Suspected Marburg Outbreak Kills 8 in Tanzania says WHO

World Health Organization Tanzania

by Admin Jan 15, 2025 A suspected outbreak of the Marburg virus in Tanzania has resulted in at least eight fatalities, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).  In a statement released on Tuesday, the global health agency reported that nine suspected cases of this highly fatal disease have been identified in two districts within the Kagera region northwest of the country. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took to his X page and said “We would expect further cases in coming days as disease surveillance improves”. Samples from two patients were collected and tested to confirm the outbreak at Tanzania’s national laboratory, according to the United Nations. The contacts of the patients, including healthcare workers, have been identified and are being monitored. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning regarding the high risk of further spread in Tanzania and the surrounding region.  This risk is primarily due to Kagera’s position as a transit hub, which sees considerable cross-border movement between neighboring countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The announcement was made weeks after a Marburg outbreak in Rwanda was declared over. This outbreak infected 66 people and resulted in 15 fatalities. Marburg is a viral hemorrhagic fever with a fatality rate that can be as high as 88 percent. It belongs to the same virus family as Ebola, which is transmitted to humans by fruit bats. The virus can spread between people through direct contact or via blood and other bodily fluids of infected people, including contaminated bedding or clothing. There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the virus.

President Biden remove Cuba from the United States list of state sponsors of terrorism

President Joe Biden

by Admin Jan 15, 2025 As President Biden prepares to leave office on January 20 he gave his final foreign policy speech on Tuesday afternoon where he announced the removal of Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. A move that counters the incoming President Donald Trump’s foreign policy plan during his first term as president of the United States added Cuba to the list of state sponsors of terrorism.  After removing Cuba from the list in 2015, President Barack Obama, and Trump reinstated it due to the communist country’s support of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.. President Biden’s decree to remove Cuba from the United States list of state sponsors of terrorism was facilitated by the Roman Catholic Church which in return Cuba has agreed to release 553 prisoners. Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s nominee for national security adviser, said, “Anything they [the Biden Administration] are doing right now we can reverse, and no one should be under any illusion in terms of a change in Cuba policy.” An official from the Biden administration who chose to remain anonymous revealed that Cuba would “gradually” release 553 prisoners who have been unjustly detained in exchange for its removal. However, Cuba’s foreign ministry stated that the agreement ends certain coercive measures that have harmed the nation’s economy. Cuba has not revealed any details regarding whom it may free, but relatives of those imprisoned after the anti-government protests in 2021 expressed hope that their loved ones would be among them. Cuba currently sits with North Korea, Syria, and Iran on the United States’ list of state sponsors of terrorism, indicating that it has “repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.” Prodesq, political analyst Temitope Oladeji gives an insight into how President Joe Biden’s decision to remove Cuba from the United States’ list of state sponsors of terrorism, Oladeji said “The prisoner’s release is a decision that is significant and marks a step towards normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States,” He further hinted that the religious part of the Roman Catholic Church played an important role in the finalization of the deal, as President Joe Biden is a devoted Roman Catholic Christian, which shows the power religion plays in world policies.  It however remains uncertain if Donald Trump will revert President Biden’s decision and add Cuba back to the state sponsor terrorism list of the United States like he did in 2015 after President Obama removed Cuba from the list but Trump added the Caribbean country back.

Donald Trump Says Meeting With Russian President Vladimir Putin Is Being Arranged

Donald Trump and Vladmir Putin

by Admin  Jan 10, 2025 Donald Trump has revealed that a meeting is being arranged between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has promised to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine shortly after he ascends office on January 20 and has further expressed skepticism about the United States military and financial support for Kyiv. The President-elect made this known on Thursday afternoon at his Mar-la-go resort in Florida, he said “He wants to meet and we are setting it up, President Putin wants to meet”. He reiterated to reporters who were present to discuss his stance on the wildfire ravaging California. Donald Trump said he had a private telephone conversation with the Russian president who told him that “He has said that even publicly and we have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess.” However, the Kremlin has announced that they are open to a new conversation with the incoming administration after the Joe Biden administration closed all communication with Russia in the past two years.  A spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry stated on Friday that the Ukrainians are anticipating high-level discussions with the Donald Trump administration after his inauguration. The meeting will formally bring Donald Trump, the Ukrainian President Volodyomr Zelensky to a round table to discuss the future of Ukraine and the stance of the new United States President on the war which is in its third year.  After Donald Trump’s election victory in November, Zelensky expressed his belief that the war would “end sooner” under Trump’s presidency than it would have otherwise.  The Ukrainian President mentioned that they had a “constructive exchange” during a phone call, but he did not disclose whether Trump had made any demands related to the discussion about Russia. The president-elect has nominated Keith Kellogg, a former national security adviser and retired lieutenant general in the United States military, to serve as a special envoy to Ukraine and Russia for his second administration. Kellogg in April 2024 released a proposed plan on how to end the war in Ukraine, in his proposal the former national security adviser suggested that Ukraine should receive additional U.S. aid only if it agreed to engage in peace talks with Moscow.  However, the document also indicated that if Moscow refused to participate, the U.S. should continue providing aid to Ukraine.

