Global Briefs: Dengue fever deaths surge in Bangladesh

Bangladesh

At least 1,006 people have died this year from mosquito-borne dengue fever. That exceeds the ­country’s total dengue fever deaths for the previous 22 years combined. More than a third of the deaths came in September alone. Symptoms range from headaches and nausea to dehydration and severe internal bleeding. This year’s monsoon season brought wetter and warmer weather earlier than usual, creating ideal breeding grounds for the Aedes aegypti. The mosquito species has become increasingly resistant to insecticide and tends to breed in urban areas, where dengue fever disproportionately affects poor households. —Amy Lewis

Mexico

The government will soon start deporting migrants waiting in its northern border cities to their home countries, according to a new agreement hammered out by Mexican and American officials on Sept. 22. Illegal crossings into the United States have surged in recent weeks. Last month, U.S. Border Patrol officers apprehended over 8,000 people in one day. Mexico will now negotiate with the governments of Venezuela, Brazil, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Cuba to return migrants to their home countries. The agreement also includes increased checkpoints and patrols on Mexico’s rail ­system. It partly shut down in late September due to unsafe numbers of migrants hitching rides. This is not the first time Mexico has increased its border enforcement to help the United States. In 2019, Mexico deployed almost 15,000 troops to deter crossings. —Elizabeth Russell

South Africa

Residents who violated pandemic restrictions and paid fines will no longer have criminal records. Lawmakers on Sept. 21 approved a bill to erase the offenders’ convictions. South Africa imposed some of the world’s stiffest restrictions during the pandemic. Authorities detained more than 400,000 people for offenses that included breaking curfews, not wearing masks, and consuming alcohol. The National Council of Provinces has to approve the bill before South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signs it into law. Ramaphosa fully lifted pandemic restrictions in April 2022. —Onize Ohikere

South Korea

On Sept. 26, the country’s Constitutional Court struck down a law that criminalized sending anti-government propaganda leaflets into North Korea. The court ruled the law unconstitutional in a 7-2 vote, saying it excessively restricts freedom of expression. For years, North Korean defector-­activists in the South have launched across the border helium-filled ­balloons carrying leaflets critical of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. They also sent U.S. dollar bills and USB drives containing information about world events. South Korean legislators passed the anti-leaflet law in 2020, under the previous liberal administration that had pushed for inter-Korean engagement. The law punished violators with up to three years in prison or a fine of 30 million won (about $22,000). —Joyce Wu

Algeria

Schools in the former French colony are expanding a pilot program to teach English to elementary students. While still learning French, students will be expected to master the world’s most widely ­spoken language. Officials described the shift as a strategic choice for education, but it is part of a wider trend across Africa, where French influence has waned. Earlier this year, Mali nixed French as an official language, and Morocco made English classes mandatory for high school students. Algeria has made previous attempts to increase English education, but French-speaking elites always opposed the move. Nearly 15 million Algerians speak French, making it the third-largest French-speaking population in the world, behind France and the Democratic Republic of Congo. —Leigh Jones

Venezuela

The government has regained control of a prison-turned-gang-headquarters. The Tren de Aragua gang, the country’s most powerful, had the run of Tocorón prison until 11,000 security personnel took it back Sept. 20. Under the gang’s rule, prisoners were free to walk around and enjoy amenities that included a small zoo, a bank, and a nightclub. Families of prisoners also lived in the facilities. Now officials will turn their attention to recapturing escaped prisoners. Authorities across Venezuela and four other countries are searching for Aragua leader Héctor Guerrero Flores. He was serving a 17-year sentence for murder and drug trafficking but escaped shortly before the raid. —Anna Mandin