Emergency measures taken as 364,855 cases of mosquito-borne infection reported this year, a fourfold increase on year before
Dengue fever has surged in Brazil’s hot rainy season, forcing health authorities to take emergency measures and start mass vaccination against the mosquito-borne illness.
In the first five weeks of this year, 364,855 cases of infection have been reported, the health ministry said, four times more than dengue cases in the same period of 2023.
Continue reading...Pod of orcas in north Japan freed themselves as gaps between the ice grew, officials say
A pod of killer whales trapped by drift ice off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, have apparently safely escaped, officials have said.
The orcas were initially spotted by a fisher who reported them to officials in the town of Rausu, on the north-east coast of Hokkaido, on Tuesday morning.
Continue reading...Cameron Ortis was convicted of passing secret material in a case that shocked the Canadian intelligence community
The former head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police intelligence unit has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, months after he was found guilty of leaking state secrets.
Justice Robert Maranger delivered what he said was a “a fit and just” sentence on Wednesday after a jury convicted Cameron Ortis for violations of the country’s Security of Information Act.
Continue reading...Refugees crammed into the border city face a terrifying choice: stay for the expected attack, or flee back north through a war zone
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians crammed into the small southern Gaza border city of Rafah are being forced to contemplate being displaced once more as an Israeli offensive looms.
Those who fled to the border city, almost half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, face a terrifying choice: stay in overcrowded Rafah – once home to 280,000 people – and wait for the attack, or risk moving north through an area of continued fighting.
Continue reading...Ten months of armed conflict in the country has displaced nearly 11 million people and left half the population facing hunger
There is “epic suffering” in Sudan says the UN, where fighting between rival military factions since April has created the world’s biggest internal displacement crisis and raised fears of state failure.
On Wednesday, the UN appealed for $4.1bn (£3. 25bn) to meet humanitarian needs, amid warnings by the UN’s World Food Programme that people are starving to death in areas cut off by fighting.
Continue reading...Activists will cross the continent visiting areas where the practice is prevalent to revive progress in protecting women and girls
African female genital mutilation survivors will lead thousands of campaigners in a two-year “caravan campaign” across the continent, calling for an end to the practice.
Organised by #FrontlineEndingFGM, a group of grassroots activists and organisations in Africa will cover about 7,400 miles (12,000km) across 20 countries, including Nigeria, Sudan and Cameroon.
Continue reading...Investigators previously found blasts that damaged undersea pipelines in 2022 were an act of sabotage
Swedish prosecutors have said they will end their investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in 2022, dodging the question of who destroyed the then new energy link between Russia and Europe shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
After a near 18-month inquiry, the investigators concluded they did not have jurisdiction in the case because Sweden’s citizens and interests had not been harmed.
Continue reading...President says more than 10 others injured in the capital with further blasts across the country
Russia’s upper house of parliament has asked the finance ministry to draw up a law that would impose retaliatory measures on the West if it moves against frozen Russian assets, the TASS state news agency reported.
The Financial Times reported on 3 February that the G7 had drawn up plans to use frozen Russian assets as collateral to raise money to help Ukraine.
Continue reading...Party office and that of an independent candidate hit in Balochistan province on day before vote, leaving dozens injured
Two bomb blasts, at the election offices of a political party and an independent candidate in south-west Pakistan, have killed at least 24 people and wounded more than two dozen others, a day before parliamentary elections are to be held.
In the first attack, in Pishin, a district in Balochistan province, at least 14 people were killed, officials said. The wounded were transported to a nearby hospital, some listed as in a critical condition.
Continue reading...Israel almost certain to reject idea to exchange hostages for prisoners, reconstruct Gaza and withdraw Israeli troops
Hamas has responded to a US-backed Israeli ceasefire plan for the war in Gaza with its own far-reaching proposal for a permanent end to the fighting.
It is a position Israel is almost certain to reject, but which mediators are viewing positively, as it appears the group is willing to engage in further negotiations.
Continue reading...Rappers entered breakfast market with Snoop Cereal in 2023, and allege conspiracy between manufacturer Post Consumer Brands and supermarket chain Walmart to ‘choke’ startup brand
Rappers Snoop Dogg and Master P are suing US supermarket chain Walmart and food manufacturer Post Consumer Brands, claiming that the two companies conspired to sabotage the success of the pair’s new breakfast cereal enterprise.
Snoop Cereal launched last summer, with Master P hailing parent company Broadus Foods as the first Black-owned cereal company in the US: “This has been going on for over 100 years, that we’ve been consumers and never owners, so we’re changing that game.” The rappers partnered with Post to produce the cereal itself.
Continue reading...Separatist fighters who seized Phillip Mehrtens say he will be released to protect humanity and safeguard human rights, but did not say when
Rebels in Indonesia’s West Papua region have said they will release a New Zealand pilot who was taken hostage a year ago as a bargaining chip for their independence movement.
