Update: Brazil starts mass vaccination campaign against dengue

BRASILIA, Feb 11 (NNN-XINHUA) — Brazil has launched its vaccination campaign against dengue fever in the Federal District, targeting 521 municipalities nationwide identified as priorities, said the country’s health ministry. Brazil becomes the first country in the world to incorporate dengue immunization into the public health network. With the receipt…

Brazil: Parades, parties, pageantry – what to know about Rio’s Carnival

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — After weeks of sweaty, pulsating street parties, the Rio Carnival reaches its crescendo this Sunday with its main event, in which samba schools compete in dazzling parades.    Here are five things to know about the Rio Carnival:    SAMBODROME: Rio de Janeiro vibrates with…

Drought: Climate change parches Morocco breadbasket amid policy pitfalls

BERRECHID (Morocco), Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Around this time every year, Moroccan wheat farmer Abderrahim Mohafid is usually preparing for his spring harvest, but this year his fields lay unusually bare.   On the road leading up to his hamlet in Berrechid province, Morocco’s historical breadbasket situated some 40 kilometres southeast…

Somalia: Three Emirati soldiers and a Bahraini officer killed in Al-Shabaab attack

MOGADISHU, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Three Emirati soldiers and a Bahraini officer were killed in an attack in Somalia, where they were training the Somali national army, the United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry said.    The soldiers were “exposed to a terrorist act” while “performing their work duties in training and…

South Africa: Minister concerned about high number of vehicle crashes

BLOEMFONTEIN (Free State, South Africa), Feb 11 (NNN-SANEWS) — Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga has expressed concern at the high level of vehicle crashes and fatalities that have occurred in the country recently. “In recent past weeks, there were some equally gruesome accidents that robbed our country of fathers, mothers, brothers,…

Brazil has a dengue emergency, portending a health crisis for the Americas

A city worker drains standing water from potted plants in a street in Rio, in an effort to eliminate breeding spots for mosquitoes BRASILIA, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil is experiencing an enormous outbreak of dengue fever, the sometimes fatal mosquito-borne disease, and public health experts say it is a…

UK: King Charles breaks silence following cancer diagnosis

King Charles III, with Queen Camilla LONDON, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — King Charles has spoken publicly for the first time after Buckingham Palace revealed on Monday that the monarch was beginning treatment for cancer. “I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good…

Hungary President resigns over pardon to man convicted in sex abuse case

Novak became the first woman to hold the essentially ceremonial role of president BUDAPEST, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hungarian President Katalin Novak, a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, announced her resignation Saturday following outrage over a pardon granted to a man implicated in a child sexual abuse case.…

US helicrash: Nigerian bank CEO among 6 dead after helicopter crashes in Mojave Desert – Sheriff

Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe LOS ANGELES, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A helicopter carrying six people crashed in the Mojave Desert Friday evening, killing all passengers aboard, according to authorities. Two crew members and four passengers departed from Palm Springs, California, at 8:45 p.m., and were en route to Boulder City, Nevada,…

Senegal: Clashes spread over election postponement

 DAKAR, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Violent protests in Senegal against the postponement of presidential elections have spread across the country, with the first fatality reported. A university student died in clashes with police on Friday in the northern city of Saint-Louis, an opposition leader and a local hospital source said.…