5 July 2017 – In a year already marked by heatwaves and new daily temperature records, the United Nations weather agency and television weather anchors have joined forces to create video forecasts that explore how climate change would make future summers even hotter in major cities of the world.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Climate Central, a research and communications organization based in the United States, invited weather presenters from a dozen countries to work with meteorological services and other national experts to explore the implications.

“What the weather presenters have created are only possible scenarios, and not true forecasts. Nevertheless, they are based on the most up-to-date climate science, and they paint a compelling picture of how climate change may impact daily life in cities where most of the world’s population lives,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas in a press release.

Cities featured in the “Summer in the City” videos include Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Frankfurt, Hanoi, Havana, Kampala, Madrid, Montreal, Nairobi, Paris, Sofia and Tokyo.

If greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, the Earth’s average global surface temperature could rise more than 4 degrees Celsius or 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century, according to WMO.

TV weather presenters used two different climate change scenarios – high emissions and moderate emissions – and matched each selected city with a city that already experiences such temperatures.

For instance, in 2100, the citizens of Paris, where daily summer high temperatures now average 22.7 degrees Celsius, may see summer high temperatures hit 29.2 degrees Celsius as experienced today in Fez, Morocco.

Climate Central has posted an interactive map to visualize these match-ups.

Many of the assessed cities could see their maximum daily temperatures in summer rise by as much as 6 to 9 degrees Celsius.

“Urban warming could be double that of surrounding areas due to the presence of stone materials and paved roads. This would lead in particular to higher night-time temperatures,” said Mr. Taalas.

“The enhanced heat – and an expected increase in associated extreme weather like summer storms – will have major implications for energy and water supplies, public health and transportation. More intense heatwaves would also often lead to poorer air quality, which can even be lethal,” he added.

The videos are posted on the WMO YouTube channel.

In a similar exercise, WMO previously worked with some 60 weather presenters on “Weather Reports from the year 2050.”

5 July 2017 – Only about half of all countries have a cybersecurity strategy or are in the process of developing one, the United Nations telecommunications agency today reported, urging more countries to consider national policies to protect against cybercrime.

Releasing its second Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said about 38 per cent of countries have a published cybersecurity strategy and an additional 12 per cent of governments are in the process of developing one.

The agency said more effort is needed in this critical area, particularly since it conveys that governments consider digital risks high priority.

“Cybersecurity is an ecosystem where laws, organizations, skills, cooperation and technical implementation need to be in harmony to be most effective,” stated the report, adding that cybersecurity is “becoming more and more relevant in the minds of countries’ decision makers.”

The top 10 most committed countries include three from Asia and the Pacific, two each from Europe and the Americas, and one from Africa, the Arab States, and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

They are, in order: Singapore, United States, Malaysia, Oman, Estonia, Mauritius, Australia, Georgia, France and Canada. Russia ranked 11th.

In addition to showing the overall cybersecurity commitment of ITU’s 193 member States, the Index also shows the improvement and strengthening of the five pillars of the ITU Global Cybersecurity Agenda: legal, technical, organizational, capacity building and international cooperation.

The threat is particularly worrying as in 2016, according to ITU, nearly one per cent of all emails sent were essentially malicious attacks, the highest rate in recent years.

Last month, a cyberattack crippled tens of thousands of machines around the world. It is unclear who was behind the attack.

Mr. Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General, ITU. Photo: ITU/R.Farrell

“While the impact generated by cyberattacks, such as those carried out as recently as 27 June 2017, may not be eliminated completely, prevention and mitigation measures to reduce the risks posed by cyber-related threats can and should always be put in place,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao.

The findings show that there is “space for further improvement in cooperation” at all levels, according to the report, which advocates for encouraging governments to consider national policies that take into account cybersecurity and encourage private citizens to make smart decisions online.

5 July 2017 – Two United Nations human rights experts have urged the US state of Virginia to cancel the planned execution on Thursday of a man with psychosocial disability.

“We urge the authorities to annul the death sentence against Mr. [William] Morva and to retry him in compliance with international standards related to due process and fair trial,” said the UN Special Rapporteurs on summary executions, Agnes Callamard, and on right to health, Dainius Pūras, in a news release.

