Europe is looking to clean its transport infrastructure and make it as sustainable as possible. Obviously, the future of personal mobility belongs to electric cars. In fact, it is becoming a little bit silly calling it “the future” as electric cars are already very common on today’s roads. However, a new study, shared by BMW as well, showed that moving towards fossil-free transport is not going to happen on electrification of drive systems alone.
Liquid fuels still seem essential for our future. Image credit: BMW
Electric cars are great. When a country can make at least most of its power in sustainable fashion – like wind farms and nuclear power plants – electric cars can be extremely clean. However, there are still concerns about the ability of the grid sustaining increasingly electricity-hungry transport. In fact, a new study, done by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the German Biomass Research Centre, FREYBERGER engineering and BMW showed that making the entire transport sector fossil-free is not going to be possible by just relying on electric drive. It just is not going to happen.
Researchers believe that liquid fuels are essential to our future because they can be integrated into the existing supply infrastructure without major modifications. One needs to understand that while promoting electric cars can change the look of what people are buying, many older petrol and diesel powered cars will remain on the road for decades and decades to come. Unless they get banned or something.
This is not from that study, but a lot of people do believe that keeping an older car running is actually better for the environment as its manufacturing is already done. No manufacturing, no recycling, no logistics associated with those two processes – why wouldn’t you run your old car till it’s done? Also, a lot of people just like their noisy and stinky cars. Making them cleaner is possible through Carbon Neutral Fuels (CNFs).
If we are committed to being environmentally conscious, we need to take our grid into account too. Replacing all transport with electrically-driven machines may not be an actually sustainable option. For example, BMW itself in its Leipzig plant uses hydrogen‑powered industrial trucks and forklifts. Hydrogen can be used as a liquid fuel, which makes refueling a very fast and easy job.
All in all, it will have to be a complex solution if we want to have a clean transport infrastructure. We will need battery-electric, hydrogen and conventional vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. Those can burn sustainable fuels, made without fossil fuels.
The Black Sea sits at the boundary between Europe and Asia and connects to the Mediterranean Sea via a chain of waterways. Its surface often appears dark, but each spring and summer it transforms into a striking expanse of swirling turquoise. The OCI (Ocean Color Instrument) on NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite captured this image (above) of the colorful waters on June 22, 2026.
Image credits: NASA
The turquoise color is likely caused by coccolithophores, a type of phytoplankton covered with calcium carbonate plates that can give surface waters a milky-blue appearance. These types of phytoplankton tend to dominate in late spring and early summer. Other times of the year, diatoms—a type of microscopic algae with silica shells—can become more prevalent, and they tend to darken the water rather than brighten it.
The Bosphorus, the narrow strait running through Istanbul that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, also turned turquoise. An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed the strait on May 27, 2026 (below), about a month before the PACE image, capturing blooming phytoplankton as it traced currents on both sides of the waterway. (Note that north is oriented toward the bottom of the frame.)
Image credits: NASA
Though coccolithophores are microscopic, they become so abundant during a bloom that they become visible from space. This makes remote sensing a useful tool for researchers studying bloom dynamics in regions where direct sampling is limited. Beyond their visibility, these blooms also contribute to the ocean’s carbon cycle. When they die, some of the carbon they’ve taken up sinks to the seafloor, where it can remain stored for long periods of time.
Children and women continue to bear a disproportionate share of the outbreak in Ituri, the most affected province, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The health crisis is unfolding in a province where nearly one million people have been displaced by conflict, with women and children accounting for around 80 per cent.
Young lives lost
The outbreak emerged in mid-May and since then, more than 300 children have succumbed to the virus, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.
Moreover, children make up nearly a quarter of confirmed cases, but almost a third of all deaths, the agency added.
Earlier this week, the UN reported that the outbreak is also severely disrupting essential healthcare.
“In the hardest-hit areas, use of health services has dropped by more than 40 percent in recent months, as fear of infection keeps people away,” UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told journalists in New York.
Pregnant women in peril
This fear, combined with overstretched health services, is preventing many pregnant women from seeking care.
The warning by the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, comes as maternal deaths in Ituri have nearly doubled since the outbreak began.
