Congo hit with new outbreak of Ebola
DAKAR, Senegal -- Health officials have confirmed a second Ebola outbreak in Congo, the World Health Organization said Monday, adding yet another health crisis for a country already battling covid-19 and the world's largest measles outbreak.
Congo also yet to declare an official end to Ebola in its troubled east, where at least 2,243 people have died since an epidemic began there in August 2018.
Now Congolese health authorities have identified six cases including four fatalities in the north near Mbandaka, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
"This is a reminder that COVID-19 is not the only health threat people face," he said in a statement.
Four other people were being held in isolation at a hospital in Mbandaka, UNICEF said.
The victims died May 18 but test results confirming Ebola only came back over the weekend, said Congolese Health Minister Dr. Eteni Longondo. WHO said it already had teams on the ground.
The latest cases turned up in the Wangata health zone near the port city of Mbandaka, which is home to 1.2 million people.
Putin sets July 1 for vote to extend rule
MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday set a July 1 date for a nationwide vote on constitutional amendments allowing him to extend his rule until 2036, even as the nation is continuing to record-high numbers of new coronavirus cases.
Speaking during a live video call with top officials, Putin insisted that the pace of the outbreak has slowed down, allowing the nation to safely hold the vote. If approved, the constitutional amendments would allow Putin to spend another 12 years in power after his current term ends in 2024.
Putin argued that Russia will have 30 days before the vote to take additional efforts to control contagion and make the ballot fully safe. The vote was postponed from April 22 due to the pandemic.
Officials reported to Putin that voters will have a chance to cast ballots in the six days before July 1 to reduce crowds and increase safety amid the pandemic. They said they would distribute free masks, gloves and pens at polling stations, adding that voting would be held outdoors in many areas to make it even safer.
While the spread of the outbreak has slowed down, Russia has the world's third-largest caseload, with nearly 415,000 infections. It is also continuing to record a steady increase in the number of new cases, with more than 9,000 reported over the past 24 hours.
Iranian protest toll put at 230 people
TEHRAN, Iran -- An Iranian lawmaker said Monday that 230 people were killed in November's anti-government protests in Iran, the official news agency reported.
This is the first time a prominent Iranian lawmaker has given a death toll for November's protests. The unrest was the most widespread and violent Iran had seen since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
IRNA quoted lawmaker Mojtaba Zolnouri, head of the influential parliamentary committee for national security and foreign policy as saying, "The incidents saw 230 killed."
Zolnouri said about one-fifth of those killed were members of the security forces. He said about one-quarter were passersby not involved in the protests, some of whom were shot in the head or chest from close distances, while 22% of those killed had criminal records.
Protesters attacked 92 security, police and public buildings in the course of the unrest, he added.
Amnesty International has said more than 300 people were killed over the four days of unrest in cities and towns across Iran in November, which was sparked by a sharp rise in subsidized gasoline prices.
Tehran has yet to release any official statistics about the scale of the unrest, though two weeks ago the government acknowledged that the security forces shot and killed protesters.
Bird strike focus in Canada crash probe
TORONTO -- Canada's Air Force said Monday it's focusing on a bird strike as the likely reason a Snowbird aerobatic plane crashed in British Columbia last month.
The Snowbirds had been in the midst of a cross-country tour aimed at boosting morale during the coronavirus pandemic when one of the planes crashed after takeoff, killing the spokesperson for the team and injuring the pilot.
A preliminary investigation report posted by the Royal Canadian Air Force said video footage of the plane just before the crash showed a bird very close to the plane's right engine intake "during the critical phase of take-off."
The crash near Kamloops killed Air Force Capt. Jenn Casey, a public-affairs officer riding as a passenger, and seriously injured the pilot. Though the plane crashed in a populated area, nobody on the ground was badly injured.
The report said the investigation will continue to probe the possibility of a bird strike and whether the Tutor jet's escape devices worked properly.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 06/02/2020