Health

Move comes as haze from Indonesian fires makes Singapore and Kuala Lumpur the world’s most polluted cities.

Firefly, a Malaysian low-cost airline, has extended the suspension of its flights between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore through Wednesday as smoke from fires in Indonesia continued to blanket the region.

The announcement came as IQAir, an air quality monitor, ranked Singapore and the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur as the world’s two most polluted cities on Tuesday.

Firefly said in a statement that flights between the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SZB) near Kuala Lumpur and the Seletar Airport in Singapore (XSP) have been cancelled up to Wednesday due to “weather and haze conditions”.

It called the action a “proactive safety measure”.

The fires, mostly on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo, are the country’s most intense in 11 years. They have been spurred by El Nino, a weather pattern expected to be among the strongest in four decades.

IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company, said Air Quality Index in Singapore stood at 199 on Tuesday and 183 in Kuala Lumpur. Readings above 150 are generally considered unhealthy, and those above 300 are classified as hazardous.

Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysia Aviation Group, which includes Malaysia Airlines, first announced the flight cancellations on October 10, citing “low visibility” due to the haze conditions.

Firefly said that affected passengers were being rebooked on Malaysia Airlines flights between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Singapore’s Changi Airport, subject to seat availability.

The Singapore government has reintroduced subsidised care for haze-related illnesses, as it last did in 2015, when smoke from Indonesian fires hung over the region for weeks.

In Malaysia, schools reopened in most states on Tuesday as air quality improved slightly, but they remain closed in three states, one federal territory and several districts.

Malaysia’s foreign minister, Mohamad Hasan, said on Monday that he would press for stronger regional mechanisms when foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet next month.

“We already have an ASEAN mechanism for natural disasters, but haze is not included or classified as a natural disaster,” he told reporters in Sepang, according to Bernama, Malaysia’s state news agency.

The Philippines, which chairs the bloc this year, confirmed that the issue would be on the agenda.

“It’s in the agenda,” Dominic Xavier Imperial, a spokesman for the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, said of the November meeting, which will precede the 49th ASEAN summit in Manila.

Mohamad, the Malaysian minister, said Indonesia had deployed about 60,000 personnel to fight the fires, but thick smoke had grounded 34 aircraft, including planes and helicopters.

Remote terrain and limited water supplies have also hindered the effort, he said, and cloud seeding is not possible without suitable rain clouds. He acknowledged Indonesia’s efforts but urged more effective action, citing the toll on Malaysian communities.

Vatican officials expect a one-week hospital recovery for the 71-year-old religious leader ahead of his scheduled Latin America tour.

Pope Leo XIV is to undergo surgery to remove a lung nodule, the Vatican has announced.

The 71-year-old leader of the Catholic Church will enter Rome’s Gemelli Hospital late on Tuesday morning for the procedure, which is expected to require about a week of inpatient recovery and has forced the cancellation of upcoming papal audiences.

During his weekly blessing in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, Leo told pilgrims that a small nodule was found on his left lung during a routine checkup and said it was “well-contained” and had been spotted early.

“The doctors believe it’s best to take action, so, following their advice, I’ve decided to have surgery to remove it,” he said during remarks delivered in Italian.

Later, the Vatican said a week of recovery time is expected after Leo’s surgery, and his audiences have been cancelled until October 20.

Spokespeople did not clarify whether the nodule is believed to be malignant.

The pope has no reported history of serious illness and is considered physically active, routinely swimming and playing tennis.

The upcoming surgery comes ahead of an official Latin America tour scheduled for November 6–17, with stops planned across Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru.

Whether the operation and subsequent recovery will force changes to the itinerary remains unclear, though the pontiff told reporters on Sunday that he intends to make the journey.

The late Pope Francis, Leo’s predecessor, died at age 88. Francis was hospitalised several times and grew frail in his later years. He did not usually announce his hospital visits in advance, sometimes sparking intense media speculation about his health.

New restrictions have stripped Medicaid coverage from certain legal immigrants, including refugees and victims of human trafficking, as part of broader federal changes to the health insurance program that are expected to force millions off their coverage.

The change effective Oct. 1 cut from Medicaid what is estimated to be hundreds of thousands of people who legally immigrated to the United States, many of whom work and pay taxes, in the latest Trump administration policy to target foreigners.

The move is part of sweeping changes to Medicaid under President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax cut and policy law, with many set to take effect early next year. The Medicaid changes are projected to result in 7.5 million fewer people with health insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s 2025 estimate.

Advocates say that without Medicaid, people will not be able to afford private insurance and will either delay care or end up in emergency rooms, adding pressure to a strained health system. For immigrants, the cuts could be felt more acutely, compounding the effects of other administration efforts to restrict their access to public assistance as part of a broader immigration crackdown.

“This is about telling every immigrant in the United States that they are not welcome here and that they should leave,” said Ben D’Avanzo, a senior strategist at the National Immigration Law Center, which has pursued litigation against the Republican administration over its immigration agenda.

Refugees, asylum seekers, victims of human trafficking and domestic violence are among those who have lost coverage. Green-card holders were not impacted.

Lauren Bis, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement that “immigrants must be able to support themselves without taking from overburdened benefits programs paid for by hard-working American taxpayers.”

D’Avanzo said many people who have lost coverage will likely only realize when they need medical care. But for some, the change has been felt immediately.

Dwindling supplies of lifesaving medication

In Tucson, Arizona, María Chacon has been caring for her son Jesus for almost five years since a car accident at 17 left him unable to breathe on his own. He requires a ventilator, a feeding tube and daily medication, and must be turned once every two hours to stop sores from forming. Chacon said he sometimes opens his eyes.

The family is originally from Mexico and entered the U.S. on a T visa, offered to victims of human trafficking, in 2018.

Chacon said Medicaid has helped cover almost $25,000 per month of care for her son, which includes a small stipend for her and her husband as compensation for being long-term caregivers. She said doctors have explained that even if they both worked 24 hours a day, they would not be able to cover the cost of his care.

“Since that day I haven’t been able to sleep. We haven’t been able to eat or anything. We’re wondering what we’re going to do?” Chacon said.

Jesus takes medication that Chacon estimates costs $7,000 a month. The supply runs out in mid-October. Without coverage, she does not know how her son is going to survive.

