International
Climate change will fuel diseases, warns Global Fund
| By AFP |
Climate change will end up killing people by fuelling infectious diseases, the head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said Tuesday.
Executive director Peter Sands said that in 2022, the fund had witnessed the “escalating impact” of climate change on health.
While upsurges in malaria had hitherto been seen due to the increasing frequency and devastation of tropical storms, “with the flooding in Pakistan it was taken to a completely different scale”, he said.
“What we are seeing is that the mechanism by which climate change will end up killing people is through its impact on infectious disease.”
Sands said that parts of Africa which previously were unaffected by malaria are now becoming at risk as temperatures rise and allow mosquitos to thrive, notably at higher altitudes.
However, the population in such areas will not have immunity, with the resulting risk of a higher mortality rate.
“It’s quite alarming,” Sands told a briefing with the UN correspondents’ association.
Other threats include tuberculosis spreading among the increasing number of displaced people around the world.
“TB is a disease that thrives on having concentrations of highly-stressed people in close confines with inadequate food and shelter,” he said.
“The more that we see climate change-driven displacement of people, the more I think that will translate into the conditions that will at least make it more likely.”
Sands also said food insecurity would make people more vulnerable to disease.
As for whether the world was better prepared for the next pandemic than it was for Covid-19, Sands said it was, but added: “That doesn’t mean we are well prepared: we’re just not as badly prepared as we were before.”
By the end of 2022, Sands said the Global Fund will have invested around $5.4 billion, which is significantly more than it has ever done before.
The Geneva-based organisation’s largest donors are G7 governments, led by the United States and France.
“For the people we serve in the poorest, most marginalised, most vulnerable communities in the world, 2022 was a brutal year,” said Sands.
“In the poorest communities in the world, HIV, TB and malaria are killing many more people than Covid-19.”
International
Trump says GOP ‘learned a lot’ after democratic election wins
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he and the Republican Party “learned a lot” from the Democratic victories in Tuesday’s state and local elections. He also compared Democrats to “kamikaze pilots” over the ongoing budget standoff.
Speaking at an event with Republican senators on Wednesday, Trump described the results as an unexpected setback.
“These were very Democratic areas, but I don’t think it was good for Republicans. In fact, I don’t think it was good for anyone. But we had an interesting night and we learned a lot,” he said during remarks broadcast by the White House.
Trump agreed with pollsters that two key factors led to Republican losses in New York’s mayoral race and the gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia.
International
Bolivia’s Jeanine Áñez freed after Supreme Court annuls her conviction
Former Bolivian interim president Jeanine Áñez was released from a women’s prison in La Paz on Thursday, where she had spent more than four and a half years for an alleged coup, after her conviction was annulled, AFP journalists confirmed.
Dozens of supporters and family members gathered outside the facility to celebrate her release. Áñez left the prison waving a Bolivian flag around 15:00 GMT.
“It is comforting to see that justice will once again prevail in Bolivia. She was the only woman who took on the role with bravery and courage,” said Lizeth Maure, a 46-year-old nurse who had come to show her support.
Áñez, a 58-year-old lawyer and conservative politician, governed Bolivia for nearly a year until November 2020, when she handed power to leftist leader Luis Arce.
She was arrested in 2021 and sentenced the following year to 10 years in prison for “resolutions contrary to the Constitution,” accused of illegally assuming the presidency after Evo Morales resigned in 2019 amid social unrest.
Her sentence was overturned on Wednesday by the Supreme Court of Justice, Bolivia’s highest judicial authority.
The court ruled that Áñez should have been subjected to a “trial of responsibilities” before Congress— a constitutional process reserved for sitting presidents, vice presidents, ministers, and top judges — rather than prosecuted in an ordinary criminal court.
As she was welcomed by relatives and supporters upon release, Áñez declared:
“I feel the satisfaction of having fulfilled my duty to my country, of never having bowed down. And I will never regret having served Bolivia when it needed me.”
International
Peru declares Mexico’s president Persona Non Grata over political asylum dispute
Peru’s Congress declared Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum persona non grata on Thursday, accusing her of “unacceptable interference in internal affairs” after granting political asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chávez.
The motion, introduced by right-wing parties, passed with 63 votes in favor, 33 against, and two abstentions. Lawmakers argue that Sheinbaum has maintained a hostile stance toward Peru since taking office.
Peru severed diplomatic relations with Mexico on Monday following the asylum decision. Chávez, who is facing charges for her alleged involvement in former President Pedro Castillo’s failed coup attempt in December 2022, remains under protection at the Mexican embassy residence in Lima.
Following the diplomatic break, interim President José Jerí said on X that Mexico’s chargé d’affaires in Peru, Karla Ornela, has been notified by the foreign ministry that she must leave the country within a strict deadline.
The Mexican government condemned Lima’s decision as “excessive and disproportionate,” asserting that offering asylum to Chávez is a legitimate act grounded in international law and does not constitute interference in Peru’s domestic matters.
Trump says GOP ‘learned a lot’ after democratic election wins
Bolivia’s Jeanine Áñez freed after Supreme Court annuls her conviction
Peru declares Mexico’s president Persona Non Grata over political asylum dispute
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 agoShootout in Sinaloa leaves 13 gunmen dead as authorities rescue kidnapping victims
-
International4 days agoU.S. uses $4.65 billion in emergency funds to sustain SNAP benefits amid shutdown
-
International3 days agoDeadly fire in bosnian nursing home leaves 11 dead and dozens injured
-
International2 days agoProtests persist in Uruapan after mayor’s assassination as citizens demand justice
-
International4 days agoFour suspected PCC members killed in Police shootout in Florianópolis
-
International3 days agoSheinbaum maintains 70% approval despite growing discontent in Mexico
-
International1 day agoTrump says GOP ‘learned a lot’ after democratic election wins
-
International3 days agoTrump alleges “massive fraud” in California redistricting vote without evidence
-
International3 days agoFormer U.S. vice president Dick Cheney dies at 84
-
International3 days agoSexual assault attempt on Mexico’s president sparks outrage in historic center
-
International3 days agoLongest government shutdown in U.S. history deepens airport and aid crisis
-
International1 day ago
Peru declares Mexico’s president Persona Non Grata over political asylum dispute
-
International1 day agoBolivia’s Jeanine Áñez freed after Supreme Court annuls her conviction