International

Escorpion attacks multiply in São Paulo due to climate change

Brazil’s wealthiest and most populous state, São Paulo, faced an alarming record of 43,817 scorpion attacks last year, highlighting a growing problem that has found urban environments to be conducive to their reproduction.

According to biologists, this increase in attacks, which also extends to other venomous animals, is closely linked to climate change, which has altered weather patterns and the availability of food for these arachnids.

“It’s the ‘plague of the future,’” warns Gladyston Costa, a biologist from the Division of Zoonosis Surveillance, pointing to the rise in yellow scorpion attacks, the most common species in the region. The ability of these scorpions to reproduce without the need for mates makes them an escalating threat.

In response, the Municipal Health Department of São Paulo has intensified actions such as inspection and capture of these animals in high-risk areas, as well as promoting awareness campaigns among residents.

Teams of technicians equipped with special tools conduct thorough inspections in affected areas, such as sewers and local businesses, where scorpions have been detected on multiple occasions. The presence of these unwanted intruders poses a significant challenge to public health and community safety.

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Climate change has also contributed to the problem by increasing temperatures and, as a result, the availability of food for these animals. This complicates the management of this public health emergency even further.

Despite efforts to contain the situation, the lethality of scorpion attacks, especially in children under the age of ten, remains a concern. Therefore, the prompt administration of scorpion antivenom is crucial in such cases.

In order to facilitate access to the antidote, the São Paulo Health Department has implemented online tools to locate the nearest points where the serum is available, thus streamlining the treatment process in emergency situations.

International

Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction

Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.

Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.

Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.

However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.

Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.

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He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.

His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.

Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.

International

U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince

The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.

Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.

“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.

Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.

According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.

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International

Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations

The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.

“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”

The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.

The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”

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Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.