Chacon found out just days before the cuts that she was losing care. She called the state’s Medicaid offices to appeal. Although she is in the process of obtaining a green card, Medicaid coverage would only kick in five years after she is approved.

Steven Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies, a right-leaning think tank that seeks less immigration, said the administration “is trying to nibble around the edges” with the Oct. 1 cuts, finding piecemeal ways to curb immigration into the U.S.

Camarota believes the government should screen legal immigrants for income potential and education, reducing the number who might rely on public benefits once they cross the border.

“You need immigrants who are unlikely to need welfare,” he said, or those with high educational attainment.

The administration recently revived a federal rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits that could include food stamps, Medicaid, housing vouchers and others.

Chacon believes the cuts to Medicaid coverage are part of the administration’s clampdown on immigrants. She said her son is in no condition to travel.

“I know that’s what he’s doing, but, as my son is, I couldn’t go to Mexico,” Chacon said.

Millions more will be dropped from Medicaid

Medicaid, jointly funded by states and the federal government, has become a political focal point during Trump’s second term. The president has pushed to root out what he describes as fraud in the program. In July, the administration deferred over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota, claiming there was suspected fraud; critics argued the move targeted Democratic-led states.

As more people are cut from Medicaid, the federal government is predicted to reduce program spending by $911 billion, according to healthcare research nonprofit KFF.

In Arizona, officials said 29,000 legal immigrants were cut from Medicaid rolls on Oct. 1. In Florida, estimates are closer to 177,000. Overall, more than 281,000 immigrants from nine states and the District of Columbia are estimated to lose Medicaid coverage, according to KFF.

As more states implement various restrictions to coverage, 7.5 million people are expected to lose coverage by 2034, according to analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.

Without coverage, people will turn to emergency rooms for care. When people delay seeing a doctor, conditions can worsen and become even more expensive to treat.

“At the end of the day, it does raise the cost for the states because once you get these people in for something that could have been prevented, they could not go to the doctor because they were uninsured; they most likely will end up at a hospital in an emergency room,” said Carmen Feliciano, the vice president of policy and advocacy at UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights organization.

UnidosUS partners with community organizations to help provide medical care, but Feliciano said they already are overwhelmed and would not be able to support the number of people who are going to lose medical coverage in the coming months.

“We are not going to have the capacity to serve all the people who need it,” Feliciano said.

Schuettler and Hussein write for the Associated Press.

Physicians accuse Israeli Medical Association of remaining silent as Palestinian healthcare is systematically destroyed.

Hundreds of doctors have gathered outside the World Medical Association (WMA) summit in the Netherlands, calling for the suspension of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) from the grouping of physicians.

On Saturday, 81 healthcare workers removed their scrubs and hung them in a line facing the WMA assembly in Rotterdam, each bearing the name of a Palestinian healthcare worker currently held in illegal Israeli detention.

It was part of a protest against the continued membership of the Israeli association in the WMA, “despite them breaching almost every ethical principle in the WMA’s Code of Medical Ethics”, the IMA Out! coalition that organised the demonstration said in a statement.

“These scrubs should not be empty. Our colleagues belong with their patients, not in Israeli prisons. Today, we literally placed their names at the WMA’s doorstep,” said Mejrem Ahmetaj, a general practitioner and member of IMA Out!.

Since October 2023, Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 1,700 Palestinian healthcare workers and destroyed nearly all the hospitals and healthcare facilities in the enclave.

The campaign accused the Israeli medical association of remaining silent as Palestinian healthcare has been systematically destroyed.

“The IMA is not a bystander. It defends these attacks and blocks international condemnation while Palestinian healthcare is being destroyed. That is not medical neutrality. That is complicity,” added Ahmetaj.

At a meeting of international doctors, medical leaders and human rights activists during the WMA summit on Thursday, the destruction of Palestinian healthcare and the responsibility of the international medical community were discussed, the campaign said.

“Our Palestinian colleagues are being killed and imprisoned, where they are starved and tortured. Their hospitals have been destroyed and patients driven out or murdered. The IMA has said and done nothing about these war crimes against health workers, patients and hospitals,” said a statement by Jonathan Fluxman on behalf of IMA OUT!.

“Thirty years of WMA dialogue with the IMA has done nothing but give the IMA a sense of impunity … It is time for national medical associations and the WMA to speak out and take action. Break your ties with the IMA and suspend the IMA from the WMA now,” he added.

The IMA OUT! campaign said it delivered a petition calling for the IMA’s suspension, signed by more than 6,500 health workers from around the world.

They also demanded accountability for the complicity of Israeli doctors in the starvation, torture and medical neglect of Palestinian prisoners.

Among those held by Israel is Dr Hussam Abu Safia, head of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, whose unlawful detention has prompted an international outcry.

He was briefly held at the notorious Sde Teiman detention camp and has been subject to torture and medical neglect. Doctors protesting in Rotterdam held up placards demanding his release.

Abu Safia’s son Elyas, addressing a meeting organised by the campaign, said, “My father and all Palestinian detainees must be treated in accordance with medical ethics, and doctors must abide by the Hippocratic oath they have taken. Care cannot be given based on whose life is deemed worthy.”

Away from the TV sets and shows, Stephen Mulhern’s had his fair share of drama and heartbreak over the years

He’s one of the country’s beloved presenters, but Stephen Mulhern has faced his fair share of drama and heartbreak in real life.

The TV star and magician has become a staple on screens since shooting to fame. His big break came at 20, when he appeared on The Big Big Talent Show, hosted by Jonathan Ross in the late 90s.

Since then, he has remained booked and busy: from hosting Dancing on Ice and the reboot of Deal or No Deal, to performing magic shows up and down the country.

Away from the TV sets and stages, though, what do we know about Stephen’s life? Who is his famous ex-partner? What was the ‘worrying’ illness he had to endure? Here’s everything we know about Stephen Mulhern.

Stephen’s shock suspension

Before becoming a national treasure, Stephen Mulhern started out as a keen magician and was the youngest member of the Magic Circle. The iconic magic organisation broke with tradition and allowed a 17-year-old Stephen at the time into their ranks

However, Stephen ended up getting suspended from the organisation after he broke one of their rules – never reveal your tricks. The presenter taught viewers a card trick on the TV show ‘Finger Tips.’ His membership was later reinstated.