Their joint appeal to the Governor of Virginia was issued ahead of the planned execution of Mr. Morva by lethal injection.

The 35-year-old Hungarian-American was sentenced to death in 2008 for the murder of a hospital security guard and a Sheriff’s deputy.

According to the news release, a court-appointed psychiatrist diagnosed Mr. Morva with delusional disorder in 2014, and noted that his crimes may have been committed as a result of the delusions he was experiencing. During his trial, the jury was not told about his psychosocial condition and he did not receive reasonable accommodation to adjust the process to his individual needs.

“The denial of reasonable accommodation in detention can be considered a form of discrimination against him because of his mental health condition,” the experts said.

Mr. Morva’s condition is such that he has ceased all communication with his legal team, gravely hampering their ability to defend him as his execution approaches.

Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

5 July 2017 – With more than seven million children in West and Central Africa uprooted from their homes each year due to violence, poverty and climate change, and projections that this number will continue to rise, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called for greater efforts to ensure that migrant and displaced children are protected from exploitation and abuse.

In its latest report, In Search of Opportunities: Voices of children on the move in West and Central Africa, the UN agency noted that almost a third of that number remained in Sub-Saharan Africa and less than one in five headed to Europe.

&#8220Children in West and Central Africa are moving in greater numbers than ever before […], majority of them within Africa, not to Europe or elsewhere,&#8221 Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF’s Regional Director for the region, said in a news release announcing the findings.

&#8220We must broaden the discussion on migration to encompass the vulnerabilities of all children on the move and expand systems to protect them, in all their intended destinations.&#8221

The report, based on a series of interviews with migrants and their families from several countries, has revealed a complex set of drivers for migration beyond poverty.

In addition to conflict, insecurity, poverty and lack of services, climate change is also forcing many in West and Central Africa to leave their homes.

Furthermore, with estimates that the region could see a three to four degree Celsius rise in temperature this century &#8211 more than one and a half times higher than anywhere else in the world &#8211 increased tensions and hostilities over access to resources could push even greater numbers of people to move elsewhere.

In the midst of such projections, the region’s lack of sufficient protection systems &#8211 both within and across borders &#8211 to ensure the safety and wellbeing of refugee and migrant children is particularly concerning, said UNICEF in the news release, calling on policy makers to place children at the centre of any response to migration.

&#8220This can be done by strengthening the chain of protection for children between countries of origin, transit and destination,&#8221 noted the UN agency.

&#8220The close cooperation of governments, UN, and non-governmental partners is critical in to ensure children’s access to healthcare, education and other essential services, regardless of their migration status,&#8221 it added.

UNICEF has also called on all governments, in the region, in Europe and elsewhere to adopt the six-point Agenda for Action for the protection of refugee and migrant children.

The Agenda for Action calls for greater protection of child refugees and migrants, particularly unaccompanied children, from exploitation and violence; ending detention of children seeking refugee status or migrating, by introducing a range of practical alternatives; keeping families together as the best way to protect children and give children legal status; keeping all refugee and migrant children learning and give them access to health and other quality services; acting on the underlying causes of large scale movements of refugees and migrants; and promoting measures to combat xenophobia, discrimination and marginalisation in countries of transit and destination.

4 July 2017 – Strongly commending today’s launch of a ballistic missile of possible intercontinental range by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has underscored that the country’s leadership must cease such actions and comply fully with its international obligations.

&#8220This action is yet another brazen violation of Security Council resolutions and constitutes a dangerous escalation of the situation,&#8221 read a statement attributable to the UN chief’s Spokesperson.

&#8220The DPRK leadership must cease further provocative actions and comply fully with its international obligations,&#8221 it added.

According to reports, the latest launch was conducted over the Sea of Japan.

In the statement, Secretary-General Guterres also underlined the importance of maintaining the unity of the international community in addressing this serious challenge.

Last month, condemning &#8220in the strongest terms&#8221, the DPRK’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development activities, the UN Security Council had unanimously adopted a resolution, applying existing sanctions to 14 individuals and four entities from the country.

The individuals are now subjected to travel ban and asset freeze, and the four entities subjected to asset freeze. They are listed in the annexes to the resolution.