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It was the kiss seen around the world.

As Spain's victorious World Cup winning women's football team went on stage to receive their medals, the head of Spanish Football kissed midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips.

An image of the moment quickly circulated online and since then Luis Rubiales has faced a storm of criticism.

The player has called the kiss non-consensual while Mr Rubiales, after initially apologising, said he would not give into calls to resign from his position.

Here's the story so far.
The BBC's Sergi Forcada Freixas reports

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The controversy concerning the head of Spanish football and a kiss at the Women's World Cup final explained.

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Residents in shock after Hurricane Idalia destroys small Florida fishing community

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When Jenni Hermoso arrived in the stands, the standing ovation was thundering. On the field below, Atlético de Madrid and AC Milan were battling it out for the Women's Cup, but the message - scrawled on posters, temporary tattoos and a metres-long banner unfurled by the players - was unanimous at the stadium in Madrid on Saturday night: "We're with you, Jenni Hermoso."

It was a hint of how the tumultuous events of the past week since La Roja's dazzling World Cup win have supercharged the long-running battle for equality in women's football. As the hashtag #SeAcabó, meaning "it's over", was embraced from Sevilla to Santander, it was clear that Spanish football's #MeToo moment had arrived.

After years of pushing for change, Spain's players were eager to seize on the momentum. "Grandma, tell me about how your team won the World Cup," read an illustration posted on social media by La Roja's Misa Rodríguez on Friday. The grandmother answers: "We didn't just win the World Cup, little one. We won so much more."

Hours earlier, Luis Rubiales, the embattled head of the Spanish football federation, had lashed out at "fake feminism" and bemoaned what he called a "social assassination" in the reaction to his grabbing Hermoso by the head and kissing her on the lips during the medal ceremony at the World Cup. On Saturday, Fifa suspended Rubiales for 90 days, ordering both him and the federation to stay away from Hermoso and those close to her.

The backlash against Rubiales' conduct was swift. The World Cup champions said they would not play for the national team until the federation's leadership was removed. More than 50 other female players said the same. On Saturday, nearly all of the coaching and technical staff for Spain's women's team resigned, joining the seven members of the Spanish football federation who reportedly responded to Rubiales' speech with their resignation.

"In six days, feminism swept Rubiales away," the El País journalist Isabel Valdés wrote on social media. "In six days #SeAcabó has replaced the kiss that Hermoso never consented to."

Condemnations of Rubiales' behaviour cut across political lines. The country's acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, called the kiss an "unacceptable gesture", while the country's acting equality minister, Podemos's Irene Montero, described it as a "form of sexual violence that we women suffer on a daily basis and until now has been invisible".

The conservative People's party, criticised by women's groups for allowing the anti-feminist far right to gain a foothold in local and regional governments across Spain, also weighed in.

"Spaniards don't deserve this," the party's Cuca Gamarra told broadcaster Antena 3. "It's a global embarrassment for the whole country and is tarnishing the incredible victory of a group of women who should be the only protagonists."

Across Spain, many sought to broaden the conversation. No longer was this only the story of a team that had long wrestled with the perception that the federation saw them as less worthy than their male counterparts; what had played out on the world stage was a power imbalance that hit home for many.

"To all the guys who are stunned by the reaction against Rubiales; it's because this has happened to all of us," the journalist Irantzu Varela wrote on social media. "With our boss, with our client, with our teacher, with our friend, with a stranger, with you?"

Rubiales initially dismissed his critics as "idiots and stupid people" and later offered an apology that was widely seen as half-hearted. As the uproar continued, he changed tack on Friday and sought to portray the kiss as consensual, claiming that he had asked Hermoso if he could give her a peck and that she had replied "OK."

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Hermoso rejected any suggestion that the kiss was consensual. She described Rubiales' words as "categorically false" and said the "conversation did not happen".

Rubiales offered up the claim as he insisted he would stay on as president of the federation. "I will not resign," he said repeatedly, his defiance earning hearty applause among the federation members in attendance, including Jorge Vilda, the coach of the Spanish women's national team, and the men's national team coach, Luis de la Fuente.

Natalia Torrente, the editor of sports website Relevo, said the reaction from the federation - which counts just six women among its 140 members - to Rubiales' refusal to resign offered a glimpse of the deep-rooted systemic issues that female players have long faced.

"Five times he shouted it, clinging a little tighter to his position in each sentence, and shattering what little dignity he had left as an institutional representative," she said in a piece that described Rubiales as a "global embarrassment".

On Saturday, both Vilda and de la Fuente sought to distance themselves from Rubiales, issuing statements criticising his actions. Spanish media described their U-turns as a sign that Rubiales was becoming increasingly isolated from those who had long protected him. The country's most powerful football clubs, from Real Madrid to Barcelona, have also condemned Rubiales' behaviour.

On Sunday, as the Spanish government promised to continue its efforts to have Rubiales removed from the federation, women across the country called for the battle to continue.

"Despite Rubiales' attempts to gaslight all of the women in this country, let's show that we're a society that refuses to take a step backwards," Patricia Moreno wrote in Vogue España. "Our World Cup champions will thus have achieved something even more historic than a sporting title: the fall of a man who believed he was invincible."

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'It's over': World Cup kiss becomes Spanish football's #MeToo moment

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Jenni Hermoso receives ovation at Madrid match as hashtag #SeAcabo is embraced on social media in wake of Rubiales scandal

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Live parasitic worm found in Aussie woman's brain in world first

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A live parasitic worm has been found inside the brain of a 64-year-old Australian woman after she complained...

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Johannesburg fire survivors told reporters on Friday, 1 September that they are wary of accepting shelter from the South African government as they fear being deported.
ALSO READ:Johannesburg fire tragedy taken over for illegal housing kills 74
JOHANNESBURG FIRE VICTIMS SPEAK OUT

eNCA reported on Friday, 1 September that some of the Johannesburg fire survivors did not want to be placed in shelters and were reluctant to leave the scene as they feared being deported back to their home countries.

"We don't want to be taken anywhere. If we get the help here, at least we know we are safe. If they take us to shelters, they might arrest us and deport us," said one migrant survivor.

iHarare reports that Emmanuel Smith, who is a community leader from Nigeria also revealed: "Our people are scared. They think if they take any help, they will be sent back home. So they prefer to stay here, even if conditions are bad."

The death toll had risen to 76 after two more victims died in hospital at the time of publishing this article.

Johannesburg fire: Kenny Kunene blames NGOs for death of 73 people

@SisMokgaetje: "South Africa is in trouble. So, they'll rather stay in the Jozi streets than go to welfare shelter or go back home like they seem not to care about their lives and well-being as long as they're within South Africa."

@Motiv88r: "If you were in their shoes, you would have jumped fence to SA. There's nothing left for them to do in their nation or in this world for that matter since everything is burnt down. We don't choose nationality, pity they got a disadvantaged one. Spare a thought for them."

@IndividualRSA: "The minister blames the fire on dead white people. The victims blame the fire on the fire."

@Galela15505225: "They must go back to their countries. They have a country and their governments! SA is not responsible for poor foreigners when it can't even cope with its own problems. What were they doing in South Africa in the first place because they are definitely not bringing any skills SA doesn't have."

@Brettbenraphael: "They live in deplorable conditions here yet fear going home? Is it because they'll be mincemeat if they hijack buildings in their own home countries?"

@Themba_Taylor: "Why are smooth talking them into going to a shelter instead of the border?"

ALSO READ: Johannesburg fire: Death toll increases to 73, cause still unknown

ALSO READ: Johannesburg CBD fire: 'there are shacks inside the building'

Kante they don't want to go back home 🙆🏽‍♀️🙆🏽‍♀️
- Marcia thejane (@tseepati) September 1, 2023

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES BY RAE SELEME

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Johannesburg fire survivors fear being deported [WATCH]

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Some survivors of Johannesburg's horrific fire refused to leave the scene and refused to accept shelter as they fear being deported.

