AFRICA

Government health advisers say gay and bisexual men at high risk for mpox infection should get vaccinated for the virus even after the current outbreak ends.

You can take a virtual dive into the hippopotamus exhibit at the San Antonio Zoo with a new Hippo Cam.

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank are holding their annual meetings in Morocco, one month after an earthquake killed nearly 3,000 people in the North African country.

The science of human evolution has made big leaps in recent years, and it’s painting a new picture of our origins.

By the time we get to October, San Antonians should turn their attention to the Pacific when it comes to rain chances.

Some employees in government offices in Nigeria walked off their jobs in protest of the growing cost of living due to the removal of gas subsidies, threatening to “shut down” Africa’s largest economy if their demands for improved welfare are not met.

The European Union is growing increasingly concerned about “domino effects” as yet another military coup rocks Africa.

The Kremlin's spokesperson says “deliberate wrongdoing” is among the possible causes of the plane crash that killed Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin last week.

British lawmakers say the U.K. has underestimated the threat posed by the Russian Wagner mercenary group and should ban it as a terrorist organization.

Nigeria is trying to make Africa’s largest economy reliant on its own wheat production.

Ukraine said its forces shot down Russian drones and cruise missiles targeting the Black Sea port of Odesa in what Moscow called “retribution” for an attack that damaged a crucial bridge to the Crimean Peninsula.

Record ocean heat has invaded Florida with a vengeance.

Three cheetah cubs born to a big cat brought to India from Africa last year died in the past week in central India’s Kuno National Park.

The World Health Organization says the global outbreak of mpox is no longer an international emergency.

The devastating Tropical Cyclone Freddy which has ripped through southern Africa in a rare second landfall has killed at least 219 people in Malawi and Mozambique since Saturday night, with the death toll expected to continue to rise.

An unrelenting Cyclone Freddy that is currently battering southern Africa has killed at least 56 people in Malawi and Mozambique since it struck the continent for a second time on Saturday night, authorities in both countries have confirmed.

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to travel to Africa at the end of March as the United States seeks to pitch itself as a better partner for the continent than China is.

Nigeria’s top election official has dismissed concerns that the country’s cash shortage could affect Saturday’s presidential vote.

France’s defense minister has denounced the way he says French soldiers deployed in Africa appear to be depicted in the Marvel Studios superhero film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” as “false and misleading.”.

The International Energy Agency says Asia will for the first time use half of the world’s electricity by 2025.

Mpox is no longer the exploding health crisis that it appeared to be less than six months ago.

As one deadly conflict in Ethiopia begins to calm, another is growing, challenging a government that’s eager to persuade the international community to lift sanctions and revive what was once one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.

Ecstatic Moroccans have poured into the streets of their capital and other cities in the North African country to celebrate the national soccer team’s historic victory over Portugal at the World Cup.

Research in Africa has found a one-time dose of an experimental drug protected adults against malaria for at least six months.

Shortly after President Joe Biden took office, he issued what was widely hailed as a landmark executive order calling for the U.S. government to address the impact of climate change on migration.

From incrementally rising temperatures and seas to an influx of natural disasters, the climate right now certainly isn't the same as it was before the industrial era.

The Spanish charity Open Arms has rescued 372 people seeking to cross the central Mediterranean Sea to Europe in unseaworthy boats in three operations.

A Berlin museum opens fully to the public this week with a very modern take on the display of cultural items from around the world and the debate over demands for some of them to be returned to their homelands.

Once home to one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, Ethiopia is struggling as the war in its Tigray region has reignited and weary citizens far from the front are pleading for peace.

A person diagnosed with monkeypox has died in the Houston area, becoming the first fatal case in Texas and the U.S. since the outbreak.

Polish officials are marking their nation’s Armed Forces Day holiday alongside the U.S. army commander in Europe and regular American troops, a symbolic underlining of NATO support for members on the eastern front as Russia wages war nearby in Ukraine.

Since May, nearly 90 countries have reported more than 31,000 cases of monkeypox.

Spain is struggling to curtail Europe's leading monkeypox outbreak since the disease spread beyond Africa.

The U.S. has declared a public health emergency to bolster the federal response to the outbreak of monkeypox that already has infected more than 6,600 Americans.

Spain has reported a second death in as many days from monkeypox.

U.S. health officials say more than 100,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine are on the way to states in the next few days.

British health officials say there have now been 1,735 confirmed cases of monkeypox and that three-quarters of those cases are in London, according to new numbers released on Tuesday.

