A Palestinian man trapped under rubble in a burning building spoke to his cousin by phone, pleading for help after an Israeli airstrike flattened their home in Gaza City. Rescue teams later found Ibrahim al-Daly dead from severe burns. (Warning: Distressing Content)
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has denounced a decision by the United States to once again suspend imports of her country’s cattle over a flesh-eating parasite called the screwworm.
On Thursday, Sheinbaum used her morning news conference to call fears of the worm overblown. She pointed out that a single case in the eastern state of Veracruz had prompted the import pause.
“From our point of view, it is a totally exaggerated decision to close the border again,” Sheinbaum said.
At the centre of the cross-border debate is the New World screwworm, a species endemic to the Caribbean and parts of South America. It had previously been eradicated from the northernmost part of its range, in Central and North America.
The US, for instance, declared it eliminated from the country in 1966.
But the parasite may be making a comeback, leaving the US government alarmed about its potential impact on its cattle and beef sector, a $515bn industry.
The New World screwworms appear when a variety of parasitic flies, Cochliomyia hominivorax, lay their eggs near wounds or sores on warm-blooded animals. Most commonly, its hosts are livestock like horses or cattle, but even household pets or humans can be infested.
Each female fly is capable of laying hundreds of eggs. When the eggs hatch, they release larvae that tunnel into the flesh of their hosts, often causing incredible pain.
Unlike maggots from other species, they do not feed on dead flesh, only living tissue. If left untreated, infestations can sometimes be deadly.
The fear of New World screwworms expanding northwards has caused the US to halt shipments of Mexican cattle several times over the past year.
In late November, it put in place a ban that lasted until February. Then, on May 11, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the US would once again bar entry to Mexican cattle after the “unacceptable northward advancement” of the bug.
A port of entry in Arizona was slated to reopen to Mexican cattle starting on Monday. But that plan was suspended under a new announcement on Wednesday, which implemented the cattle ban once more, effective immediately.
“The United States has promised to be vigilant — and after detecting this new NWS [New World screwworm] case, we are pausing the planned port reopening’s to further quarantine and target this deadly pest in Mexico,” Rollins said in a statement.
The statement explained that the US hopes to eradicate the parasite, pushing its encroachment no further than the Darien Gap, the land bridge in Panama that connects South and Central America.
It also asserted that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) was “holding Mexico accountable by ensuring proactive measures are being taken”.
Part of its strategy will be to release male flies — lab-raised and sterilised through radiation — from airplanes in Mexico and the southern US. Female flies can mate only once, so if they pair with a sterile fly, they will be unable to reproduce.
The same strategy has been deployed in the past to control the New World screwworm, as an alternative to more hazardous methods like pesticides that could affect other animals.
In a social media post on June 30, Rollins touted gains in recent weeks, including “over 100 million sterile flies dispersed weekly” and “no notable increase” in screwworm cases in eight weeks.
She thanked her Mexican counterpart, Julio Berdegue, for his help.
Liberians are expressing confusion and anger after United States President Donald Trump praised the English skills of their country’s President Joseph Boakai.
“Such good English,” Trump said to Boakai at the White House on Wednesday, with visible surprise. “Such beautiful English.”
English has been the West African nation’s official language since the 1800s. But Trump did not stop there.
“Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” he continued, as Boakai murmured a response. “Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia?”
The exchange took place during a meeting in the White House between Trump and five West African leaders, amid a pivot from aid to trade in US foreign policy.
Liberia has had deep ties with Washington for centuries, stemming from the drive to relocate freed slaves from the US.
Foday Massaquio, chairman of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change-Council of Patriots, said that while the remarks were typical of Trump’s engagement with foreign leaders, what some saw as a condescending tone was amplified by the fact that the leaders were African.
“As a matter of fact, it also proves that the West is not taking us seriously as Africans,” he said. “President Trump was condescending; he was very disrespectful to the African leader.”
Kula Fofana, spokesperson for Boakai’s office, told the Associated Press news agency: “I believe that as journalists, it is important to focus on the substantive discussions at the summit.”
“We find it a good thing that President Trump is commending our president for his way of speaking and the clarity he provided during the meeting,” she added. “However, we look forward to achieving the substantive request specifically engaging in a stronger bilateral relationship with the United States.”
Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Liberia’s foreign minister, said on X that “President Trump’s comment on Boakai’s ‘beautiful English’ simply acknowledged Liberia’s familiar American-rooted accent and no offence was taken”.
“Our linguistic heritage is deeply American‑influenced, & this was simply recognised by Donald Trump. We remain committed to strengthening Liberia‑US ties, built on mutual respect, shared values, and meaningful partnership,” the minister said.
But for others, Trump’s comments added to the sense of betrayal that became palpable in Liberia in recent months.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration dissolved the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and said it was no longer following what it called “a charity-based foreign aid model”.
That decision sent shock waves across Liberia, where US support made up almost 2.6 percent of the gross national income, the highest percentage anywhere in the world, according to the Center for Global Development.
Liberians thought they would be spared from Trump’s cuts because of the countries’ close relationship. Their political system is modelled on that of the US, along with its flag. Liberians often refer to the US as their “big brother”.
Liberia was one of the first countries to receive USAID support, starting in 1961. Its street signs, taxis and school buses resemble those in New York.
“Liberia is a longstanding friend of the USA, therefore Trump should have understood that we speak English as an official language,” said Moses Dennis, 37, a businessman from Monrovia. He added that Boakai did not go to Washington for “an English-speaking competition”.
Dennis’s views were echoed by Siokin Civicus Barsi-Giah, a close associate of Liberia’s former President George Weah.
“Liberia is an English-speaking country,” he said. “Former slaves and slave owners decided to organise themselves to let go of many people who were in slavery in the United States of America, and they landed on these shores now called the Republic of Liberia.”
For him, the exchange was “condescending and ridiculing”.
“Joseph Boakai was not praised. He was mocked by the greatest president in the world, who is leading the greatest country in the world,” he said.
Some, however, said that given Trump’s style, Wednesday’s remarks were meant as praise.
“To some, the comment may carry a whiff of condescension, echoing a longstanding Western tendency to express surprise when African leaders display intellectual fluency,” said Abraham Julian Wennah, director of research at the African Methodist Episcopal University. “In postcolonial contexts, language has long been weaponised to question legitimacy and competence.”
The UN says that despite being permitted to deliver the first fuel shipment to Gaza in 130 days, it was not enough to cover even a single day’s needs, leaving hospitals and other critical facilities on the brink of shutdown.
The United Kingdom has outlawed Palestine Action – an organisation that disrupts the arms industry in the UK with direct action in the form of strikes and protests – grouping it with ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda. Supporters of the group now risk up to 14 years in prison, and arrests of protesters opposed to the listing have already begun.
According to Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a South Korea-based religious group, over 4,000 members of the church who recovered from COVID-19 are willing to donate plasma for developing a new treatment.
Mr. Man Hee Lee, founder of the Shincheonji Church, said that members of the church are advised to donate plasma voluntarily. “As Jesus sacrificed himself with his blood for life, we hope that the blood of people can bring positive effects on overcoming the current situation,” said Mr. Lee.
Read More