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A kiss between Spain's football president, Luis Rubiales and Spanish World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso has caused a big argument.

Rubiales kissed Hermoso on the lips during the medal ceremony following Spain's Women's World Cup final win over England in Sydney last Sunday.

Jenni Hermoso says she did not consent to the kiss, which means she didn't give permission or agree to it happening. But the Spanish football federation has accused the player of lying about her version of events and has threatened legal action.

The kiss has resulted in pressure on Luis Rubiales to leave his job, including from the Spanish government, but he has so far refused to resign.

Spain's World Cup winners are now refusing to play while Rubiales stays in his position and their entire coaching staff have quit in protest against the president and his actions.

Fifa, which is football's governing body has suspended Rubiales from all football related activities for 90 days.

What has Luis Rubiales said?

Luis Rubiales has said he will defend himself "so that the truth prevails and complete innocence is proven".

The president of Spanish football, Rubiales apologised for the kiss after the World Cup final, but has faced a lot of pressure to leave his job and was expected to announce his resignation at a meeting on Friday.

Instead he told the meeting, attended by the managers of Spain's men's and women's teams, that he was not going to leave his position. At the time managers of both teams applauded his comments.

"Jenni was the one who lifted me up," he said. "I told her to 'forget about the penalty [that Mary Earps saved]' and I said to her 'a little peck?' and she said 'OK'.

"It was a spontaneous kiss. Mutual, euphoric and consensual. That's the key.

A consensual 'peck' is enough to get me out of here?"

"I will not resign, I will not resign!" he said.

What has Jeni Hermoso said?

In a statement released on Friday night Jenni Hermoso said "in no moment" did she agree to the kiss.

"I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out of place act without any consent on my part.

"I want to make it clear that at no time did the conversation to which Mr. Luis Rubiales refers to in his address take place, and, above all, was his kiss ever consensual. I want to reiterate as I did before that I did not like this incident."

In an interview straight after the World Cup win, Hermoso seemingly defended the football president and the kiss, saying: "It was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture because of the immense joy that winning a World Cup brings.

"The president and I have a great relationship, his behaviour with all of us has been outstanding and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude."

A statement defending Rubiales' actions was also released by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Hermoso's behalf following the World Cup victory, however the player says she wasn't comfortable commenting on the incident, when asked to "reduce the pressure on the president".

"I was asked to make a joint statement to reduce the pressure on the president, but at that time my mind was only on enjoying the historic achievement together with my teammates.

"That's why I told the RFEF, as well as the media and people close to me, that I didn't want to make any kind of individual or collective statement on this matter.

"Despite my decision, I must say that I have felt under continuous pressure to come out with a statement which could justify Luis Rubiales' actions."

Spain's football federation said on Saturday it would take legal action to defend its president.

In a statement the federation said it would show there have been lies about what happened by Hermoso or people speaking for her.

"The evidence is conclusive," it said, saying that images showed that Rubiales had been lifted up by Hermoso and that "Mr President has not lied."

The federation also said that, if selected, players have "an obligation" to play for the national team, after 81 female players said they will not represent Spain until Rubiales leaves his position.

The kiss between Hermoso and Spain's football president has completely overshadowed the Spanish women's football team and their greatest ever achievement - winning the World Cup.

Spanish players, clubs and organisations have all spoken out against the incident.

Spain's women's coach, Jorge Vilda, who had appeared to support Rubiales and his decision to stay in his job, has since called the kiss 'inappropriate' and 11 of his coaching team have quit in support of Hermoso.

Alexia Putellas, a Ballon d'Or winner and another member of the World Cup-winning team team has said that the kiss was "unacceptable".

Borja Iglesias, who has won two caps for the Spain men's team, said: "I have made the decision not to return to the national team until things change and these types of acts do not go unpunished."

Several Spanish football clubs, including Barcelona, Sevilla, Espanyol and Racing Santander, have also released statements critical of Rubiales.

England's Lionesses, who were defeated by Spain in the World Cup final have also released a joint statement saying:

"Abuse is abuse and we have all seen the truth.

"The behaviour of those who think they are invincible must not be tolerated and people shouldn't need convincing to take action against any form of harassment.

"We all stand with you, Jenni Hermoso and all players of the Spanish team."

The kiss between Rubiales and Hermoso happened during the presentation ceremony where medals were being handed out following Spain's World Cup victory last Sunday.

In an Instagram video during celebrations Hermoso said: "I did not like it, but what could I do?". However, in an interview she later said "The president and I have a great relationship, his behaviour with all of us has been outstanding and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude." A statement released later on her behalf by the Spanish Football Federation also defended the president's actions.

Rubiales apologised for the kiss on the Monday after the World Cup final, but many people criticised what happened as inappropriate, including Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Rubiales' apology was "not enough".

On Thursday, football's world governing body Fifa said it had opened disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales - which means deciding if he should be punished for his behaviour.

On Friday the Spanish Football Federation called a meeting where Rubiales was expected to announce that he would leave his position - but instead, he insisted he would not, repeating that he would not resign and said that Hermoso agreed to the kiss.

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) said on Saturday that it will take legal action over Jenni Hermoso's comments about its president and accused her of lying. Fifa announces it is suspending Rubiales for 90 days from all football activity as it continues its disciplinary proceedings.

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World Cup Final kiss: Hermoso Rubiales row what's the latest?

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Spanish player Jenni Hermoso said she did not want to be kissed by Spain's football president during the World Cup Final awards ceremony.

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Hurricane Idalia briefly strengthened into an extremely dangerous Category 4 over the Gulf of Mexico early Wednesday but then weakened slightly back to a Category 3 before making landfall at Keaton Beach in the Big Bend region of Florida, the National Hurricane Center said. It warned the storm was bringing "catastrophic" storm surge and "destructive winds."

The center emphasized that the "change in wind speed does not diminish the threat of catastrophic storm surge and damaging winds," the consequences of which may be exacerbated by a concurrent

Idalia was downgraded to a Category 1 and then to a tropical storm later in the day as its wind speeds declined. Hurricane warnings were issued for parts of Georgia and South Carolina as Idalia continued to travel along its projected path up the southeast coast of the U.S., while Florida communities grappled with infrastructure damage, shuttered airports and widespread power outages.

Storm surge in some areas was expected to reach 16 feet.

"That level of storm surge is life threatening," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at an early morning briefing, adding, "There will be impacts far behind the eye wall, and those will extend to places like Tallahassee" and other parts of northeast Florida.

The storm made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour. Wind speeds of 111 mph to 129 mph make it a Category 3, which is considered a major storm capable of "devastating damage," the hurricane center says.

"In this part of Florida, particularly the Big Bend coast, we haven't seen a hurricane landfall of this intensity in many, many, many years," Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, told "CBS Mornings" on Wednesday.

He said the region's shallow continental shelf adds to the storm's impact, with the hurricane's circulation pushing water inland, which is leading to catastrophic storm surge.

"We're gonna see, you know, not just the storm surge but potential for damaging winds extending well inland all the way across portions of north Florida, into southern Georgia, into places like Savannah, Hilton Head," Brennan said. "We have hurricane warnings in effect for the fast-moving hurricane. It's going to bring those winds really far inland today and tonight."

Idalia's path was expected to impact a wide central portion of Florida before moving along the Georgia and Carolina coastline Wednesday into Thursday.

At a briefing Tuesday evening, Gov. DeSantis urged people in the evacuation zone to leave immediately.