Roughly six women die each week from childbirth-related complications, while Ebola infection during pregnancy remains associated with almost universal fetal loss.
Humanitarians stressed that restoring community confidence is key. In this regard, some 13,000 community workers have been deployed by the Congolese health ministry and partners, including the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC), UNICEF and sister UN agency the World Health Organization (WHO).
The community workers have reached more than 2.4 million people with information on Ebola prevention and early detection. They have also carried out over 500,000 household visits to counter misinformation, in addition to encouraging people to seek care early.
New vaccine trial
Meanwhile, an expert panel convened by (WHO) has recommended that a single licensed Ebola vaccine be evaluated in a randomised clinical trial for Bundibugyo virus disease.
The WHO Technical Advisory Group on candidate vaccine prioritisation for Bundibugyo virus disease recommended Ervebo in a new report issued on Friday.
This follows new preliminary data from animal studies suggesting that the vaccine may offer some cross-protection against the species, particularly against causing fatalities.
Ervebo is the only licensed vaccine against the main form of Ebola virus disease, also known as Ebola Zaire.
WHO convened advisory groups after the Bundibugyo species outbreak in the DRC was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 16 May.
The experts held two meetings to review the vaccine and “treatment landscape” for the species and issued an initial set of recommendations.
At that time, they recommended that Ervebo should not be used outside carefully designed research settings so that its performance against Bundibugyo virus disease could be assessed.
Possible cross-protection
The advisory group met for a third time on 31 July to review new data on Ervebo.
They examined preliminary data from animal studies showing that the vaccine offered some level of cross-protection against Bundibugyo virus disease in animals, particularly against death from the disease.
They assessed the vaccine’s safety, efficacy, availability and feasibility of implementation, agreeing that there were no safety concerns for its use, where contacts of confirmed cases are vaccinated.
More evidence needed
The advisory group recommended Ervebo to be prioritised for inclusion in a randomised clinical trial, in the absence of specific vaccines against Bundibugyo. Its efficacy against the species still needs to be proven.
The experts emphasised that a vaccine developed specifically for Bundibugyo virus would remain the preferred option.
Nearly eight million people in South Sudan – more than half the population – face crisis-level hunger, with famine risk now flagged in four counties, as the Security Council met this morning in New York. A cholera outbreak has killed more than 1,700 people, and some aid workers are being killed and abducted even as they try to reach those most at risk. Follow live coverage below.
On the heels of the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since the early days of the war, Mr. Guterres expressed concern that recent strikes by both Russia and Ukraine have resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties, which represent “a clear violation of international humanitarian law.”
“This latest series of attacks follows an alarming pattern of escalating strikes against populated areas, reportedly resulting in a record-level increase in numbers of civilian casualties and widespread destruction of residential and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, as well as increasingly in the Russian Federation,” Mr. Guterres said.
Attacks in Kharkiv and Donetsk overnight killed one and three people, respectively. Humanitarian workers are already delivering shelter support, psychosocial assistance and other aid to civilians affected by the strikes in Donetsk, the UN’s aid office (OCHA) said.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian strike on a warehouse killed five in the Moscow region on Tuesday, and a Ukrainian drone strike killed seven on a busy beach in the Krasnodar region on Monday, according to Russian authorities.
While both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians, Mr. Guterres stressed that all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure “must stop immediately.”
War escalates in the air
With the front line essentially at a stalemate across eastern Ukraine since 2023, both countries have resorted to a long-range aerial battle, with Russia targeting cities and energy infrastructure and Ukraine targeting oil refineries and logistics warehouses.
Regardless of intent, civilians have been increasingly caught in the crossfire of these deadly strikes.
In the first six months of this year, the UN confirmed almost 1,400 Ukrainian civilians killed and almost 8,000 injured by Russian attacks.
Though Russian authorities have not released a figure for the same six-month time period, they claim more than 8,000 civilians killed since 2022 and at least 61 killed and 327 wounded by Ukrainian strikes in the last week of July.
Across Ukraine, OCHA reports that 10.8 million people require humanitarian assistance and 3.8 million Ukrainians remain internally displaced.
