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Five things to know about Israel's attack on Iran
Israel delivered its long-expected response to Iranian missile attacks early Saturday by carrying out a series of airstrikes against the Islamic Republic.
Here's what to know:
Multiple targets were struck
Under the cover of darkness early Saturday, Israel struck multiple sites in different parts of Iran. Explosions were heard in the capital, Tehran, which sits deep inside the country.
The Israeli military said its “precise and targeted strikes” hit missile air defense systems and “aerial capabilities” as well as missile manufacturing facilities used to produce weapons that have been used against Israel. Iran insisted the strikes caused only “limited damage.”
It was not immediately clear how hard of a blow Israel dealt, with neither country providing detailed assessments of the destruction. Iran said the strikes targeted military bases in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran.
Israel appeared confident in its battering of Iran's air defenses, with military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari saying that “Israel now has broader aerial freedom of operation in Iran."
What wasn't hit also matters
The strikes did not appear to target facilities that would all but ensure a harsh Iranian response. Those most notably include Iran's oil infrastructure, the backbone of the OPEC member's economy, and its nuclear facilities.
President Biden earlier this month said he would not support an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites.
U.S. officials felt they had secured agreement from Israel not to hit nuclear or oil sites after dispatching another air-defense missile battery and associated troops, though those assurances were not set in stone.
This attack has finished
Israel signaled that the pre-dawn bombardment was the end of this attack.
"The retaliatory strike has been completed, and its objectives have been achieved,” Hagari said early Saturday, still the Sabbath in Israel.
Not long after, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said commercial flights would resume after being halted because of the airstrikes.
The Israeli attacks aimed to deter future aggression and “show we won’t be silent,” but to do so in a way that would minimize the embarrassment for Iran, said Yoel Guzansky, a researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies.
Outrage and calls for restraint
The White House indicated that it wants the strikes to end the direct exchanges of fire between Israel and Iran, and warned Iran against responding.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there was a “need to avoid further regional escalation” and called on all sides to show restraint.
Reactions in the region were harsher. Saudi Arabia, Iran's main Arab rival, condemned the strike, calling it a threat to regional security and “a violation of international laws and norms.”
Turkey accused Israel of having “brought our region to the brink of a greater war" and said, “putting an end to the terror created by Israel in the region has become a historic duty.”
Syria and Iraq were among other countries in the region condemning the strikes. So did Hamas, which along with other militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking some 250 hostages into Gaza.
Israel's retaliatory offensive in the Gaza Strip has so far killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but say women and children make up for more than half the deaths.
Iran's response will be key
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Iran would respond to the airstrikes, calling them a clear violation of international law as it asserted Tehran's right to self-defense.
Israel characterized Saturday's attack as a response to previous aerial assaults by Iran using missiles and exploding drones in April and another missile attack this month. Many of those projectiles were shot down before reaching their targets.
Iran could attempt another direct bombardment, though doing so risks provoking yet another direct Israeli attack on its territory at a moment when its defenses are weakened.
It could also encourage allied militant groups such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon to intensify their attacks, though both have suffered serious blows in their ongoing wars with Israel.
“Iran will play down the impact of the strikes, which are in fact quite serious,” predicted Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based think tank Chatham House.
She said Iran is “boxed in by their own military limitations, economic constraints from sanctions and by the U.S. election outcome,” which could affect the course of further escalation or diplomatic outreach.
1 hour ago
Thousands gather for colorful celebration at Taiwan Pride parade
Thousands gathered on the streets of Taipei on Saturday for the Taiwan Pride parade, one of Asia’s largest annual celebrations of inclusivity.
Attendees, many dressed in colorful costumes, walked waving flags and banners with messages of support for gender equality. Some hailed from across the region, from places like Vietnam, Hong Kong and Japan.
Taiwan has built a reputation as one of Asia’s most gender-inclusive places. The island democracy in 2019 was the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage after a yearslong campaign by gay rights advocates.
Saturday’s parade overlapped with Halloween celebrations, with some attendees’ costumes pulling double duty for both events.
“More and more people come to participate in the parade every year,” said an attendee who only gave his first name, Daniel, citing fear of stigmatization, and wore a winged centaur costume and vampire teeth.
“Gender equality … is very important, especially in Asia where there are still many conservative countries,” he added. “Taiwan is relatively democratic and free, so everyone comes to Taiwan to participate in the parade for gender equality and speak up for equal rights.”
