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118,000 new COVID-19 hospitalizations between 13th November and 10th December 2023- WHO

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The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday (22) issuing  a new COVID-19 epidemiological update has said that globally, the number of new cases increased by 52% during the 28-day period of 20 November to 17 December 2023 as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 850 000 new cases reported.

3The number of new deaths decreased by 8% as compared to the previous 28-day period, with over 3000 new fatalities reported. As of 17 December 2023, over 772 million confirmed cases and nearly seven million deaths have been reported globally.

During the period from 13 November to 10 December 2023, over 118 000 new COVID-19 hospitalizations and over 1600 new intensive care unit (ICU) admissions have been recorded with an overall increase of 23% and 51% respectively amongst the countries reporting consistently within the current and past reporting periods.

As of 18 December 2023, JN.1, a sub-lineage of BA.2.86 Omicron variant has been designated a separate variant of interest (VOI) apart from its parent lineage BA.2.86 due to its rapid increase in prevalence in recent weeks. Globally, EG.5 remains to be the most reported VOI.



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Buttler, Brook brilliance ensures England bulldoze India 4-0

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Jos Buttler and Harry Brook added a record 233 runs for the second wicket (Cricinfo)

It took India  an hour and a half to reach the Utilita Bowl on Saturday lunchtime and they must have wished that they had never made it. Jos Buttler and Harry Brook, England  captains past and present, clouted 233 in just 103 balls – a record second-wicket partnership – to secure a 4-0 series win that took England top of the ICC’s T20I rankings, displacing the world champions.

India’s six-mile journey from their Southampton hotel to the venue took them 90 minutes due to heavy traffic, delaying the toss by 45 minutes. They spent the early afternoon stuck on roads and Shreyas Iyer chose to bowl first on another. He has now won seven tosses but nothing else as India’s captain; England started fast and got even faster to post their third-highest T20I total.

Buttler had not reached 40 in 18 T20I innings since last September, but roared back to form with a 51-ball century that felt like a throwback to his 2018-22 peak: his first 50 took him 34 balls, his next just 17. He celebrated with a thumbs-up towards the England dressing room and a look towards the heavens, after thumping Axar Patel over square leg for six to reach 100.

Brook’s ball-striking was even more outrageous. He reached 50 in 19 balls, his fastest in T20Is, and his hitting over the off side was incredibly pure: five of his eight sixes flew over deep extra cover and long-off. From 85 off 35 balls after 16 overs, the only surprise was that he failed to reach three figures, as India’s seamers finally found the blockhole.

India fell behind the required rate immediately and never caught up with it. Ishan Kishan  made 56 but could not get beyond fourth gear, and Thilak Varma’s  bright 53 was too little, too late as Sam Curran closed a clinical win out. India’s most productive over, the 18th, brought 16 runs, after England had shown their ruthlessness with five overs of 20-plus.

Buttler endured a wretched T20 World Cup earlier this year and while he scored runs consistently at the IPL, his highest score for losing finalists Gujarat Titans was only 60. He is much closer to the end of his career than the start and will be 38 when the next T20 World Cup is played in late 2028, prompting doubts over his place in T20Is for the first time in his career.

He showed a glimpse of his form with 36 off 21 at Trent Bridge in the third T20I, but this felt like a statement innings from the moment that he got down to scoop his seventh ball for four off Prasidh Krishna. He reverse-slapped Arshdeep Singh for four then swatted his next ball for six, before passing Brook the baton as England accelerated through the middle overs.

Buttler had 72 off 44 when Prince Yadav returned to bowl the 15th over, and reached his hundred seven balls later; he crunched four consecutive boundaries – 4, 6, 6, 4 – off Prince, then hauled Axar for a towering six. He was dropped on 101 by Suryansh Shedge at deep cover and made him pay, drilling back-to-back sixes off Shivam Dube before holing out for 131.

Brook’s brilliance

It is hard to believe that Brook ever batted as low as No. 5 in T20Is, let alone as recently as mid-February. He gave Brendon McCullum credit for his promotion to No. 3 midway through the T20 World Cup but it is Brook himself who has made it work so well: across seven innings in the role, he has averaged 72.4 with a strike rate of 192.55.

Brook played with relentless attacking intent after Phil Salt’s early dismissal; when he charged at his first ball, India burned a review on an optimistic caught-behind appeal. He had a life of sorts off his fourth ball, as a back-tracking Dube made a total hash of a high chance at short third, then belted Prince’s next two balls over the square-leg boundary for six.

He punished both Axar and Shedge whenever they missed their length – and several times when they didn’t – and it took some excellent death-bowling from Arshdeep and Prasidh to deny him a second T20I hundred. He was dropped again on 91 by Ishan Kishan at deep square leg, but could only manage twos off the final two balls to finish 95 not out.

Access is a long-standing issue at the Utilita Bowl, which is served by a single-lane road and struggled to cope with Saturday’s capacity crowd on a sweltering summer’s day. Hampshire did not comment, but the delayed toss was both a source of embarrassment and a warning sign ahead of the venue’s first Ashes Test next summer.

India’s preparation was clearly disrupted by their abbreviated warm-up, but Iyer’s warning shot at the toss – that he did not want to see any players “sulking” – was a reflection of a team whose confidence has been dented by recent results. They were a mess in the field, with three drops and several misfields, and needed to pull off the second-highest chase in T20I history.

It was always a long shot. Sanju Samson, recalled after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s false start in international cricket, cracked two early sixes but chipped to cover-point; Kishan holed out to give Adil Rashid a wicket in his 150th T20I; and Varma edged behind the ball after reaching 50. It meant that, for the first time in a T20I series of four or more games, India ended winless.