Mr. Guterres expressed concern that military escalation in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the north, which connects to it, continues to threaten the global food supply.
He called on all parties to ensure freedom of navigation and protect civilian maritime infrastructure.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his call for urgent de-escalation, leading to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire and for a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace, in line with international law, including the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions,” UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Thursday.
Thanks to “extremely limited” access and inadequate protection, according to OCHA, 25 humanitarian workers were killed in Ukraine in the line of duty in 2025.
Two staff members of the Ukrainian NGO, Successful Woman – a partner of the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) – were injured in a Wednesday drone attack on the city of Kherson.
“Humanitarian workers must never be targeted,” the IOM wrote on Thursday.
In May, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) condemned repeated “deliberate” attacks by Russian forces on humanitarian warehouses, vehicles, distribution points and other assets after it identified 84 such incidents.
UN agencies remain deployed in Ukraine for the long-term to protect refugees, build emergency shelters, distribute cash assistance, ensure access to education, provide essential mental health services and more.
“Civilians, their homes and life-saving humanitarian assistance must never be a target,” Matthias Schmale, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator and top official in Ukraine, said last month.
Press release issued after a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club HRWF (07.08.2026) — Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF), together…
Press release issued after a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club
HRWF (07.08.2026) — Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF), together with CAP Liberté de Conscience (CAP LC), which has accredited ECOSOC status at the United Nations, FOREF, CESNUR and Bitter Winter, held a press conference today at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club on “Freedom of Religion or Belief and Freedom of Expression in South Korea.”
The issues addressed included concerns about the treatment of elderly religious leaders in pretrial detention, including questions of proportionality, humanitarian considerations, and due process.
The organizations called on South Korean authorities to review the detention of 95-year-old Shincheonji Chairman Lee Man-hee and to ensure that the legal and administrative response to religious minorities remains neutral, proportionate, and consistent with South Korea’s international human-rights obligations, including with respect to 83-year-old Mrs. Hak-ja Han Moon of the Family Federation.
The issues discussed today form part of a broader pattern of Freedom of Religion or Belief concerns in South Korea. Concerns have also persisted regarding Segero Church in Busan, which has reportedly continued to face harassment and official scrutiny even after Pastor Son Hyun-bo was released from detention.
Reporting has also raised questions about conscientious objection, public hostility toward a mosque project in Daegu, and religious accommodation in educational settings.
Over the past decades, HRWF has documented the imprisonment of hundreds of Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Korea as conscientious objectors. Although alternative civilian service was later introduced, critics maintain that it has been implemented in a punitive manner rather than as a genuine rights-respecting alternative.
It is indeed to be noted that the alternative civilian service lasts 36 months, twice the length of regular military service. Recent court decisions have also upheld key features of that system against constitutional challenge.
Opening the conference, Hans Noot, Associate Director of HRWF, said the issues at stake “lie at the heart of democratic society,” warning that when religious communities are stigmatized, peaceful gatherings are restricted, and dissent is treated as a problem to be contained, the consequences “extend far beyond any single group or case.”
He said the conference was not about defending any one theology or movement, but about “defending a principle: that fundamental rights apply equally to all.”
Thierry Valle, President of CAP Liberté de Conscience, addressed the legality of Chairman Lee’s detention under international law. Referring to South Korea’s ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1990 and the Convention against Torture in 1995, he questioned whether placing a 95-year-old in pretrial detention is consistent with those obligations.
He stressed that the presumption of innocence must prevail over any presumption of guilt.
There are alternative more proportionate and more humane measures respecting the presumption of innocence and human dignity in democratic countries. And he cited precedents including Cardinal Joseph Zen’s 2022 release on bail in Hong Kong and Vietnam’s decision to place Buddhist Patriarch Thich Quang Do under house arrest rather than in prison.
Michael Langhans, Executive Director of FOREF Germany, presented a legal analysis questioning whether pretrial detention for Chairman Lee of the Shincheonji Church was necessary given evidence already sufficient for an indictment. And he wondered whether that evidence was gathered neutrally rather than through a narrative framing the defendant’s community as a “sect” or “cult.”