“The trick was to put a box on your head and turn this ratchet so it looks like your head is spinning, so I did it on Fearne, and then showed them how to make it,” he told Heat Magazine in 2015.

Stephen added, “Well, the Magic Circle deemed it too good to reveal, so they suspended me.”

Stephen’s father’s death

Stephen was left devastated in November 2024 when his father, Christopher, died at the age of 76. Stephen developed an interest in comedy and magic from his father, who taught him tricks as a child.

“Magic was my dad’s hobby — and he was great at it,” he told The Sun in 2025 before adding: “Rather than a bedtime story, he would do a magic trick. He’d make a handkerchief vanish and appear under the pillow.”

And during an appearance on his ITV show, The Accidental Tourist in 2025, Stephen opened up about his father. Before setting off on his adventure, Stephen confided in the cameras: “If I were to tell my dad this, my dad passed away at the start of the year.”

Overcome with emotion, he had to pause the interview, apologising with a simple: “Sorry.” He then added, “[My dad] wouldn’t believe it. I hope he would be proud.”

Stephen’s health crisis

In November 2024, just weeks after his dad’s death, Stephen found himself in a health scare after reportedly collapsing at a Pizza Express and was subsequently rushed to the hospital.

Stephen was suspected of having had an adverse reaction to medication, which was exacerbated after consuming alcohol with his meal. He had also undergone a procedure earlier that day, which required anesthesia.

A source told The Mirror at the time: “Stephen has had an incredibly tough time over the past few weeks. His beloved father recently passed away, which has hit him hard and has been understandably very stressful.

“In addition, he had a procedure which took place yesterday (Wednesday). Following the anaesthetic that was administered, he had a few drinks, which made him unwell, and he was taken to the hospital as a precaution. He is now back home recovering.”

Furthermore, a similar medical emergency in March 2022 saw him hospitalised again and needing several weeks to recover under ‘doctor’s orders’. This sparked concern among fans who noticed his absence from episodes of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.

After missing three consecutive weeks of TV, Stephen took to X, previously known as Twitter, to provide an update to his followers: “Hello all, Sorry I’ve been quiet on here recently, and thank you for all your lovely messages. I’ve had some time off and been resting up on doctor’s orders.”

Stephen’s famous ex

Stephen previously dated EastEnders star Emma Barton, who plays Honey Mitchell. The pair reportedly met during a 2008 pantomime production of Snow White, where Barton starred as the titular character and Mulhern played Muddles.

Despite keeping their romance under wraps, they parted ways amicably in 2011. Stephen also spoke about the relationship reaching a “natural end” in a candid chat with Celebs Now back in 2018.

He shared, “Last time I went on a date was about four years ago. That makes me sound really sad! I need a life. I need to stop working so much.”

Meanwhile, in 2024, Stephen was romantically linked to This Morning’s Josie Gibson after they were seen hand in hand outside a studio during the finale taping of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.

The duo, Stephen and Josie, appeared rather close, igniting rumours of a secret romance. However, Josie addressed the rumours and told OK! Magazine that she and Stephen are nothing more than “best friends”.

Deal or No Deal airs Monday to Friday at 4pm on ITV1.

Letter from progressive US representatives brings attention to Israeli abuse and detention of Palestinian medical workers.

A group of six progressive Congress members in the United States have released a statement condemning Israel’s abuse of Palestinian healthcare workers, including the Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safia, who has been held in Israeli detention since 2024.

The Tuesday statement draws attention to Israeli attacks on Palestinian medical workers, who have been targeted and detained during the country’s genocidal war on Gaza.

It was signed by Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Summer Lee, Pramila Jayapal and Delia Ramirez.

“Over the last three years, the Israeli government has systematically destroyed the health system in Palestine, murdering at least 1,700 Palestinian doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other healthcare workers and destroying dozens of hospitals,” the statement reads.

“It has arrested and arbitrarily detained hundreds of Palestinian healthcare workers, including at least 16 physicians who continue to be held in inhumane conditions.”

Among those detained is Abu Safia, who lawyers say was subjected to abuses such as torture, sleep deprivation and beatings during his detention.

Israeli soldiers arrested Abu Safia in December 2024, after he and other medical workers reportedly refused to evacuate from Kamal Adwan Hospital, where they worked.

No charges have been filed against Abu Safia, and he has not had a trial.

Israeli attacks on health infrastructure in Gaza, including the destruction of nearly all of the strip’s hospitals and medical centres, are one component of what rights groups have depicted as an effort to deprive Palestinians of essential services such as food, water and medical treatment.

Tuesday’s statement argues that such efforts are part of an “intentional policy designed to further occupation, apartheid, and genocide against the Palestinian people”.

That assessment is shared by a growing number of rights organisations, scholars and United Nations officials, who have denounced Israeli actions in the Palestinian strip.

Israeli officials have stated that they target hospitals and medical facilities as part of an effort to attack the Palestinian armed groups that allegedly use such facilities to carry out and coordinate operations.

Such claims have often failed to withstand scrutiny. Israel admitted that its soldiers killed a group of 15 emergency workers in southern Gaza in March 2025, after initially stating that the ambulance convoy had approached soldiers “suspiciously” and claiming, without evidence, that several of those killed were linked to Hamas.

A report by the group Forensic Architecture and Earshot found that Israeli soldiers fired more than 900 bullets as they opened fire on a clearly marked ambulance convoy and killed some of the medics “execution-style” before burying their bodies and their vehicles.

Russian authorities quarantine hospital, monitor 200 contacts after suspected pneumonic plague death in Siberia.

President Donald Trump says the United States is ready to help Russia with a suspected pneumonic plague outbreak.

“We are looking at it very strongly. We just heard about it,” Trump said, adding that he had not spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about it but is prepared to offer US support.

“It’s a disease we used to be able to control,” Trump said. “Even with great advancement, the germs have really become relatively stronger than they were, and things that used to work on pneumonia don’t work anymore … anyone that has that kind of problem, we will help.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) said based on unofficial information it has received, the “public health risk to the general population appears to be low”.

Earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio downplayed the danger as well. “I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it,” Rubio said.

Russian authorities have quarantined a hospital and are tracing the contacts of an employee at a plague research institute in the remote Siberian region of Irkutsk who died of a suspected pneumonic plague infection. Local media identified the employee as 28-year-old laboratory technician Darya Shipilova.

