- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Daniels throws five TDs as Commanders down Eagles, Lions and Vikings win
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin to talk gas deliveries
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 35
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Mbappe back from 'bottom' as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- France kept on tenterhooks over new government
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- 'Nervous' Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
- France awaits fourth government of the year
- Germany pledges security inquest into Christmas market attack
- Death toll in Brazil bus crash rises to 41
- Joshua bout only fight left for beaten Fury says promoter Hearn
- Odermatt stays hot to break Swiss World Cup wins record
- Neville says Rashford's career at Man Utd nearing 'inevitable ending'
- Syria's new leader vows not to negatively interfere in Lebanon
- Germany pledges security inquest after Christmas market attack
- Putin vows 'destruction' on Ukraine after Kazan drone attack
- Understated Usyk seeks recognition among boxing legends
- France awaits appointment of new government
Fewest new HIV cases since late 1980s: UNAIDS report
Fewer people contracted HIV last year than at any point since the rise of the disease in the late 1980s, the United Nations said Tuesday, warning that this decline was still far too slow.
Around 1.3 million people contracted the disease in 2023, according to the new report from the UNAIDS agency.
That is still more than three times higher than needed to reach the UN's goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Around 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses last year, the lowest level since a peak of 2.1 million in 2004, the report said ahead of World AIDS Day on Sunday.
Much of the progress was attributed to antiretroviral treatments that can reduce the amount of the virus in the blood of patients.
Out of the nearly 40 million people living with HIV around the world, some 9.3 million are not receiving treatment, the report warned.
And despite the global progress, 28 countries recorded an increase in HIV infections last year.
Efforts to make preventative treatment called Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) available in these countries has seen "very slow progress", the report pointed out.
"Only 15 percent of people who need PrEP were receiving it in 2023," the report said.
UNAIDS deputy director Christine Stegling said that "progress has been driven by biomedical advances, advances in the protection of human rights and by community activism".
"But big gaps in the protection of human rights remain, and these gaps are keeping the world from getting on the path that ends AIDS," she told an online press conference.
She warned that if current trends continue, "we will end up with a much, much higher number of people living with HIV, long after 2030".
UNAIDS emphasised how laws and practices that "discriminate against or stigmatise" people with HIV were hindering the fight against the disease.
It pointed to how Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act, one of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world, led to sharp drop in PrEP access since coming into force last year.
Axel Bautista, a gay rights activist from Mexico City, pointed out that same-sex relations are banned in 63 countries.
"Criminalisation exacerbates fear, persecution, hate, violence and discrimination and has a negative impact on public health," he told the press conference.
- 'Game-changer' new drug -
A new drug called lenacapavir, which early trials have found is 100 percent effective in preventing HIV infection, has been hailed as a potential game-changer in the battle against the disease.
But concerns have been raised over its high price -- US pharmaceutical giant Gilead has been charging around $40,000 per person per a year for the drug in some countries.
Last month Gilead announced deals with generic drugmakers to make and sell the drug at lower costs in some lower-income countries. However activists have warned that millions of people with HIV will not be covered by the deals.
Stegling said that such "game-changers will really only get us to the right reduction in new infections when we make sure that everybody will have access to them".
UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima did not attend the press conference.
Byanyima revealed last week that her husband, veteran Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye, was "kidnapped" in neighbouring Kenya earlier this month.
UN rights chief Volker Turk has been among those calling for the Ugandan government to release Besigye, who appeared in a military court in the capital Kampala last week.
D.Sawyer--AMWN