"If you stay hunkered down tonight, it's going to be too nasty tomorrow morning to be able to do it," he said.

"If you do choose to stay in one of the evacuation zones, first responders will not be able to get you until after the storm has passed."

Hurricane Idalia's location and warnings

Idalia spent several days churning toward the Florida coast from the Gulf of Mexico. As the storm intensified, meteorologists warned that it could bring "catastrophic" storm surge and "destructive winds" to the Big Bend region as it moved over land.

"While Idalia should weaken after landfall," the center continued, "it is likely to still be a hurricane while moving across southern Georgia, and near the coast of Georgia or southern South Carolina late today. Idalia should emerge off the southeastern United States coast early on Thursday and move eastward through late week."

On Facebook early Wednesday, Cedar Key resident Michael Presley Bobbitt posted video of water coming up to his home and said, "The water just keeps coming. Pray for Cedar Key."

The water just keeps coming. Pray for Cedar key.
Posted by Michael Presley Bobbitt on Wednesday, August 30, 2023

CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson noted Tuesday that the massive storm surge expected to accompany Idalia's arrival on land "is the primary threat with this storm."

"There is likely a level of people being caught off guard farther south as the storm is just skirting by," he said. "The storm surge may go as far as US19 inland, so there's a lot of area covered by that, even if the coast isn't populated like near Naples. No one alive in these areas has seen flooding this bad there if it hits max potential."

Gulf Coast communities were under a range of severe weather advisories, from hurricane and tropical storm warnings and watches to storm surge warnings and watches, but the National Weather Service Tallahassee said the tropical storm and hurricane warnings had been canceled as of about 5 p.m. Wednesday, while concerns remained about "lingering coastal flooding, especially at high tides."

The hurricane center had warned that storm surge could get as high as 16 feet in the area from the Wakulla/Jefferson County line in Florida and as high as 6 feet in Tampa Bay.

DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 49 counties and the state mobilized more than 5,500 National Guard members to respond to the storm. Between 30,000 and 40,000 electricity workers would be on hand to restore power after the storm hits, the governor said.

Evacuation orders or recommendations were posted in 28 counties and dozens of school districts across Florida had suspended classes.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Franklin, to the east over the Atlantic, was churning on a track that's expected to keep it off the East Coast.

Franklin was a major Category 3 hurricane early Wednesday packing 115 mph sustained winds and bringing "life-threatening surf and rip currents" along the East Coast and was forecast to bring tropical storm conditions to Bermuda starting later on Wednesday, the hurricane center said.

Meteorologists rate hurricanes according to the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale, categorizing storms that fall within Categories 3, 4 or 5 as "major" hurricanes capable of causing "significant loss of life and damage," according to the National Hurricane Center. The categories are based on a hurricane's maximum sustained wind speeds.

Where did Hurricane Idalia hit?

Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning in the Big Bend region, which is where the Florida peninsula meets the panhandle. Storm surge along the coast there was forecast to reach 12 to 16 feet, worsening through the day as the tide rises.

Storm surge is a rise in water levels caused by hurricane-force winds that push water toward shore and over areas of land that are normally dry, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This phenomenon is considered the greatest threat to life during a hurricane.

In Crystal River, north of Tampa, city manager Doug Baber warned about the threat of storm surge - the worst of which isn't expected until high tide later on Wednesday.

"The surge is going to be pushing in later today. The biggest part of the surge is going to be around 4:30 ... due to the high tide," he told "CBS Mornings" Wednesday, warning people against having a false sense of confidence that they can go out on the roads before the surge arrives.

Forecasters also warned that "areas of flash and urban flooding, some of which may be locally significant, are expected across portions of the west coast of Florida, the Florida Panhandle, and southern Georgia Tuesday into Wednesday, spreading into portions of the eastern Carolinas Wednesday into Thursday."

Ahead of the storm, officials had urged people living in low-lying coastal areas along the Gulf, many of whom were under evacuation notices, to move to higher ground.

"You run from the water and you hide from the wind. If you're there in that storm surge, you're putting your life in jeopardy when it gets to be that high," Gov. DeSantis said.

A major hurricane has never entered the Apalachee Bay, located just south of Tallahassee where the Florida peninsula meets the mainland U.S., said the city's National Weather Service branch, which called the potential arrival of Idalia "unprecedented."

"Hurricane Idalia will likely be an unprecedented event for many locations in the Florida Big Bend. Looking back through recorded history, NO major hurricanes have ever moved through the Apalachee Bay. When you try to compare this storm to others, DON'T. No one has seen this," reads a message posed to the front page of the website for NWS Tallahassee.

As Idalia intensified and approached on Tuesday, DeSantis told Florida residents: "There's a huge number of counties that are going to feel impacts from this." He referenced updated computer models from the National Hurricane Center that indicated the storm could impact inland areas as well, including Columbia County and Madison County, which sit near Florida's border with Georgia, between Tallahassee and Jacksonville.

A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the boundaries of the warning area, while a hurricane watch means those conditions are possible, according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters urge people in areas under hurricane warnings for the onset of conditions within the next 12 to 24 hours. People living in areas placed under storm surge watches should prepare for the "possibility of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline" over the next 48 hours, the hurricane center said.

There is a possibility of strong and potentially damaging wind gusts from Idalia that could "extend well eastward from the storm's center" once it makes landfall in Florida, the weather service said. Meteorologists added that torrential downpours could also happen in eastern parts of the state, which may be subject to increasing tornado threats as well.

Map of Hurricane Idalia's projected path

Meteorologists forecast a northeastern path for Idalia, tracking over the Gulf of Mexico toward the northwest coast of Florida throughout Tuesday and into Wednesday.

After making landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast, Idalia continued across northern Florida and coastal Georgia and into South Carolina by Wednesday night. It was expected to continue moving up the coast of the Carolinas through Thursday before moving out into the Atlantic, decreasing in strength as it travels.

Will Idalia and Franklin hit Florida at the same time?

Hurricane Franklin is not expected to hit Florida, but it will cause rough surf conditions and rip currents. Officials haven't issued any forecasts suggesting that Franklin will make landfall anywhere along the East Coast.

An incoming "long-period swell" in the Atlantic caused by Hurricane Franklin will make the coast susceptible to "high seas, rough surf, an increase in life-threatening rip currents, and beach erosion during high tides during Tuesday and Wednesday," according to the hurricane center.

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national oceanic and atmospheric administration

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Hurricane Idalia path and timeline: Maps show where the storm is heading and when

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Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane over the Big Bend region of Florida, before continuing along its path toward Georgia and the Carolinas.

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Netflix's Gaming Service Now Available in the US - IGN Now

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épreuves

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More than 1,000 health workers and 200 organizations have demanded that governments worldwide create and enact a legally binding nonproliferation treaty to end the global dependence on fossil fuels, which are known to be harmful to human health.

"The modern addiction to fossil fuels is not just an act of environmental vandalism. From the health perspective, it is an act of self-sabotage," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, which backed the initiative along with the Global Climate and Health Alliance, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Health Care Without Harm and other groups.

In a public letter released Wednesday, they called for an immediate end to new fossil fuel exploration, production and infrastructure. Existing production should be phased out in a "fair and equitable manner" to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) climate goal set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement, with "financial, technological and other support" for low- and middle-income countries to ensure a"just transition"to a sustainable future.

"The proposal for a treaty aims to support what the international community has been pushing on for years but focusing on the supply side," Jeni Miller, executive director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance, told DW. "A treaty will allow the Paris Agreement to be stronger by creating a legally binding international mechanism that focuses on the heart of the problem: extracting fossil fuels. If we do not end extraction, it will be much more difficult to end use of these fuels."

