Global Briefs: Bangladesh—job-seekers vs. government

Bangladesh

Amid national unrest and protests over a government jobs policy, officials swore in Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as interim leader on Aug. 8. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had resigned and fled to India three days earlier in the wake of violent protests and a police crackdown that left more than 400 people dead, including several police officers. Since June, students have demonstrated against Hasina’s quota system that designated one-third of all government jobs for descendants of fighters in the 1971 war for independence from Pakistan. Students said they were struggling to find work and claimed the rule unfairly benefited Hasina’s Awami League party members. Hasina, known as the Iron Lady, refused to repeal the quota. Following her exit, police rule disintegrated, and people in the 90 percent Muslim country began looting Hindu homes and temples. —Amy Lewis

Australia

Don’t try this at home: Ten pediatric hospitals nationwide plan to begin giving babies with peanut allergies a daily dose of peanut powder. The federal government announced July 31 that participating allergists will monitor the babies as they ingest gradually increasing amounts of powder. While the previous standard of care required allergic children to avoid peanuts altogether, doctors hope that by exposing babies under 12 months of age to the allergen, they will force the allergy into remission and reduce the chance of a life-threatening anaphylactic response for children accidentally exposed to peanuts. A doctor helping coordinate the “Adapt” program, Tim Brettig, said most infants have mild reactions to peanuts and don’t require treatment. Australia has the world’s highest rate of childhood food allergies. —Amy Lewis

Venezuela

The government of President Nicolás Maduro had arrested at least 2,000 protesters by early August following the socialist leader’s apparently fraudulent reelection. The protests erupted across Venezuela after July 28 elections in which the National Electoral Council—controlled by the ruling regime—declared Maduro the winner with 51 percent of the popular vote. But opposition witnesses collected voting certificates indicating that his opponent, candidate Edmundo González, won in a landslide, garnering 37 percentage points above Maduro. At least 23 people died as clashes between protesters and police or other government officials turned violent. —Carlos Páez

Nepal

Authorities plan to deploy heavy lifter drones next spring to remove trash from Mount Everest, a task traditionally done by local Sherpa guides who must navigate treacherous terrain. A cleanup team of 18 Sherpas and 12 military personnel retrieved four bodies from the Everest region’s “death zone” above 26,247 feet as part of a 54-day operation this summer. The team also removed one skeleton and 11 tons of garbage from lower altitudes. Many bodies of people who died from climbing in the region—including on the nearby mountains of Lhotse and Nuptse—remain there as it is too expensive and dangerous to retrieve them. The military allocated 5 million rupees (about $37,200) to bring back each body. Nepal plans to offer climbers insurance for the repatriation of remains and to require mountaineers to raise funds for Everest cleanup. —Joyce Wu

Niger

Three mineral-rich West African nations with Russian ties are distancing themselves from Ukraine. Russian-allied Niger severed diplomatic relations with Kyiv on Aug. 6 over its alleged role in providing intelligence resulting in the July deaths of dozens of Malian soldiers. They had fought with Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group in Mali against separatist rebels and al Qaida–linked militants. Niger’s government spokesman accused Ukraine of violating its sovereignty and expressed solidarity with Mali, also a Russian ally that had cut ties with Ukraine two days earlier. Meanwhile, Senegal accused a Ukrainian ambassador of supporting the Mali attacks. Russia says Ukraine is opening a new fighting front in Africa, but Russia has given military assistance in the Sahel since 2017 in return for mining rights. —Amy Lewis

Canada

Pro-life group Campaign Life Coalition is asking the national agency for health policy, Health Canada, to pull an abortion pill regimen off the market after discovering 45 cases of patients with serious adverse reactions to the drug recorded in a government reporting system. Mifegymiso, a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol, has been available in Canada since 2017. Joyce Arthur, executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, claims Mifegymiso is safe, telling a True North reporter the drugs are backed by over 100 scientific studies. But Health Canada database records indicate a 19-year-old woman died after using the protocol for an abortion. Others suffered sepsis, hemorrhages, and infections. The database also recorded 65 other serious reactions to either mifepristone or misoprostol individually. —Elizabeth Russell

—This brief has been updated to clarify the number of reported patients who experienced serious adverse reactions.