Nick Van Halderen, a drag performer from New Zealand who lives in Taipei, expressed excitement about reuniting with friends from across the region.
“I feel like after COVID, it’s just very special to have everyone come from overseas again,” Van Halderen said. “It still feels like quite a novelty.”
The Taiwan Pride parade began in 2003 with just 700 participants gathering in a park in central Taipei — most of them wearing face masks to avoid stigmatization.
Organizers of Saturday’s event said they hoped to create a safe space where everyone felt comfortable to express themselves.
1 hour ago
How Israel hit 20 targets in Iran with 100 jets
In a powerful show of force, Israel has launched a coordinated aerial assault on 20 Iranian military targets, deploying 100 fighter jets in a three-wave operation across Iranian airspace.
The strikes, named ‘Operation Days of Repentance’, come amid escalating hostilities after Iran reportedly launched 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel in early October.
According to Israeli sources, the strikes targeted missile and drone facilities and strictly avoided nuclear or oil infrastructure to prevent a wider escalation.
Precision Strikes on Iranian Targets
The Israeli Air Force deployed its cutting-edge F-35 Adir fifth-generation stealth fighters, F-15I Ra'am ground-attack jets, and F-16I Sufa air-defence fighters. The mission, covering approximately 2,000 kilometres, aimed at Iranian military installations believed to support regional proxy groups.
Iran prepares for huge military response amid Israeli tensions
Israel utilised its advanced 'Rampage' supersonic long-range missiles and the 'Rocks' extended stand-off air-to-surface missiles, both known for their high precision. Each wave involved 25-30 aircraft, with around 10 jets conducting missile strikes while the remainder provided cover and diversion.
Three Waves of Strikes
The first wave, directed at Iran’s radar and air-defence installations, aimed to disable Iranian defensive capabilities, paving the way for successive waves. The second and third waves focused on targeting missile and drone facilities.
The timing of the strike was reportedly delayed due to unfavourable weather conditions, as the precision weapons used require clear weather to maximise accuracy through camera-seeking technology.
International Tensions Escalate
This latest action follows the recent killing of prominent leaders within Hezbollah and Hamas, both known Iranian-backed entities, and has led to heightened military vigilance across the region. Israeli and US air defences were placed on high alert during the operation to counter any retaliatory strikes.
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Iranian Response and Regional Fallout
In response, Iran claimed that its air defences successfully mitigated the impact of the strikes, reporting only minor damage in the regions of Tehran, Khuzestan, and Ilam. Both Iran and Iraq subsequently closed their airspace in anticipation of further military actions.
With tensions already at a boiling point, this latest development has raised fears of a broader regional conflict.
The United Nations has urged restraint on both sides, while diplomatic channels remain open, albeit strained, between regional powers and their global allies.
8 hours ago
War affects over 600 million women and girls, UN says
More than 600 million women and girls are now affected by war, a 50% increase from a decade ago, and they fear the world has forgotten them amid an escalating backlash against women’s rights and gender equality, top U.N. officials say.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a new report that amid record levels of armed conflict and violence, progress over the decades for women is vanishing and “generational gains in women’s rights hang in the balance around the world.”
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The U.N. chief was assessing the state of a Security Council resolution adopted on Oct. 31, 2000, that demanded equal participation for women in peace negotiations, a goal that remains as distant as gender equality.
Guterres said current data and findings show that “the transformative potential of women’s leadership and inclusion in the pursuit of peace” is being undercut — with power and decision-making on peace and security matters overwhelmingly in the hands of men.
“As long as oppressive patriarchal social structures and gender biases hold back half our societies, peace will remain elusive,” he warned.
The report says the proportion of women killed in armed conflicts doubled in 2023 compared with a year earlier; U.N.-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence were 50% higher; and the number of girls affected by grave violations in conflicts increased by 35%.
At a two-day U.N. Security Council meeting on the topic that ended Friday, Sima Bahous, head of the U.N. agency promoting gender equality known as UN Women, also pointed to a lack of attention to women’s voices in the search for peace.
She cited the fears of millions of women and girls in Afghanistan deprived of an education and a future; of displaced women in Gaza “waiting for death”; of women in Sudan who are victims of sexual violence; and of the vanishing hopes of women in Myanmar, Haiti, Congo, the Sahel region of Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen and elsewhere.
Bahous said 612 million women and girls who are affected by war “wonder if the world has already forgotten them, if they have fallen from the agenda of an international community overwhelmed by crises of ever deeper frequency, severity and urgency.”