The World Health Organization is reporting a 77% weekly increase in the number of lab-confirmed monkeypox cases, to more than 6,000 worldwide.

U.S. health officials are expanding the group of people recommended to get vaccinated against the monkeypox virus.

The European Medicines Agency says it will begin reviewing data to decide if a smallpox vaccine made by the pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic might also be authorized for monkeypox, amid a growing outbreak of the disease across the continent.

British officials said the monkeypox outbreak U.K. is continuing to grow across the country mainly among men who are gay or bisexual or other men who have sex with men.

British health officials will start offering vaccines to men who are gay or bisexual or have sex with men, who are at the highest risk of catching monkeypox, in an effort to curb the biggest outbreak of the disease beyond Africa.

British health officials have reported another 50 cases of monkeypox across the country, for a total of 574 cases.

The World Health Organization will convene its emergency committee to determine if the monkeypox outbreak that has mysteriously spread beyond Africa warrants being declared a global health emergency.

Saharan dust will be present around South Central Texas again over the weekend of July 24th

The U.S. government is buying more monkeypox vaccine as a surprising international outbreak continues to grow.

British health officials say they cannot tell if the spread of monkeypox has peaked in the country.

British health officials have reported another 73 cases of monkeypox.

Five European Union countries on the Mediterranean Sea say voluntary solidarity from fellow EU nations on caring for migrants isn't enough.

The World Health Organization says nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 20 countries not usually known to have outbreaks of the unusual disease, but described the epidemic as “containable” and proposed creating a stockpile to equitably share the limited vaccines and drugs available worldwide.

With one of Europe’s largest gay pride celebrations right around the corner, Spain's LGBTQ community is worried that outbreaks of monkeypox on the continent could lead to an increase of homophobic sentiment based on misunderstandings of the disease.

A leading World Health Organization adviser says the unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox in developed countries is “a random event” that might be explained by sexual behavior at two recent raves in Europe.

A series of complex challenges, including a lack of funding and political will as well as rising insecurity linked to extremist groups al-Qaida and the Islamic State in Burkina Faso, are obstructing progress on Africa’s Great Green Wall, according to experts involved in the initiative.

New York health officials are investigating a potential case of monkeypox after a patient tested positive for the family of viruses associated with the rare illness.

The number of coronavirus deaths globally dropped by about 21% in the past week while cases rose in most parts of the world, according to the World Health Organization.

Massachusetts has reported a case of monkeypox in a man who recently traveled to Canada.

Health authorities in Mozambique have declared a polio outbreak after confirming that a child in the country’s northeastern Tete province had been paralyzed by the disease.

Portuguese health authorities have confirmed five cases of monkeypox in young men, marking an unusual outbreak in Europe of a disease typically limited to Africa.

The frequency and duration of droughts will continue to increase due to human-caused climate change, with water scarcity already affecting billions of people across the world, the United Nations warned in a report Wednesday.

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights group holds panel to urge for Rusesabagina's release.

Climate activists are urging more banks and insurers not to back the controversial $5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline that is primed to transport oil from the Hoima oilfields in Uganda to the Tanzanian coastal city of Tanga.

The European Commission is downplaying as a “storm in a teacup” an incident last week at a EU-Africa summit in Brussels during which its president was hardly acknowledged by a foreign minister.

A new study suggests that as few as three major criminal groups are responsible for smuggling the vast majority of elephant ivory tusks out of Africa.

Patrice Motsepe is approaching the end of his first year as Confederation of African Football president.

A local government official in Cameroon says at least six people have died in a crush outside a stadium hosting a game at Africa's top soccer tournament.

The World Health Organization says the number of new coronavirus cases globally rose by 20% last week to more than 18 million, marking a slowdown in the surge caused by the omicron variant.

One of the most venomous snakes in Africa just wanted to celebrate the season with one unsuspecting family over the weekend.

China has pledged to donate 600 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccines to Africa as the world grapples with the unequal distribution of the shots between rich and poor countries.

The emergence of the new omicron variant and the world’s desperate and likely futile attempts to keep it at bay are reminders of what scientists have warned for months: The coronavirus will thrive as long as vast parts of the world lack vaccines.

Portuguese health authorities have identified 13 cases of the omicron coronavirus variant among members of a top soccer club, and were investigating possible local transmission of the virus outside of southern Africa.

Australian authorities have announced a third case of the omicron COVID-19 variant as government leaders reconsider plans to relax border restrictions this week.