Official details about the incident have been limited, and Russian media reports say authorities in Irkutsk have placed nearly 200 people under medical observation.

On Sunday, Russia’s official TASS news agency reported that the country’s consumer protection agency, Rospotrebnadzor, said an employee at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East was diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown aetiology” or origin. The agency also said it had expanded sample testing from the patient and found no microorganisms associated with her work.

On Saturday, the governor of neighbouring Buryatia region said in a post on his Telegram channel that a woman in Irkutsk had “died, maybe of the plague”.

In a statement to Al Jazeera, a US State Department official said: “We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly.”

Pneumonic plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, usually found in small mammals and their fleas. According to the WHO, the plague is highly infectious and can be fatal if not treated early.

The plague ⁠comes in three forms affecting different parts of the body. Pneumonic plague, an infection of the lungs, triggers the patient to cough out infectious airborne droplets.

If identified quickly, antibiotics can treat the disease. Left untreated, it can be fatal in one to six days.

Rylan Clark revealed that his mother Linda has suffered another health issue, following a turbulent few years which have also seen her break her arm and leg while on holiday

Rylan Clark‘s mum Linda has shared a health update after he voiced concerns about her wellbeing. During his BBC Radio 2 show last weekend, he told listeners that his mum would be joining him for their weekly on-air chat following a break, but revealed that she had recently injured herself.

At the start of his show, he said: “Mummy Linda is going to be back on the phone a bit later on, hopefully she’s alright, she scraped her leg the other day, so that’s been fun. I’m just like okay, yep, here we go, another issue but I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

Later in the programme, Linda confirmed that she was fine before telling him: “You ain’t got to tell everyone thank you.”

Rylan went on to call his mum “a nightmare walking”, following her many other health ordeals.

The 74-year-old insisted that she would no longer do things around the house after her previous accidents.

“You said that before when you broke your arm and leg just falling over,” the 37-year-old replied. She responded: “I get bored and I need to do things.”

Back in January, Linda suffered a fractured shoulder and was left bruised after falling over on ice while taking her bins out.

Last year, she also took a tumble down a retailer’s escalators, leaving her in need of medical attention.

During a holiday in Spain in 2023, she broke her arm and leg, leaving her needing to be escorted back to the UK on a private jet equipped with medical equipment.

Rylan took time off work during this period to support his mother through her surgery and recovery.

Two months later, he shared a photo of her at his Essex home for the first time since the accident, as they celebrated his birthday together.

During the latest episode of his show, Rylan also jokingly urged producers to “sack” him after poking fun at the BBC’s strict advertising rules.

He went on to insist he “didn’t care” about the BBC’s rules while rapper Professor Green, whose real name is Stephen Paul Manderson, took part in his Rylexa feature, inspired by Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa.

Introducing the game, Rylan said: “I’ve been creating a new artificial intelligence machine called Rylexa, I’m looking for people to buy shares in it. If you want, we can talk after the show.”

Aware of the broadcaster’s impartiality guidelines, which are in place because UK viewers fund the BBC through the TV licence fee, Professor Green responded: “Sure. There are other AI platforms that you can invest in, isn’t that what you’ve got to say on the BBC?”

Rylan cheekily exclaimed: “But they’re not Rylexa! Who cares? Sack me!”.

A Russian agency links the lab worker’s death to ‘pneumonia of unknown’ origin.

An employee of a Russian anti-plague institute in the remote Siberian region of Irkutsk has reportedly died of a suspected pneumonic plague infection, according to a United States official.

“We are aware of reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. We are monitoring the situation closely with the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and our other interagency partners,” a State Department official told Al Jazeera

“Many details have not been confirmed. We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly,” the official said.

Alexei Tsydenov, the governor of the Buryatia region, said in a post on his Telegram channel on October 3 that a woman in the neighbouring Irkutsk region had “died, maybe of the plague”.

Russia’s official TASS news agency reported on Sunday that the country’s consumer watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said in a statement that an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown aetiology”.

The watchdog also said it expanded testing of samples from the patient and found no microorganisms associated with her professional activities.

Pneumonic plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, usually found in small mammals and their fleas. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the plague is highly infectious and can be fatal if not treated early.

Local media named the woman who died as 28-year-old laboratory technician Darya Shipilova.

Media reports say that authorities in Siberia’s Irkutsk region have placed nearly 200 people under medical observation.

Organizations publicly opposing Proposition 44 include the California Medical Assn., the California Hospital Assn., which represents hospitals and health systems, the Assn. of California Healthcare Districts, which represents the state’s 76 public healthcare districts, the California Teachers Assn., the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliate, the state Democratic Party, the state Chamber of Commerce and Reform California, a conservative advocacy group.

Opponents say the proposition’s vague wording could result in vital services being excluded from the list of program expenses permitted in the 90% of revenues, prompting clinics to cut programs to avoid financial penalties. A study commissioned by the California Primary Care Assn. found that clinics could face up to $1.7 billion in collective penalties in the first year of the measure’s implementation alone, an additional expense that could leave up to 88% of clinics operating in the red.

Opponents also say the measure adds an expensive layer of bureaucracy to the state’s budget and grants elected officials — in this case, the attorney general — authority to determine which services clinics can offer.

Oct. 3, 2026 3:03 AM PT

Menopause has been having a moment lately, and Washington is taking notice. On Sept. 16, the Senate held its first hearing on the dismal state of federally funded menopause research and vast gaps in treatment and care. Within 24 hours, the Department of Health and Human Services also convened pharmaceutical manufacturers and physicians to troubleshoot the alarming lack of availability of estradiol patches, an essential menopause hormone treatment, and the Food and Drug Administration held a full day of expert panels on female-dosed testosterone, which is currently only FDA-approved for men.

One week later, Health and Human Services joined the American Urological Assn. for a discussion about a silent killer of postmenopausal women: urosepsis from recurrent urinary tract infections. There is a simple solution — localized vaginal estrogen — and yet because of outdated guidelines and lack of clinician training, the medication is too often ignored or denied. Nor is the prescription routinely covered by Medicare, despite its well-established health and longevity benefits for women over age 65.

