India has approved a new dengue vaccine as health authorities seek to strengthen prevention efforts against a mosquito-borne viral disease that affects millions of people worldwide every year.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), half of the global population is currently at risk of contracting dengue, which causes between 100 million and 400 million infections annually.

Since 2021, India has recorded more than one million dengue cases, including at least 1,500 deaths.

The virus can cause high fever, severe headaches, muscle pain, nausea, skin rashes and, in rare cases, internal bleeding and death.

The vaccine, authorized by India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), was developed by Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda. The Indian Health Ministry said the vaccine is recommended in two doses for people between 4 and 60 years old.

The treatment has already been approved by health authorities in around 40 countries worldwide.

Meanwhile, Indian pharmaceutical company Panacea Biotec has begun the final phase of clinical trials for a single-dose dengue vaccine, aiming to provide another prevention option against the disease.

Brazil recently announced the suspension of the use of another single-dose dengue vaccine developed in the country after two suspected deaths were reported.

The United States announced Tuesday the dispatch of a humanitarian aid flight to Cuba as part of a $100 million assistance package proposed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May.

The flight departed from Miami with the support of Catholic Relief Services, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department.

The administration of President Donald Trump, which has maintained restrictions on oil supplies to the island and tightened sanctions against the Cuban government, had initially announced humanitarian assistance in November following the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa.

In February, amid rising tensions between Washington and Havana, Rubio announced an increase in aid while continuing to criticize the Cuban government.

The U.S. secretary of state accused Cuba’s communist authorities of obstructing the distribution of assistance. Washington has insisted that the aid be delivered through the Catholic Church to ensure it reaches Cuban citizens directly.

The Cuban government, meanwhile, has blamed the U.S. oil blockade for making the distribution of humanitarian assistance significantly more difficult.

The aid shipment comes as relations between the two countries remain strained, with disagreements continuing over sanctions, energy supplies and the management of humanitarian support.

The French Parliament on Tuesday approved a highly controversial agricultural law that allows certain farmers to use two pesticides considered harmful to bees, substances that had been banned in France but remain authorized in the European Union.

After the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, approved the agricultural bill in the early hours of Tuesday, the Senate gave its final approval with a vote of 214 in favor and 111 against, officially adopting the measure.

Following the decision to reintroduce the use of acetamiprid and flupyradifurone, the office of Environment Minister Monique Barbut announced that she would soon submit her resignation.

Supporters of the measure argue that French producers of sugar beets, apples and hazelnuts need access to these insecticides — banned in France since 2018 and 2019, respectively — to remain competitive with European farmers in other countries where the products are still allowed.

Opponents, including environmental groups, argue that the substances pose serious risks to bees and could also threaten human health.

“Let us be proud of the work that has been done,” said Senator Laurent Duplomb of the conservative Republicans party, one of the main supporters of the measure.

The vote came after France’s Constitutional Council, the country’s highest court, struck down a previous attempt last year to bring back acetamiprid, ruling that the measure could pose risks to human health. That decision followed a petition signed by more than two million people opposing the pesticide’s reintroduction.

The previous bill had also been promoted by Duplomb, who argued that French agriculture needed additional tools to compete in international markets.