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world news Diasabra 12 Juni 2021

WHO, UNICEF declare end of polio outbreak in the Philippines

(AP) — A polio outbreak re-emerged in the country three children.
in the Philippines has in September 2019, nearly
ended, according to the two decades after the WHO The government halted the
World Health Organiza- had declared the Southeast dengue immunization drive
tion and the United Na- Asian nation free of the viral after Sanofi said a study
tions Children’s Fund, disease, which can cause pa- showed the vaccine may in-
which praised govern- ralysis and death. There is no crease the risk of severe den-
ment efforts to fight the known cure. gue infections. More than
disease despite the coro- 830,000 children received
navirus pandemic. Government health officials, the Dengvaxia vaccine un-
backed by the WHO and der the campaign, which was
The U.N. agencies said in a UNICEF, then consider- launched in 2016 and halted
joint statement on Friday that ably expanded an anti-polio in 2017.
the Philippine Department campaign which continued
of Health concluded its re- despite the onset of the CO- Sanofi officials said the
sponse to the polio outbreak VID-19 pandemic last year. Dengvaxia vaccine was safe
on June 3 after no cases were About 30 million doses of efforts can attain, even in the and would reduce dengue
detected for 16 months fol- oral polio vaccine were ad- midst of the COVID-19 pan- The government’s immuni- infections if the vaccination
lowing a massive immuniza- ministered to children across demic,” said Dr. Rabindra zation programs were marred drive continued.
tion campaign and surveil- the Philippines. Abeyasinghe, who represents in 2017 by a dengue fever
lance. the WHO in the Philippines. vaccine made by French drug Philippine health officials
“This is a major win for pub- The polio immunization maker Sanofi Pasteur which have struggled to restore
Philippine health officials lic health and is an excellent drive also faced a scare in- some Philippine officials public trust in vaccines since
announced that polio had example of what collective volving another vaccine. linked to the deaths of at least then.

Explosion kills 6 separatists in southern Yemen

(AP) — An explosion in Southern Transitional Coun- dent southern Yemen, which erupted between the forces inside the larger civil war.
Yemen’s southern prov- cil arrived at a market that existed from 1967 until the loyal to President Abdel Rab-
ince of Abyan on Friday sells khat leaves. The plant is unification of Yemen in 1990. bo Mansour Hadi and the The conflict in Yemen, the
killed at least six separat- highly popular in Yemen and separatists. In August 2019, Arab world’s poorest coun-
ist troops and wounded widely chewed by men for They are nominal allies with heavy fighting broke out be- try, erupted in 2014, when
15 people, including civil- the plant’s stimulant proper- the forces of the internation- tween the two ostensible al- the Houthis seized Sanaa and
ians, Yemeni security and ties. ally recognized government lies when separatists took much of the country’s north.
medical officials said. in Yemen’s years-long civil Aden, the temporary seat of The Saudi-led coalition, de-
The officials who spoke on war that pits the Saudi-led, Hadi’s government and key termined to restore Hadi’s
The source of the explosion condition of anonymity be- U.S.-backed military coali- southern port city. government, intervened the
was not immediately known cause they were not autho- tion and the Yemeni govern- following year. The fighting
and no group immediately rized to speak to the media. ment side against the Iran- The fighting stopped when in Yemen has spawned the
claimed responsibility for an backed Houthi rebels who the two groups reached a Sau- world’s worst humanitarian
attack. The Southern Transitional control most of northern Ye- di-brokered power-sharing crisis, leaving millions suf-
Council is an umbrella group men as well as the country’s deal months later. However, fering from food and medical
The officials said the blast of militias, backed by the capital, Sanaa. similar clashes have contin- shortages. It has killed over
took place moments after a United Arab Emirates, seek- ued sporadically, threatening 112,000 people, including
convoy of the secessionist ing to restore an indepen- However, clashes have often to reopen the separate front fighters and civilians.

EU lawmakers say Morocco put children's lives at risk

(AP) — European Union crossed altogether. Morocco in the city of Ceuta, and that down their criticism.
lawmakers on Thursday has since taken back most of In the nonbinding resolution, they were on a school excur-
accused Morocco of en- the migrants. Entering the they urged Spain and Moroc- sion.” Chaoui Belassal, head of the
dangering the lives of enclave put them in EU ter- co to work closely together to EU-Morocco Joint Parlia-
children in an attempt ritory, where they could try allow for the repatriation of No evidence was provided by mentary Committee, said
to put political pressure to apply for asylum. the children to their families, the parliament. AP has been this week that “Morocco is
on Spain, after thousands The surge of migrants took acting in the best interests of unable to independently ver- fulfilling its commitments”
of people crossed into place after Spain agreed to the child and respecting na- ify whether this was true and toward the bloc, which pro-
Spain’s North African en- provide medical treatment tional and international law. Moroccan authorities have vides significant develop-
clave of Ceuta last month. for the Sahrawi leader head- repeatedly rejected those ment and migration aid to
ing the fight for an indepen- The Associated Press and claims. the country.
In a 397-to-85 resolution dent Western Sahara, which other media witnessed sev-
with 196 abstentions, the was annexed by Morocco in eral incidents in which the The EU lawmakers also ex- He emphasized the “great ef-
lawmakers urged the govern- the 1970s. Rabat reacted furi- Spanish authorities in Ceuta pressed regrets about the forts made by Morocco with
ment in Rabat and the EU’s ously and recalled its ambas- sent many migrants who did damage to ties with a near regard to all issues that fall
executive branch, the Euro- sador in Madrid. make it in back to Morocco, neighbor who has a good within its relations with the
pean Commission, to rap- including a lot of children. track record of cooperation European Union, includ-
idly finalize a “re-admission” The lawmakers rejected Human rights organizations with the 27-nation bloc on ing immigration, the fight
agreement so migrants can in “Morocco’s use of border say those actions are illegal. trade, counter-terrorism and against extremism, terrorism
the future be returned legally. control and migration, and drug trafficking. (and) money laundering.”
unaccompanied minors in The resolution suggested
They say 1,200 unaccom- particular, as political pres- that Moroccan authorities In the days before the resolu-
panied minors were among sure” against an EU nation. were complicit in transport- tion was adopted, Moroccan
those who tried to enter Ceu- They deplored that children ing the minors. It said that officials expressed concern
ta by scaling a border fence or and families had been in- “most of the children were that its bilateral issue with
swimming around it. Spain’s volved in the crossing, “put- wrongly led to believe that Spain might take on a broad-
Interior Ministry estimates ting their lives and safety at star footballers were playing er European dimension and
that more than 10,000 people clear risk.” in a match with free entrance they urged lawmakers to tone