International
World can end Covid emergency this year: WHO chief
AFP
The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday that the planet can end the Covid-19 emergency this year, although the virus last week killed someone every 12 seconds.
“We can end Covid-19 as a global health emergency and we can do it this year,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the UN health agency’s executive board.
To do so, countries need to work harder to ensure equitable access to vaccines and treatment, track the virus and its emerging variants, and keep restrictions in place, he warned.
The WHO has for months demanded that countries do more to accelerate the distribution of vaccines in poorer nations, calling on all countries to vaccinate at least 70 percent of their populations by the middle of this year.
Half of the WHO’s 194 member states missed the previous target of vaccinating 40 percent of their people by end-2021 and 85 percent of people in Africa were yet to receive a single jab, Tedros said.
“We simply cannot end the emergency phase of the pandemic unless we bridge this gap,” he said.
“On average last week, 100 cases were reported every three seconds, and somebody lost their life to Covid-19 every 12 seconds,” he added.
Covid-19 has killed more than 5.5 million people since it first emerged in late 2019 and case numbers have been driven to record levels by the new Omicron variant.
Since the strain was first detected in southern Africa nine weeks ago, Tedros said 80 million cases had been reported to the WHO — more than in all of 2020.
Omicron appears to cause less severe disease than previous variants and Tedros confirmed that “the explosion in cases has not been matched by a surge in deaths”.
The WHO chief said the world would need to learn to live with Covid.
“We will need to learn to manage it through a sustained and integrated strategy for acute respiratory diseases,” he said, emphasizing it was “dangerous to assume that Omicron will be the last variant, or that this is the end game.”
“On the contrary,” he said, “globally the conditions are ideal for more variants to emerge.”
“The potential for a more transmissible, more deadly variant remains very real.”
International
Brésil : 11 morts et 45 blessés dans un violent accident entre un bus et un camion
Onze personnes ont perdu la vie et quarante-cinq autres ont été blessées lors d’une collision frontale entre un camion de marchandises et un autobus dans le centre-ouest du Brésil, ont annoncé les autorités ce samedi.
L’accident s’est produit vendredi à 21h40, heure locale, sur la route BR-163, près de la localité de Lucas do Rio Verde, dans l’État du Mato Grosso.
Selon la Police routière fédérale (PRF), un autobus reliant la capitale de l’État, Cuiabá, à Sinop est entré en collision frontale avec un camion transportant des graines de coton.
« L’accident a fait 11 morts », a indiqué la PRF dans un communiqué, précisant qu’une enquête est en cours pour déterminer les causes du drame.
Les blessés ont été transportés vers des hôpitaux de la région : 11 sont dans un état grave, 26 présentent des blessures modérées et 8 sont légèrement touchés, selon la police routière.
Le conducteur du camion a subi des blessures modérées.
La société de transport Rio Novo, propriétaire de l’autobus, a confirmé l’accident.
« Notre priorité est de prendre soin des victimes et de leurs familles », a déclaré l’entreprise dans un message publié sur les réseaux sociaux.
Les accidents mortels sont fréquents sur les routes brésiliennes, un pays aux dimensions continentales.
Dimanche dernier, huit personnes avaient trouvé la mort dans une collision impliquant deux voitures et une moto dans l’État de Minas Gerais (sud-est).
En mai, une collision frontale entre une minifourgonnette et un camion avait fait neuf morts et dix blessés, également dans le Minas Gerais.
International
U.S. doubles bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to $50 million
In February, the United States designated eight Latin American criminal organizations as “global terrorist” groups, including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, and the MS-13 gang. In July, it added the Cartel of the Suns to the list — a group Washington claims is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Last Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, raising it from $25 million to $50 million, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on social media platform X.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that labeling the Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization allows for a strategic shift in dealing with the Venezuelan regime, as it is now also considered a direct threat to U.S. national security, according to El Espectador.
In an interview with The World Over on EWTN, Rubio said the designation enables the U.S. to “use intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, or any other element of American power to go after them.” He stressed this is no longer just a law enforcement matter, but a national security operation.
When asked at the White House whether he believes it is worth sending the military to combat Latin American drug cartels, Trump responded:
“Latin America has many cartels, a lot of drug trafficking, so, you know, we want to protect our country. We have to protect it.”
International
Three injured in early-morning New York City shooting
A shooting in New York City early Saturday morning left three people injured, a police spokesperson told AFP.
The incident occurred at around 1:20 a.m. local time (05:20 GMT) following a dispute. An 18-year-old woman sustained a scratch to the neck, while a 19-year-old man and a 65-year-old man were injured in the lower limbs.
The victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where they were reported to be in stable condition.
The alleged shooter was taken into custody at the scene, and a firearm was recovered. As of now, the suspect has not been formally charged.
Videos circulating on social media show scenes of panic among the crowd, though AFP has not been able to verify their authenticity. The incident comes just weeks after another shooting in a Manhattan skyscraper that left four people injured before the gunman took his own life.
Honduras : l’ONU appelle à garantir les droits territoriaux des peuples autochtones
Brésil : 11 morts et 45 blessés dans un violent accident entre un bus et un camion
U.S. doubles bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to $50 million
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International3 days agoMassive wildfire in Southern France kills one, injures nine
-
International3 days agoFlorida officials warn against raw milk after dozens sickened
-
Central America3 days agoFour honduran presidential candidates sign anti-corruption pact ahead of 2025 elections
-
Central America21 hours agoNicaragua’s Telica volcano erupts four times, no damages reported
-
International3 days agoJapan marks 80 years since Hiroshima bombing with call for nuclear disarmament
-
International21 hours agoOver 240 guatemalans detained at Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz await deportation
-
International21 hours agoMaría Corina Machado thanks OAS allies for condemning Venezuela’s growing repression
-
International21 hours agoColombian President Gustavo Petro announces talks with clan del Golfo outside country
-
International5 hours agoThree injured in early-morning New York City shooting
-
Central America4 hours agoHonduras : l’ONU appelle à garantir les droits territoriaux des peuples autochtones
-
International4 hours agoBrésil : 11 morts et 45 blessés dans un violent accident entre un bus et un camion
-
International5 hours agoU.S. doubles bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to $50 million