After a two-year disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the United Nations General Assembly has returned to normal … more or less.
While the UN has implemented a number of covid restrictions including limiting the size of the delegations attending, enforcing a mask mandate inside the building and requiring proof of vaccination, world leaders are back in New York, shaking hands, holding high-stakes bilateral negotiations and bringing the city to a grinding halt.
The meeting has come at a crucial time – the war in Ukraine, rising energy prices, spiralling inflation, increasing food prices, climate change and global health are all high on the agenda.
The National's Willy Lowry takes us Beyond the Headlines at the United Nations General Assembly to look at the key issues and hear what's on the agenda as world leaders all meet again in person for the first time since the pandemic.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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UAE release: January 31
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