Breakfast News Recap: Saudi airport strike deepens Gulf tensions as storms, conflict and disease spread
Saudi Arabia has vowed a decisive response after a Houthi strike on Riyadh's international airport killed at least a dozen people and wounded more than 300, with authorities later saying the airport was hit again and operations were briefly suspended. ๐ ๐In the wider Gulf, a petrol tanker exploded after striking a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz, while US forces disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman after it allegedly ignored repeated warnings, underlining the pressure on shipping routes linked to the Iran blockade dispute. ๐ ๐Shipping firms are now reportedly offering captains premiums of... [Continue Reading]
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Ebola spreads to new health zone in eastern DRC as Kenya confirms fatal imported case
Ebola has spread to a new health zone in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, while Kenya has confirmed its first imported case of the disease, according to the latest World Health Organization update. The developments point to continuing pressure on public health systems in the region and renewed concern about cross-border transmission. The outbreak is linked to the Bundibugyo virus, a species of Ebola virus.The WHO said in an October 8 update that Alimbongo health zone in North Kivu province had reported Ebola cases for the first time. As of October 6, four confirmed cases, including two deaths, had... [Continue Reading]
Siberia plague scare deepens as hospital observation and surveillance widen
A plague scare in the Siberian town of Shelekhov has widened after a woman died last week and local residents were kept under observation in hospital. The case has centred on a 28-year-old laboratory worker, Darya Shipilova, who was reported to have died after falling ill in the same town. Russian authorities have continued to downplay the episode, saying she died of pneumonia of unknown cause and denying any link to her work at the Irkutsk anti-plague institute.People in the town described being kept inside for days while officials monitored contacts and restricted movement in some parts of the community.... [Continue Reading]
Kenya tightens Ebola screening after first death linked to cross-border travel
The World Health Organization says Kenya is strengthening disease surveillance and introducing more targeted screening at high-risk points of entry after the country reported its first death from Ebola. The case is linked to a patient who first became ill in the Democratic Republic of Congo, then travelled over land through Uganda before flying to Nairobi. The development has raised concern that the outbreak, which began in eastern Congo earlier this year, may be moving further across borders than previously understood.According to the WHO, the patient had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo and was treated there before... [Continue Reading]
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Russia faces pressure over reported second plague case in Siberia
The World Health Organization and Western governments are pressing Russia for clearer information after reports emerged of a second suspected plague case linked to a research institute in Siberia. The case centres on the death of a laboratory technician in the Irkutsk region last week, which has raised questions about possible exposure at the facility. Russian officials have rejected much of the reporting as false and say the cause of death has not been confirmed.WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that Moscow should clarify media reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause. The United States... [Continue Reading]
Russia plague case under close US monitoring as hospital quarantine continues in Irkutsk
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is aware of and closely monitoring a suspected pneumonic plague case in Russia, after the unexplained death of a 28-year-old laboratory worker in Siberia. Russian authorities have quarantined a hospital in the Irkutsk region and are tracing the woman's contacts. Local media reports also say nearly 200 people have been placed under medical observation.The CDC said the reported case remains unconfirmed, but stressed that plague is a serious bacterial disease that can be treated with antibiotics if recognised early. It said rapid identification and treatment of infected people are... [Continue Reading]
US monitoring suspected plague case in Siberia as Russian officials report no wider spread
US officials said they were continuing to watch the death of a Russian laboratory technician at a plague research centre in Siberia, after new details emerged from Russian authorities. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was monitoring the case closely, while President Donald Trump said the US had not discussed it with the Kremlin but would help if needed. The comments came as Russian officials repeated that they had found no sign of an emergency at the institute.Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev said the woman's cause of death had been listed as pneumonia of undetermined etiology and that no micro-organisms... [Continue Reading]
Dozens quarantined in Siberia after plague-related death at research institute
Authorities in Russia's Irkutsk region have quarantined dozens of people after the death of a laboratory worker at an anti-plague research institute in Siberia. The case has prompted an official inspection and renewed public concern about a disease that remains present in parts of the region. Officials said the situation was under control, while local media identified the woman as Darya Shipilova, an employee at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East.Regional governor Igor Kobzev said a special expert commission had found that the cause of death was pneumonia of undetermined origin. He added that the... [Continue Reading]
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