Foreign News
Battling a rare brain-eating disease in an Indian state
On the eve of Onam, the most joyous festival in India’s Kerala state, 45-year-old Sobhana lay shivering in the back of an ambulance, drifting into unconsciousness as her family rushed her to a medical college hospital.
Just days earlier, the Dalit (formerly known as untouchables) woman, who earned her living bottling fruit juices in a village in Malappuram district, had complained of nothing more alarming than dizziness and high blood pressure. Doctors prescribed pills and sent her home. But her condition spiralled with terrifying speed: uneasiness gave way to fever, fever to violent shivers, and on 5 September – the main day of the festival – Sobhana was dead.
The culprit was Naegleria fowleri – commonly known as the brain-eating amoeba – an infection usually contracted through the nose in freshwater and so rare that most doctors never encounter a case in their entire careers. “We were powerless to stop it. We learnt about the disease only after Sobhana’s death,” says Ajitha Kathiradath, a cousin of the victim and a prominent social worker.
In Kerala this year, more than 70 people have been diagnosed and 19 have died from the brain-eating amoeba. Patients have ranged from a three-month-old to a 92-year-old man.
Normally feeding on bacteria in warm freshwater, this single-cell organism causes a near-fatal brain infection, known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). It enters through the nose during swimming and rapidly destroys brain tissue.
Kerala began detecting cases in 2016, just one or two a year, and until recently nearly all were fatal. A new study has found only 488 cases have been reported globally since 1962 – mostly in the US, Pakistan and Australia. And 95% of the victims have died from the disease.
But in Kerala, survival appears to be improving: last year there were 39 cases with a 23% fatality rate and this year, nearly 70 cases have been reported with about 24.5% mortality. Doctors say the rise in numbers reflects better detection, thanks to state-of-the-art labs.
“Cases are rising but deaths are falling. Aggressive testing and early diagnosis have improved survival – a strategy unique to Kerala,” said Aravind Reghukumar, head of infectious diseases at the Medical College and Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, the state’s capital. Early detection allows customised treatment: a drug cocktail of antimicrobials and steroids targeting the amoeba can save lives.
Scientists have identified around 400 species of free-living amoebae, but only six are known to cause disease in humans – including Naegleria fowleri and Acanthamoeba, both of which can infect the brain. In Kerala, public health laboratories can now detect the five major pathogenic types, officials say.
The southern state’s heavy reliance on groundwater and natural water bodies makes it particularly vulnerable, especially as many ponds and wells are polluted. A small cluster of cases last year, for example, was linked to young men vaping boiled cannabis mixed with pond water – a risky practice that underscores how contaminated water can become a conduit for infection.
Kerala has nearly 5.5 million wells and 55,000 ponds – and millions draw their daily water from wells alone. That sheer ubiquity makes it impossible to treat wells or ponds as simple “risk factors” – they are the backbone of life in the state.
“Some infections have occurred in people bathing in ponds, others from swimming pools, and even through nasal rinsing with water which is a religious ritual. Whether in a polluted pond or a well, the risk is real,” says Anish TS, a leading epidemiologist.
So public health authorities have tried to respond at scale: in a single campaign at the end of August, 2.7 million wells were chlorinated.
Local governments have put up sign boards around ponds warning against bathing or swimming and evoked the Public Health Act to enforce regular chlorination of swimming pools and water tanks. But even with such measures, ponds cannot realistically be chlorinated – fish would die – and policing every village water source in a state of more than 30 million people is unworkable.
Officials now stress awareness over prohibition: households are urged to clean tanks and pools, use clean warm water for nasal ablutions, keep children away from garden sprinklers and avoid unsafe ponds. Swimmers are advised to protect their noses by keeping their heads above water, using nose plugs and avoiding stirring up sediment in stagnant or untreated freshwater.
Yet, striking a balance between educating the public about real risks – of using untreated freshwater – and avoiding fear that could disrupt daily life is challenging. Many say despite guidelines issued for more than a year, enforcement remains patchy.
“This is a difficult problem. In some places [hot springs], signs are posted to warn of the possibility of the amoebae in the water source. This is not practical in most situations since the amoebae can be present in any source of untreated water [lakes, ponds, pools],” Dennis Kyle, a professor of infectious diseases and cellular biology at the University of Georgia, told the BBC.