The U.N. peacekeeping chief says the more than 66,000 United Nations peacekeepers are confronting greater threats today because conflicts have become more complex and are driven by an increasing number of factors ranging from ethnic tensions and the impact of organized crime to illegal exploitation of resources and terrorism.

An animal recovery group says a large cat native to Africa that escaped from its suburban Detroit home was captured after spending several hours on the lam.

Uganda is accelerating its vaccination drive in order to administer 128,000 doses that recently arrived and expire at the end of September.

Archaeologists have uncovered stone tools and hippopotamus bones near ancient lake beds on the Arabian Peninsula.

The Dutch public health institute says that coronavirus infections in the Netherlands skyrocketed by more than 500% over the last week.

A United Nations report says last year saw a “dramatic worsening” of world hunger, much of that likely linked to the pandemic.

Saharan dust will be present around South Central Texas again over the weekend of July 24th

It’s almost been a full year since a United States resident living in San Antonio was tricked onto a private charter flight that ended with his arrest and imprisonment once he landed in Rwanda.

The situation is dire in the Tunisian town of Kairouan.

A meeting of G-20 foreign and development ministers has ended with officials vowing to join efforts to fight hunger in the world, especially in Africa, in the wake of the pandemic, as well as climate change.

A trial has begun for a U.S. Marine who is one of four American servicemembers charged in the hazing death of a U.S. Army Green Beret in Africa.

The family of the hero portrayed in "Hotel Rwanda" tells KSAT 12 he is not receiving food or water, but the Rwandan government denies claim.

The head of the World Trade Organization says it is of paramount importance to diversify vaccine manufacturing and to have more production taking place in Africa and Latin America to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

With basketball games scheduled to be played, a Rwandan exile asks NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for help.

St. Mary’s University gets uninvited guest during Zoom classroom discussion about Rwandan genocide.

President Joe Biden has highlighted how the United States has administered 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine before his first 100 days in office.

FILE - In this Friday March 19, 2021 file photo, supporters of opposition presidential candidate Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas cheer during their party's last rally of the presidential campaign in Brazzaville, Congo. Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, the leading opposition presidential candidate in Republic of Congo, was receiving oxygen at a private hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19, a family member said. The announcement late Saturday March 20, 2021 comes on the eve of the presidential election. (AP Photo/Christ Kimvidi, File)BRAZZAVILLE – The leading opposition presidential candidate in Republic of Congo was receiving oxygen at a private hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19, a family member said, casting Sunday's election into doubt on the eve of the vote. Republic of Congo has had fewer than 10,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with 134 confirmed deaths.

Indian villagers carry their belongings on their heads and walk towards their village on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. Daniele Franco told a virtual news conference after the meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs of the G-20 economies that a core priority for the group is “to grant equitable access” to safe vaccines. “We will not get back to our normal lives until the virus is eradicated in all countries,” Franco said. Economy and finance ministers will check in on progress on issues in July in Venice, and a global summit is planned for October. Climate change and tax policy are on the agenda for July.

United States Ambassador to the United Nations nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield testifies during for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington. Johnson asked her why she had said the United States is not in a new Cold War with China. “This speech is cheerleading for the Chinese Communist Party” and makes no mention of China’s human rights violations, he said. Johnson asked her what the stronger language and tougher tactics would be toward China. “And yet, I had an extraordinary 35-year career, that culminated as the assistant secretary of state of African affairs,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

(Joe Giddens/PA via AP)PARIS – At least 50 countries committed to protecting 30% of the planet, including land and sea, over the next decade to halt species extinction and address climate change issues, during a global summit Monday aimed at protecting the world's biodiversity. About 30 leaders, government officials and heads of international organizations participated in the One Planet Summit, which was being held by videoconference because of the coronavirus pandemic. During his campaign, Biden pledged to better protect biodiversity by preserving 30% of American lands and waters by 2030. Another initiative involves a new coalition of Mediterranean countries working to better protect the sea from pollution and overfishing. ___Follow all AP coverage of climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/Climate.

Volunteers wait to be checked at a vaccine trial facility set at Soweto's Chris Sani Baragwanath Hospital outside Johannesburg, South Africa, Monday Nov. 30, 2020. Over 2000 South African volunteers are on AstraZeneca's experimental coronavirus vaccine trial. The U.N. chief reiterated his call for vaccines to be treated as “a global public good,” available to everyone, everywhere on the planet, especially in Africa. In the United States, the Pfizer vaccine could get a green light for emergency use in the coming days and the Moderna vaccine in the coming weeks. “There are several vaccines in the pipeline for COVAX, and it is perfectly possible to deliver if the financing is guaranteed.”