These are among the attempts to now, finally, address decades of policy failures — a refreshing change, quite frankly, given neither political party has ever prioritized menopause. That 2026 marks the year when menopause has entered the policy arena comes as little surprise to me. I’ve been beating this drum for years. Every aspect of daily life that menopause touches — the soaring cost of medical care, inadequate access to health insurance, extreme underinvestment in scientific research focused on women’s health, even the myriad ways midlife women are stretched to the limit caring for kids and aging parents — is smack in the middle of the political zeitgeist. These are the kitchen table issues on the minds of voters this election.

Menopause moment, meet the midterms.

Another issue rightly revealed by menopause is the chasm of public trust in government. As one of the four expert witnesses who testified at the Senate, I was heartened that it was a true bipartisan endeavor. But that’s a rarity these days in Congress, an institution rife with dysfunction. Our federal health agencies have become so shamelessly politicized they are on a collision course with science — from HHS’ overt moves to undermine childhood vaccines, to the decimation of leadership at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is struggling to respond to the crisis of measles outbreaks across the country.

My goal as a policy advocate is to help turn the tide on this country’s long record of neglect when it comes to menopause. Like many other women’s and reproductive health advocates, after the 2024 election l turned my attention to state legislatures — not just as a consolation prize but as a way to test what range of reforms were feasible and to get as many good laws as possible passed. It was the right move. Over the last two years, more than 60 bills have been introduced in 28 states — to do things like require private insurance and Medicaid to cover menopause care and treatment, improve clinician training and public education, and bolster antidiscrimination protection in the workplace. Ten of those states now have 21 laws on the books.

California is one and can claim real leadership. Among the bills passed by the Legislature, Assembly Bill 2270 from 2023-24 incentivizes continuing medical education on menopause for clinicians, the majority of whom receive little to zero training while in medical school and residency. The California Department of Corrections is now collaborating with medical experts to help bring menopause resources to incarcerated women in state prisons.

Newsom also just vetoed AB 1940, which would have codified menopause as a protected category in the state’s workplace antidiscrimination laws.

The Legislature has been especially deft at easing access to FDA-approved hormonal treatments, including testosterone, often used off-label by menopausal women: AB 82 ends the requirement to report prescriptions to the state’s tracking database; AB 1778 proactively declassifies testosterone as a controlled substance under state law, should there be action in Washington to do the same under federal law.

Although Newsom twice vetoed bills to mandate insurance coverage for menopause treatment — and deserved all the flak he received — the 2026-27 state budget includes a minor course correct: a $3.4-million “trailer bill” to invest in public education and make menopause treatments more affordable; Medi-Cal patients are not fully covered by the addendum, though, making it a toothless reform for those who need support the most.

Why should California’s menopause agenda, or that of the other 27 states that have introduced reforms, matter to the rest of the country? They offer useful models of what to do — or in the case of Medicaid exclusion, what not to do — in crafting meaningful policies. Perhaps more important, they offer a rationale that can help persuade the public; those who might balk at a congressional bill or federal policy, in part because of skepticism of the federal government or the current administration, can listen to and learn from other stakeholders, including governors and state lawmakers and activists.

Take for example the FDA decision in November 2025 to remove the long-critiqued “black box” warning on estrogen products for menopause. This was the culmination of a decade-long campaign by physicians, researchers and scientists — who had been waging the fight for accurate labeling well before the acronym MAHA ever existed and regardless of which party held power. Yet the very image of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. using his moment at the podium to credit the Trump administration’s deep commitment to women’s health posed a serious credibility challenge. Aligned and contemporaneous state reforms offered much-needed reassurance and clarity to many.

Trust in government is understandably at a low point, but this happens to be when menopause finally has caught the attention of policymakers at all levels of power. Some are taking long-overdue steps for women’s health, however implausibly. Let’s take the wins.

Jennifer Weiss-Wolf is the author of “When in Menopause: A User’s Manual & Citizen’s Guide.” She is executive director of NYU Law’s Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center.

BILLY Joel has shared a new health update just weeks after undergoing surgery for a rare brain condition.

The singer, 77, who was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) in May 2025, underwent a procedure to help improve his symptoms last month.

According to the NHS website, a hydrocephalus is a “build-up of fluid in the brain. The excess fluid puts pressure on the brain, which can damage it”, and NPH “usually develops in older people”.

He had a shunt implanted in his brain to drain excess fluid.

Earlier this week he shared how he has been feeling while on his SiriusXM show The Billy Joel Channel.

Billy said: “I know people are worried about me because they read that I have a brain disorder, which sounds a lot worse than it actually is.”

billy’s tribute

Fresh blow for Billy Joel, 77, as he suffers heartbreaking loss

BRAVE BILLY

Billy Joel, 77, reveals he’s undergone brain surgery as he shares health update

He added: “I’m okay” but went on to confess that his “balance isn’t that good”.

The performer also explained that he’s “lost a little bit of my hearing” – which he actually thinks is due to the performing on stage for years.

The star also confessed that he “appreciates” everyone but doesn’t want people to “worry” about him.

Talking about the surgery, Billy said last month: “I didn’t want to do that, but then I read up on it and I realised it can help improve your balance and can help your memory.”

He added: “You know, I don’t want to lose my marbles.

“It’s hard to tell what’s age and what’s a condition, so I agreed to do the shunt and I had a surgery, and they implanted a shunt in my brain and it actually improved things.”

After having the surgery, Billy explained: “My memory got better, my balance got a little better, my ability to function was better.” 

After being diagnosed with NPH, Billy cancelled all tour dates due to the condition.

Billy is best known for songs such as Piano Man, Uptown Girl and We Didn’t Start the Fire.

WASHINGTON — Dr. Nicole Saphier, President Trump ‘s third nominee for surgeon general, moved a step closer to confirmation after a Senate committee voted to advance her nomination on Wednesday.

Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News Channel contributor, was advanced out of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on a 12 to 11 vote to serve as surgeon general after she was grilled at her confirmation hearing earlier this month about her stance on childhood vaccines.

She expressed support for vaccines and told lawmakers she didn’t believe they cause autism. The Trump administration has sought to revisit claims about a link between vaccines and autism, although widespread scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded there is none.

Timothy Westlake, who was nominated to serve as assistant secretary for mental health and substance use at the Department of Health and Human Services, was also advanced out of committee on the same en bloc vote.

