XUNICEF News and Views

My only pumpkin, grown in the year of Covi d For a few years, I have been attempting vegetable gardening. I enjoy being outside in our quarter-acre plot. My husband cares for the flowers and I try to grow vegetables and herbs. I say “try” because I am in my sixth year of gardening and each year has been very different from the previous one. The first year, 2020, the only seeds that yielded anything were pumpkins. We had a truly homemade pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. The second year, I managed a few potatoes and a full vine of cherry tomatoes, which were delicious. Then came a couple years with beautiful peas and beans ... until grasshoppers ate the delicate sprouts. Last year’s effort to grow the indigenous “three sisters” – corn, beans and squash planted near each other – was a failure, mainly for lack of adequate sun. This year, our neighbor allowed us to trim some of the Siberian elm trees that form the border between his place and ours. More on these pernicious trees later. Having ...

 

 

 

Shared by Tom McDermott This article draws on a recent LinkedIn post by Ian Richards and an earlier article in Certioraris by Nadine Kaddoura . Until now, this case has largely relied on cross-accusations and conjecture. Now, however, the ruling by the UN Dispute Tribunal provides clarity and calls on the Secretariat to make restitution to the former staff member. It is worth taking time to read through the Tribunal’s judgment, linked below. The news that the key figure in the case, Pedro Guazo, has now left UNJSPF to join a principal UNJSPF vendor in apparent contravention of UN Rules is deeply disturbing and deserves its own investigation. — Tom A Tribunal Judgment Throws Light on a Deeper Management Issue at UNJSPF In late June, the United Nations Dispute Tribunal issued a landmark judgment— UNDT/2025/039 —that may prove one of the most consequential in the Pension Fund’s history. The Tribunal found that a senior investment officer had been wrongfully dismissed in retaliatio...

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Shared by Fouad Kronfol Unravelling the Mysteries of the English Language Welcome to the world of homophones, where words sound the same but have different meanings, and sometimes different spelling. Homophones can be a source of much confusion for those learning English, as well as those who have been speaking the language their entire lives. They can also provide a whole lot of fun and fascination. Today, we're going to explore seven homophones that might just completely blow your mind.

Shared by Niloufar Pourzand View this post on Instagram A post shared by Norwegian Refugee Council (@nrc_norway) This time last year, US $9 billion had been raised globally for humanitarian causes. This year it's down to just US $6 billion.

Unravelling the Mysteries of the English Language Welcome to the world of homophones, where words sound the same but have different meanings, and sometimes different spelling. Homophones can be a source of much confusion for those learning English, as well as those who have been speaking the language their entire lives. They can also provide a whole lot of fun and fascination. Today, we're going to explore seven homophones that might just completely blow your mind. The Classic Pair: Aisle and Isle Our first pair of homophones are 'aisle' and 'isle'. 'Aisle' refers to a passage between rows of seats in a building like a church or theatre, or between shelves of goods in supermarkets. 'Isle', on the other hand, is a geographical term which is short for island. Pretty different, right? The Wine Lovers' Dilemma: Compliment and Complement Our next pair is ' compliment' and 'complement '. 'Compliment' is a nice thing you say abou...

 Shared by Robert Cohen Since Israel’s war on Gaza began, the United Nations Security Council has held over 30 meetings on the conflict. Another meeting was held on Monday while protesters rallied outside. They say they are frustrated with how little the security council has achieved.

In a searing address to the UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East and Gaza, American trauma surgeon Dr. Feroze Sidhwa delivered a first-hand account of Gaza's collapsing healthcare system, drawing from his two medical missions to Khan Younis. 

Click here for the full report The following text is produced by AI. Summary 1. Shift from occupation to genocide: The report documents how Israel’s long-term occupation — supported by powerful economic, corporate, and academic sectors — has escalated into what the rapporteur defines as an “economy of genocide”

Article shared by Tom McDermott Click here for the article Summary: UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has released a report titled From economy of occupation to economy of genocide , listing 48 companies allegedly complicit in Israel’s military actions and occupation of Palestinian territory. 

The public library is about a 4-minute walk from our house. It's called Patrick Henry Library. It opened at the current location in 1971. In total it has 23 branches in our county.   Our library encourages local writers.  Early this year, the library board reviewed and approved my both novels and now they are available for readers in all its branches. I am humbled, and pleased . . .

Shared by Tom McDermott Of the many horrors reported during Israel’s war on Gaza, this story hit me differently.  

Shared by Tom McDermott This is one of several instances in which RFK's reorganized Department of Health and Human Services has used questionable data as a basis for his claims. HHS recently sent Congress sent Congress recommendations to change US policy on covid vaccines. " One health expe rt called the document “willful medical disinformation” about the safety of covid vaccines for children and pregnant women."  The implications of his decision to halt funding of GAVI, however, are far more damaging to global health.   Click here for the article Summary U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the U.S. would halt more than $1 billion in pledged funding to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, citing vaccine safety concerns. His decision was based on a 2017 study from Guinea-Bissau suggesting that children who received the DTP vaccine were more likely to die from unrelated causes. Vaccine experts interviewed by NPR questioned the validity of ...

In the middle of January I got a notice from Linkedin. I wasn’t active on that site and hadn’t really paid any attention to job offers etc,, but now somebody by the name of André S. told me that my profile looked interesting and they would like to include me in a project planned for St.Croix. He asked for my telephone number and said his boss, Jenelle S., would get in touch with me via WhatsApp. I was curious about this “project”, and doing something for our island was of interest to me, even though I couldn’t be too involved. Jenelle wrote me a very nice letter, saying she owns a pharmaceutical company and has big plans to get a program going in supermarkets etc. For the moment it is located in New York and that St.Croix would come later. She said that her uncle is billionaire Jonathan Gray, the President and COO of the Blackstone Group. I looked for Jenelle and her company on the internet, but couldn’t find anything. Jonathan Gray, though, was legitimate, and I thought it would be in...