Luke Taylor BogotáHealth authorities in Brazil are rushing out limited supplies of a recently approved vaccine as they struggle to contain an unprecedented surge in dengue fever. Brazil has recorded 512 000 dengue cases so far this year—more than three times the number recorded for the same period last year. “We may see the largest number of dengue cases on record this year,” Fabiano Duarte Carvalho, a biologist at Brazil’s public health research institute, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), told Bloomberg. “The climate crisis has a direct impact on the proliferation of vectors such as Ae aegypti.”Around three quarters of dengue cases are symptomless but the disease can be fatal. Symptoms include headaches, fever, and intense joint pain while serious cases can take several weeks to recover from.

Australian Jordan Thompson completed his fairytale run at the Los Cabos Open with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) shock win over Casper Rudd to win his first ATP Tour title. Thompson entered the event ranked a career-high No 40 in the world, and is set to rise as high as No 32 after winning the decider. The 29-year-old saw off the fourth-seeded Ruud in the final having previously beaten top seed and world No 6 Alexander Zverev in the semi-final. After the match Thompson said: 'I spent so many hours on the court this week. In the quarter-final I could have been double bagelled, I could have been losing 6-0, 6-0 and now I’m about to lift the trophy, so I think it’s still a miracle'

Booking a badminton court at one of Singapore's 100-odd community centers can be a workout in itself, with residents forced to type in times and venues repeatedly on a website until they find a free slot. Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), it could soon be easier. The People's Association, which runs the community centers, worked with a government tech agency to build a chatbot powered by generative artificial intelligence to help residents find free courts in the city-state's four official languages. The booking chatbot, which could be rolled out shortly, is among more than 100 generative AI-based solutions spurred by the AI Trailblazers project, launched last year to find AI-based solutions to everyday problems.

The action by the farmers came amid a meeting of the bloc’s agriculture ministers. On the other side of the barriers in Brussels, ministers were keen to show they are listening. “We hear, clearly, their complaints,” said David Clarinval, Belgium’s agriculture minister. Irish agriculture minister Charlie McConalogue said the priority must be to slash administrative red tape. Mr McConalogue underlined that “we do respect the massively important work that farmers carry out every day in terms of producing food”.

THE General Synod voted to continue the Church of England’s work on racial justice on Sunday afternoon, after a debate in which the progress made was offset against challenges still to be met. “Racial justice is everybody’s business because it is about who we are in Christ,” the Archbishop of York said near the start of the debate. Another lay member, Kenson Li (co-opted) spoke on behalf of fellow ordinands whom he had consulted on questions of racial justice. It was vital, he said, that awareness of issues of racial justice be embedded in the discernment and training processes. Busola Sodeinde (London) commended the work of the Racial Justice Unit, and the transformation she had seen at her own church, Holy Trinity, Brompton.

In the council’s budget, it was agreed that charges will rise and controlled parking zones across the city will be in place until 10pm. READ NEXT:Parking charges to be extended to 10pm in all city zonesThe city centre zones, parking charges will increase from £1.40 for 15 minutes to £1.60 for 15 minutes, a rise of 14%. The charges will go up again in 2025 to £1.80 for 15 minutes and again the following year to £2 for 15 minutes. For the zones outside the city centre, charges will go up from 80p for 15 minutes to £1 for 15 minutes, in April, a 25% rise. The council spokesperson added: “The longstanding approach with parking controls has been to prioritise parking for residents in the city’s 22 parking zones.

“The political risk fallout will be most substantive in elections which are closely contested and emotive. The heightened uncertainty generated by elections will also fuel interest in political risk cover, even in environments where political risk has not traditionally been a serious concern. The three main political risks are strikes, riots and civil commotion, terrorism, war and civil war. Creditors of a government may also seek to take out political risk cover to protect against a nation defaulting on its debts following an election. Businesses are increasingly turning to ‘contract frustration’ insurance and other forms of political risk cover to protect their interests.”

“Of course, it’s scary thinking about starting your own business and applying for a loan but my attitude was, ‘I can either think about doing this for years, or I can just get on and do it’. I knew the van would be something everyone could relate to. There are thousands of horse-box-style mobile bars out there and I knew this would be different.”

What do the new Royal Mint George Michael coins look like? They are the latest addition to the Royal Mint’s Music Legends series, following the likes of David Bowie, Sir Elton John and Queen. “Loved by millions of fans worldwide, we are delighted to be introducing an official UK coin celebrating his life and legacy.”When are the George Michael collectable coins by Royal Mint released? The collectable coins will be available to purchase from the Royal Mint’s website from 9am on Monday (February 26). A statement from George Michael Entertainment said: “On behalf of George Michael, we are deeply honoured that the Royal Mint is paying tribute to him by creating a series of beautifully crafted coins.

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With Japan, Britain and Italy set to begin the next phase of talks about their joint next-generation fighter aircraft next month, industry officials have said that the partners are close to completing the aircraft’s conceptual design phase as they prepare to set up the industrial entities from the year-end that will deliver the program. "We have completed the systems requirements review, meaning that we've now got a common requirement set for all three countries,” Jonathan Moreton, director of partnerships and exports at Britain’s BAE Systems, told The Japan Times. BAE is one of the three companies expected to be lead system integrators in the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), alongside Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Italy’s Leonardo, in the new joint program.

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Joanne Booth, from Walmersley, has been making sweet treats for more than 10 years, particularly honing her craft on miniature fondant creations. She embarked on a change of career after attending Bury Adult Learning Centre to do a course in fondant making. Since then, Joanne, 41, has baked cupcakes and cookies for hundreds of people. “I was always making cupcakes and cakes and my miniature creations business idea started off by making a birthday cake for my daughter. “I was a level three teaching assistant before I decided I wanted to do cupcakes and cookies full time.

The 19-year-old sent various Snapchats to the teen victim, who cannot be named, and also said he would get someone else to assault the complainant. The photos sent and threats made by Manuel to the complainant were discovered after the teen reported the incident to police the following day. “The images showed him wearing black gloves and holding a meat cleaver. He said he had sent Snapchats to let them know he had protection. Dr Rachael Jones, chair of the bench, told Manuel: “Having a meat cleaver was outrageous.