He argued that the case raises a broader question for lawmakers: whether measures meant to protect fair elections can be applied without nullifying the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed right to freedom of religion.
Márk Nemes, Deputy Director of CESNUR, shared his thoughts on the effects of ongoing persecution and its possible ramifications for minority faiths. He noted three recent scholarly investigations conducted in selected Shincheonji congregations in Europe, Argentina, and Australia, each finding worrisome increase in hostility toward the otherwise peaceful and cooperative religious movement.
He stressed that Shincheonji is not simply a South Korean minority church but a global religious movement with congregations worldwide. The disproportionate persecution in South Korea affects the lives of those congregants abroad, whose freedoms for expressing and practicing faith, enshrined in ICCPR Articles 18 and 19, are inalienable rights and must be considered during this current process.
Massimo Introvigne, Managing Director of CESNUR and Editor-in-Chief of Bitter Winter, said South Korea “has crossed a worrying line” by arresting Chairman Lee, arguing that international standards such as the Mandela Rules would call for house arrest rather than imprisonment for a 95-year-old accused of a non-violent offence.
He said the charges, tied to ordinary political participation by members of a religious minority, “appear legally and conceptually overstretched,” and warned that the case fits a broader pattern of pressure against minority faiths in the country.
The organizations called on South Korean authorities, the media, and the international community to examine these developments with close attention to due process, proportionality, and the equal protection of fundamental rights, and made further documentation available to support continued reporting.
At the conclusion of the press conference, the scholars in attendance signed an official letter calling on the Government of the Republic of Korea to immediately release Chairman Lee from custody.
Although Mr. Andrews was able to meet freely with local human rights advocates and people displaced by Cambodia’s ongoing border conflict with Thailand, he said many are imprisoned for exercising their political rights, prisons remain overcrowded and some senior government officials remain involved in cyberscam operations.
“My first mission to Cambodia has left me with deep concerns: for displaced people along the border with Thailand, for those who have been trafficked, and for those who are behind bars having exercised basic freedoms,” he said.
Mixed progress on human rights
Mr. Andrews was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council as the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Cambodia.
On one hand, he acknowledged that the government has taken meaningful steps to close scam compounds, agreed to address prison overcrowding, dramatically improved economic conditions for millions and committed to many human rights treaties.
On the other, he said more than 100 people may be detained for exercising basic political freedoms, many of the country’s laws conflict with international law, opposition parties are harassed and the government has not done enough to take action against scammers.
With elections approaching in 2027 and 2028, Mr. Andrews said the government must respect the rights of political opponents.
In the country’s north and northwest, more than 20,000 Cambodians remain displaced – unable to return home because their villages are occupied by Thai soldiers amid the latest flareups on the border.
He stressed that Thailand and Cambodia must work together to ensure that all civilians can return home safely.
“They need, and deserve, to go home,” he said.
Special Rapporteurs receive their mandates from the UN Human Rights Council, which is based in Geneva. They are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson The closure of the Hormuz strait is impacting trade on a global scale.
Trapped ships in Strait of Hormuz face a different kind of attack
The UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) warned that ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Iran war could become an “ecological timebomb,” increasing the risk of invasive species spreading to new marine environments once shipping resumes.
The concern centers on “biofouling” – the buildup of marine organisms such as algae and small animals on ship hulls. Vessels that remain stationary for extended periods face an increased risk of biofouling.
“There is a risk of a transfer of species if ships are unable to remove fouling before moving out of an area or after a prolonged period of time in one area,” said IMO spokesperson Natasha Brown. “The IMO recommends that ship operators follow the IMO biofouling guidelines as far as possible.”
Invasive species impacts could be ‘devastating’
The IMO said biofouling has become a growing global problem due to increased shipping and trade, warning that the impacts of invasive aquatic species have been “devastating” in some regions because they are difficult to remove once established.
“Bioinvasions are actually continuing at an alarming rate and there are new areas being invaded all the time,” the agency warned.
