Africa
Nigeria recovers 17 bodies from boat incident – Officials in Nigeria recovered 17 bodies after a boat capsized on a waterway in Lagos. Reports suggest the boat set sail later than rules permitted and that a tide carried the boat toward a barge, forcing it to overturn. Boat accidents are common in Nigeria, mostly because of overcrowding and poor maintenance.
Child paralysis cases rise in Mozambique – Over the first half of 2022, Mozambique recorded nine cases of paralysis in children. The victims are suspected to have contracted polio. In particular, polio cases have risen in the Inhambane province, causing concern among health authorities. In May, Mozambique declared a polio outbreak after a child contracted the disease.
Asia
Casinos closed in Macau because of COVID-19 – Casinos in Macau, the world’s biggest gambling hub, have closed for the first time in more than two years because of a Coronavirus outbreak. Other non-essential businesses have also been shut down because of the virus. Since the middle of June, the city has recorded 1,526 COVID cases. More than 90 percent of people in Macau are fully vaccinated against the virus.
India’s population to exceed China – The United Nations is projecting India to become the world’s most populous country next year. India and China are each home to over 1.4 billion people. But India is expected to pass China’s population despite China introducing incentives for residents to have children. The United Nations also said the world’s population will reach 8 billion by November.
Europe
Thousands of Ukraine military members missing – Ukraine’s ombudsman Oleh Kotenko said around 7,200 Ukrainian service personnel have gone missing since Russia invaded the country. The majority of those who are missing are in Russian captivity. Kotenko said he hopes that sooner or later Ukraine can exchange for Russian prisoners of war and return the missing personnel home.
Dolphin hunting to be limited in Faroe Islands – Officials in the Faroe Islands will limit the country’s dolphin hunt to 500 animals after more than 1,400 were killed last year. Hunting whales and other sea animals is a traditional practice in the Faroe Islands. The area has hunted sea animals, mostly whales, for hundreds of years. Pressure has mounted for the Faroese government to intervene. Recently, a petition calling for a ban on the hunt reached 1.3 million signatures.
Latin America
Amazon Rainforest deforestation reaches highest rate in six years – Brazil’s national space agency, Inpe, reported that 1,540 square miles of Amazon Rainforest land was cleared between January and June. It is the highest amount of deforestation that has taken place in the Amazon the past six years. The high level of deforestation is also leading to a higher than use number of fires for this time of year. The Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest and plays an important part in the planet’s oxygen and carbon dioxide cycles.
Nicaragua expels Mother Teresa’s nuns – Nuns from the order founded by Mother Teresa were escorted by Nicaragua police to the border of Costa Rica. The organization was shutdown as part of a crackdown on those who oppose President Daniel Ortega. The Catholic Church has made statements criticizing human rights abuses in Nicaragua. Around 18 nuns were driven to the border in a bus by police officers and migration officials.
North America
Major internet outage hits Canada – Transport, banking and emergency services were all affected by a country-wide outage of Rogers’ services. Rogers, one of Canada’s largest mobile and internet providers, blamed the outage on a maintenance update. The outage lasted for longer than 15 hours and impacted 911 services. Popstar, The Weeknd was also forced to cancel a show in Toronto because of the outage.
U.S. to look at over-the-counter birth control – Just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, the Food and Drug Administration received its first application for a birth control pill over the counter. The application came from HRA Pharma, a pharmaceutical firm. The pills are the most common form of contraception in the U.S. The company said the FDA is expected to decide on its request in the next year.
