Life

Thailand says mpox case recorded in traveller from Africa

BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand has detected an mpox case in a European man who arrived from Africa last week and is awaiting test results to determine the strain, a disease control official said on Wednesday. Thai authorities were treating the case as if it were the Clade 1 form of mpox, as the person, a 66-year-old European man with residency in Thailand had arrived on Aug. 14 from an African country where it was spreading, Thongchai […]

In Spain’s drought-hit Costa Blanca, people queue for bottled water

  By Eva Manez TEULADA-MORAIRA, Spain (Reuters) – A severe drought has rendered tap water undrinkable in several towns along Spain’s Costa Blanca, forcing holidaymakers and locals to queue at distribution points for bottled water to cover their basic needs. As water levels have dropped, salinity has increased, prompting authorities in some areas to deem tap water unsafe for drinking or cooking. Bottled water is being distributed free of charge. Overdevelopment, climate change and mass […]

Russia says DDoS attack disrupts Telegram, WhatsApp

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian users of Telegram and WhatsApp had trouble accessing the messaging apps on Wednesday due to disruption the state communications monitoring service said was caused by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. The service said the attack had been repelled and that the messaging networks were working normally again. Russian media said other sites, including Wikipedia, Skype and the social media platform Discord had also been affected. “The disruption is related to a DDoS […]

Africa could start mpox vaccinations within days, health agency says

By Anait Miridzhanian DAKAR (Reuters) –The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other African countries could start vaccinating against mpox within days, Africa’s top public health agency said on Tuesday. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has been working with countries experiencing mpox outbreaks on logistics and communication strategies to roll out vaccine doses that are due to arrive following pledges by the European Union, vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic, the United […]

One case of clade 2 mpox detected in Pakistan, new strain not detected

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – One case of the mpox virus has been detected in Pakistan of the clade 2 variety, the country’s ministry of health said on Monday, adding that no cases of the clade 1b strain of the disease have been diagnosed. Clade 1b has triggered global concern because it seems to spread more easily though routine close contact. A case of the variant was confirmed last week in Sweden and linked to a growing […]

Death toll from India landslides rises to 151, search on for missing

By Chris Thomas, Munsif Vengattil and Jose Devasia KOCHI, India (Reuters) – By Chris Thomas and Jose Devasia CHOORALMALA, India (Reuters) – Rescue workers began looking for people trapped under debris early on Wednesday, a day after landslides caused havoc in the Wayanad district of India’s Kerala state, with at least 151 people dead and many still missing. Heavy rain in one of India’s most attractive tourist destinations collapsed hillsides and triggered torrents of mud, […]

California wildfire explodes, doubles in 24 hours to become largest in US

(Reuters) Thousands of firefighters were battling a rapidly growing wildfire in northern California on Saturday (July 27) after the blaze more than doubled in size in a 24-hour span. The Park Fire had burned more than 350,000 acres (141,640 hectares) about 90 miles (144 km) north of the state capital city of Sacramento as of Saturday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. Cooler temperatures and more humid […]

Video game actors to strike in California

LOS ANGELES, United States, July 26, 2024 (AFP) – Hollywood’s video game actors will go on strike early Friday to demand safeguards against artificial intelligence, the US actors’ union announced. The work stoppage for the industry’s video game voice actors and motion capture performers begins at 12:01 am (0401 GMT) in California, according to the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). Thursday’s announcement comes after more than a year […]

Canada’s Jasper National Park evacuated over wildfire

MONTREAL, July 24, 2024 (AFP) – Authorities in the western Canadian province of Alberta have ordered evacuations of the popular Jasper National Park and nearby towns due to approaching forest fires. An alert was sent to tourists late Monday evening in the park — famous for its mountain peaks, glaciers and waterfalls — as well as residents living nearby, ordering them to leave by 3:00 am local time (0900 GMT). Authorities continued to issue evacuation […]

July 21 hottest day ever recorded globally: EU climate monitor

  PARIS, July 24, 2024 (AFP) – July 21 was the hottest day ever registered globally, according to preliminary data published Tuesday by the EU’s climate monitor. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said the global average surface air temperature of 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.7 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday was the warmest in their record books, which go back to 1940. It comes as heatwaves and wildfires ravage swathes of Europe and the United States. […]

‘Hong Kong’s Dr Fauci’ sounds alarm on next pandemic

By Xinqi SU HONG KONG, July 19, 2024 (AFP) – Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung has done battle with some of the world’s worst threats, including the SARS virus he helped isolate and identify. And he has a warning. Another pandemic is inevitable and could exact damage far worse than Covid-19, according to the soft-spoken scientist sometimes thought of as Hong Kong’s answer to top US health expert Anthony Fauci. “Both the public and (world) […]

Nearby exoplanet could be first known ocean world: Webb telescope

By Pierre Celerier PARIS (AFP) – A planet relatively close to Earth could be the first ever detected with a potentially life-sustaining liquid ocean outside our Solar System, according to scientists using the James Webb space telescope. More than 5,000 planets have been discovered outside of the Solar System so far, but only a handful are in what is called the “Goldilocks zone” — neither too hot or too cold — that could host liquid […]