The IMO is developing a legally binding treaty aimed at improving management of ship biofouling and reducing
UN migration agency: Millions reached in 2025 despite mounting pressures
The UN migration agency IOM provided humanitarian assistance to 17.8 million people in 170 countries and territories in 2025 – a year marked by conflicts, disasters, record needs and a sharp drop in aid funding, according to a report published on Wednesday.
Established in 1951, the IOM provides humanitarian aid to refugees and displaced people, helps governments create safe migration policies, and works to ensure that human mobility remains humane and orderly.
Focusing its efforts on places such as Gaza, Haiti, Myanmar, Ukraine and the Sahel, the IOM provided shelter assistance to 7.3 million people last year, delivered 4.2 million primary health consultations and supported 5.1 million people with water, sanitation and hygiene services, according to the report.
In addition to the IOM’s direct on-the-ground aid, the Organization’s data informed 21 humanitarian response plans, helping governments and aid organisations target assistance.
The report highlighted the importance of coordination and evidence-based interventions to prioritise where to deliver aid as global funding continues to decrease.
“Conflicts, disasters, disease outbreaks and displacement drove needs to unprecedented levels, even as resources contracted dramatically,” IOM Deputy Director General for Operations Ugochi Daniels said.
“Despite these challenges, IOM remained present where people needed us most.”
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in EU countries, for both men and women. One year ago,HaDEA interviewed the co-scientific coordina…
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in EU countries, for both men and women. One year ago,HaDEA interviewed the co-scientific coordinators of the EU4Health project SOLACE to know more about the project’s efforts to expand and improve the screening of lung cancer in Europe. Screening high-risks individuals allows to detect lung cancer much earlier than the manifestation of symptoms, improving outcomes and reducing the burden on healthcare systems.
Since then, the project has concluded its activities and achieved major results:
Comprehensive and standardised assessment of lung cancer screening (LCS) across all EU and EEA countries, which revealed a very diverse implementation landscape. SOLACE developed a systematic mapping of national policies, guidelines, infrastructure, workforce capacities and quality assurance frameworks, identifying major structural barriers in governance, funding, infrastructure and data availability.
Organisation of three LCS pilots across 17 sites in 11 countries, focusing on underrepresented groups (women, hard-to-reach individuals and higher-risk populations). This included the development and optimisation of recruitment strategies such as the involvement of ambassadors and mediators, the deployment of mobile screening units, the implementation of a common data model across all sites and the recruitment of more than 30,000 individuals.
Establishment of theSOLACE Knowledge Hub, a digital platform with resources targeting both healthcare professionals and the general public. The Hub includes a range of evidence-based resources such as the Guideline, Quality Assurance and Implementation Package (GIP) and the European framework for LCS training curriculum developed by SOLACE and gives access to the SOLACE projectwebpage.
Comprehensive analysis of at-risk populations for LCS to support risk-based screening strategies. This provided consolidated evidence on benefits and harms as well as on cost-effectiveness of LCS programmes.
Evaluation of emerging approaches, including applications of artificial intelligence and their potential to improve screening performance and scalability.
Establishment of the European Lung Cancer Screening Alliance (ELCSA) to ensure sustainability of the effort carried out during SOLACE beyond the duration of the project.
With its achievements, SOLACE supports the implementation of more equitable and effective lung cancer screening across Europe.SOLACE also took part in thewebinar on cancerinequalities organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (SANTE) and HaDEA in May 2026.
Together with the EU4Health projects PRAISE-U and TOGAS, respectively focusing on prostate and gastric cancer screening, in February 2026 SOLACE organised a successful European Cancer Screening and Early Detection Policy Summit. The key findings from the three projects were discussed with policymakers, clinicians, patient advocates and researchers: Key moments from the European Cancer Screening and Early Detection Policy Summit – SOLACE
Background
EU4Healthis the fourth and largest of the EU health programmes. The EU4Health programme goes beyond an ambitious response to the COVID-19 crisis to address the resilience of European healthcare systems. The programme provides funding to national authorities, health organisations and other bodies through grants and public procurement, contributing to a healthier Europe. HaDEA manages the vast majority of the total EU4Health budget and implements the programme by managing calls for proposals and calls for tenders.
