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A pedestrian walks past a dead body, wrapped in plastic and dumped in the street – a daily reminder of the gang violence plaguing Haiti and its descent into lawlessness.
Amid the security crisis, the poorest nation in the Americas is on the brink of famine as it battles the worst levels of food insecurity on record.
Nearly half the population – 5 million people – in Haiti are “acutely food insecure”, of which 1.6 million are classified as facing “emergency” food insecurity conditions, says the World Food Programme (WFP).
Jean-Martin Bauer, the Haiti country director for WFP, said the problem had been snowballing under the radar for years, adding: “These are the highest numbers we’ve had since the 2010 earthquake.” |
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Today’s top stories
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Today’s top stories
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Revellers could put themselves at risk when inhibitions lower CREDIT: Matt Cardy/Getty Images |
Experts have warned the number of sexually transmitted infections will skyrocket in Europe this summer as young people flock to the continent for holidays, parties and festivals.
With festival season around the corner – a time when music, mud, and hormones collide – health experts are concerned that Europe’s top summer hotspots will serve as breeding grounds for diseases already circulating at record-breaking levels. |
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First human death in Mexico from H5N2 influenza strain adds to bird flu anxiety
The most likely explanation, say experts, is that it’s a coincidence – but only genetic sequencing data will confirm.
As humanity pushes ever further into the cosmos and flights to and from space become routine, a new report from the US Bipartisan Commission on Biodefence has urged governments worldwide to “act now to address the biological threats emerging at the intersection of space exploration and infectious disease.”
Forget the little green men of Hollywood folklore. It’s not aliens or UFOs that pose the greatest risk, says the Commision, but microorganisms and the rigours of space travel. Maeve Cullinan and Lilia Sebouai explain why. |
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The viral frontier: Nasa told ‘act now’ to tackle pathogens in space
Forget little green men – it’s not aliens or UFOs that pose the greatest risk, but biological threats in the cosmos.
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France enlists ‘dengue detectives’ to prevent outbreak at the Paris Olympics
Specialists are surveilling the spread of Aedes albopictus mosquitoes ahead of the 2024 Games in the French capital.
A crack team of ‘dengue detectives’ has begun a reinforced mosquito surveillance programme in Paris ahead of the Olympic Games.
Authorities are targeting the Stade de France, Olympic Village, “fan zones” and at three of the city’s airports to stop the spread of the Aedes albopictus, also known as the Asian tiger mosquito – a known vector of dengue fever.
One public health official described the sporting event as “a critical moment” and said that locations hosting large gatherings could be at greater risk from the virus. |
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Wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and Ethiopia pushed conflict deaths to a 30-year high CREDIT: YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images |
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More countries were engaged in conflict in 2023 than at any time since World War II. Across the world, 92 countries are now involved in conflicts outside of their borders, according to new data from the Institute for Economics & Peace.
The IEP’s annual Global Peace Index report found that violent conflict has been on the rise in recent years, reversing the historical trend of recent decades. Worryingly, it reveals signs that militarisation is likely to increase in the near future.
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‘My whole skull was throbbing’: How it feels to survive bird flu
When H5N1 broke out in Vietnam in 1997, Mark Honigsbaum covered the story. It stayed with him ever since.
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‘Everything went with the water – we have nothing’: Survivors count the cost of Kenya’s devastating floods
At least 228 people are dead and 23,000 families displaced – but the situation will worsen.
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