International

WHO believes that COVID-19 vaccines would be available in 2022

The World Health Organization (WHO) has lowered its expectations for an early COVID-19 vaccine. For the organization, vaccines will be widely available until 2022. This is how the WHO chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, considered it.

She said she did not expect vaccines to be available to the population within two years. But she considered that the first risk groups could be immunized in mid-2021. “Many believe that at the beginning of next year a panacea will come and solve everything. But it will not,” she said.

The WHO stressed that in the search for any vaccine, safety is the foundation. And it is a requirement that should guide clinical trials. The message was given in relation to the suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine trial.

International

Four suspected PCC members killed in Police shootout in Florianópolis

At least four armed men, allegedly linked to an organized crime group, were killed Sunday night during a shootout with police officers at Ponta das Canas beach on the island of Florianópolis, capital of the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, local media reported on Monday.

According to the Santa Catarina Military Police, one of the men killed was a native of the state of São Paulo (southeast) and identified as a leader of the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a gang that controls drug trafficking in the Papaquara community in northern Florianópolis, one of Brazil’s most popular tourist areas.

Police said officers were conducting a patrol in the Ponta das Canas neighborhood when they noticed a man entering a house in a hurry, raising suspicion. Upon entering the residence, they encountered four heavily armed individuals.

During the police operation, one of the suspects reportedly attempted to seize an officer’s rifle, triggering the exchange of gunfire. “Faced with the imminent threat and the criminals’ high firepower, the officers responded to stop the aggression,” the Military Police said on social media.

International

U.S. uses $4.65 billion in emergency funds to sustain SNAP benefits amid shutdown

The U.S. government will use $4.65 billion from an emergency fund to finance payments under SNAP, the country’s primary food assistance program, covering roughly “50% of benefits for eligible households,” according to a Department of Agriculture official in court filings.

The administration, however, does not plan to make up the funding shortfall through other resources, as noted in documents submitted to a federal court in Rhode Island.

This announcement follows a federal judge’s order in Providence — one of two issued last week — requiring the government to tap emergency funds to ensure the program remains operational.

The Trump administration argues that SNAP is running out of money amid a month-long federal government shutdown, triggered by a budget standoff between Democrats and Republicans who continue to blame each other for the crisis.

President Trump said on Friday that he was willing to release the necessary funds if the courts required it and emphasized that he does not want “Americans to go hungry.”

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Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, accused Trump and the Republican Party on Sunday of “weaponizing hunger” during the political dispute.

International

U.S. strike in Caribbean kills three suspected drug traffickers

A U.S. strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean killed three people on Saturday, according to Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth, marking the latest in a series of attacks in international waters.

The United States has deployed ships to the Caribbean and sent fighter jets to Puerto Rico as part of a large military force that Washington says is aimed at curbing drug trafficking.

“This vessel, like all the others, was known to our intelligence for being involved in illicit narcotics smuggling,” Hegseth stated on X. “Three narcoterrorists were aboard the vessel during the attack, which took place in international waters,” he added.

Experts argue that the attacks, which began in early September, amount to extrajudicial executions, even if the targets are known traffickers.

Washington has yet to publicly provide evidence that the targeted individuals were actively smuggling drugs or posed a threat to the United States.

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Hegseth said the U.S. would continue “hunting… and killing” suspected traffickers. He also shared video footage of the strike, showing the vessel being hit and engulfed in flames. As in previous videos, sections of the ship were blurred, making it impossible to verify the number of people on board.

The United Nations called on Friday for Washington to halt its attacks.