Global Scans · Humans · Weekly Summary

• [New] The Building Engineering Services Association has launched a new specification for ventilation hygiene as part of its ongoing efforts to minimise the risk posed by contaminated indoor air to human health and well-being. ACR Journal
• [New] Zendesk is introducing Agent copilot, a proactive guide that continuously learns from past experiences to help human agents streamline workflows, anticipate customer needs, and improve future interactions. Zendesk
• [New] Drug-resistant infections kill more than 1.2 million people a year globally and, with the figure projected to rise to 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken, the World Health Organization classes antibiotic resistance as one of the greatest public health threats facing humanity. Medical Xpress
• [New] Another AI enterprise, the Earth Species Project, hopes to create dialog with other species and build chatbots that could translate human language into hummingbird or humpback. Reasons to be Cheerful
• [New] The UN and other agencies have reported a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza, where the threat of famine is imminent due to a lack of aid. CNN
• [New] The proteins extracted by the NTU researchers were found to be rich in antioxidants, which could not only protect human skin from pollutants but could also extend the shelf life of cosmetics like body lotions and moisturizers. phys.org
• [New] There are many grave threats to human dignity including sex change operations, gender theory, surrogacy, abortion, poverty, human trafficking and war. Religion Media Centre
• [New] HIV associated stigma remains a major human rights challenge and addressing HIV-related stigma and discrimination will be necessary to achieve the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] AI could surpass human intelligence by the end of 2025 and collective human intelligence within five years. American Enterprise Institute - AEI
• [New] The European Court of Human Rights will hand down decisions in a trio of cases brought by a French mayor, six Portuguese youngsters and more than 2,000 members of Senior Women for Climate Protection, who say their governments are not doing enough to combat climate change. The Washington Post
• [New] US policy will change towards Gaza unless Israel immediately takes steps to address the humanitarian crisis there. The National
• Humanitarian organizations are facing numerous challenges including security risks and access constraints especially for aid missions to northern Gaza. ReliefWeb
• USAID teams have been working day and night to address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where nearly the entire population is living under the threat of Famine. U.S. Agency for International Development
• Just a couple months ago, 2024 State of Science Insights Survey found that 81% of people around the world said they think climate change is one of the biggest threats to humanity. The Washington Post
• A total of 280,142 metric tons of humanitarian aid are expected to be distributed over the next three months, of which 251,384 metric tons through the Egypt corridor and 28,758 metric tons through the Jordan corridor. ReliefWeb
• Sanctions could be imposed on Israel to if it does not allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Yahoo News
• Israel has pushed back on last month's UN-backed food security classification that warned of looming famine in northern Gaza, arguing that there is more food and water in Gaza than humanitarian workers have claimed. The Times of Israel
• The military is moving ahead with plans to build a pier off the Gaza coast to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid, and initial operations will probably be ready to start by the third week of this month. AP News
• The United States has resorted to airdropping food into Gaza and plans to build a floating pier at sea to deliver aid, a proposal criticized by 26 nongovernmental organizations, including Human Rights Watch, as risky, expensive, and ineffective. Human Rights Watch
• The Vatican has released a new document on human dignity in which it says surrogacy, gender theory and abortion are among the grave threats to the human condition. MPR News
• Sex change operations and surrogacy are grave threats to human dignity, the Vatican has declared in a new document that sets out its position on a number of social issues. Sky News
• Sex change operations, gender theory and surrogate motherhood pose grave threats to human dignity. National Catholic Reporter
• Israel has been warned by several allies, including the United States and Germany, against launching an offensive in Rafah due to a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. DW.COM

Last updated: 21 April 2024