The world needs to answer their fears with hope, she said, but the reality is grim: “One in two women and girls in conflict-affected settings are facing moderate to severe food insecurity, 61% of all maternal mortality is concentrated in 35 conflict-affected countries.”
As for women’s participation in decision-making and politics in countries in conflict, Bahous said it’s stalled.
“The percentage of women in peace negotiations has not improved over the last decade: under 10% on average in all processes, and under 20% in processes led or supported by the United Nations,” she said.
U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed announced the launch of a “Common Pledge on Women’s Participation in Peace Processes,” and urged governments, regional organizations and others involved in mediation to join the U.N. in taking concrete steps toward that end. The commitments include appointing women as lead mediators and team members, promoting direct and meaningful participation of women in peace processes, consulting women leaders at all stages and embedding women with expertise “to foster gender-responsive peace processes and agreements,” she said.
Many U.N. ambassadors who spoke at the council meeting focused on the lack of “political will” to promote women in the peace process.
“We’ve seen how the lack of political will continues to stand in the way of the full implementation of the commitments entered into by member states,” Panama’s U.N. Ambassador Eloy Alfaro de Alba said Friday.
13 hours ago
Trump leaves Michigan rallygoers waiting in the cold for hours to tape Joe Rogan podcast
Donald Trump ran hours late to a rally in Michigan Friday, causing thousands of his supporters to leave while others huddled in cold weather to await the former president at an outdoor rally in the battleground state.
The Republican presidential nominee was delayed for an interview with Joe Rogan, the nation’s most listened-to podcaster, that stretched to three hours in Austin, Texas. Trump is aggressively courting younger male voters with whom Rogan is widely popular. The interview was released Friday night.
Democrat Kamala Harris was also in Texas Friday for an appearance with superstar Beyoncé in Houston at an event highlighting the conservative state's abortion ban enacted after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Three of the justices who voted to overturn Roe were nominated by Trump.
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Minutes before Trump's Michigan rally was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, his spokesman posted on the social media platform X that Trump was just leaving Texas, more than two hours away by air. Trump recorded a video from his plane urging his supporters to stay, noting it was Friday night and promising, “We’re going to have a good time tonight.”
Trump was slated to speak at the Traverse City airport, where temperatures dipped into the low 50s Fahrenheit (above 10 degrees Celsius) after dark.
Attendees who hadn't left bundled up, some covered by blankets, as they waited for him to land. The crowd sounded and looked disengaged as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon tried to kill time onstage. Hats were being thrown to attendees.
Some of those who stuck around took it in stride.
“Well, we rather they were on time,” said Karen Targanski from Bay City, Michigan, a more than two-hour drive away. She added that it was nonetheless “worth the wait.”
Trump drives immigration in Texas speech
With 11 days until the election, Trump and Harris both took a detour battleground states for brief forays into solidly Republican Texas. Neither believes the state is competitive, but they’re using it as a backdrop to drive a message about the issues they hope voters will have front of mind when they cast ballots. For Trump, that’s border security. For Harris, it’s abortion rights.
Appearing in Austin earlier Friday, Trump tried to turn Harris' event into an attack line tied to one of his favorite subjects, immigration.
Hours before Harris' star-studded appearance with Beyoncé, Willie Nelson, Jessica Alba and others, Trump accused the vice president of hanging out with “woke celebrities” but not with the families of people who have been killed by migrants.
Trump's trip to Texas, his second stop in a border state in two days, comes as the former president escalates his already dark and apocalyptic rhetoric against illegal immigration.
“We’re like a garbage can for the rest of the world to dump the people that they don’t want,” Trump told supporters Friday in Austin. Trump has continued to push the unfounded idea that foreign governments actively send criminals to the U.S.
Harris said the remark is “just another example of how he really belittles our country.”
“The president of the United States should be someone who elevates discourse and talks about the best of who we are, and invests in the best of who we are, not someone like Donald Trump, who is constantly demeaning and belittling who the American people are,” Harris told reporters in Houston.
Throughout the campaign, Trump has routinely appeared with grieving relatives of people who were hurt or killed by people living in the country illegally. On Friday, he ceded the microphone to the mother of a 12-year-old Texas girl, Jocelyn Nungaray, whose body was found in June. Prosecutors have charged two Venezuelan men in the U.S. illegally with capital murder.
“She was just being a child, and due to the Biden-Harris policies we have here ... she’s not here anymore,” Alexis Nungaray said.
