The transformation is part of Mexico’s urgent bid to start domestic production of sterile screwworm flies

International News via Reuters:

Deep in the humid lowlands of southern Mexico, engineers, veterinarians and entomologists are racing to repurpose a plant that will play a pivotal role in trying to eradicate the flesh-eating screwworm parasite threatening the country’s cattle industry and raising tensions with the United States.

Inside what was once a facility used to help control Mediterranean fruit flies, workers are dismantling old infrastructure and rebuilding specialized laboratories designed to mimic the conditions of an animal wound, which screwworm flies seek in order to lay their eggs.

The transformation is part of Mexico’s urgent bid to start domestic production of sterile screwworm flies, a proven method to eradicate the pest that burrows into the flesh of warm-blooded animals, often killing livestock if left untreated.

The plant aims to be ready by July 2026 and would double the number of sterile flies Mexico can release into the wild.

The screwworm outbreak, which has moved northward through Central America and deep into Mexico, has strained relations with the United States, Mexico’s biggest trading partner. The U.S. has kept its border mostly closed to Mexican cattle imports since May.

The U.S. invested $21 million towards the $51 million facility in Chiapas state.

COMPLEX PROCESS

On a tour of the plant, officials explained the complex epidemiological process, stressing the time it takes to build the right conditions.

The technique involves breeding millions of flies, sterilizing them with radiation, and releasing them into the wild. When sterile males mate with wild females, no offspring are produced, and the population collapses over time.

Mexico first used the method decades ago, successfully eradicating the screwworm after a 19-year campaign.

At the biofactory in Metapa, engineers are adapting the existing infrastructure to breed the screwworm fly instead of the Mediterranean fruit fly. The plant already has a power substation, air systems and sterilization equipment, which has helped shorten construction time.

“Starting from scratch could take three or four years to set up a sterile fly production plant,” said engineer Hunberto Gomes. “Therefore, we saw advantages in terms of its capacity, which is 2,016 square meters, we will convert into a production of 100 million flies weekly.”

For now, Mexico depends on weekly shipments of around 100 million sterile flies from a plant in Panama. The flies are flown into Chiapas, packed into temperature-controlled boxes and loaded onto planes for release over infested zones in Chiapas, Oaxaca and Veracruz. Each plane follows a grid pattern designed to blanket outbreak areas with sterile males.

“If we hadn’t used this technique, the entire country would likely already be infested,” said coordinator Jose Luis Quintero.

Mexico’s efforts are coordinated through Senasica, the sanitation agency of the agriculture ministry, which oversees the plants and the field campaigns.

Officials said they hope the Metapa plant will accelerate the pace of sterile fly releases to speed the eradication process.

“The screwworm was eradicated once before in Mexico — it took 19 years. We hope to do it in far less time,” Quintero said.

Reporting by Daniel Becerril, writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Bill Berkrot

The World Meteorological Organization created a review task force this week during a meeting in Geneva aimed at improving early-warning systems for deadly climate disasters

International News via Reuters:

The U.N. weather agency plans to cut some posts and is reviewing its priorities as dozens of countries, including the United States, are late with their fees, a spokesperson said on Friday.

The World Meteorological Organization, set up in 1951 to coordinate global data for weather forecasts, created a review task force this week during a meeting in Geneva aimed at improving early-warning systems for deadly climate disasters.

The WMO, whose budget is separate from the United Nations’, began restructuring in August to cut costs amid broader U.N. reforms, even as accelerating man-made climate change increases the risk of weather-related deaths, especially in developing countries where early-warning systems are lacking.

The WMO envisages cutting 26 posts and reducing travel, according to a budget document seen by Reuters.

“We do need to make sure we are fit for purpose and that we can face the future,” spokesperson Clare Nullis told a press briefing on Friday.

She said a task force would begin in January to “tweak” the WMO’s work based on current funding constraints as well as new opportunities such as the use of artificial intelligence in weather predictions.

Outstanding late payments to the WMO amount to around 48 million Swiss francs ($60 million) as of the end of August, a WMO document showed, equivalent to two-thirds of its annual budget.

The U.S. owes over 30 million francs.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that the administration was focused on ensuring that any U.S. taxpayer dollars at the U.N. advance U.S. interests. U.S. delegates participated in the congress.

Under President Donald Trump, Washington has announced it is quitting some U.N. bodies, as well as the U.N.-backed Paris Climate Accord on slowing climate change, and is late in paying others.

Trump has repeatedly questioned the effectiveness, cost and accountability of international bodies, arguing they often fail to serve U.S. interests.

($1 = 0.7931 Swiss francs)

Reporting by Emma Farge. Editing by Kevin Liffey and Mark Potter

The unofficial tally by Rete l’Abuso, Italy’s largest church abuse victims’ group, is based on victims’ accounts, judicial sources and cases reported by the media

International News via Reuters:

Nearly 4,400 people have been abused by Catholic priests in Italy in cases reported since 2020, a victims’ group alleged on Friday, renewing pressure on bishops to confront a crisis that has long plagued the world’s largest Christian faith.

The unofficial tally by Rete l’Abuso, Italy’s largest church abuse victims’ group, is based on victims’ accounts, judicial sources and cases reported by the media, the founder of the association Francesco Zanardi said.

