Bangladesh battles rising tide of dengue and chikungunya

Bangladesh battles rising tide of dengue and chikungunya

DHAKA (Reuters) -Bangladesh faces a fast-worsening public health crisis as the mosquito-borne diseases dengue and chikungunya spread side by side, overwhelming hospitals and heightening fears of an even bigger outbreak in the weeks ahead. According to the Directorate General of Health Services, the South Asian country has recorded over 33,800 dengue cases and 132 deaths this year. In the first week of September alone, at least 10 people died and more than 1,500 were admitted to hospitals with fever. Chikungunya, absent for years, is making a forceful return. Between January and July, four Dhaka-based labs confirmed 785 cases of the virus, with detection rates topping 30% in some facilities. In the port city of Chittagong, officials reported 30 cases in just 24 hours, pushing the city's tally to nearly 3,000 this year. Hospitals are struggling to cope. At Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the country's largest public hospital, wards are overflowing, with more than three times the number of patients they were designed to hold. Experts warn that the crisis could deepen unless mosquito control campaigns are intensified. "The Aedes mosquito is adapting fast to our cities, said Kabirul Bashar, a medical entomologist at Jahangirnagar University. "Stagnant water in construction sites, rooftops, and even flower pots are turning into breeding grounds. Unless we destroy these habitats systematically, outbreaks like dengue and chikungunya will only grow larger every year." The deadliest year on record was 2023, with 1,705 deaths from dengue and more than 321,000 infections reported. The World Health Organization has flagged dengue as one of the fastest-growing global threats, worsened by climate change and urban crowding. WHO advises early recognition of warning signs - abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding, or reduced urination - and cautions against misuse of NSAIDs or steroids in viral fevers. Patients said the experience is unlike previous fever seasons. "My dengue test was negative, but the pain stayed," Sultana Parveen, 48, bedridden for more than two weeks, she said while sitting in a hospital in Dhaka for further tests. "I cannot walk properly because my ankles hurt so much." With multiple fevers circulating at once, health experts say Bangladesh urgently needs reinforced hospitals, expanded testing and year-round mosquito control drives to prevent the situation from spiralling further. (Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by William Mallard)

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September 07, 2025

Bangladesh battles rising tide of dengue and chikungunya

Bangladesh battles rising tide of dengue and chikungunya DHAKA (Reuters) -Bangladesh faces a fast-worsening public health crisis as the mosq...

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U.S. says it will deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Eswatini because he fears deportation to Uganda

U.S. says it will deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Eswatini because he fears deportation to Uganda

Attorneys for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a Friday letter that they intend to sendKilmar Abrego Garciato theAfrican nation of Eswatiniafter he expressed a fear ofdeportation to Uganda. The letter from ICE to Abrego Garcia's attorneys was earlier reported byFox News. It states that his fear of persecution or torture in Uganda is "hard to take seriously, especially given that you have claimed (through your attorneys) that you fear persecution or torture in at least 22 different countries. ...Nonetheless, we hereby notify you that your new country of removal is Eswatini." Eswatini's government spokesperson told The Associated Press on Saturday that it had no received no communication regarding Abrego Garcia's transfer there. TheSalvadoran manlived in Maryland for more than a decade before he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year. That set off a series of contentious court battles that have turned his case into a test of the limits of PresidentDonald Trump'shardline immigration policies. Although Abrego Garcia immigrated to the U.S. illegally around the year 2011, when he was a teenager, he has an American wife and child. A 2019 immigration court order barred his deportation to his native El Salvador, finding he had a credible fear of threats from gangs there. He was deported anyway in March — in what a government attorney said was anadministrative error— and held in the country's notoriousTerrorism Confinement Center. Facing acourt order, the Trump administrationreturned him to the U.S.in June only to charge him withhuman smugglingbased on a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. While thatcourt caseis ongoing, ICE nowseeks to deport him again. For his part, Abrego Garcia isrequesting asylumin the United States. He was denied asylum in 2019 because his request came more than a year after he arrived in the U.S., his attorney Simon Sandoval-Mosenberg has said. Since he was deported and has now re-entered the U.S., the attorney said he is now eligible for asylum. "If Mr. Abrego Garcia is allowed a fair trial in immigration court, there's no way he's not going to prevail on his claim," he said in an emailed statement. As part of his asylum claim, Abrego Garcia expressed a fear ofdeportation to Ugandaand "nearly two dozen" other countries, according anICE court filingin opposition to reopening his asylum case. That Thursday filing also states that if the case is reopened, the 2019 order barring his deportation to El Salvador would become void and the government would pursue his removal to that country.