“In more controlled environments, frequent monitoring for proper chlorination can significantly reduce chances of infection. These include pools, splash pads and other man-made recreational water activities,” he said.
Scientists warn climate change is amplifying the risk: warmer waters, longer summers and rising temperatures create ideal conditions for the amoeba. “Even a 1C rise can trigger its spread in Kerala’s tropical climate and water pollution fuels it further by feeding bacteria the amoeba consumes,” says Prof Anish.
Dr Kyle adds a note of caution, noting that some past cases may simply have gone unrecognised, with the amoeba not identified as the cause.
That uncertainty can make treatment even harder. Current drug cocktails are “sub-optimal,” Dr Kyle explains, adding that in rare survivors, the regimen becomes the standard. “We lack sufficient data to determine if all the drugs are actually helpful or needed.”
Kerala may be catching more patients and saving more lives, but the lesson reaches far beyond its borders. Climate change may be rewriting the map of disease – and even the rarest pathogens may not stay rare for long.
[BBC]
Gunmen have killed nearly 200 people in western and northern Nigeria, officials and residents said, as survivors buried the dead and security forces hunted the attackers.
In western Kwara State, gunmen stormed the community of Woro on Tuesday evening, killing at least 170 people, according to a local lawmaker, while in northern Katsina State, at least 21 people were shot dead by attackers who moved from house to house, residents said.
The killings in Kwara marked the deadliest attack recorded in the region in recent months.
They come amid a complex security crisis in Nigeria, with violent groups linked to Boko Haram and the ISIL (ISIS) group in the northeast, alongside a surge in kidnappings for ransom by gunmen across the northwest and north-central regions over recent months.
No group has claimed responsibility for the assault in Kwara.
Saidu Baba Ahmed, the lawmaker for the area, told the Reuters news agency that the gunmen rounded up residents, bound their hands behind their backs and executed them.
Villagers fled into the surrounding bushland during the attack, while the attackers went on to torch homes and shops, he said.
“As I’m speaking to you now, I’m in the village along with military personnel, sorting dead bodies and combing the surrounding areas for more,” Ahmed said.
Several people were still missing on Wednesday morning, he said.
Police said “scores were killed”, without giving an exact figure.
Kwara police spokesperson Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi said that the police and military have been mobilised to the area for a search-and-rescue operation.
Footage from Woro on local television shows bodies lying in blood on the ground, some with their hands tied, as well as burning houses.
Amnesty International said in a statement that the gunmen killed more than 170 people, razed homes and looted shops.
“The security lapses that enabled these attacks are unacceptable,” the rights group said, adding that the gunmen had been sending “warning” letters to the villagers for more than five months.
In Kwara, the Nigerian military recently carried out operations against what it called “terrorist elements”, while authorities also imposed curfews in some parts and closed schools for several weeks.
Kwara State Governor Abdul Rahman Abdul Razaq described the attack as a “cowardly expression of frustration by terrorist cells” in response to ongoing military operations against armed groups in the state.
The military said last month that it had launched “sustained coordinated offensive operations against terrorist elements” and achieved notable successes. According to local media, the military killed at least 150 fighters in the operation.
Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from the Nigerian capital Abuja, said residents of Woro believe the attack was by groups linked to Boko Haram.
“We understand these gunmen stormed the village at 6pm local time on Tuesday [17:00 GMT] and circled these communities and started firing at random, killing – initially, the numbers we got were around 40.” he said.
“Then, as the day wore on, the number increased from 40 to 70. And now we are hearing that at least 170 people have been killed. It’s not clear how many people have been abducted yet,” he said.
Idris added that such killings take place in Nigeria “whenever there is increased military activity in areas where these armed groups are strong – either bandits, or Boko Haram or ISIL”.
In Katsina, meanwhile, residents and police said gunmen killed at least 21 people, moving from house to house to shoot their victims.
The attack broke a six-month peace pact between the community and the armed gang.
It also highlighted the dilemma faced by residents in Nigeria’s remote north, where some have sought peace with armed gangs that terrorise them. Residents typically pool money and food, which they give to bandits so they are not attacked.