It was not immediately clear when the officials would face a full Senate vote for their confirmation, but they are expected to be approved.

During her confirmation hearing, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy pressed Saphier to declare whether she believed there was a link between vaccines and autism. Saphier responded that she does “not believe childhood vaccines cause autism,” adding that “the MMR vaccine is our greatest tool for combating measles,” in response to a question by Cassidy over whether parents should give children that shot.

MMR stands for measles, mumps and rubella, and the president recently called for the shots to be spaced out, against the guidance of medical groups.

The surgeon general position carries limited policymaking power but serves as a loud megaphone as the nation’s top communicator to Americans on public health issues.

Cassidy, who led the inquiry into Saphier’s views on vaccines, ultimately voted in support of her nomination.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate HELP committee, said ahead of Saphier’s vote that he would vote down her nomination because in part Saphier “has questioned the need for the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, when the data science has been clear.”

“We need a surgeon general who will tell the truth about vaccines, not someone who misleads the public,” Sanders said. At her confirmation hearing, Saphier said the universal birth dose of hepatitis B was safe and effective.

Chris Klomp, who was nominated to serve as deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, was advanced out of the Senate Finance Committee last week on a 15 to 12 vote. He was questioned during the same hearing as Saphier about his duties associated with the role as the current chief counselor of the Department of Health and Human Services under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as well as about his vaccine stance.

In protesting Klomp’s nomination at the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden said Klomp “tried to create the impression that he will be the adult in the room on vaccines. Yet, as we sit here today, the vaccine chaos that we’ve come to expect from Robert Kennedy’s HHS continues.”

Hussein writes for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — About half of rural voters identify with Make America Healthy Again, a sprawling political movement championed by the Trump administration, but most said President Trump’s healthcare policies have not benefited their communities, according to a new poll from The Associated Press in partnership with KFF.

About 8 in 10 rural voters — an important voting bloc for Trump and fellow Republicans — said the Trump administration’s policies have had a negative effect or no impact on the health of people where they live. Most MAHA supporters, 68%, also feel this way, according to the national survey of more than 2,000 rural registered voters.

The findings signal an apparent disconnect between the Trump administration’s MAHA-branded policy priorities and rural America’s perception of their reach and effectiveness.

Iowa pastor Mike Jager, 58, is a registered Republican and considers himself part of the MAHA movement. The Trump administration’s health policies have had “minimal” impact on the health of his community, Jager said, but he added that Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is moving the needle “in the right direction.”

“It’s a beginning,” Jager said. “It’s a big ship to try and turn around and course-correct.”

Kennedy has used the MAHA label to support various agendas, including abandoning long-standing vaccine guidance, researching ultraprocessed foods and investing in regenerative agriculture.

Jager lives in Sumner, Iowa, “less than a quarter mile from where the corn ends and the city begins.” He’s seen family members and neighbors develop diseases that he believes resulted in part from exposure to agricultural chemicals and consumption of unhealthy, processed foods.

In the June Republican primary for governor, Jager voted for Zach Lahn, a businessman and farmer who ran on a MAHA platform and beat out Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra. He plans to vote for him again in November.

Many rural voters are prioritizing health issues

About two-thirds of rural voters who support MAHA said it’s “extremely” or “very” important to them to vote for a candidate who does, too, while only 4 in 10 rural voters overall said the same.

Trump sought to seize on MAHA support during his campaign for another term two years ago. Now, amid tight midterm races, Kennedy has campaigned to galvanize the movement’s support. In May, he attended a MAHA bill signing with Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, and in August, he went fishing with Lahn, posting about it on social media.

Yet the survey indicates voters are noticing “this weird split in the Trump administration” between what Kennedy messages and what Trump says and does, said David Peterson, a political science professor at Iowa State University.

In Iowa, concerns about what’s causing rising cancer rates are “a big deal,” he said. For many people who identify with MAHA, being healthy includes taking on corporate agriculture and pharmaceutical companies that they think cause cancer, he added.

In the poll, views on healthcare access and costs largely diverged along party lines. Most Democratic and independent voters said the Trump administration’s healthcare policies have had a negative impact on their healthcare costs and the health and well-being of people in their communities. Republicans were likelier to say there hasn’t been an impact.

Talking on the phone from her 200-acre farm in Carroll County, Iowa, 71-year-old Donna Klocke said that her husband had died from cancer and that she has neighbors who also have cancer.

“It’s just very prevalent,” Klocke said. “We’re in a farming community. We use chemicals and pesticides and all kinds of things that aren’t necessarily good for us.”

Klocke, a Democrat, said the MAHA movement is a good idea because she cares about being healthy, but she does not consider herself part of it and will not be voting for a candidate who represents the movement.

Kennedy, who was an anti-vaccine activist before entering politics and has sent mixed messages to Americans about getting the measles vaccine, scares her.

“Measles are coming back and polio,” Klocke said. “It’s the measles that really gets me. It’s like, do you not understand how dangerous it is?”

Survey reflects angst over healthcare

Nearly half of rural voters said their communities don’t have enough doctors or other healthcare providers, and even more said there aren’t enough mental health workers specifically. The share of rural voters who said their community does not have enough hospitals increased to 35% from 21% in a similar question asked in a KFF-Washington Post survey in 2017.

And as with the general population, healthcare, gas and grocery costs are top pain points. At least 6 in 10 rural voters said they were worried about healthcare costs.

The level of worry varied based on coverage, with rural voters enrolled in employer plans or Medicare less likely to be worried. The survey found that 80% of working-age rural voters on Medicaid were very or somewhat worried about healthcare costs. Last year, Republicans passed a tax and spending bill that cut over $900 billion in projected Medicaid spending over a decade and mandated new eligibility requirements.

In the tiny community of Lipan, Texas, west of Dallas, Kim Solis and her husband have a handyman-and-home-remodel business and get their insurance on the marketplace. Since Trump returned to office, their premium payment jumped from zero to $166 a month. Their copays went up, and their deductibles each increased by $2,000.

Solis, 62, said she worries what will happen if they get a big medical bill.

“Certainly, we’d be in a world of hurt trying to take money out of savings or getting it out of our 401(k) just to be able to do something about it,” she said.

Most MAHA voters are also MAGA — but not all

Like the general population, rural voters said they trust their own doctors and healthcare providers for health information over government agencies or officials, according to the poll.