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September 07, 2025

U.S. says it will deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Eswatini because he fears deportation to Uganda

U.S. says it will deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Eswatini because he fears deportation to Uganda Attorneys for Immigration and Customs Enfor...

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‘We are in critical minutes’: Gaza City assault spurs widespread Israeli protests amid fear for hostages

'We are in critical minutes': Gaza City assault spurs widespread Israeli protests amid fear for hostages

As the Israeli military expands its assault on Gaza City, Israeli demonstrators took to the streets Saturday evening, driven by a new sense of urgency to demand the government halt the operation and prioritize a ceasefire deal. Over the weekend, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) escalated its offensive, striking two high-rise buildings in Gaza City, only to amplify fears and heighten concerns among hostage families that ongoing operations could endanger their relatives after more than 700 days in captivity. In a social media post with video of one of the strikes on Saturday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said, "We continue," showing the government's clear intent to keep pounding Gaza City. Hours later, the protests began. Alongside the weekly demonstrations in Tel Aviv, another group protested in Jerusalem outside the Prime Minister's residence, the culmination of four days of targeted pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. "We are in critical minutes," said Viki Cohen, mother of the hostage Nimrod Cohen, addressing the Jerusalem crowd. "It is possible that at this very moment the fate of my son is being decided." The protests appeared to intensify following a 48-hour period that underscored the hostages' precarious situation. On Friday, as the Gaza war reached its 700th day, Hamas released new propaganda footage of two hostages – Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Alon Ohel – being driven through Gaza City. The video marked the first appearance of 24-year-old Ohel since his capture by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Hours later, US President Donald Trump told White House reporters that some of the 20 hostages presumed alive in Gaza may have "recently died," repeating similar comments from last month suggesting "probably" fewer than 20 of the remaining hostages were still alive. Israel's official hostage tally has not changed, with 48 remaining in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. But Trump's statements reinforced the families' fears that the escalating offensive risks their loved ones. On Friday, some of the hostage families said they were briefed by Israeli military officials that the operation could risk the captives' lives. "The conquest of Gaza poses a clear and imminent danger to the hostage," said Orna Neutra, mother of deceased hostage Omer Neutra, in a speech at the protests over the weekend. Afterward, she told CNN, "The IDF Chief of Staff and the different heads of the military and intelligence have said that there's no way they can really protect the hostages. We also know from past experiences that they don't know exactly where they are." Neutra referenced an incident in Rafah one year ago when Hamas murdered six hostages as Israeli forces drew close. "Despite hoping to proceed slowly without harming the hostages, some things remain beyond their control," Neutra said of the IDF's plans. Since the security cabinet initially approved the war's expansion in early August, hostage families have broadened their protest campaign to pressure the government to pursue a deal. Organizers report hundreds of thousands of Israelis have participated in the weekly demonstrations. The wide-scale protests reached the White House, as Trump acknowledged on Friday. "The big protests in Israel about the hostages put Israel in a tough position. I've never seen anything like it, the level of love they have for their children," he told reporters. However, the massive turnout has not convinced Netanyahu to advance the latest hostage deal on the table. Last month, Hamas accepted a Qatari-Egyptian proposal for a phased agreement releasing 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages during a 60-day ceasefire. Israel has ignored and dismissed the offer, with Netanyahu now demanding only a comprehensive agreement to end the war on Israel's maximalist conditions, including all hostages released and Hamas disarmament. On Saturday evening, Hamas reiterated "its commitment and adherence to the agreement" and said it was willing to consider any proposal that ends the war. Trump has repeatedly endorsed Netanyahu's new negotiation strategy, threatening Hamas once again. "If you don't let (the hostages) all out, it's going to be a tough situation. It's going to be nasty." Yet he also stated the US is in "very deep negotiations" with Hamas, raising hostage families' hopes that a deal could be in the making. In Tel Aviv's central hostage square, a wide banner addressed the president directly: "Trump - save the hostages now." For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

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September 07, 2025

‘We are in critical minutes’: Gaza City assault spurs widespread Israeli protests amid fear for hostages

'We are in critical minutes': Gaza City assault spurs widespread Israeli protests amid fear for hostages As the Israeli military exp...

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Africa's solar energy potential makes for a bright future for renewable power

Africa's solar energy potential makes for a bright future for renewable power

UPINGTON, South Africa (AP) — Deep inSouth Africa'sNorthern Cape province, south of the Kalahari Desert, a beaming light towers above dozens of solar mirror panels. The mirrors tilt to varying degrees throughout the day, tracking the sunrays and projecting them onto a tower. The tower houses a receiver that absorbs intense heat, boils water and produces high-pressure steam. This is then converted into 50 megawatts of electricity — enough to power over 40,000 households for 24 hours. The KHI Solar One project is one of many looking to add renewable energy to South Africa's power grid, which isheavily reliant on coal-fired power stations. However, as hundreds of delegates prepare to gather in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa for the Africa Climate Summit this week, it's clear that many more such projects are needed to bringelectricity to millions of peopleon the continent who need it and to fight the impacts of climate change. Africa's energy needs According to the International Energy Agency, about 600 million people on a continent of some 1.5 billion live without electricity, leaving children without lights to study at night and homes without power for appliances. The World Bank estimates that Central and West Africa have some of the world's lowest electrification rates. In West Africa, where 220 million people have no electricity, the electrification rate is as low as 8%. The lack of electricity also limits the continent's access to quality health care, education and economic growth brought about by a sufficient and uninterrupted power supply. The continent's embracing of renewable energy has been slow when compared to more developed economies like China, European countries and the U.S., which account for 80% of renewable power capacity installed worldwide. Only 1.5% of installed renewable power capacity is in Africa. Renewable energy potential in Africa According toa report by the United Nationsreleased in July, Africa has 60% of the world's best solar resources with the continent's deserts and warm climate creating massive potential for solar projects. Despite this, Africa received just 2% of global clean energy investments in 2024. At a climate summit in January this year, African leaders committed to bringing renewable energy capacity in Africa to 300 gigawatts by 2030. That amount of power equals the output of about 114 large power stations — enough to power a large city or a small country. Meanwhile, the International Renewable Energy Agency projects that 90% of Africa's power could be generated from renewables including solar by 2050. This includes other renewable energy sources besides solar, with countries like South Africa opting for an energy mix that includes hydropower and wind energy. China's rising solar exports to Africa Some recent analysis of Chinese export data has shown that exports of solar panels to Africa have increased significantly over the last 12 months. A report by energy think tank Ember notes that imports from China rose 60% in the last year to 15,032 megawatts, with 20 African countries setting a record for imports of solar panels in a 12-month period. While the surge in solar panels had previously been buoyed by imports by South Africa, which went through years of power blackouts due to a lengthy electricity crisis, imports of solar panels from outside of South Africa tripled in the last 12 months. Increasingly, independentenergy companies are seeing Africa as a market for solar products as theylook to fulfill the continent's energy needs.

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September 06, 2025

Africa's solar energy potential makes for a bright future for renewable power

Africa's solar energy potential makes for a bright future for renewable power UPINGTON, South Africa (AP) — Deep inSouth Africa'sNor...

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