Ten Dead And Several Thousand Rendered Homeless In California’s WildFire

Firefighters Battles Wilde-Fire in Southern California

by Admin Jan 10, 2025 A large wildfire has decimated the state of California and has killed ten people with several thousands of people homeless, while over 10,000 infrastructures have been burnt to the ground. The fire has consumed over 55 square miles of land, and the two largest fires, the Palisades and Eaton Fires are now among the top five most destructive wildfires in California’s history. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna likened the destruction to the aftermath of an atomic bomb. Drone footage revealed neighborhoods where only the outlines of homes and yards remained recognizable. President Joe Biden announced that the federal government will pay for all cleanup costs.  It is being reported that the Eaton Fire may have contaminated portions of Pasadena’s water supply, according to a news release from the city. Several reservoirs and pump stations were damaged, which could expose drinking water to potential debris and other contaminants. A statement released by the State Water Resources Control Board, Pasadena Public Health Department, and Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) states, “In the impacted areas, do not drink tap water—Bottled water should be used for all drinking (including baby formula and juice), brushing teeth, washing dishes, making ice, and food preparation until further notice.”  However, major airlines, including Southwest, United, and Delta, warn that wildfires and high winds may impact flights to Southern California cities such as Burbank and Los Angeles. While policies vary by airline, most are permitting passengers to change their flights without penalty until at least Friday or Saturday. Prodesq gathered that more than 420,000 people are without electricity in Southern California.  Jonathan Erdman, a senior meteorologist at Weather.com said “Even if you haven’t evacuated or been directly affected by the fire you’re probably dealing with the wildfire smoke”.  It is expected that a brief break in the winds Saturday, and more Santa Ana winds will be possible early next week. As of the time of this report schools in the Malibu district remain closed until next week.

Russia Bombs Claims 13 Lives In Zaporizhzhya Region of Ukraine

Residential Building Destroyed by Russian Glide Bomb

by Admin  Jan 10, 2025 As the war in Ukraine rages on, the Russian military rained a series of bombs on the southern part of Ukraine in the Zaporizhzhya region killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a mid-day attack. Confirming the incident in a statement later on Wednesday, President Zelensky said that “there is nothing crueler than launching aerial bombs on a city, knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged his Western allies to exert pressure on Russia for its acts of terror on Ukraine.  The Russian military has not provided any comment regarding the attack on Zaporizhzhya. Ivan Fedorov, the regional head of Zaporizhzhya said, “The Russians cynically attacked the city in the middle of the day,”. He revealed that apart from the numerous shillings the Russians used two aerial glide bombs in the attack. He stated that two guided bombs hit residential buildings. Previously, he mentioned that “industrial infrastructure” was also targeted by the Russian bombs. Circulating videos have shown one high-rise building ablaze, and several vehicles on fire. In one of the videos, at least two minibuses were seen with their windows blown out, and what appeared to be casualties lying amid rubble and debris on the roadside. Graphic images shared online depicted first responders aiding casualties on the roadside, multiple vehicles ablaze, and a stationary tram with shattered windows. February 2025 will make it exactly three years since Russia started its Special Military Operations (SMO) in Ukraine which has claimed over three hundred thousand lives on both sides.

Justin Trudeau Resigns as Canada’s Prime Minister After Nine Years in Power

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

by Admin Jan 7, 2025 Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday morning, announced his resignation as the prime minister and also the party leader of his party after nine years of leading the country and the Liberal Party. The decision came after continual internal disputes within the Liberal Party which some of the top party members have turned their backs on the Prime Minister with indications that he will not win the next upcoming election. Justin Trudeau, 53, faced increasing pressure to resign from within his Liberal Party, which intensified in December when Deputy Prime Minister and long-time ally Chrystia Freeland unexpectedly stepped down. The prime minister in his statement revealed that he would remain in office until his party found a suitable replacement for him which would be as far as March 24.  In his words, he said “Last night, over dinner, I told my kids about the decision that I’m sharing with you today, I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process,”  He added, “This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election”. Sachit Mehra, the Liberal Party President expressed the party’s gratitude for the selfless service of the prime minister, and he disclosed the party’s board of directors would hold a week to begin the process of selecting a new leader. In his words, he said, “Liberals across the country are immensely grateful to Justin Trudeau for more than a decade of leadership to our Party and the country.” He added, “As Prime Minister, his vision delivered transformational progress for Canadians”.  Pierre Poilievre, the conservative leader took to his X social media page and said “Every Liberal MP and Leadership contender supported EVERYTHING Trudeau did for 9 years, and now they want to trick voters by swapping in another Liberal face to keep ripping off Canadians for another 4 years, just like Justin”. Prodesq Political Analyst Temitope Oladeji added that the United States president-elect Donald Trump added to the internal pressure the Canadian Prime was facing after Trump made comments regarding tariffs and added that Canada is welcomed to become “the 51st State.” of the United States.

European Leaders Take a Stance Against Elon Musk’s Interference

The Richest Man in the world, Elon Musk.

by Admin Jan 7, 2025 European Leaders have united against the political interference of the world’s richest man as he tries to extend his tentacles into the European political echelon after his successful stunts in United States politics and his support in the victory of Donald Trump’s re-emergence as the next President of the United States. Things got a bit tense on Monday after leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, and France issued a stern warning in a separate statement condemning the X social media platform CEO’s theatrics for using his platform and influence to sway the opinion and emotions of their people against them. Elon Musk became more prominent after supporting the new United States President and becoming part of the new administration with his appointment as the joint head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will be tasked with cutting down on excessive government spending.  French President Emmanuel Macron did not hold back in expressing his discontent with Elon Musk’s recent comments about European Union policies. Macron has been battling internal political foes after a failed government led to the removal of his former prime minister, Michel Barnier, who is a great ally of Macron against the far-right party.  The French president said, “ “Who could have imagined, 10 years ago, that the owner of one of the world’s largest social networks would intervene directly in elections, including in Germany?” Macron has been on his heels ever since a collapsed government while he was on a visit to Mayotte to examine the depth of the destruction of the cyclone effect on the French colony.  Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has been a direct target of Elon Musk after the Tech Billionaire accused the British prime minister of negligence in the handling of the increase in child sexual abuse that has grown rampant in the United Kingdom which Elon Musk pointed out that the lack of control on immigrants in the United Kingdom is behind the increase in child sexual abuse. The British Prime Minister in his response to Musk’s accusation said “Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible are not interested in victims. They’re interested in themselves”.  Elon Musk has been a critic of Keir Starmer’s policies on immigration and last week he called for the resignation of the British Prime Minister. Musk has tipped Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader party, and also the main opposition leader as a good replacement for Keir Starmer if she pushes for policies that would control the immigration crisis in the United Kingdom.  Whereas in Norway, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has stamped his foot in the face of Elon Musk’s political interference in European politics, he said: “I find it worrying that a man with enormous access to social media and huge economic resources involves himself so directly in the internal affairs of other countries”. He added that “This is not the way things should be between democracies and allies”. However, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired back at Elon Musk’s political critics of the European political interference crusade in a statement issued by his spokesman, the German Chancellor said “The normal people, the sensible people, the decent people are far in the majority in this country,” He further added, “We act as if Mr. Musk’s statements … could influence a country of 84 million people with untruths or half-truths or expressions of opinion. This is simply not the case”. Prodesq political analyst, Temitope Oladeji weighed in on the tension between the four European leaders and the richest man in the world.  Temitope highlighted that the sudden change in tune and interference of Elon Musk in the European political spectrum comes from deeper emotions of revenge and power stunts of the control that the United States sways over Europe which Elon Musk is desperately making glaring to the world. In 2022, the European Union invited Elon Musk to question why his platform has been the epitome of spreading misinformation in European countries the European leadership sees the action as an intentional means to disrupt European society to turn the people against their leaders and also saw the spread of misinformation as a payback for investigating Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. Temitope further explained that Elon Musk is indirectly expressing the perception of his principal Donald Trump who has been a staunch critic of the European countries’ role in the NATO alliance which has not been encouraging enough to the new President-elect. Elon Musk and his new boss share the same view of reducing the financial assistance to Ukraine in its war against Russia, which will leave the European countries as the sole supporter of Ukraine if Donald Trump goes through with his decision to withdraw its financial support with Elon Musk playing the front role in accomplishing the mission after his newfound role as the joint head of the Department of Government Efficiency which will look into cutting down the excessive budget of the United States government. The silence of Donald Trump to Elon Musk’s political interference shows that the new American President is fully aware of what his tech Billionaire friend is up to or most likely Trump is using Musk to voice his opinions about European policies.  