Scores:
England 257 for 3 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 131, Harry  Brook 95*; Prasidh Hrishna 1-38, Shivam Dube 2-22  ) beat India 201 for 8 in 20 9ve4s (Sanju Samson 27,  Ishan  Kishan 56, Shreyas Iyer 28,  Tilak Varma 53, Shivam Dube 14; Jofra Archer 1-41, Josh Tongue 1-47, Curran 3-36, Liam Dawson 1-14, Adil Rashid 1-24) by 56 runs
(Cricinfo)
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More than 1.7 million evacuated as Typhoon Bavi makes landfall in China

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This satellite image handout from the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) in partnership with the Regional and Mesoscale Meteorology Branch (RAMMB/NOAA) and the Colorado State University (CSU) taken on July 5, 2026 at 01:20 GMT shows the Super Typhoon Bavi as it nears Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific Ocean [Aljazeera]

Typhoon Bavi has made landfall in China’s eastern province of Zhejiang, with state media reporting that it is expected to gradually weaken.

Bavi made landfall in China at 11:20pm (15:20GMT) on Saturday, Xinhua news agency said, citing the Zhejiang provincial meteorological observatory.

Bavi previously brought strong winds and rain to Japan’s southern islands and Taiwan. It was the second typhoon in a week to impact China in just more than a week’s time. The first, Maysak, made landfall in southern China last weekend.

Chinese authorities evacuated more than 1.7 million people on Saturday and issued high alerts as eastern China braced for Bavi, which had maximum sustained winds of 144kph (89mph) near its centre

Bavi is expected to move northwestward inland after making landfall, with its intensity gradually weakening.

Although not as strong as when it thundered through the US Pacific islands on Monday and tracked northwest, Bavi remains a significant risk due to the large volumes of moisture it carries in its rain bands.

China’s national weather agency earlier issued an orange typhoon alert – the second-highest on a four-level rating. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled, rail travel services have been reduced, and many schools and ferry services have been suspended.

“I’m a little worried, but I think it’ll be OK,” Huang Xinghuan, 50, a resident of Wenzhou, a densely populated city in Zhejiang, told the Reuters news agency while buying groceries at a traditional wet market before it closed in advance of the typhoon.

His family, he said, had stocked about two or three days’ water, and food supplies remain guaranteed.

“We’ve been through typhoons before. We’ll get through it,” he added.

In Ningde city, Fujian province, more than 3,700 people were evacuated from high-risk onshore areas by Friday evening, Xinhua said. Authorities there have placed more than 17,000 emergency rescue workers on standby.

Meanwhile, China’s southern region of Hainan and Guangxi are still reeling from the effects of Tropical Storm Maysak earlier this week. At least 39 people died in the city of Nanning, where a breached dam sent torrents of water through the streets.

Philippines records deaths, Taiwan escapes casualties

At least 17 people were killed in the Philippines after heavy rains brought on by an enhanced southwest monsoon and worsened by Bavi’s impact triggered landslides overnight on Friday.

In Taiwan, where Bavi is expected to sweep past on Saturday according to the island’s Central Weather Administration, at least 36 people have been injured – mainly while riding motorcycles on slippery roads in the heavy rain and winds.

Some 14,210 people were evacuated across the island by Saturday morning, particularly from the city of Taichung and the county of Hualien. Schools, offices and most restaurants across Taiwan have been closed.

Meanwhile, more than 200 flights were cancelled across Japan as authorities in the southern Okinawa prefecture warned of high waves, strong winds and storm surges. Strong winds and rain have hit the southern Sakishima island chain – administered under Okinawa – since Friday

(Aljazeera)

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2026 South Africa’s Jayden Adams, 25, dies after playing in FIFA World Cup

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Jayden Adams during the World Cup match last month against the Czech Republic in Atlanta [Aljazeera)

Jayden Adams has died at age ‌25 after playing in three FIFA World Cup 2026 matches last month for South ⁠Africa, the country’s ⁠football players union confirmed on Saturday.

No official cause of death was released

“The South African Football Players Union (SAFPU) is devastated by the untimely passing ⁠of Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana midfielder Jayden Adams.

“Jayden had only recently represented South Africa at the FIFA World Cup, carrying the hopes of the nation ⁠with pride, courage and distinction. His passing is an immeasurable loss to his family, teammates, clubs, the football fraternity and the country at large.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the Adams family, Mamelodi Sundowns, Stellenbosch FC, Bafana Bafana and all those whose ‌lives he touched. South African football has lost a gifted player, a proud servant of the game and a young life that still had so much to offer. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”

Adams started two of the three World Cup matches he appeared in for South Africa, despite the death of his grandmother, Marianna, the day before the 1-1 draw with the ⁠Czech Republic. He started in that match and South ⁠Africa’s 2-0 loss to Mexico. He was a substitute in the 1-0 win over South Korea.

He was an unused substitute when South Africa was knocked out by Canada on June 28.

Gayton McKenzie, minister ⁠of sports, arts and culture in South Africa, said he reached out to Adams to offer condolences when his ⁠grandmother died.

“I shall carry forever the humble, ⁠appreciative response he gave me. That he chose to wear the national jersey and give his all for his country in that moment speaks to a depth of character and professionalism well beyond his years, ‌and it reflects the calibre of young man South Africa has lost,” McKenzie’s statement read.

Prior to the World Cup, he helped Mamelodi Sundowns win the ‌CAF ‌Champions League. He joined Sundowns after playing for Stellenbosch FC. Adams dedicated his medal from the Sundowns to late Stellenbosch teammate Oshwin Andries, who died after being stabbed in 2023.

(Aljazeera)

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