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court seemed concerned Tuesday about the impact of siding with food giants Nestle and Cargill and ending a lawsuit that claims they knowingly bought cocoa beans from farms in Africa that used child slave labor. The court was hearing arguments in the case by phone because of the coronavirus pandemic. Both Nestle and Cargill say they have taken steps to combat child slavery and have denied any wrongdoing. Alito, for his part, was also skeptical about this particular case against Nestle and Cargill. Cargill and Nestle are asking the court to take another step and rule out suits against U.S. companies.

The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told reporters that “I have seen how Africa is neglected when drugs are available” in the past. And he warned that “it’s clear the second wave (of infections) is here on the continent” of 1.3 billion people. He cited such logistics in his prediction for when vaccinations in Africa will begin. "The worst thing we want for the continent is for COVID to become an endemic disease” in Africa, he said. It could take more than $5 billion to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine in Africa to priority populations alone, the WHO says — and that doesn't include the costs for delivering the vaccines.

NAIROBI – Rockets were fired at Eritrea's capital on Saturday, diplomats said, as the deadly fighting in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region appeared to spill across an international border and bring some of observers' worst fears to life. At least three rockets appeared to be aimed at the airport in Eritrea's capital, Asmara, hours after the Tigray regional government warned it might attack. It has accused Eritrea of attacking it at the invitation of Ethiopia's federal government since the conflict in northern Ethiopia erupted on Nov. 4. Eritrea is one of the world's most reclusive countries, and no one on the ground, including the information ministry, could immediately be reached. Tigray regional officials did not respond to requests for comment.

KAMPALA – Ethiopia's federal troops for almost a week have been battling troops loyal to the Tigray regional government, raising fears of civil war in Africa's second most populous country. Just a year ago, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his dramatic political reforms. Abiy also shocked the region by making peace with neighboring Eritrea after a border war, and promoting similar efforts in the wider Horn of Africa. OCTOBER 2019: A NOBEL PEACE PRIZEThe following year, Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his sweeping reforms. The Tigray region defied the federal government by holding a local election, leading to the current situation where each government now regards the other as illegal.

(AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene)NAIROBI – Suddenly Ethiopia appears on the brink of civil war, threatening the stability of one of the world’s most strategic regions, the Horn of Africa, and the fracturing of one of Africa’s most powerful and populous countries. But the crisis in Ethiopia, a key U.S. security ally, has been building for months. Ethiopia is one of Africa’s most well-armed nations, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front dominated Ethiopia’s military and government before Abiy took office in 2018. In September, the Tigray region voted in a local election that Ethiopia’s federal government called illegal. Ethiopia already was drawing concern over a dispute with Egypt over a huge dam Ethiopia is completing on the Blue Nile.

FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, file photo, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, center, arrives for the opening session of the 33rd African Union (AU) Summit at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. “We have to guard against ‘just another tribal African war,’” former U.S. diplomat Payton Knopf told The Associated Press. The prime minister announced “several martyrs” in the overnight attack in Mekele, the northern Tigray region’s capital, and Dansha town. The region is Ethiopia’s most sensitive, neighboring Eritrea, which fought a long border war before the two countries made peace in 2018. The TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s military and governing coalition before Abiy took office in 2018 and announced sweeping political reforms that won him the Nobel last year.

WASHINGTON – The Marine Corps has removed a two-star general from command of Marine forces in Europe and Africa based on an investigation into allegations that he used a racial slur during a training event, officials said Tuesday. The decision to relieve Maj. Gen. Stephen Neary of command of Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, headquartered in Germany, was made by the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. David Berger. “Neary was relieved due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to serve in command,” the Marines said in a brief written statement. A Marine spokesman, Maj. Eric Flanagan, said separately that Berger acted on the basis of what had been determined in an official investigation of the allegation that Neary had used a racial slur. The Stars and Strips newspaper reported earlier this month that the Marines had confirmed they were investigating an allegation that Neary had used a derogatory term for Black people in the presence of other Marines.

In this image made from video, fires burn on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. Tanzanian authorities say 500 volunteers have been trying to put out a fire on Africa's tallest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro. (AP Photo)NAIROBI – Tanzania's government is hoping helicopters and planes will help put out a fire raging on Mt. The fire started on Sunday afternoon in the Whona area, a tourist stopover for those climbing Mt.