Rete l’Abuso did not say how far back the alleged abuse cases occurred.

The Italian Bishops Conference (CEI), which was criticised by the Vatican’s child protection commission last week, had no comment on the findings, a spokesperson said.

MOST ALLEGATIONS CONCERN ABUSE BY PRIESTS

The global Catholic Church has been shaken for decades by scandals involving paedophile priests and the cover-up of their crimes, but local church leaders in Italy have been less forthcoming in confronting the issue.

New Pope Leo, who met survivors of sexual abuse by clergy for the first time this week, has told the Church’s newest bishops not to hide misconduct allegations. His predecessor, the late Pope Francis, made addressing the issue a priority of his 12-year papacy, but with mixed results.

In an unusually critical report on the issue published on October 16, the Vatican’s child protection commission said only 81 of Italy’s 226 dioceses responded to a questionnaire about safeguarding practices it had drafted.

Rete l’Abuso said it had documented 1,250 suspected cases of abuse – some with multiple victims – including 1,106 allegedly committed by priests, with the rest attributed to nuns, religion teachers, lay volunteers, educators and scout members.

Its report contained cases related to 4,625 victims – or survivors, as the association calls them – including 4,395 abused by priests.

The report said 4,451 of the survivors were under 18, and an almost equally large number – 4,108 – were male, Rete l’Abuso said, adding that five nuns, 156 vulnerable adults and 11 people with disabilities were also among the victims.

According to the association, out of the 1,106 suspected predator priests, only 76 were subjected to church trials, with 17 temporarily suspended, seven moved to other parishes and 18 were defrocked or resigned from the priesthood. Five died by suicide, it added.

Reporting by Alvise Armellini; Editing by Muvija M

In a statement, the Commission also said that Meta’s Facebook and Instagram do not appear to provide a user-friendly and easily accessible mechanism for users to flag illegal content

International News via Reuters:

The European Commission said on Friday that U.S. Big Tech giant Meta and Chinese-owned social media app TikTok breach their obligation to grant researchers adequate access to public data under the Digital Services Act (DSA) according to its preliminary findings.

In a statement, the Commission also said that Meta’s Facebook and Instagram do not appear to provide a user-friendly and easily accessible mechanism for users to flag illegal content, such as child sexual abuse material and terrorist content.

The EU has cracked down on Big Tech companies with the Digital Services Act, which requires large platforms such as social media sites and search engines to have robust measures to mitigate the spread of illegal and harmful content.

“The Commission’s preliminary findings show that Facebook, Instagram and TikTok may have put in place burdensome procedures and tools for researchers to request access to public data”, the EU executive said about the transparency issue.

“Allowing researchers access to platforms’ data is an essential transparency obligation under the DSA, as it provides public scrutiny into the potential impact of platforms on our physical and mental health.”

On Meta hindering the reporting of illegal content, the Commission said the company currently has mechanisms that impose several unnecessary steps and additional demands on users and use “deceptive interface designs”.

“Such practices can be confusing and dissuading. Meta’s mechanisms to flag and remove illegal content may therefore be ineffective. Under the DSA, ‘Notice and Action’ mechanisms are key to allowing EU users … to inform online platforms that certain content does not comply with EU or national laws”, it said.

The Commission added the companies now have the possibility to examine its findings and take measures to remedy the breaches, adding that the preliminary findings do not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.

But if the findings of the Commission are confirmed by relevant consultations, it may impose a fine on the companies of as much as 6% of their annual global sales.

Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Alessandro Parodi

Mohamad Hasan also said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc could not stop a general election in Myanmar set for December

International News via Reuters:

ASEAN’s four-year-old plan for peace in war-torn Myanmar is not difficult to implement and the ruling junta should adhere to it and allow humanitarian aid to be distributed, Malaysia’s foreign minister said on Friday. 

Mohamad Hasan also said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc could not stop a general election in Myanmar set for December but its foreign ministers want the contest to be fair and inclusive.

ASEAN agreed on a “Five-Point Consensus” peace plan with Myanmar’s top general a few months after protests against a 2021 coup morphed into a broader rebellion against military rule, but the junta has been accused of ignoring it.  

“The Five-Point Consensus is not too difficult (to implement). It would be good to have a dialogue, to allow aid to reach people and go back to dialogue with all parties,” Mohamad told reporters after a meeting with his ASEAN counterparts in Kuala Lumpur ahead of a leaders summit this weekend. 

The peace plan has largely been a failure, with the military government unwilling to engage in dialogue with opponents it views as “terrorists”. 

It denies Western allegations it has committed atrocities against the civilian population and insists it is committed to peace.  

The junta is holding an election over several phases from December while the civil war rages, but opposition parties have been decimated, and what remains of them have either been barred from taking part or are not willing to do so.

The election, which has been widely dismissed as a sham designed to extend military rule through proxies, will not be held nationwide due to the ongoing fighting.

“We cannot stop it but we want the elections to be fair, transparent, and inclusive,” Mohamad said. 

“All the people must participate. We don’t want elections where only some of the people of Myanmar can participate but the rest can’t. We will discuss that and bring it to the heads of states’ summit the day after tomorrow.”

Reporting by Danial Azhar; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by David Stanway