What Assad’s fall has revealed about Syria’s trade in stimulant drug Captagon

BEIRUT — Since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, industrial-scale manufacturing facilities of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon have been uncovered around the country, which experts say fed a $10 billion annual global trade in the highly addictive drug. Among the locations used for manufacturing the drug were the Mazzeh air base in Damascus, a…

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Bird flu spillover to other species poses global health threat, experts warn

GENEVA — International human and animal health experts warn the H5N1 avian influenza is evolving quickly and posing a global health threat as the virus is increasingly crossing species barriers and infecting a wide range of domestic and wild mammals. “These developments pose significant challenges to animal, human and environmental health,” Dr. Gregorio Torres, veterinarian and…

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Sewage-polluted lake water kills rhinos, other wildlife in Zimbabwe

HARARE, ZIMBABWE — A Zimbabwean national park is hosting relocated wildlife from a game park just outside the country’s capital after an autopsy report on Saturday confirmed that four rhinos and several other animals died after drinking contaminated lake water. Tinashe Farawo, the spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, confirmed to VOA the…

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Attacks on Pakistan polio teams kill vaccinator, 2 police officers 

Islamabad — Authorities in Pakistan reported Monday that gunmen targeted vaccination teams in northwestern districts during a nationwide campaign against the paralytic poliovirus, resulting in the deaths of at least one health worker and two police officers. The violence in the militancy-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, also injured several polio workers and police force…

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Greece’s only miniature therapy horses bring joy to many, but the charity is struggling

ATHENS, GREECE — Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, a smile spreads across the little girl’s face. Blinking behind her glasses, she inches her wheelchair forward and gently reaches out to stroke the tiny gray horse. Soon, 9-year-old Josifina Topa Mazuch is beaming as she leads Ivi, a specially trained miniature horse, standing no taller than her…

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North Macedonian political party calls for ban on social media content that incites ‘self-destructive behavior’

SKOPJE, North Macedonia — A political party in North Macedonia on Saturday demanded authorities ban social networks whose content incites violence and self-destructive behavior after several young people were seriously injured in connection with the popular “Superman challenge” on TikTok.  Health authorities said at least 17 students, ages 10 to 17, were brought to hospitals in…

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