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This is VOA News. I'm Alexis Strope.
Palestinian health officials say the first case of polio has been recorded in an unvaccinated 10-month-old child in the Gaza city of Deir al-Balah. The officials say after discovering the child's symptoms, tests were conducted in Jordan's capital of Amman and the case was confirmed to be polio. The World Health Organization didn't immediately confirm the case or respond to requests for comment. The U.N. health and children's agencies have called for seven-day pauses in the Israel-Hamas war, starting at the end of August, to allow them to vaccinate 640,000 Palestinian children against polio following the discovery of the virus in wastewater in two major Gaza cities last month. A settler rampage in the West Bank sparks a rare condemnation from Israeli leaders. AP correspondent Karen Chammas has more. One witness, Sufian Jit, said the rampage was like a war waged on the village of Jit near Nablus as over 100 masked Israeli settlers shot live ammunition at Palestinians, burned homes and cars and damaged water tankers. On a visit to Israel, U.K. Foreign Minister David Lammy told reporters "The widespread rampage and chasing of people from their homes is aberrant." Israel's president condemned the violence, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israelis who carried out criminal acts would be prosecuted. However, rights groups say that arrests for settler violence are rare and prosecutions even rarer. I'm Karen Chammas. Military authorities in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk have urged civilians to speed up their evacuation because the Russian army is quickly closing in on what has for months been one of Moscow's key targets. Authorities said in a Telegram post Friday that Russian troops are, quote, "advancing at a fast pace." You'll find expanded coverage of world news and events at our website, voanews.com, 24 hours a day. This is VOA News. Thailand has a new prime minister and it's the youngest one in the country's history. Reuters correspondent Fiona Jones reports. Thirty-seven-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra became the youngest-ever prime minister of Thailand on Friday. The political newcomer is taking on a host of challenges facing the country, including an unstable political climate and floundering economy. "It's about time to do something for the country and for the party as well. I hope that I can do my best." Her win comes only a day after she was thrust into the spotlight amid an unrelenting power struggle between the country's warring elites. Paetongtarn sailed through with nearly two-thirds of the House vote two days after her ally, Srettha Thavisin, was dismissed as premier by (the) Constitutional Court. Fiona Jones from Reuters. Representatives of 22 countries in the European Union on Friday released a joint statement where they urged from [*de] the democratic principles, human rights and fundamental freedoms of Venezuelans to be respected. The statement read by Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez after the inauguration of Dominican President Luis Abinader in Santo Domingo also labeled the accusations of arbitrary detentions as alarming and demanded the release of the detainees. Representatives of countries such as Canada, Suriname, U.K., Morocco and Italy were also present, including the president(s) of Guatemala and Uruguay. The World Health Organization has issued its highest alert over an outbreak of mpox that has spread from Democratic Republic of Congo to its neighbors and beyond Africa's borders. David Doyle from Reuters explains what that means. Mpox, which spreads through close contact, has been a public health problem in parts of Africa for decades. Democratic Republic of Congo is experiencing its worst outbreak ever. Twenty-seven thousand cases and more than 1,100 deaths since January 2023, largely among children. Two strains of the virus which cause flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions are now spreading in Congo, the endemic form and a new offshoot. And it's this new form of mpox that has triggered global concern. It seems to be spreading more quickly and little is known about it. It moved from Congo to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Kenya and then outside Africa's borders. David Doyle from Reuters. Police in Haiti say inmates have broken out of a prison in the central coastal town of Saint-Marc. A police spokesman says 11 inmates were killed in shootouts with authorities after Friday's breakout. The spokesman did not provide further details, including how many inmates escaped. The newspaper Le Nouvelliste says officers at the prison went on strike to demand better treatment, and it quoted government commissioner Vension François as saying he feared a, quote, "mutiny." For additional stories, visit our website voanews.com. I'm Alexa Strope. |