The chief of general staff of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-PB), Terianus Satto, said in a statement the pilot would be released in order to protect humanity and safeguard human rights.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: After a week of speculation, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was ready to replace his military chief – why, and what now?
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Good morning. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military, is perhaps the only man in Ukraine who is more popular than its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Now, after months of speculation about his future and a week-long frenzy over whether Zaluzhnyi (above left) had been asked to step aside, there finally seems to be clarity: Zelenskiy has admitted publicly that he is seeking to replace him, as part of a broad reset. “I have something serious in mind, which is not about a single person but the direction of the country’s leadership,” said Zelenskiy. “I mean a replacement of a series of state leaders, not just in a single sector like the military.”
Mental health | The number of children referred to emergency mental healthcare in England has soared by more than 50% in three years, according to data laying bare the impact of lengthy waiting lists. The increase means more than 600 mentally ill children are deterioriating to crisis point each week.
Israel-Gaza war | Israel has said it has informed the families of 31 people held in Gaza since 7 October that their relatives are dead. The news came as the Qatari prime minister said Hamas had given a “generally positive” response to proposals for a deal trading a break in the fighting and release of Palestinian prisoners for the return of more hostages.
US news | A federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from criminal prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results because it involved actions he took while president. The unanimous decision said the court rejected Trump’s argument that he had “unbounded authority to commit crimes”.
Dentistry | Rishi Sunak has been accused of making a U-turn on his pledge to restore NHS dentistry as experts say his new “recovery plan” does not offer enough money to incentivise dentists to take on extra NHS patients. The British Dental Association (BDA) has said the £200m pledged is less than half of the underspends in the budget expected this year.
Monarchy | The Duke of Sussex has returned to the UK, making an emergency dash from the US to see the king after Charles’s cancer diagnosis. King Charles made his first appearance in public since his diagnosis was announced, and smiled and waved at well-wishers during the drive.
Continue reading...Ukraine’s air force said it had intercepted 15 out of 20 drones and 29 out of 44 missiles
A barrage of Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities killed five people on Wednesday and injured 50 more, including a pregnant woman.
“It’s another massive attack against our state,” president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement.
Continue reading...Exclusive: $9bn port, airport and military base on Great Nicobar Island will cause ‘genocide’ of isolated Shompen, academics warn
Academics from around the world have urged India to cancel a huge construction project on Great Nicobar Island, warning it would be “a death sentence” for the Shompen hunter-gatherer people who live there.
The $9bn (£7bn) port project, planned to transform the Indian Ocean island of 8,000 inhabitants into what has been called the “Hong Kong of India”, includes the construction of an international shipping terminal, airport, power plant, military base and industrial park. It will also develop tourism.
Continue reading...Minister says Piñera’s body recovered from scene of crash in lake near southern town of Lago Ranco
Chile’s two-time former president Sebastián Piñera has died in a helicopter crash at the age of 74.
According to preliminary reports, Piñera was piloting a helicopter with three passengers onboard over Lago Ranco, a lake in southern Chile where he had a home, but no further information regarding the incident was immediately given.
Continue reading...NSC’s Pieter Omtzigt said to be shocked by public finances as he abandons talks to form coalition under far-right leader
Geert Wilders’ chances of forming a majority government in the Netherlands have been dealt a heavy blow after one of the far-right leader’s three potential partners abruptly withdrew from coalition talks citing concerns over public finances.
Wilders, whose Freedom party (PVV) shocked Europe by finishing first in elections last November, said on X he was “unbelievably disappointed” by the decision of New Social Contract (NSC) to declare it was “finished” with the current round of talks.
Continue reading...Qatar says Hamas ‘generally positive’ about proposals, while pressure grows on Netanyahu government over handling of crisis
Israel has said it has informed the families of 31 people held in the territory since 7 October that their relatives are dead. The news came as the Qatari prime minister said Hamas had given a “generally positive” response to proposals for a deal trading a break in the fighting and release of Palestinian prisoners for the return of more hostages.
The number of the dead equates to more than a fifth of the remaining 136 hostages being held by in Gaza, according to available intelligence collated by the Israeli military, and comes amid pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over its handling of the hostage crisis.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. For more on Biden’s address, you can read our full story:
This right here is what Joe Biden, most Democrats and the apparently dwindling number of Republicans who support the immigration bill are up against.
The House speaker, Mike Johnson, is leading the campaign against the compromise legislation, which would enact hardline policies Democrats generally oppose while also sending military assistance to Ukraine and Israel. In remarks today, he expressed approval at reports that the deal is on “life support” in the Senate:
Continue reading...Fires in Valparaíso said to be country’s deadliest disaster since 2010 earthquake
The death toll from wildfires that ravaged central Chile for several days has risen to 131, and more than 300 people remain missing as the blazes appear to be burning themselves out.
The fires in the Valparaíso region are said to be Chile’s deadliest disaster since an earthquake in 2010. Officials have suggested that some of the fires could have been lit intentionally.
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