Latest world news today, July 22

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7 mins ago

WHO says more than 1,700 people have died in the current heat wave in Spain and Portugal

By Sharon Braithwaite

A man drinks water during the heat wave in Seville.

(Photo by JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images)

More than 1,700 people have died in Spain and Portugal due to the current heat wave, the head of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, Hans Kluge, said on Friday, as vast areas of the WHO European region grapple with high temperatures. and record-breaking forest fires.

"Heat kills. In recent decades, hundreds of thousands of people have died as a result of extreme heat during prolonged heat waves, often with simultaneous wildfires," Kluge said in a statement.

• How to recognize if your dog or cat is suffering from heat stroke

Climate change "is not new. Its consequences, however, are increasing season after season, year after year, with disastrous results," Kluge said, noting that forest fires are now "as far north as Scandinavia."

Kluge stressed that this week's events point once again to the "desperate need for pan-European action to effectively tackle climate change, the overarching crisis of our time that threatens both individual health and the very existence of humanity."

"For this to happen, governments must show political will and true leadership in implementing the global Paris Agreement on climate change, with collaboration replacing division and empty rhetoric."

11 mins ago

First case of monkeypox reported in Thailand does not present to hospital

By Kocha Olarn, Larry Register

The first case of monkeypox reported in Thailand did not show up and register at a Phuket hospital, as it was supposed to.

Police say it appears the man is on the run because he may have overstayed the visa that allowed him to stay in Thailand.

During a press conference, Dr. Weerasak Lorthongkham, director of Phuket Vachira Hospital, said that "the patient was supposed to come to Vachira Hospital to be admitted, but he did not show up."

The head of the Phuket Provincial Police Station, Maj. Gen. Sermpan Sirikong, said: "Although we were able to reach him through WhatsApp, he had promised to go to the hospital or meet us, but finally he did not show up. It is possible that the fact that he exceeded your visa has discouraged you from cooperating.

The Nigerian is known to have arrived in Thailand in October 2021. Police say he has not renewed his tourist visa that allowed him to stay in Thailand for up to 90 days.

The Thai authorities cannot show his face in public, as it would violate the patient's rights.

Also, according to the Thai public health law, monkeypox is not classified as a highly dangerous communicable disease, so the police cannot use this law to catch it.

Police said he left his apartment and checked into a hotel, but disappeared on July 20.

He has alerted the Phuket airport not to let him board a flight.

There are 17 people considered high risk who have been closely exposed to the patient.

Samples from 7 of those 17 were tested and the result was negative.

Local health officials were combing the area to find more possible close contacts with the escaped patient.

16 mins ago

High temperatures reach southern China: almost 20 cities issue red alert for heat

A swimmer relaxes by the Liangma River on a hot summer day on July 7, 2022 in Beijing, China.

(Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

High temperatures have returned to southern China as 19 cities in the eastern provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian issued red alert notices on Friday morning.

The red alert is the highest heat advisory that can be issued.

The rains and storms had cooled the temperatures a bit, but they are over now.

According to the China Meteorological Administration, temperatures in these cities are expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the next 24 hours.

The Meteorological Administration issued orange alert notices, the second highest alert, for 208 cities or counties across China, stressing that temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) are expected in these cities over the next three days.

The China Central Meteorological Observatory said in a statement Friday that many places in southern and eastern China, including Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi and parts of Anhui and Henan, will experience temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius during the day.

• It's so hot around the world that roads are rising, bridges are being covered with aluminum foil and roofs are melting.

The statement added that temperatures in parts of Xinjiang's Turpan area could reach 40C this Friday.

Persistent high temperatures have been recorded in many parts of the country since June, with an average temperature of 22.1 degrees Celsius (nearly 72 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest on record since 1961, according to the China National Climate Center.

The forecast from the Central Meteorological Observatory says that in the next 10 days, the high-temperature zone will rise again in southern China, and the heat intensity will gradually increase.

Chinese meteorological authorities said on Friday that most of the country is expected to enter the hottest period of the year on Saturday.

According to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, this Saturday is the day of "Great Heat", which usually marks the hottest days of the year.

The China Central Meteorological Observatory advises citizens to avoid outdoor activities during periods of high temperature and to reduce working hours in high temperature conditions.

It also advises people to take protective measures against sunstroke.

19 mins ago

Dinesh Gunawardena sworn in as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

By Iqbal Athas, Akanksha Sharma

Security personnel patrol in front of the Sri Lanka Presidential Secretariat building in Colombo on July 22, 2022. (Photo by ARUN SANKAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Sri Lankan Dinesh Gunawardena was sworn in as the country's new prime minister on Friday.

He was sworn in in the presence of the newly elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Dinesh Gunawardena is a former colleague of President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Royal College.

He is the Leader of the House of Sri Lanka's ruling party, the Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), and heads the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), a constituent member of the government.

China Heat Wave Sri Lanka