"While everybody is aware that we need to end fossil fuel production and use in order to limit climate change, there is less awareness about the huge health bill that has come with decades of coal, oil and gas use," said Anne Stauffer, deputy director at the Brussels-based Health and Environment Alliance.

"With the pandemic, policy makers have placed health protection to the top of their agendas. Now, they need to bring their commitment to preventing ill-health to the area of fossil fuels."

Poor air quality causes millions of deaths each year

Air pollution linked to fossil fuel use causes more than 6.5 million deaths around the world each year, according to a May 2022 study in The Lancet Planetary Health journal. More than 90% of these deaths are happening in rapidly developing countries in Africaand Asia. And almost no one on Earth is spared. According to the latest WHO figures, 99% of the world's population lives in places where the air they breathe exceeds quality limits set by the global body.

The link between fossil fuel emissions and health was made clearer during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, when cities across the world essentially shut down. With businesses closed, roads empty and many people staying home, carbon emissions decreased and air quality improved in many major centers, if only for a short time.

A recent study comparing 46 European cities during those months estimated that 800 deaths linked to air pollution in those cities may have been prevented in the first half of 2020. While just a snapshot of an unprecedented moment in time, the results do reflect how better air quality could improve the health of billions of people worldwide.

The results of the study are backed by moves to phase out coal in other parts of the world over the last 20 years. After the closure of coal-fired power plants in California and Ontario, Canada, for example, surrounding communities saw significant decreases in premature deaths, preterm births and hospital admissions.

Exiting fossil fuels to protect human and ecosystem health

The proposed treaty, to be negotiated by participating countries, would follow the example set by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The international accord, which entered into force in 2005, aims to raise awareness of the dangers of tobacco and limit its use.

A fossil fuel treaty would seek to do the same for the use of coal, oil and gas, which are known to be harmful to human and ecosystem health. The letter points out the numerous health effects of fossil fuel use that go beyond the direct impact of air pollution. A warming climate, for example, also increases the risk of heat-related illness and death and favors the spread of food and waterborne illnesses. At the same time, health care systems and medical supply chains are also coming under increasing strain.

"Communities around the world have been paying the health price for our dependence on fossil fuels for far too long," said Miller. "Every stage of the fossil fuel cycle puts people's health at risk, from mining and fracking to transport through pipelines, to processing and finally to burning fossil fuels for transport, electricity, and industrial use," she said.

New treaty would be a 'tangible sign' that governments are serious

Stauffer of the Health and Environment Alliance told DW the call for a new treaty comes at a crucial time, pointing out that despite increased commitments in recent years from entities like the G20 and the European Union, progress on cutting back on fossil fuels has been too slow. And the current geopolitical crisis in Europe isn't helping matters, with countries scrambling to find oil and gas from sources other than Russia rather than strengthening renewables.

"With the many short-term measures to deal with the implications from the war in Ukraine, we're risking a fossil fuel lock-in in Europe, despite all commitments to climate neutrality and energy transition," Stauffer said.

"A fossil fuel nonproliferation treaty would be a tangible sign and commitment by governments that they're serious about protecting our health and tackling a top cause of ill health," she added.

Miller said clean energy alternatives to fossil fuels are readily available, but remain out of reach for many. Developed countries, which have profited from decades of growth based on polluting power, now "have the resources and moral responsibility not only to make the clean energy transition, but to support developing countries to do the same," she said.

"For decades we've depended on the capacity of fossil fuels to provide energy, but we now have alternatives that are cleaner and more sustainable - and compatible with the healthier future we want," she added.
Edited by: Jennifer Collins
Author: Martin Kuebler

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Fossil fuel ban treaty would save lives, say global health groups

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More than 1,000 health workers and 200 organizations have demanded that governments worldwide create and enact a legally binding nonproliferation treaty to end the global dependence on fossil fuels, which are known to be harmful to human health. "The modern addiction to fossil fuels is not just an act of environmental vandalism.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) and almost 200 other health associations have made an unprecedented call for a global fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty.

A call to action published on Wednesday, urges governments to agree a legally binding plan to phase out fossil fuel exploration and production, similar to the framework convention on tobacco, which was negotiated under the WHO's auspices in 2003.

"The modern addiction to fossil fuels is not just an act of environmental vandalism. From the health perspective, it is an act of self-sabotage," said the WHO president, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, the head of the WHO's climate change department, said the letter was a watershed moment. "This is the first time the health sector has come together to issue such a statement explicitly about fossil fuels," he told the Guardian. "The current burden of death and disease from air pollution is comparable to that of tobacco use, while the long-term effects of fossil fuels on the Earth's climate present an existential threat to humanity - as do nuclear weapons."

The campaign to end fossil fuel exploration and production has won wide support from the Dalai Lama and 100 other Nobel laureates, the Vatican, several cities and island states, more than 1,000 health professionals and almost 3,000 scientists and academics.

The initiative aims to emulate the successes of the treaty on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, signed in 1968, which has to some extent limited the spread of atomic weapons and technology.

More countries have signed that treaty than any other arms-limiting convention, although nuclear powers such as India, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan have not.

Ira Helfand, the Nobel peace prize winner and co-president of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, said: "The two overriding issues of our era - the climate crisis and the danger of nuclear war - are deeply intertwined. The climate crisis is leading to greater international conflict and a growing risk of nuclear war, and nuclear war will cause catastrophic, abrupt climate disruption. The world must come together to prevent both of these existential threats."

In emailed comments supporting the new initiative, the laureate professor Noam Chomsky said: "Humans are marching towards a precipice. When we reach it, unthinkable catastrophe is inevitable. There is a narrow window of opportunity to save ourselves, and the innumerable other species that we are destroying with reckless abandon. There still is time to rid ourselves of fossil fuels, not much. We will grasp the opportunity, or the human experiment will come to an inglorious end."

As well as posing an existential threat to future generations, fossil fuels are a hazard in the present, claiming more than 8 million lives prematurely in 2018, 18% of that year's total deaths, according to one study.

Most of those fatalities were caused by air pollution but the climate crisis is also increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses and creating ideal conditions for the transmission of food and water-borne diseases and the spread of vector-borne diseases.

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Extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and fires carry their own health hazards, while fossil fuel workers and communities close to plants face a plethora of risks ranging from oil spills and pipeline explosions to lung disease and cancers.

The new initiative says that the clean energy transition must respect indigenous rights and be just for "every worker, community and country".

Ruth Etzel, the co-chair of the International Pediatric Association's environmental health group, said: "We have an ethical duty of care, and we cannot stay silent about the global health risks that fossil fuels represent. Our message to government leaders around the world is this: The health of everyone alive today, and of future generations, depends on phasing out fossil fuels, rapidly, justly, and completely."

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Health groups call for global fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty

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The World Health Organization (WHO) and almost 200 other health associations have made an unprecedented call for a global fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. A call to action published on Wednesday, urges governments to agree a legally binding plan to phase out fossil fuel exploration and production, similar to the framework convention on tobacco, which was negotiated under the WHO's auspices in 2003.

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Switching to renewable energy could save trillions - study

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New report says falling cost of renewable energy makes switch from fossil fuels cheapest option.

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An aggressive push towards 100% renewable energy would save Americans as much as $321bn in energy costs, while also slashing planet-heating emissions, according to a new report.

Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, has vowed to eliminate greenhouse gases from the US power grid within 15 years and essentially zero out emissions by 2050, a plan assailed by Donald Trump as costly and detrimental to the American economy.

But a new analysis by Rewiring America, an energy policy organization, finds that households would benefit financially from a complete switch to clean energy sources such as solar and wind. More than 40% of energy emissions are determined by appliances in and around the home, according to the report, such as heating, electricity, refrigeration and car use.