Trust in Kennedy and Trump fell largely along partisan lines. About 10% of rural Democratic voters reported having a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in Kennedy, compared with 74% of rural Republican voters. About 5% of rural Democrats and 69% of rural Republicans said they trust Trump a “great deal” or “fair amount” for reliable health information.

While Make America Great Again and MAHA identities are “linked in a lot of ways,” the rising costs of healthcare and groceries pose a challenge for those committed to the MAHA principles that Kennedy promotes, said Peterson, the Iowa State professor.

Buying healthy food “becomes, ‘I can’t afford to do that because of Trump’s policies,’” he said.

In Stamping Ground, Kentucky, Alma Johnson, 65, works night security at a horse farm.

Johnson voted for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024 and said she “pretty much” likes how Trump is running the country. But she said she is not a MAGA devotee, preferring to “think for myself.”

MAHA, however, is an easy sell for Johnson because, she said, she doesn’t think people should be able to buy junk food in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

Still, she said she hasn’t seen much impact from the Trump administration’s healthcare policies, including the new food pyramid.

“It takes a long time to change people, their habits, their thoughts or the things they do,” Johnson said.

Swenson, Tribble and Sanders write for the Associated Press.

The poll of 2,241 U.S. adults registered to vote in rural areas of the country was conducted Aug. 12-24, 2026, using a sample drawn from the probability-based SSRS Opinion Panel. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In collaboration with AP, KFF researchers worked to design the survey sample and questionnaire, analyze and report findings. This report is a collaboration between the Associated Press and KFF Health News. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez has disputed the government’s account of what led to his shooting during a Doordash delivery in Austin, Texas.

A Venezuelan asylum seeker who was shot in the back by a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Texas is facing a federal assault charge, after prosecutors accused him of striking the officer with his car’s side-view mirror.

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, appeared in federal court in Austin on Tuesday, where he was charged with assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The charge stems from a September 20 encounter that began while Garces Perez was making a DoorDash food delivery near a shopping centre in Austin, the Texas state capital.

A federal complaint filed on Monday says immigration officers noticed that Garces Perez’s car had its emergency lights flashing, and they ran a database check. They found it was registered to Garces Perez, who was subject to a final order of removal from the US.

When the officers approached, Garces Perez handed over his driver’s license through a partially opened window but did not get out of the car, the complaint says. He asked the officers to wait until his wife could arrive to retrieve the vehicle.

Court documents describe the exchange up to that point as “pleasant and not aggressive”.

About a minute later, however, court documents say Garces Perez “abruptly” closed his window and drove off, striking one of the officers in the torso with his driver’s side mirror.

That officer chased Garces Perez in his own vehicle and caught up with him a short time later. In the complaint, the officer alleges that Garces Perez then tried to drive into him, prompting him to open fire.

There is no publicly available footage showing the events described in the complaint, including the shooting.

Videos, however, have circulated online showing the shooting’s aftermath, with Garces Perez injured in his car.

The complaint relies on unreleased body-camera footage from one of the two ICE officers who stopped Garces Perez.

The second officer was not wearing a body camera, according to the affidavit. That officer says he was struck by Garces Perez’s side mirror and later shot him.

Garces Perez, however, gave federal investigators a different account of the moments immediately before he was shot.

He told investigators that, after a brief chase, a law enforcement SUV struck his car, causing it to spin around, according to the affidavit. He said the officer then opened fire, shooting him in the back.

Garces Perez has been held in a detention facility in south Texas since the shooting.

His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said on Sunday the bullet was still lodged in his body and that he has a fractured clavicle. In a social media post, Lincoln-Goldfinch explained that his supporters were worried he could develop sepsis or suffer permanent damage if he didn’t undergo surgery soon.

The Department of Homeland Security has argued, however, that Garces Perez is receiving adequate medical care.

Garces Perez’s legal team is also seeking to stop his removal from the US.

The Venezuelan national entered the US in 2024 through CBP One, an online programme expanded under former President Joe Biden to allow asylum seekers to make appointments with immigration authorities at the US-Mexico border.

Trump ended the programme on his first day back in office, accusing the app of contributing to an immigration crisis in the US. His administration has since relaunched CBP One as CBP Home, a self-deportation portal.

Lincoln-Goldfinch has said Garces Perez was legally seeking asylum in the US and had a valid work permit. She has asserted that he was ordered to be deported after missing an immigration court hearing because the notice had been sent to an old address.

Garces Perez is due back before a federal immigration judge on Wednesday for a separate hearing on whether he can remain in the country.

The case comes amid a surge in immigration enforcement during Trump’s second term, with ICE reporting more than 50,000 arrests in both July and August.

Tehran, Iran – Iranians are stocking up on food and medicines as fears grow that the country will face dire shortages as the United States tightens an embargo on the country.

The Iranian government had managed to keep household staples flowing during the early months of the war. But a US naval blockade and pivot to draconian sanctions have led to fears that imports will be limited.

More recently, the US announced a ban on Iranian airlines worldwide and is pressing other countries to cut trade ties with Iran in a bid to isolate the country.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly last week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned Washington for its blockade on his country, saying it will prevent food and medicine from reaching the Iranian people.

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s offer for a seven-day truce that would see it reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for economic relief and other conditions.

As the war enters its eighth month and hopes for a diplomatic solution dim, Al Jazeera looks at how some Iranians are faring under a US embargo.

Consumers

Tehran’s stores remain stocked, but shoppers are keeping an eye on shop shelves. Their anxiety has deepened since a flurry of social media posts urging people to ensure they have several days of food before a possible new round of fighting with the US.

At one shopping centre, Ali, 51, was loading a trolley packed with rice, flour, pasta, pulses, cooking oil and canned food.

He is stocking up because he is convinced that Iran’s adversary is seeking to “starve” the people to push them to turn on their government.

“This is not a war in the traditional sense. It targets the people to put pressure on the authorities,” he said.

With flights to some nearby countries suspended, imports of certain medicines and mobile phone headsets are hard to find. The prices of those still available in shops have been pushed up.

Haj Pasandideh, a 71-year-old grocer, said he believed warehouses were well-stocked with basic goods at the moment. But the problem lies in the daily price increases due to Iran’s weakening rial, prompting him to bulk-buy goods before the expected hikes.