During a rally Thursday in Arizona, Trump railed against Harris for the Biden administration’s record on the border, which he said had “unleashed” an “army of migrant gangs” that are “waging a campaign of violence and terror against our citizens.”
Trump views immigration as the issue that won him the White House in 2016. He accuses Harris of perpetrating “a wicked betrayal of America” and having “orchestrated the most egregious betrayal that any leader in American history has ever inflicted upon our people,” even though crime is down.
While migrants have been charged with some high-profile crimes that Trump repeatedly highlights, research has shown that immigrants — including those who entered the country illegally — are charged with fewer violent crimes than American citizens.
He has also spread false theories that Democrats are registering immigrants without legal status to vote.
Rogan interview underscores Trump's focus on masculinity
His interview with Rogan, who tapes his podcast in Austin, created another opportunity for the Republican nominee to highlight the hypermasculine tone that has defined much of his 2024 White House bid.
Trump has made masculinity a central theme of his campaign, appearing on podcasts targeting young male voters and tapping surrogates who sometimes use crude language.
At a Trump rally Wednesday, former Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson called the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz, a “weak man” and compared Trump’s return to the White House to a dad who comes home ready to punish his misbehaved children.
“When Dad gets home, you know what he says?” Carlson asked. “You’ve been a bad girl. You’ve been a bad little girl, and you are getting a vigorous spanking right now.”
Rogan and Trump have a complicated relationship. Rogan had previously said that he declined to host Trump on his podcast before because he did not want to help him.
Earlier this year, Trump criticized Rogan after the podcaster said that then-candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. was the only person running for president who made sense to him. Kennedy has since suspended his bid, endorsed Trump and joined him on the campaign trail.
“It will be interesting to see how loudly Joe Rogan gets BOOED the next time he enters the UFC Ring???” Trump wrote on his social media site in August, referring to Rogan's experience as a commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The podcaster is known for his hourslong interviews on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which is listed as No. 1 in the United States, according to Spotify’s charts. He calls women “chicks” and once laughed as a comedian friend described repeatedly coercing young women comics into sex.
13 hours ago
Israel launches strikes on Iran, risking escalation in Mideast wars
Israel pounded Iran with a series of airstrikes early Saturday, saying it was targeting military targets in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired upon Israel earlier this month. Explosions could be heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, though there was no immediate information on damage or casualties.
The attack risks pushing the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiraling violence across the Middle East, where militant groups backed by Iran – including Hamas in Gaza, and Hezbollah in Lebanon – are already at war with Israel.
The Israeli military said Saturday it had launched “precise strikes on military targets” and, according to two Israeli officials, it was not targeting nuclear or oil facilities. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the ongoing operation with the media.
“The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since Oct. 7 ... including direct attacks from Iranian soil,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a prerecorded video statement early Saturday. “Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond.”
Iran prepares for huge military response amid Israeli tensions
Initially, nuclear facilities and oil installations all had been seen as possible targets for Israel’s response to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack, but in mid-October the Biden administration believed it had won assurances from Israel that it would not hit such targets.
Iran’s state-run media acknowledged blasts that could be heard in Tehran and said some of the sounds came from air defense systems around the city.
But beyond a brief reference, Iranian state television offered no other details and even began showing what it described as live footage of men loading trucks at a vegetable market in Tehran in an attempt to downplay the assault.
A Tehran resident told The Associated Press that at least seven explosions could be heard, which rattled the surrounding area. The resident spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
People in Tehran could see what appeared to be tracer fire light up the sky as the blasts could be heard. Other footage showed what appeared to be surface-to-air missiles launching up to the sky and other detonations.
Iran closed the country’s airspace early Saturday, and flight-tracking data analyzed by the Associated Press showed commercial airlines had broadly left the skies over Iran, and across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed and would continue to receive updates.
In Syria, the state news agency SANA, citing an unnamed military official, reported missile fire targeting military sites in the country’s central and southern region. It said that Syria’s air defenses had shot some of the missiles down. There was no immediate information on casualties.
Iran has launched two ballistic missile attacks on Israel in recent months amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that began with the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. That initial attack killed some 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage back to the seaside enclave.
In the time since, more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to local health officials who don’t delineate between civilians and combatants. The U.N. has said hundreds of thousands of people have been trapped with little food or supplies as Israeli forces close in on the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya, while food and other aid remains scarce in the enclave. Israeli military operations in the West Bank in the time since have killed hundreds more.