Kabir Adamu, a security analyst at the Abuja-based Beacon Security and Intelligence Consulting, said the response from the Nigerian security forces has been insufficient to contain armed groups across the region.
“In simple terms, [the attacks] say more is required,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The operations have been effective in killing some of the bandit commanders. We also know some of their leaders have been arrested, and they are currently being prosecuted. But the law enforcement component that would dominate the environment and prevent this group from moving around and operating is missing,” he said.
Nigeria is also under pressure to restore security since United States President Donald Trump accused it last year of failing to protect Christians. Authorities, however, denied there is systematic persecution of Christians, while independent experts say Nigeria’s security crises claim the lives of both Christians and Muslims, often without distinction.
Nigeria’s government, meanwhile, has stepped up cooperation with Washington to improve security.
In late December, US forces struck what they described as “terrorist” targets in Nigeria, and on Tuesday, the American military said it sent a small team of officers to the country to assist in the response to the security crisis.
[Aljazeera]
A “notorious” Tanzanian drug-trafficking kingpin has been arrested in Zambia during a raid, the Zambian Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has announced.
Ahmed Muharram was among several suspects detained in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, along with large quantities of marijuana and cough syrup containing codeine in several drug busts on Tuesday, the authorities said.
“The suspect is a known transnational drug trafficker,” the DEC said, adding that the 40-year-old had long been on the anti-drug agency’s watch-list.
The arrest of Muharram, who has not yet commented, was made possible thanks to a series of intelligence-led operations, the agency said.
Under Zambian law, marijuana is classed as a dangerous drug and is illegal to possess.
The trafficking, possession and use of illegal drugs such as cannabis is punishable by a fine or a prison sentence.
The southern Africa country struggles with drug abuse and trafficking, especially cannabis and heroin.
During Tuesday’s operations, the DEC said it had seized 221.2kg of cannabis hidden in a lorry in Lusaka’s Lilayi area.
The search was extended to Muharram’s residence in Lilayi, where officers discovered an additional 1,159.6kg of “high-grade” cannabis, bringing the total seizure to 1,380.8kg, the agency added.
A Zambian national who was also arrested is believed to be an accomplice in the organised drug-trafficking scheme.
The DEC said their operations also saw the arrests of:
- A Zambian national for trafficking 55 boxes of Benylin containing codeine in Lusaka
- Two other Zambians for trafficking cannabis concealed in their vehicle
- Two Burundian nationals in the southern district of Chirundu for trafficking cannabis in separate vehicles: some was hidden inside a spare lorry tyre, some in gas compressors and additional cannabis was mixed with sugar, salt and paint and concealed in tins and buckets of paint.
“All suspects have since been detained in lawful custody and will appear in court soon,” DEC said in a statement.
The agency said it was committed to ensuring that Zambia was neither used as a corridor nor a destination for drug trafficking.
[BBC]
The quiet of a Kyiv cemetery is broken by a trumpet salute, then a burst of rifle fire.
Soldiers stretch a Ukrainian flag over a shiny wooden coffin and stand silently alongside in the sparkling white snow. A woman cries, her face crumpling.
Natalia is burying her husband for the second time.
Vitaly was killed three years ago fighting in the eastern Donbas and his first grave was in their home town of Slovyansk. But Russian forces have advanced since then and the area is increasingly under attack.
So Natalia had her husband’s grave exhumed and Vitaly’s remains moved hundreds of miles to Ukraine’s capital.
“When we buried him in Slovyansk, land was being liberated and we thought the war would soon end,” Natalia explains, after the reburial ceremony conducted with military honours. “But the frontline is constantly moving closer and I was scared Vitaly might end up under occupation.”
Vitaly was a ceramics artist who volunteered to defend his country in the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
“He didn’t want to, but he had do it. He was a patriot,” Natalia explains, through her tears. She was pregnant when her husband was killed and he never got to meet their daughter.
The decision to move Vitaly’s body from the land where he was born and fought was extremely painful.
“It was very hard, emotionally. But it was the right decision,” Natalia is sure. “It would have been far harder to leave him, to know that he had stayed.”
Ukrainians are facing unimaginable choices now as the US tries to broker a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv, but Russia pushes on with its invasion.
That includes massive aerial attacks against Ukraine’s energy system, against all rules of war.
