one point to sideline its leadership.
The deployment of troops in Washington comes after Trump dispatched the National Guard and Marines to quell unrest in Los Angeles, California, that was sparked by immigration enforcement raids
AFP
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