Europe warned to prepare for mpox as Pakistan reports first case
Stockholm — Health authorities warned Friday that Europe must be ready for more cases of a deadly strain of mpox that has killed hundreds of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization urged pharmaceutical firms to…
Zelenskyy: Ukraine strengthens positions in Russia’s Kursk region
KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday his troops had strengthened positions and expanded territory in Russia’s Kursk region nearly two weeks into their incursion. Ukraine says it has seized more than 80 settlements over 1,150 square…
As climate change spurs more wildfires, smoke threatens farmworkers, study says
LOS ANGELES — As wildfires scorched swaths of land in the wine country of Sonoma County in 2020, sending ash flying and choking the air with smoke, Maria Salinas harvested grapes. Her saliva turned black from inhaling the toxins, until…
What is mpox, where are the outbreaks and will the virus spread?
london — The World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the increasing spread of mpox in Africa is a global health emergency, warning the virus might ultimately spill across international borders. The announcement by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus came after…
Survey shows disaster-prone Southeast Asia is also best prepared
BANGKOK — Southeast Asia is among the regions most prone to natural disasters, but a new analysis released Thursday shows its people also feel the best equipped to deal with them. It seems logical that the countries in and around…
COVID-19 cases in US surge; experts suggest keeping vaccinations current
COVID-19 hasn’t gone away, and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests it’s on the upswing around the country. “We’ve seen these summer increases every summer that COVID-19 has been with us,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a…
Aid groups in Gaza aim to avert polio outbreak with a surge of vaccinations
CAIRO — The threat of polio is rising fast in the Gaza Strip, prompting aid groups to call for an urgent pause in the war so they can ramp up vaccinations and head off a full-blown outbreak. One case has…
Ukraine says it keeps advancing, ‘strengthening positions’ in Kursk region
Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Friday that Kyiv’s forces were advancing between one and three kilometers in some areas in the Kursk region, 11 days since beginning an incursion into Russia. Kyiv has claimed to have taken control of…
Nigeria on ‘high alert’ amid surging cases of mpox in Africa
Abuja, Nigeria — Nigerian authorities on Thursday placed key entry points into the country on high alert following the outbreak of the mpox virus in Africa. Authorities have also put nine Nigerian states, including the commercial hub, Lagos, and the…
US climate agency: Last month hottest July on record
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, recorded the Earth’s hottest July in the agency’s 175-year history — and the 14th consecutive month of record heat. In the agency’s monthly climate report released Thursday, NOAA’s environmental information chief, Karin…