Israel also has launched a ground invasion of Lebanon and a series of punishing airstrikes that have rattled that country.
The strike Saturday happened just as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was arriving back in the U.S. after a tour of the Middle East where he and other U.S. officials had warned Israel to tender a response that would not further escalate the conflict in the region and exclude nuclear sites in Iran.
White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement that “we understand that Israel is conducting targeted strikes against military targets in Iran” and referred reporters to the Israeli government for more details on their operation.
Two U.S. officials said the U.S. was notified by Israel in advance of the strikes. They said there was no U.S. involvement in the operation. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation.
Israel had vowed to hit Iran hard following a massive Iranian missile barrage on Oct. 1. Iran said its barrage was in response to deadly Israeli attacks against its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, and it has promised to respond to any retaliatory strikes.
Israel and Iran have been bitter foes since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel considers Iran to be its greatest threat, citing its leaders’ calls for Israel’s destruction, their support for anti-Israel militant groups and the country’s nuclear program.
Israel and Iran have been locked in a yearslong shadow war. A suspected Israeli assassination campaign has killed top Iranian nuclear scientists. Iranian nuclear installations have been hacked or sabotaged, all in mysterious attacks blamed on Israel. Meanwhile, Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks on shipping in the Middle East in recent years, which later grew into the attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping through the Red Sea corridor.
But since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the battle has increasingly moved into the open. Israel has recently turned its attention to Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets into Israel since the war in Gaza began. Throughout the year, a number of top Iranian military figures have been killed in Israeli strikes in Syria and Lebanon.
Iran fired a wave of missiles and drones at Israel last April after two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike in Syria on an Iranian diplomatic post. The missiles and drones caused minimum damage, and Israel — under pressure from Western countries to show restraint — responded with a limited strike.
But after Iran’s early October missile strike, Israel promised a tougher response.
Meanwhile Friday, Israeli strikes on residential areas in southern Gaza killed 38 people, including 13 children from the same extended family, Palestinian health officials said.
In northern Gaza, health officials reported that Israeli forces had raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few medical facilities still functioning in the area. Israel has renewed its offensive against Hamas in the north in recent weeks, and aid groups are sounding the alarm over dire humanitarian conditions.
In Lebanon, Israeli strikes on the country’s southeast killed three journalists working for news outlets that are considered to be aligned with Hezbollah.
13 hours ago
At least 75 sickened as deadly McDonald's E. coli outbreak expands
A deadly outbreak of E. coli poisoning tied to McDonald's Quarter Pounders has expanded, with at least 75 people sick in 13 states, federal health officials said Friday.
Twenty-two people have been hospitalized, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Two people developed a dangerous kidney disease complication, and one person died.
No source of the outbreak has been identified, officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. But investigators have focused on slivered onions used on the burgers, as well as beef patties.
McDonald's officials have said that a California-based produce grower, Taylor Farms, supplied yellow onions that have been recalled for possible E. coli contamination. McDonald's pulled the burger from menus in several states on Tuesday when the outbreak was announced.
23 hours ago
Reliance, Nvidia Partner to Build Large-Scale AI Infrastructure in India
Reliance Industries and Nvidia have announced a partnership aimed at building large-scale AI infrastructure in India, a move that could significantly advance the country’s artificial intelligence capabilities.
The collaboration, revealed during a fireside chat at the Nvidia AI Summit 2024 in Mumbai, involves Reliance utilising Nvidia's latest GB 200 supercomputer technology.
During the discussion, Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani highlighted the scale of the project, explaining that Reliance would begin by constructing infrastructure for 1 GW, which could later be expanded at a single location.
He also stressed the importance of making AI accessible to the masses, much like how Reliance’s telecom arm Jio revolutionised mobile data costs in India.
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"We are building infrastructure for 1 GW, expandable to more, at one location. Our aim is to make AI as affordable and accessible as Jio did for mobile data," Ambani remarked. Reliance's Jio network, which offers data at 15 cents per gigabyte, has driven down costs significantly compared to the global average of $3.5.
Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, underscored India’s unique position in the AI landscape, citing its vast IT talent, enormous digital data sets, and a substantial user base that can serve as a catalyst for an "AI flywheel."
With over 10,000 engineers already working in India, Nvidia views this partnership as pivotal for building India’s indigenous AI capabilities.
The project also aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of AI self-reliance for India. Huang recalled a past conversation with the Prime Minister where Modi emphasised the importance of India not merely exporting data but also creating value by developing its own AI.