Should all of these related factors be fully electrified and sourced from clean energy, households could save as much as $321bn in energy costs, the report finds, or up to $2,500 a household a year. Households would be faced with the upfront costs of installing solar panels and electric devices such as stovetops and heat pumps, but Rewiring America says strong government assistance for renewables would help deliver long-term savings.

"If we electrify everything, the savings are more than enough to return money to households," said Adam Zurofsky, executive director of Rewiring America. "Too often we are told doing the right thing for the environment requires sacrifice and costs more. But no one is talking about the upside - we can actually make a better economy and save people money and a byproduct will be to cut emissions from residential buildings."

Much of the savings are derived from reducing the wasted energy involved in digging up and delivering fossil fuel-based power to homes. By taking measures such as backing mortgage-style payments for solar panels to lessen reliance upon the grid, the federal government can make it "dirt cheap" for people to switch to renewables, Zurofsky said. Solar is now the "cheapest source of electricity in history", according to the International Energy Agency, with the US consuming a record amount of renewable energy last year.

Such a scenario would be difficult given the required ramp-up in solar across US towns and cities, according to Brian Snyder, an energy and environment expert at Louisiana State University. "We would need to build an electrical generation system on top of our roofs that is the same size as contemporary US generation," he said.

Issues in the supply chain and patchier generation in less sunny parts of the country would compound this challenge, Snyder added.

Zurofsky said the technical potential of rooftop solar comes from the federal government's own estimates and was feasible. "That does not mean it will be easy to do or that we won't have to stretch our existing capacities to make it happen," he said, adding that the report aimed to show "what the future can look like if we are motivated to make it so".

Biden has outlined a $2tn plan to combat the climate crisis, which he has called an "existential threat" to the US. The plan envisions the creation of millions of jobs in renewable energy, the retrofitting and weatherization of homes and commercial buildings to improve their energy efficiency and a boost to the nascent electric vehicle market.

Trump, who has consistently dismissed the realities of climate science, has derided Biden's agenda as something that would "kill" existing energy jobs in the US.

But it appears that American voters are broadly in favor of bolder action to address global heating in the wake of a brutal year of wildfires and hurricanes that scientists say are being fueled by the climate crisis. A New York Times and Siena College poll this week found that two-thirds of voters approve of Biden's plan, with overwhelming support for the policies among younger voters.

Snyder said the Biden plan is "probably the most ambitious yet plausible plan I've seen" on the climate crisis.

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Aggressive push to 100% renewable energy could save Americans billions - study

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An aggressive push towards 100% renewable energy would save Americans as much as $321bn in energy costs, while also slashing planet-heating emissions, according to a new report. Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, has vowed to eliminate greenhouse gases from the US power grid within 15 years and essentially zero out emissions by 2050, a plan assailed by Donald Trump as costly and detrimental to the American economy.

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EU plans Russian gas price cap despite Putin threat

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European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says the EU must cut Russia’s war revenues.

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A majority of EU member states have urged the European Commission to drop its original plan to cap only the price of Russian gas and instead bet on a more far-reaching cap on all gas imports.

It would be part of a series of exceptional measures designed to tame rising electricity prices, including power savings targets during peak hours and new levies on excess revenues that energy ministers endorsed at an emergency meeting on Friday.

The Commission has warned however that the price-setting proposal must not scare off suppliers and endanger the EU's gas supply ahead of the winter season.

The latest developments were announced on Friday at the end of an emergency meeting, entirely devoted to the worsening energy crisis.

"We agreed on the necessity of urgent and robust EU action," said Jozef Síkela, the Czech Republic's energy minister, who presided over the meeting. "It was not an easy discussion and definitely not the last one we're having."

"We must ensure Putin's manipulation and weaponisation of energy supplies will fail," said Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for energy.

The meeting's main focus was on power savings, which the majority of member states recognise as indispensable to address the mismatch between supply and demand, and the disproportionate influence that gas prices are currently having on electricity bills.

In today's liberalised market, the final price of power is set by the most expensive fuel needed to meet all demands - in this case: gas. This means that as gas prices soar, so does electricity, even if cheaper, clean sources contribute to the total mix.

This system, known as the merit order or marginal pricing, has been thrown into disarray by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, leading to a growing number of calls for state intervention and market reform.

"This meeting is about finding market mechanisms to reduce the prices so that the merit order is not spoiling prices for cheap energy," said German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck on Friday morning.

"We probably need to combine different tools to be effective in curbing electricity prices," said his Spanish counterpart, Teresa Ribera.

Power savings and extra revenues

At the end of Friday's meeting, EU ministers gave their endorsement to four of the five draft measures unveiled earlier this week by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

An EU-wide plan on electricity savings during peak hours (usually 7 am to 10 pm). Discussions are ongoing to decide if the savings should be mandatory or compulsory.

A new cap on the excess revenues made by power plants that use sources cheaper than gas (renewables, nuclear, coal) and create extra funds to support consumers under financial stress.

A "solidarity mechanism" to partially capture the excess profits made by fossil fuel companies (oil, gas and coal) during extraction, refinery and distribution.

A state aid programme to inject extra liquidity into struggling utility businesses, those who bring electricity to consumers once it has been produced, and palliate the effects of speculation.

The fifth proposal, a price cap just on Russian pipeline gas, did not receive enough support to move forward.

Instead, a majority of member states came together to push for a wider cap on all gas imports entering the bloc, irrespective of their geographical origin.

It's still unclear if the tool would apply only to pipelines or also to liquefied natural gas (LNG), a highly valuable commodity that has become essential to diversifying away from Russian fuels in the wake of the Ukraine war.

"Give us a little bit of time to fine tune it," said Minister Síkela.

'Very strong competition'

By putting a price cap on all gas imports, EU countries intend to mitigate the ups and downs in the volatile energy market and ensure electricity bills stay under a certain artificial limit, regardless of demand.

The Italian and Greek ministers claimed on Friday that up to 15 member states were in favour of the far-reaching gas cap, including Belgium, Sweden and Poland.

The agreement is "broad" but not yet unanimous, officials said.

Germany remains opposed to any sort of cap on gas prices, arguing it could incentivise consumption, and Spain believes the debate is not mature enough, Euronews understands.

The measure is not without risks: LNG producers could simply choose to sell their products in other regions that do not have any sort of price cap. For example: Asia, where LNG is in high demand.

"We have to take care that we will not jeopardise our security of supply situation. The LNG market is global market," Commissioner Simson said.

"There is a very strong competition at the LNG market and right now it is important that we can replace the decreasing Russian volumes with alternative of suppliers."

Building upon Friday's conclusions, the Commission is expected to present concrete legal texts next Tuesday. All the measures could be rapidly implemented under an emergency procedure.

Simson refused to say whether the executive would continue to advocate for a price cap just on Russian gas or if it would forego that option and choose instead the wider, indiscriminate cap endorsed on Friday.

"The decision has not been made yet," she said, explaining her team would continue working over the weekend.

Despite her visible hesitancy around the plan, Simson admitted that "all options are on the table".

Before discussions began on Friday morning, EU energy ministers observed a minute of silence in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Thursday after a 70-year-long reign.

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EU energy ministers move closer to price cap on all gas imports

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A majority of EU member states have urged the European Commission to drop its original plan to cap only the price of Russian gas and instead bet on a more far-reaching cap on all gas imports.

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Why California has blackouts: A look at the power grid

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Extreme temperatures have sent electric demand on the grid to record levels.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A record heat wave put California in a fossil fuel conundrum: The state has had to rely more heavily on natural gas to produce electricity and avoid power outages while Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration moves toward ending the use of oil and gas.

The heat wave that started more than a week ago has been hotter and longer than any other in the state, and it put unprecedented strain on power supplies. That prompted Newsom to plead with people to use less power to avoid rolling blackouts - a practice that involves cutting some people's power to save energy so the lights can stay on for everyone else.

