At 3am on Wednesday 16th April 2025, after three years of intense negotiations, WHO member states (minus the United States) preliminarily consented to a final text of the so-called Pandemic Agreement. The text will now be considered for final adoption at the upcoming World Health Assembly meeting in May 2025, where – barring any major upsets – it is expected to be adopted. At a time when global news is replete with breakdowns in multilateralism and the ripping up of international law rulebooks, this decisive step towards a new accord on pandemic prevention and response has been hailed by the WHO Director-General as a reminder that “multilateralism is alive and well”, demonstrating that “in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground, and a shared response to shared threats”. This blog post provides some reflections on the ostensible achievements of the Pandemic Agreement and the main sticking points raised until the final hours of negotiation.
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Do the Changes to the Sovereign Military of Malta’s Constitution affect its relevance for the future of Small Developing Island States – EJIL: Talk! – Go Health Pro
The fight of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to maintain control of their destiny and retain their statehood needs no introduction. Threatened by the sea level rise caused by centuries of greenhouse gases, SIDSs are both among the most affected (due to their low elevation above sea levels) and the smallest contributors to climate change.
In the absence of a solid body of state practice on whether a state can exist without a territory, scholars and analysts have invoked various precedents and strains of state practice. One of these is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta or SMOM (also sometimes called “Order of Malta”), due to its peculiar international legal personality (ILP). The SMOM was founded in 1048 as a religious order of the Catholic Church, and has a storied history as a geopolitical actor. The Order previously controlled territories, though these were seized by the Ottoman Empire leaving it with only the territory of Malta. However, in 1798, the SMOM lost control of the island to Napoleon and now recognises Malta’s sovereignty over the island. Since then, the SMOM focuses on its humanitarian mission.
#FASuccess Ep 422: Developing Your Leadership Skillset On The Path From Intern To President Of A $13B AUM Enterprise, With Kay Lynn Mayhue – Go Health Pro
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 422nd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast! My guest on today’s podcast is Kay Lynn Mayhue. Kay Lynn is the President of Merit Financial Advisors, a hybrid advisory firm based in Alpharetta, Georgia, that oversees approximately $13 billion in assets under management for 26,000 client households. What’s unique about … Read more
How the EU’s geoeconomic shift is adversely affecting developing countries – Go Health Pro
The European Union is now increasingly using trade and investment instruments to advance strategic foreign policy goals. Clara Weinhardt and Ferdi de Ville argue this geoeconomic shift is sidelining developmental priorities and creating friction with developing countries. In recent years, the EU has increasingly embraced a geoeconomic approach to trade and investment, leveraging economic tools … Read more
Microsoft accuses group of developing tool to abuse its AI service in new lawsuit – Go Health Pro
Microsoft has taken legal action against a group the company claims intentionally developed and used tools to bypass the safety guardrails of its cloud AI products. According to a complaint filed by the company in December in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, a group of 10 unnamed defendants allegedly used … Read more