“Modi ji said, India should not just export flour to import bread. We should add value to the data ourselves,” Huang recounted.
Both Ambani and Huang also discussed the potential of open-source AI models, such as Meta’s Llama, in advancing AI development. Ambani suggested that Indian developers could build on Llama to create advanced Indian language models in the future.
The partnership is a significant milestone in India's AI journey, combining Nvidia's state-of-the-art technology with Reliance's execution and infrastructure expertise.
Source: With inputs from news wires
2 days ago
WHO calls for joint efforts to ensure polio-free future for all
WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia Saima Wazed has called for working together to eradicate polio and secure a healthier, polio-free future for all.
“Let us remain united in our mission, drawing inspiration from our shared successes and our demonstrated resilience. Together, we can eradicate polio and secure a healthier, polio-free future for all,” she said in a media statement on “World Polio Day” that falls on October 24.
Saima Wazed said their collective and continued vigilance and proactive measures are vital in ensuring they do not lose the hard-earned gains of the past decade.
By sustaining these efforts, we can protect future generations from the threat of polio and move closer to a world where polio is a disease of the past, she said.
The Regional Director extended his heartfelt congratulations to all the countries and partners in the WHO South-East Asia Region for achieving and maintaining a decade of polio-free status.
The world observes World Polio Day on 24th October, the birth date of Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis.
The WHO South-East Asia Region was certified free of wild polioviruses on 27 March 2014. The last case of wild poliovirus in the region was reported in January 2011, and since then, no new cases of wild poliovirus have been reported from any country of this region.
This remarkable milestone is a testament to the unwavering political commitment, relentless efforts of the health workers, and the collaborative spirit of partners, donors, civil societies, and all stakeholders that have driven this success.
“This demonstrates the commendable dedication and commitment to public health and citizens' well-being of all the countries of our region,” she said.
Saima Wazed said it is crucial to remember that their journey is not yet complete. “The risk of polio remains until it is eradicated globally.”
“The international spread of poliovirus remains a public health emergency of international concern. Therefore, it is imperative that we continue to uphold and strengthen polio essential functions,” she said.
This includes maintaining high immunization coverage, robust surveillance systems, and rapid response mechanisms to any potential outbreaks.
“It is equally important to ensure containment of polio virus materials, and containment contingency plan according to global guidelines,” she said.
“Our region continues to remain on track with all the key strategies for polio eradication. Today, the overall regional coverage of the bivalent oral polio vaccine and the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), through routine immunization, has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. However, it remains sub-optimal in some countries, and subnational variations in coverage continue across the region,” Saima Wazed said.
She said her message to all polio stakeholders is to continue the collaboration at all levels to ensure resources to maintain polio essential functions are available and the global and regional guidelines on sustaining polio-free status are optimally implemented.
2 days ago
India evacuates hundreds of thousands of people and shuts schools as a tropical storm nears
Indian authorities have shut schools, evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and canceled trains in parts of the country as rescue teams braced on Thursday for a tropical storm brewing in the Bay of Bengal.
Tropical Storm Dana is expected to intensify, bringing winds of 100-110 kph (62-68 mph) and gusts up to 120 kph (74 mph), as it pushes toward the country's eastern coastline, where it is set to make landfall late Thursday and early Friday, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.
Climate scientists say severe storms are becoming more frequent in South Asia. Global warming driven by planet-heating gases has caused them to become more extreme and unpredictable.
The storm is expected to affect most parts of the eastern state of Odisha, which saw strong winds and rain on Thursday morning. Authorities have closed schools, canceled more than 200 trains, suspended flights and warned fishermen not to venture out to sea.
Cyclone Dana: Hit by barge, Navy jetty destroyed in Cox’s Bazar
Downpours also began lashing areas of neighboring West Bengal state, where some districts are also likely to be hit, prompting officials there to be on high alert.
Odisha's Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi told the Press Trust of India news agency that around 300,000 people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas, adding that three districts were likely to be severely affected. Authorities plan to evacuate over 1 million people from 14 districts. Several teams of aid and rescue workers have also been deployed to the state, which is prone to severe cyclones and storms.
“The government is fully prepared to tackle the situation. You are in safe hands,” Majhi said.
India’s eastern coasts have long been prone to cyclones, but the number of intense storms is increasing along the country’s coast. Last year was India’s deadliest cyclone season in recent years, killing 523 people and costing an estimated $2.5 billion in damage.
2 days ago