The effort worked, but meeting the state's heightened energy demand also required activating generators fueled by natural gas, which is still a major part of the state's power picture. The Democratic governor's calls for conservation also drew criticism about new state policies governing electric vehicles and other measures that will only increase energy demand.

Newsom, speaking to reporters Wednesday, said the "pretty extreme" circumstances required the state to turn to more natural gas as a backup supply.

"We all want to accelerate the elimination of the gas, but it's a sober reminder of reality," he said.

Tuesday's demand for 52,000 megawatts set a record, as triple-digit temperatures blanketed much of the state. Sacramento hit a record high of 116 degrees (47 degrees Celsius), and normally cooler places like San Francisco and San Diego also reached sizzling temperatures.

Demand will only climb in the years ahead. By 2045, when the state is mandated to get all of its electricity from non-carbon or renewable sources, demand is expected to be as high as 78,000 megawatts due to more electric home appliances and cars on the road, according California Energy Commission estimates.

To meet that demand, both the government and major utilities like Pacific Gas & Electric are working to scale up renewable sources such as solar and wind power, as well as large-scale batteries that can store that power for use at night. The California Public Utilities Commission last year ordered utilities to procure enough additional power for 2.5 million homes by 2026.

Newsom just signed legislation aimed at keeping the state's last nuclear plant open for five years beyond its planned 2025 closure, and he suggested Wednesday that the plant could run even longer if needed.

The sun is typically the state's biggest power source during the day. But as the hot weather arrived, natural gas surpassed renewables for more time over the past week, according to the California Independent System Operator, which is responsible for managing and maintaining reliability on the state's power grid.

Gas was the primary energy source all day on Tuesday - the expected peak of the brutal temperatures.

Meanwhile, on Monday the state for the first time turned on four gas-powered generators to add more supply, enough to power 120,000 homes. It planned to rely on some diesel-powered generators as well.

But some of the state's fossil-fuel plants have their own reliability problems. Several power plants, including aging gas-fired ones along California's coast, partially broke down or produced less energy than planned, according to the ISO.

Four of the plants, which suck up ocean water to cool down their equipment, were slated to close in 2020, but the state has continually extended their lives to help stabilize the power supply. They now plan to stay open until at least 2023, but they could last even longer under legislation Newsom signed in June.

If the state wants to keep the old coastal gas-powered plants online beyond 2023, it needs to give the companies that own them more certainty about the future so they can decide whether to spend money to maintain them, said Siva Gunda, vice chairman of the California Energy Commission, the state's energy planning agency.

"Everything has to be moved forward at full throttle" with the "ambitious aim" that cleaner energy sources make up most of the state's power reserves, he said.

The intensity of the heat wave only emphasizes the need for California to move away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible, he said.

The grid challenges also provided plenty of fodder for Newsom's political critics, who have argued that Democrats' policies to move away from oil and gas don't add up.

The state recently adopted new regulations aimed at ending the sale of most new gas-powered cars in the state by 2035. But during the heat wave, officials also urged people not to charge cars or use other large appliances at night. The state has not banned car charging, but instead urged people to do so during the day.

"Gavin Newsom - You have to buy an electric car. Also Gavin Newsom - But you can't charge it," Republican state Sen. Melissa Melendez tweeted Tuesday evening after the state sent out an emergency wireless alert urging people to reduce power use.

Environmental groups say planning failures led California to rely on natural gas - and even ramp up its use - during the heat wave. The state needs to set clearer goals and benchmarks to meet its clean energy targets and ensure that fossil fuels aren't used as a backup, said Ari Eisenstadt, campaign manager for Regenerate California, a campaign aimed at ending fossil fuel use in the state.

"Folks have been talking about natural gas as a bridge for decades," he said. "And if it were truly a bridge, we would have crossed it by now."

___

Associated Press journalist Michael R. Blood contributed reporting from Beverly Hills, Calif.

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Record heat wave puts California in fossil fuel conundrum

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A record heat wave put California in a fossil fuel conundrum: The state has had to rely more heavily on natural gas to produce electricity and avoid power outages while Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration moves toward ending the use...

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By Phil Mercer BBC News, Sydney

Watch: Australian surgeon Dr Hari Priya Bandi describes her shock at finding the live worm in patient's brain

In a world first, scientists say an 8cm (3in) worm has been found alive in the brain of an Australian woman.

The "string-like structure" was pulled from the patient's damaged frontal lobe during surgery in Canberra last year.

"It was definitely not what we were expecting. Everyone was shocked," said operating surgeon Dr Hari Priya Bandi.

The woman, 64, had for months suffered symptoms like stomach pain, a cough and night sweats, which evolved into forgetfulness and depression.

She was admitted to hospital in late January 2021, and a scan later revealed "an atypical lesion within the right frontal lobe of the brain".

But the cause of her condition was only revealed by Dr Bandi's knife during a biopsy in June 2022.

The red parasite could have been alive in her brain for up to two months, doctors said.

The woman, who lived near a lake area in south-eastern New South Wales state, is recovering well.

Her case is believed to be the first instance of a larvae invasion and development in the human brain, researchers said in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal which reported the case.

'I pulled it out... and it was happily moving'

The neurosurgeon who found the worm said she had only begun to touch the brain part that had shown up strangely in the scans when she felt it.

"I thought, gosh, that feels funny, you couldn't see anything more abnormal," said Dr Bandi.

"And then I was able to really feel something, and I took my tweezers and I pulled it out and I thought, 'Gosh! What is that? It's moving!"

"Everyone was shocked. And the worm that we found was happily moving, quite vigorously, outside the brain," she said.

ANU

A brain scan and the 'happily moving' worm in a specimen jar

She then consulted her colleague Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious diseases expert, on what they should do.

"Everyone [in] that operating theatre got the shock of their life when [the surgeon] took some forceps to pick up an abnormality and the abnormality turned out to be a wriggling, live 8cm light red worm," said Dr Senanayake.

"Even if you take away the yuck factor, this is a new infection never documented before in a human being."

Researchers warn the case highlights the increased danger of diseases and infections being passed from animals to people.

The Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm is common in carpet pythons - non-venomous snakes found across much of Australia.

Scientists say the woman most likely caught the roundworm after collecting a type of native grass, Warrigal greens, beside a lake near where she lived. The area is also inhabited by carpet pythons.

Writing in the journal, Australian parasitology expert Mehrab Hossain said she suspected the woman became an "accidental host" after using the foraged plants - contaminated by python faeces and parasite eggs - for cooking.

"The invasion of the brain by Ophidascaris larvae had not been reported previously," writes Dr Hossain.

"The growth of the third-stage larva in the human host is notable, given that previous experimental studies have not demonstrated larval development in domesticated animals, such as sheep, dogs, and cats."

Dr Senanayake - who is also an associate professor of medicine at the Australian National University (ANU) - told the BBC the case is a warning.

The ANU team reports that 30 new types of infections have appeared in the last 30 years. Three-quarters are zoonotic - infectious diseases that have jumped from animals to humans.

"It just shows as a human population burgeons, we move closer and encroach on animal habitats. This is an issue we see again and again, whether it's Nipah virus that's gone from wild bats to domestic pigs and then into people, whether it's a coronavirus like Sars or Mers that has jumped from bats into possibly a secondary animal and then into humans."

"Even though Covid is now slowly petering away, it is really important for epidemiologists... and governments to make sure they've got good infectious diseases surveillance around."

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Live worm found in Australian woman's brain in world first

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The parasite - usually found in pythons - could have been there for two months, scientists say.

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August 29, 2023

Doctors in Australia have found and removed a live parasitic worm, roughly 8 centimeters long, from a woman's brain. It's the first known case of its kind.

