Free Republic

The head of the World Health Organization has called for a two-month moratorium on administering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus proposed the move as a means of reducing global vaccine inequality and preventing the emergence of new coronavirus variants. Dr Tedros said that he was "really disappointed" with the scope of vaccine donations worldwide. Many countries are struggling to provide first and second doses to more than just a fraction of their populations, while wealthier nations maintain growing vaccine stockpiles. Dr Tedros called on countries offering third vaccine doses "to share what can be used for...

Saddam Hussein’s regime paid millions of dollars to a South Korean businessman to create a “secret backchannel” to top UN officials, including Boutros Boutros Ghali, then the UN Secretary-General, US prosecutors alleged today. The claim, formally naming Dr Boutros Ghali for the first time, was made at the start of the first US trial over the UN’s Oil-for-Food scandal. Prosecutors said that Tongsun Park received $2.5 million (£1.4 million) in cash plus promises of lucrative business deals in return for providing access to Dr Boutros Ghali and at least one other top UN official. “Tongsun Park has access at the...