GENEVA – A recent measles outbreak in Germany has highlighted the need for vaccination reminders and better information for parents, according to research published today in the international public health journal, the Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

A study of the outbreak in the German city of Duisburg found that at least 80% of 614 measles cases in 2006 were reported as “unvaccinated”. The main reasons given were that parents either forgot to take their children to be vaccinated or rejected the vaccine, for various reasons including the mistaken belief that it was dangerous. 

FAO report says overfishing putting sea cukes at risk

Under pressure: sea cucumbers around the world are overfished.

1 April 2009, Rome - For many in the western world, they're a summer oddity — strange blobs we sometimes see bobbing about on the seafloor beneath us during a day at the beach.

London, 31 March 2009 – Responding to an invitation made at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos by Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 52 companies have joined forces with 34 experts and organizations to create an unprecedented low-carbon prosperity Task Force.

The Task Force, presented on 31 March at a press conference in London, will work with government and UN officials to develop a set of practical projects and policy proposals around the world, which will significantly stimulate the low-carbon economy from 2010 onward.

As the start of their 105-day stay in the special isolation facility nears, the six Mars500 crewmembers participated in a short trial run.

The ESA-selected participants Oliver Knickel and Cyrille Fournier sent a diary entry before they embark on the simulated Mars mission tomorrow afternoon.

Read more at:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars500/SEMLKRKTYRF_0.html

Press Release for World TB Day and the launch of the WHO Global TB Control Report

24 March 2009 - Rio De Janeiro - The total number of new tuberculosis (TB) cases remained stable in 2007, and the percentage of the world's population becoming ill with TB has continued the slow decline that was first observed in 2004, according to a new report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) today.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today condemned the killing of Afghan reporter Jawed Ahmad on 10 March in Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan.

“I condemn the killing of Jawed Ahmad,” the Director-General said. “The life of a dedicated reporter has been cut short, depriving the whole of Afghan society of a brave promoter of democratic debate and a defender of the basic human right of freedom of expression.”

Also known as Jojo Yazemi, Jawed Ahmad worked for the Canadian media, including CTV News. He was gunned down by two men as he was getting out of his car in the centre of Kandahar.

Italy continues to give its support to UNESCO for the reconstruction of the Afghan educational radio and television service ERTV. For the last five years the Italian government has been funding the reconstruction project implemented by UNESCO and the Afghan Ministry of Education.

Media coverage about sustainable development issues is at its best this week as twelve journalists team up to uncover pressing and challenging issues on trans-boundary water conflicts in Istanbul (Turkey) at the 5th World Water Forum.

Scienzaonline Anno 6° n. 62 marzo 2009

Biografia

Mana è figlia del sultano di Merka, la sua città natale, situata circa 200 Km a sud di Mogadiscio ; il titolo nobiliare che porta non  ha valore per la Somalia attuale, se non per la sua gente che ricorda ancora i grandi benefici ottenuti da suo padre, che le ha trasferito non il titolo di sultano (che non può essere dato ad una donna), ma il suo ruolo carismatico presso la popolazione.
E’ arrivata a Roma  negli anni della diaspora somala, quando gli oppositori di Siad Barre erano costretti ad abbandonare il  Paese. Nel 1991 è stata sorpresa dallo scoppio della guerra che ha potuto seguire in tutta la sua drammaticità attraverso i media; dopo un anno, ritorna in Somalia con l’intento di poter essere utile al suo paese, lasciando a Roma la sua stessa figlia.