A veterinary expert immediately recognized the worm and its distinctive red color when shown the unusual find, Bandi told DW

Scientists this week published information on an unprecedented case in Australia, where they found and extracted a live parasitic worm from the brain of a woman in Canberra.

The worm was some 8 centimeters (just over 3 inches) long and is a roundworm most commonly seen in python species, known as Ophidascaris robertsi.

It was found in the brain of a 64-year-old woman after she had complained of a variety of changing symptoms and afflictions over a prolonged period.

'Just get it out of my forceps!'

Neurosurgeon Hari Priya Bandi found and removed the parasite with forceps during a biopsy.

"I used tumor-holding forceps and lifted out something that I definitely was not expecting: a linear, squiggling line," Bandi told DW on Tuesday.

"And my junior doctor said, 'is that an artery?', because that's what it looked like. And I said, 'it's not an artery, we're nowhere near any artery!' And I noticed it was moving and I went, 'just get it out of my forceps!' So we rapidly put it in a pathology pot, and it was a vigorously wriggling worm."

Worm removed from woman's brain

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Asked whether it was fair to assume the worm had been moving around inside, Bandi said it was and that their scans demonstrated as much.

The woman's symptoms had started as lung, liver and adominal problems, Bandi said, but evolved towards problems like depression, presumably as the animal's activities kept affecting different parts of the brain.

Her psychiatrist had conducted CT scans in which what was later identified as the worm was first visible, and later MRI scans to prepare for the procedure had then shown how the abnormality was moving.

A known possibility, but an unprecedented find

"When you operate on someone's brain and you take a biopsy or something, you never expect to encounter something living," Doctor Sanjaya Senanayake, who co-authored the study with Bandi, told Reuters. "[It] was certainly something we'll never forget."

The paper on the case was published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal on Monday.

Bandi and Senanayake speculated that the woman might have been exposed to the parasite when foraging for wild grasses to make a dish similar to spinach, when she might have been exposed to python feces.

The worm was successfully removed last year. The woman, whom Senanayake praised as being "very courageous and patient," returned to normal life after the operation to remove the parasite, but medical professionals have continued to monitor her.

"Obviously, because this was an unusual case at so many levels, we're keeping a close eye on her and keeping in touch," Senanayake said.

Senanayake said the discovery came as a surprise, but that they were aware of the possibility, particularly as human and animal habitats continue to overlap more and more.

"Other snakes around the world carry this parasite, so it is quite likely that other new cases will be documented," he said. "So hopefully, raising awareness of that will help other healthcare workers around the world."

msh/ab (AFP, Reuters)

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Live parasitic worm plucked from Australian woman's brain - DW - 08/29/2023

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Doctors in Australia have found and removed a live parasitic worm, roughly 8 centimeters long, from a woman's brain. It's the first known case of its kind.

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Johannesburg's Central Business District is filled with buildings that look on the brink of collapse. Windows are boarded up and walls are covered in graffiti.

Streets are filled with detritus - food wrappers, empty beer bottles, cigarette butts - and a foul smell of rotten food combined with urine fills the air.

It is overcrowded, dangerous, and there are few working amenities.

And it is now the backdrop to one of South Africa's worst building disasters, when 76 people died and dozens more were injured in a fire that ripped through 80 Albert Street on Thursday.

The dilapidated complex was one of dozens that have been "hijacked" - taken over by criminals and property gangs who then rent out the space illegally to people who cannot afford anything else. There are often no reliable amenities, nor sanitation.

Molly, a 21-year-old South African who lives down the road from 80 Albert Street in another "hijacked" building, says it is like living in a prison.

"I won't have water to shower for long periods," she told the BBC. "And we live in the dark. Lots of us, in one room."

She was scared to use her full name for fear of authorities arresting her for living illegally.

Molly's building is one of the 57 that have been hijacked in the inner city, where up to 2,000 people can live in a single complex.

And in the aftermath of the latest deadly blaze, people wonder how so many are allowed to.

Squatters' rights

South Africa's Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act (PIE Act) is a starting point. It states that no person can be removed from their home without a court order.

And once a person is settled in a building and can prove they have nowhere else to go, they cannot be evicted.

This makes clearing hijacked buildings incredibly difficult.

Angela Rivers, the general manager at Johannesburg Property Owners and Managers Association, says the anti-eviction law is the root of the problem.

"You cannot evict anybody unless they have alternative accommodation, which needs to be provided by counsel [the prosecution]," she says.

"And that is where the mess comes in. Because counsel is incapable of providing any accommodation because their own accommodation has been hijacked."

The 80 Albert Street complex was owned by the City of Johannesburg, which means the city would have been responsible for finding alternative shelter for those evicted.

The building opened in 1954 as the Central Pass Office, which controlled the movement of black people in the city during apartheid.

South Africans used to go to collect a passbook, or a "dompas", that controlled where they could travel.

The building later became the home of the Usindiso Women's Shelter, before it was abandoned and taken over by criminal gangs.

Johannesburg has had a growing housing shortage since white-minority rule ended in 1994. Many black and mixed-race residents who lived in townships outside the city moved to the centre to be closer to where they worked.

Authorities say they are unable to meet the cost of the new affordable housing needed, and their hands are tied by eviction laws.

Critics, such as Ms Rivers, says the city simply refuses to tackle the problem.

"The PIE act is 25 years old. It's been giving us issues for 20 years. So you can't suddenly wake up 20 years later and say; 'Well, we are bound by this act'. They have known about it. It hasn't been sprung on them."

She says officials could start by doing inspections of public buildings and using even the few powers and bylaws they have to improve the lives of the people living in these buildings.

Kenny Kunene, a member of the opposition Patriotic Alliance who spent a weekend as acting mayor of Johannesburg in May, says that the anti-eviction law "protects criminals".

"Whenever the government acts, NGOs then go to court on an urgent basis to stop the government from evicting people.

"So at the root of the spread of illegal hijacking of buildings by illegal immigrants and South African criminals, is the property law that protects them."

He also wants mass deportation of immigrants who are living in the buildings. He sees the hijackers and their "tenants", as the same problem.

Rights groups say Mr Kunene's views are another example of rising xenophobia in the country which has an estimated 2.9 million migrants.

As the most industrialized economy in the region, it's an attractive destination for those seeking better work opportunities from as far afield as Nigeria and Somalia.

Victims, not criminals

Ms Rivers agrees that there is a "problem" with illegal immigrants.

"But it's not the illegal immigrants that neglected that building," she adds. "A lot of these tenants are desperate people who will pay money to put a roof over their head."

"They're just as much victims in this as the property-owner who's lost his building," she says.

And since many are undocumented and work in informal jobs, they are unlikely to come forward to ask for alternative accommodation that the government can provide for low wage earners.

President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the burnt remains of 80 Albert Street soon after the fire. He called for a thorough investigation to ensure there were no future tragedies.

"It's a wake-up call for us to begin to address the situation of housing in the inner city," he said.

However, he did not mention any specific steps that the government would take.

So while the investigation of what caused the fire continues, so will the blame game as to why so many of Johannesburg's residents are living in such unimaginable conditions.

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Johannesburg fire: Hijacks and death traps in a crumbling South African city centre

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Criminal gangs 'hijack' buildings in South Africa, and then they burn down. And no-one seems able to stop them.

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Sixty two bodies in deadly Johannesburg fire unidentifiable

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The Gauteng Department of Health says 62 bodies of victims of the deadly Johannesburg fire are unidentifiable.

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Tropical Storm Idalia is drenching the Carolinas and may bring dangerous surf to the region over the coming Labor Day weekend, say forecasters.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned up to 9in (23cm) of rain and "life-threatening flash flooding" may hit parts of eastern North Carolina.