Apple Indicted for Listening to Customers Via Siri and to Pay 95 Million Dollars in Lawsuit

by Admin  Jan 4, 2025 Apple has been found guilty of eavesdropping on their customers via Siri in a lawsuit against the company and has agreed to pay a settlement fee of 95 million dollars.  Fumiko Lopez, the lead complaint, said she and her daughter were recorded by Siri without their permission. She highlighted that she and her daughter were targeted for several ads after she and her daughter talked about Air Jordan products. In the preliminary settlement, the Tech company did not respond directly to any allegations about the bridge of privacy between the company and its customers, it said: “recorded, disclosed to third parties, or failed to delete, conversations recorded as the result of a Siri activation”. However, the company’s attorney affirmed that “They permanently deleted individual Siri audio recordings collected by Apple before October 2019″. The company’s claim contradicted the complaints filed against Siri, the claimants claimed that the tech firm recorded them who activated the virtual assistant unintentionally without using the phrase “Hey, Siri” to wake it. The complainants say advertisers who received the recordings from Apple use their conversations as keywords on them to create a better target audience. According to court documents, each claimant based in the US could receive up to $20 for every Siri-enabled device they owned between 2014 and 2019. By settling, Apple not only denied any wrongdoing but also acted quickly to prevent the risk of a court case that could potentially lead to a much higher payout. The Tech giant has been in constant payment lawsuits.  In January 2024, it started paying out a $500m lawsuit that claimed it deliberately slowed down iPhones in the US. Also, in March Apple agreed to a settlement lawsuit fee of $490m, a class action led by Norfolk County Council in the UK.

Three people have died after a fishing boat capsized off the coast of a South Korean island.

South Korean Coast Guards Standing on the capsized fishing vessel

by Admin Jan 4, 2025 Tragedy struck again in South Korea after a shipping boat capsized killing three people while 19 other people survived with minor injuries less than two weeks after a deadly plane crash killed 179 passengers. According to the South Korean coast guard authority, the fishing boat capsized off the coast of Southwestern Island near Gageo Island in Sinan, South Jeolla Province, around 10.30 am. The ship was carrying 22 people; the Coast Guard rescue team disclosed that three people were found in a state of cardiac arrest and later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Nineteen others were pulled from the water by the Coast Guard and a nearby vessel that responded to the SOS call of the fishing vessel.  The Coast Guard authority revealed that the ship began to capsize after it struck a rock that was hidden by the mist covering the atmosphere of the island.  However, an investigation has begun to determine further cause of the accident and the reason for the headcount dissimilarity. Prodesq News gathered that the captain of the shipping boat will be charged for professional negligence resulting in death, the Coast Guard said. This is the second naval accident that happened in the past week, earlier this week waters west of Seosan, about 100 km southwest of Seoul. Two people were rescued while the body of the captain was found in a state of cardiac arrest.

President Joe Biden to Send 8 Billion Dollar Worth of Arms Shipment to Israel

United States President Joe Biden

by Admin Jan 5, 2025 With a few weeks left to relinquish power and leave the Oval Office, President Joe Biden has arranged an arms shipment sale worth 8 billion dollars to Israel.  The United States Department of State submitted the proposal for the sale of the weapons to Congress for review last week. The weapons consignment, requiring approval from House and Senate committees, includes missiles, shells, and other ammunition. A United States official further disclosed that the latest planned shipment contains air-to-air missiles, Hellfire missiles, artillery shells, and bombs. The US official said “The president has made clear Israel has a right to defend its citizens, consistent with international law and international humanitarian law, and to deter aggression from Iran and its proxy organizations. He added, “We will continue to provide the capabilities necessary for Israel’s defense.” The decision of President Biden comes as a huge surprise after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu the Prime Minister of Israel and Yoav Gallant the former Defense Minister for committing war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon. The Biden government has continually rejected the call to halt military aid to Israel amidst the ongoing war in Gaza and a break of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The conflict has recorded over 70,000 casualties with over 10,000 children being the victims of constant Israeli airstrikes. In August, the United States government approved the sale of $20bn worth of fighter jets and other military equipment to Israel. Prodesq political analyst Temitope Oladeji disclosed that the decision of President Biden to equip Israel with another worth of $8 billion worth of shipment contradicts the proposed ongoing ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. President Biden vacates the Oval Office on the 20th of January, 2025, with a failed foreign policy in the Middle East, the fragile ceasefire deal he brokered between Israel and Hezbollah did not last up to 48 hours before both parties resumed hostilities. Amid an ongoing ceasefire discussion to quell the conflict and genocide in Gaza, he decides to sell more weapons to Israel which indicates that he does not have any interest in quelling the conflict in the Middle East.