{"id":100816,"date":"2026-09-30T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=100816"},"modified":"2026-09-30T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T12:00:00","slug":"world-news-in-brief-storm-clouds-over-gaza-deadly-obstacles-face-mexican-women-rights-defenders-latvia-booze-ban-proves-lifesaver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=100816","title":{"rendered":"World News in Brief: Storm clouds over Gaza, deadly obstacles face Mexican women rights defenders, Latvia booze ban proves lifesaver"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Since Monday, partners have assessed three possible sites for temporary shelters for people choosing to leave flood-prone areas or war-damaged buildings at risk of collapse.<\/p>\n<p>They are also examining more than 450 existing displacement sites at high risk of flooding \u2013 home to about a fifth of Gaza\u2019s population.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Land and access<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Explosive ordnance must be cleared from the new sites before voluntary relocation can happen at scale, Mr. Dujarric said, along with levelling sandy ground and installing drainage, water and lighting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe main obstacle is restrictions on access to 65 per cent of Gaza\u2019s land\u201d, he said, adding that the remaining 35 per cent is already overcrowded.<\/p>\n<p>More Israeli approvals are needed to import machinery, spare parts and engine oil, while funding for fuel and shelter is also urgently required.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, health partners are training local medical staff to manage non-communicable diseases, but medicine shortages are limiting early detection and treatment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLife-threatening gaps remain in specialized cancer care, including shortages of essential chemotherapy and radiotherapy supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Women searching for Mexico\u2019s disappeared face deadly violence<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Women searching for people forcibly disappeared in Mexico\u00a0continue to face deadly violence and often themselves become victims, independent UN human rights experts warned on Wednesday, urging the State to protect them.<\/p>\n<p>Recent attacks in Sinaloa highlight the risks. On 29 August, human rights defender Elisa Altagracia Bonilla was reported disappeared, and Alma Rosa Rojo Medina, founder of the collective Voces Unidas por la Vida, was attacked alongside her daughter and two children.<\/p>\n<p>On 1 September, members of the collective Corazones Unidos por una Misma Causa were struck by a vehicle during a peaceful demonstration in Mazatl\u00e1n.<\/p>\n<p>The same collective has been repeatedly targeted: one member, Rub\u00ed G\u00f3mez-Tagle, was murdered this year, and another, Mar\u00eda de los \u00c1ngeles Valenzuela, disappeared in October 2025.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Government missing in action<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cThe work of these women constitutes a fundamental extension of their rights, the right to truth, justice and reparations\u2026They are carrying out a task that is primarily the State\u2019s responsibility. The State must fully assume this responsibility and not shift the burden onto the families,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n<p>The violence occurs amid near-total impunity, they added, calling it \u201ca tragic example of the State\u2019s failure to fulfil its obligations to protect human rights defenders\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The independent experts \u2013 who are not UN staff and receive no salary for their work \u2013 welcomed the General Assembly\u2019s decision to designate 19 December the International Day in Recognition of Women Searchers for Disappeared Persons, and urged Mexico to publicly recognise the importance of these women\u2019s work.<\/p>\n<p>They have previously raised their concerns with the Government, including in an April 2026\u00a0letter about the killing of Ms. G\u00f3mez-Tagle, to which it\u00a0replied.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>New alcohol policy gives booze the boot in Latvia<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>To Latvia finally, where simple public health measures to reduce alcohol consumption have been linked to a \u201csignificant decline in deaths\u201d, just months after they took effect.<\/p>\n<p>According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), deaths that were wholly attributable to heavy drinking decreased by 27 per cent, after the new restrictions came into effect.<\/p>\n<p>Mortality from alcohol poisoning, liver disease and acute pancreatitis that are all associated with regular drinking \u201cfell significantly\u201d, WHO noted, after evaluating data submitted by the Latvian health authorities.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"context-un_news_full_width_credit_caption type-entermedia_image media figure media--type-entermedia-image media--view-mode-un-news-full-width-credit-caption\"><figcaption class=\"media__caption figure-caption\">\n                  <span class=\"author\">\u00a9 Adobe\/Yuliya<\/span><br \/>\n                          <span class=\"caption\">Traditional Latvian liqueur on sale in a supermarket in Riga, Latvia.<\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><strong>\u2018Alcohol is everywhere\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Karina Zalite, head of WHO\u2019s Country Office in Latvia, welcomed the Government\u2019s measures to make alcohol less available, including reducing times when it can be bought, ending instant deliveries when it is purchased online and restricting promotions and sales in gambling venues:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlcohol is everywhere in our lives,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s at celebrations, in sport, at the checkout counters and stores. It\u2019s easy to forget what it really is, an addictive substance and one linked to at least seven types of cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to WHO, cancers associated with drinking include bowel cancer and breast cancer. Alcohol use is responsible for approximately 800,000 deaths across Europe every year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/feed\/view\/en\/story\/2026\/09\/1168496\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since Monday, partners have assessed three possible sites for temporary shelters for people choosing to leave&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1192,8827,11831,1090,10135,1349,190,10166,12093,11850,4222,1471,4854,187,602,723,1201],"class_list":["post-100816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east","tag-ban","tag-booze","tag-clouds","tag-deadly","tag-defenders","tag-face","tag-gaza","tag-latvia","tag-lifesaver","tag-mexican","tag-news","tag-obstacles","tag-proves","tag-rights","tag-storm","tag-women","tag-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.0 (Yoast SEO v28.5) - 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