Idalia brought mass flooding when it made landfall as a category three hurricane in Florida on Wednesday.

The eye of the storm is set to spin off the North Carolina coast on Thursday.

More than 200,000 homes and businesses were still without power, from Florida and Georgia to South and North Carolina.

US President Joe Biden called Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday to let him know he had signed a major disaster declaration, ordering all available federal resources to help with the response to Idalia.

Mr DeSantis told reporters at a press conference that Idalia was far less destructive than feared.

Even so, insured property losses in Florida were projected to hit $9.36bn (£7.4bn), investment bank UBS said.

In North Carolina, maximum sustained wind speeds in parts of the state were predicted to reach 60mph (96km/h) on Thursday. Tropical storm-force winds extended outwards up to 185 miles.

Storm surges in coastal low-lying areas could cause "life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland", the NWS said.

As the storm churns out into the Atlantic Ocean, potential life-threatening surf and rip currents were expected to affect the US south-east coast into the Labor Day weekend, when many Americans head to the beach, said the NWS.

On Wednesday, Idalia hit Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

In Florida, two deaths were reported by car crashes attributed to rainy conditions. A man died in Georgia after he was hit by a falling tree.

Several Florida communities were inundated with rain and seawater thrown ashore by fierce winds, knocking down power lines, toppling trees, engulfing homes and submerging streets.

Idalia also spawned brief tornadoes, one of which turned over a car in Goose Creek, South Carolina.

In South Carolina's Charleston Harbor, the water levels reached 9.2ft (2.8m), the NWS said, making it the fifth-highest water level ever recorded there.

Meanwhile, third named tropical storm, Jose, formed early on Thursday morning in the Atlantic Ocean, 770 miles east of Bermuda.

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Tropical Storm Idalia drenches Carolinas as Florida counts cost

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Up to 9in (23cm) of rain and life-threatening flash flooding could hit parts of eastern North Carolina.

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Think of Netflix and a memorable television show or movie will likely pop into your mind.

What did you most enjoy? Squid Game? Bridgerton? Stranger Things maybe?

Soon, the streaming service wants video games to be competing for a place on that list.

Netflix says games are a key part of its proposition to stay relevant with audiences in years to come, and is slowly ramping up plans to offer more gaming experiences to subscribers.

Leanne Loombe, vice president of external games at Netflix, tells BBC News: "Games are one of the biggest forms of entertainment out there today, so it really is just a natural extension for Netflix to include them as part of the subscription.

"The lines between the different ways we enjoy our entertainment are blurring. When you're in that moment, looking to sit and watch a movie or be more active and play a game, we want to make sure we have something for you.

"Our goal is to have a game on the service for everyone. Not focus on making one big experience, but rather a selection of titles that members can choose to play."

Since November 2021 games have been available to play on the Netflix app, but this development passed many users by. Loombe says the streaming service has deliberately not been "shouting from the rooftops" but instead taking their time to understand the market place first.

So far, what's being offered are mobile games, with some tied to famous Netflix franchises (like Stranger Things) and others independent of the service (like Reigns: Three Kingdoms).

Currently they're only available to play on mobile devices, although tests are under way to see how they could work on TVs and computers.

This low-key approach is a sensible move according to games journalist Shay Thompson, who explains the industry is "littered with the failed attempts" from legacy media brands to get into the world of gaming.

"When other mainstream entertainment organisations have tried to enter the game space they've really struggled," Thompson says. "I think it's often down to companies fundamentally misunderstanding what it is about games as a form of entertainment that make them so compelling to players.

"Amazon Games is an example of this, they've had titles like Lost Ark and and Crucible with big budgets but those titles lacked the creativity and uniqueness that we've come to expect from the games space. That's a significant reason why those titles haven't ended up making a serious impact."

Experiences such as this and tech giant Google, who closed its Stadia console this year, show how difficult it is to find a place in the games space for companies.

Amazon's games division may not yet be as successful as its Prime Video operation, however we still expect to see more titles from them in future. The company is currently working on a the next iteration of the Tomb Raider franchise starring Lara Croft.

"Focusing on the mobile games first is a clever strategy that could work in Netflix favour," says Thompson. "It looks as if they're talking the time to understand the landscape and gamers. I know their reputation has been a bit shaky on the streaming side-recently, but it certainly seems like they're trying to work with the games space and not against it.

"However giving gamers what they want, not what a big organisations think they want, will be the key to making this work. That is creativity and being unique."

In future, Loombe says we can expect to see Netflix leverage its intellectual property even more. "Connecting shows, movies and games together from our universes is what we're trying to accomplish," she explains.

In a trendy office space in central Liverpool, that's exactly what the team at Ripstone Studios are trying to do.

In amongst the exposed brick, succulent plants and pop culture memorabilia littered on the desks are developers and programmers busy creating the next update for their first partnership with Netflix. The Queen's Gambit is, as you may have guessed, a chess simulator based on the adventures of the television series' main character Beth Harmon.

The team won the contract to make the game after Jaime Brayshaw, the creative executive, sent Netflix an email out of the blue.

"I asked them when will Netflix become the Netflix of games?!" he laughs.

Ripstone, who have a long history of making chess games, became one of the first companies to partner with the streaming giant to work on their games offering.

Brayshaw says the relationship is not just a licensing agreement, but rather a "collaborative partnership" with both companies sharing expertise with each other.

As well as offering more content to Netflix customers in an increasingly competitive market, Brayshaw thinks their collaboration is a chance to help grow gaming as a form of entertainment as well: "Netflix has an audience 238 million people now," he says.

"Many of them will never have played a game before, so we had to think about designing one that is accessible to as many people as possible, even if they've never played a video game.

"Its exciting because it potentially allows more people to experience the joys of playing games and it could broaden the popularity of the medium."

Confident that this agreement is a "win-win", Brayshaw isn't worried about joining the long history of failed game and movie or television tie-ins.

"Yes there are lots of bad examples from yesteryear with tie-ins that are bad, but it's usually because there are timelines involved," he argues.

"Netflix has a more mature approach, where the products don't have to tie together at release, so fewer compromises are needed."

The streamer will be keen to learn from the other big media organisations renowned for working in film, television or tech who've tried to cross the divide into the games space.

Google's cloud gaming service Stadia was discontinued in January, while Amazon's games division has developed its own titles with mixed success.

It is currently working on a new Lara Croft game but none of its releases so far have challenged the popularity of titles like Fortnite or Call of Duty. There were redundancies at the studio earlier this year.

By focusing on mobile titles, which are cheaper to make than big console releases, there is less financial risk for Netflix. It isn't investing millions in one experience that has to compete with well established brands to be deemed a success.

Should a project fail to reach lots of players, the financial ramifications are not as significant.

However the other side of the coin is that in such a competitive space, if players are not impressed with what they're seeing, if they feel it lacks scope or ambition, they will very quickly move on to something else. It can be difficult to regain an audience that has moved on to other games.

This bottom-up approach is different to what we've seen before and we wont be able to judge its success for some time.

As Loombe reiterates: "We're very early in our games journey right now. When it's such a big industry like games, and there's already some fantastic titles out there in the market that players really love, we just want to make sure we were doing things in the right way."

For more gaming content, go to Press X to Continue, the BBC Sounds gaming Podcast.

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Netflix: Streamer's expansion into gaming is 'natural extension'

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Streaming hits such as the Queen's Gambit are being adapted as games as the streamer looks to expand.

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Netflix Plans to Offer Video Games in Push Beyond Films, TV

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Netflix Inc., marking its first big move beyond TV shows and films, is planning an expansion into video games and has hired a former Electronic Arts Inc. and Facebook Inc. executive to lead the effort.