Meanwhile, the most pressure for compromise is on Kyiv.
At some point, the US-led talks will hone in on the most sensitive issue of all: the status of land in the eastern Donbas region that so many men have died defending.
Ukraine still controls around a fifth of the area, including Slovyansk. But the town is close to the current frontline where Russian forces have been trying to push forward for months.
Kyiv proposes freezing the fighting there, ceding nothing more. But Moscow wants to be handed control over the rest of the region and the US is thought to agree.
That is far from Vladimir Putin’s original plan to take over all Ukraine – to “denazify” and “demilitarise” as he snarled at the time. But it would allow him to claim a victory for Russia of sorts.
“There are drones in the streets, hitting minibuses, and glide bombs fall in the city centre, leaving craters,” Natalia says, describing life in Slovyansk now, where her husband had been buried.
“A few months ago, the attacks were weekly. Now it’s every couple of days.”
North of Natalia’s hometown, up around the city of Kharkiv, there are more signs that the danger zone is spreading.
Workmen hammer stakes into the frozen ground to fit nets which they’ll then stretch over the road in a canopy as protection against Russian drones.
Not far away, in an unmarked spot, we visited a workshop for Ukraine’s own UAVs.
The soldiers of the Typhoon unit work in a basement filled with heaps of kit and cables, reached via a handmade wooden staircase. The men are responsible for repairing drones damaged at the frontline and for innovation: Ukraine needs every chance against an enemy with more men and more resources.
The music playing as the team work is chirpy French pop, but the soldiers’ mood is mixed.
“We try not to discuss it here,” 29-year old Roman replies, when I ask about giving up territory in return for peace. “People quarrel and we don’t need that right now. We need to unite, and fight the Russians.”
Roman lost “a lot of guys”, he says, during his two years in the infantry, fighting in the Donbas.
No surprise that it’s far harder to recruit these days. Last month the country’s defence minister revealed that a staggering 200,000 soldiers were absent without leave.
But like many Ukrainians, Roman is sure that gifting the Donbas to Putin would not make Ukraine secure.
“The Russians will only come back for more,” he says.
Hunched over a laptop in the back room, another soldier admits that “victory” in this war looks very different these days.
“I would say our victory is in preserving our statehood,” Maksym argues, choosing his words carefully. “Even if we have three square kilometres of land, but we keep our constitution and our institutions, then this is still Ukraine.”
He thinks the soldiers should fight on, regardless.
“Russia is 10 times our size. But still we can’t surrender.”
Back in Kyiv, Natalia clings to the arm of a friend, as grave diggers shovel fresh earth onto her husband’s coffin then slot a wooden cross into place on top.
A photograph of Vitaly shows him smiling, posing beside a yellow sunflower.
Natalia is relieved to have her husband close again where she and their daughter, Vitalina, can visit his grave safely.
“She watches videos of him, looks at photos and she loves him very much even though they never met,” Natalia smiles.
She also hopes to tell her husband soon that she’s pregnant using the sperm the couple had frozen specially at a clinic, just a few days before Vitaliy was killed.
Many soldiers now do the same before heading for the front.
It’s a brutal fact, but Natalia says none of Vitaliy’s soldier friends made it to his reburial, because so many of them, too, are now dead.
Ukraine has paid an immense price already for four years of all-out war.
Ceding land to Russia that it already controls is one thing: an option now quietly accepted by many.
But Natalia can’t bear the thought of Russia taking more territory, including the town where she and Vitaly lived and were in love.
She has “no doubt” her husband would have wanted the army to fight on, not concede now.
“Russia may pause for a year, then there will be another breakthrough and they’ll be in Kharkiv,” Natalia says.
“I just don’t believe Russia will stop.”
[BBC]
Gunmen kill nearly 200 people in Nigeria’s Kwara and Katsina states
SLAF men’s Judo team crowned overall champs at 62nd National Judo Championship
Showers above 75 mm are likely at some places in the Uva province and in Batticaloa, Ampara, Hambantota and Nuwara-Eliya districts
Parliament: Govt. questioned on returned cheques, delayed payments for disaster victims
President urges shedding of petty differences to achieve an economically strong Sri Lanka
PM: No withdrawal of modules introduced for Grade 6 under proposed education reforms
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