He sometimes caps cooking oil at one bottle per sale to ensure as many customers can purchase the goods as possible.

Exporters crushed

Farmers are also on edge due to the embargo, unable to ship out their produce and forced to sell to local markets.

The war has worsened the economic situation, even after years of sanctions that have pushed the country from being a regional exporter of agricultural and food products to being one of the region’s main importers.

Mehran, an apple grower, told Al Jazeera that due to the difficulties of exporting, he had sold only a third of this year’s harvest, all of it inside Iran.

Some neighbouring countries have halted trade with Iran in recent months, he said, while trucks now spend days at crossings they once cleared in a day, causing fruit to spoil before it reaches buyers.

“The blockade has not only closed the sea and air but also the land routes but in an undeclared manner,” he said.

Pharmaceutical shortages

The war has also deepened an already-dire shortage of medications. Some pharmacies Al Jazeera visited in southern Tehran had run out of infant formula and dozens of other types of medications.

Although officials have assured Iranians that substitute products were available, pharmacy staff expressed concern about the increasing number of customers searching for infant formula in vain.

“Imported medicines are disappearing fast, and lately people have been coming in to buy certain items before they need them for fear they will run out in future,” Mahsa, a 23-year-old pharmacy assistant, told Al Jazeera.

She said the health authorities had introduced “smart systems” to track the quantity and type of medication each person buys.

Breaking the blockade

The prospect of a prolonged siege and deteriorating economic conditions have driven some Iranians to call for a military solution.

On Tehran’s main thoroughfare, several people told Al Jazeera that another round of fighting with the US was unavoidable. Some urged the government to break the blockade by force before it is tightened further.

Mohsen, a 23-year-old economics student, believes Washington’s goal is to strangle the Iranian economy and the cost will ultimately be felt by Iranian citizens.

Iran possesses many strong cards that it must use to break the air and sea blockade before they develop into a land blockade that would completely choke Tehran, he said.

Alireza Taghavinia, an Iranian international relations expert, told Al Jazeera that the gap between Washington and Tehran was too wide to be bridged. “The siege imposed by force will only be lifted by force,” he said.

In a worst-case scenario, falling living standards could bring protesters onto the streets, he added.

“The enemy is counting on stirring up chaos inside Iran because it believes no military strike will achieve its objectives without internal unrest,” he said.

Matthew VanDyke and six Ukrainians were accused of smuggling weapons and drones to armed ethnic groups fighting India.

Matthew VanDyke, a United States citizen held in India for more than six months and accused of supporting ethnic separatist groups, has been temporarily released on bail and returned to the US.

The 47-year-old arrived on Saturday morning and reunited with his family, according to a family spokesperson.

VanDyke, who runs a Washington, DC-based consultancy that says it provides “free security consulting, training, supplies and other services to vulnerable populations”, was detained in March by Indian authorities, along with six Ukrainian nationals who were also released on Saturday.

India’s main opposition Congress party said that, despite being “accused of plotting terrorist acts”, VanDyke was allowed to return home from New Delhi.

“Obviously US pressure determined this outcome, but what did India get in return?” Jairam Ramesh, a legislator and spokesperson for the party, posted on X.

VanDyke’s family told Al Jazeera before his release that his health was failing and he had lost weight after going on a month-long hunger strike in Tihar Jail to try to improve conditions in prison. He had to use a wheelchair to attend hearings, according to his mother, Sharon. VanDyke denied the accusations against him, and his family said he was in the region documenting the situation faced by minority ethnic groups.

Earlier this month, Indian prosecutors declined to bring terrorism charges against VanDyke and the others. Instead, prosecutors formally accused them of visa violations for entering restricted areas along the Myanmar border.

The Maryland native is a former filmmaker and rebel fighter during the Arab Spring and spent about six months in a Libyan prison during the Muammar Gaddafi regime. He was held alongside James Foley, a journalist who was later killed by ISIL in Syria. In recent years, VanDyke was based in Ukraine, where his consultancy helped train Ukrainian military forces.

In a statement to Al Jazeera before VanDyke’s release, James Foley’s mother, Diane, who now heads a foundation named after him, said she was “deeply saddened by his arrest in India and by his apparent poor health.” She added that her foundation called for “his release on humanitarian grounds.”

Fatalities reached 3,901 across the DRC as health workers battle community anger and a vaccine-resistant strain.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded over 8,000 cases of Ebola, including almost 4,000 deaths, amid the worst outbreak in the country’s history, according to government data.

The latest report, published on Monday by the DRC’s public health institute, put the number of cases at 8,067 ⁠⁠and deaths at ⁠⁠3,901, representing a fatality rate of 48.4 percent.

People’s mistrust and anger towards government policies have become a major obstacle in limiting the outbreak since it was officially declared on May 15. A senior ‌‌member of the ruling UDPS party was beaten to death after raising awareness about the epidemic on radio, a party representative said on Monday. The ⁠⁠killing happened on Sunday in Butembo in North Kivu province, which has become a hotspot in the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

The number of cases has levelled off after a rapid increase, according to the African Union’s health agency, Africa CDC, though it still considers the outbreak “not under control”.

Several treatments and vaccines are being trialled against the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

The current outbreak, which is the DRC’s 17th, has spread rapidly. Experts say that weak health infrastructure, the region’s remoteness and ongoing conflict near the DRC’s borders with South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda have damaged efforts to respond to cases quickly and effectively.

Those issues have also hindered the government’s efforts to fight the outbreak, increasing public mistrust and anger towards its suggested prevention measures.

Marie-Celestin ⁠⁠Karondwa, acting president of the UDPS party’s federal executive committee in Butembo, was attacked by local residents after appearing on a radio show where he discussed Ebola prevention measures, according to the Congolese health authorities.

In their latest case report, authorities highlighted a “low capacity” to treat cases at health centres in Ituri province and described a “complete shortage” of stocks of an experimental vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain in the northeastern province of Tshopo, where cases have been recorded.

The World Health Organization has said the outbreak is “far from over” and on track to surpass the regional 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak. It killed more than 11,000 people, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The United States announced last week that it was releasing a further $267 million to help fight Ebola. It is hoping for pledges from other countries to meet a target of $2 billion to fight the disease, mainly found in the DRC.