When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Geopolitics

More Polio Workers Killed In Pakistan - Taliban Says Vaccination Is Sterilization

BBC(UK), REUTERS

Worldcrunch

KARACHI - Three more health workers administering polio vaccinations in Pakistan were killed Wednesday, a day after five of their colleagues were killed in attacks blamed on Taliban militants. The nationwide campaign to immunize Pakistanis has been suspended after the latest shootings.

The three killings came in two separate attacks Wednesday against workers taking part in the campaign run by the United Nations UNICEF and the World Health Organization. The gunmen are suspected of including Taliban militants, who reportedly oppose the campaign that they say is actually an attempt to sterilize Muslims, according to Reuters.

On the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar, two men fatally shot an 18-year-old worker as he was vaccinating children, CNN reports. The two other deaths came in the city of Charsadda, when gunmen opened fire on a car carrying a vaccination campaign supervisor and her driver.

Along with Nigeria and Afghanistan, Pakistan is one of only three countries where polio is still endemic. The Pakistani Government wants their 33 million children to be immune as fast as possible, using the 88,000 people work force. National health workers received the help of the United Nations' UNICEF and the WHO (World Health Organization) to fight the extremely contagious paralyzing epidemic.

The Pakistani government has renewed its commitment to the immunization campaign, with Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf condemning the attacks and praising the efforts of the health workers, reports the BBC.

[rebelmouse-image 27086106 alt="""" original_size="264x288" expand=1]

Polio vaccine drops (Wikipedia)

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

That Man In Mariupol: Is Putin Using A Body Double To Avoid Public Appearances?

Putin really is meeting with Xi in Moscow — we know that. But there are credible experts saying that the person who showed up in Mariupol the day before was someone else — the latest report that the Russian president uses a doppelganger for meetings and appearances.

screen grab of Putin in a dark down jacket

During the visit to Mariupol, the Presidential office only released screen grabs of a video

Russian President Press Office/TASS via ZUMA
Anna Akage

Have no doubt, the Vladimir Putin we’re seeing alongside Xi Jinping this week is the real Vladimir Putin. But it’s a question that is being asked after a range of credible experts have accused the Russian president of sending a body double for a high-profile visit this past weekend in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

Reports and conspiracy theories have circulated in the past about the Russian leader using a stand-in because of health or security issues. But the reaction to the Kremlin leader's trip to Mariupol is the first time that multiple credible sources — including those who’ve spent time with him in the past — have cast doubt on the identity of the man who showed up in the southeastern Ukrainian city that Russia took over last spring after a months-long siege.

Russian opposition politician Gennady Gudkov is among those who confidently claim that a Putin look-alike, or rather one of his look-alikes, was in the Ukrainian city.

"Now that there is a war going on, I don't rule out the possibility that someone strongly resembling or disguised as Putin is playing his role," Gudkov said.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest