The Mozambique government has confirmed the first cases of cholera in the port city of Beira almost two weeks after Cyclone Idai devastated the country, AP reports.
Details: Five cholera cases have been confirmed. Mozambique's national director of medical assistance described cholera as an "epidemic situation" with more cases expected, according to AP. Doctors without Borders reports they will be scaling up their operations, while the World Health Organization also plans to send 900,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine from the global stockpile later this week, perAl Jazeera.
India has shot down a live, low-orbiting satellite in space with an anti-satellite missile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wednesday in a televised address.
Why it matters: India joined a "super league" with the U.S., Russia and China after the feat, Modi said. "India registered its name as a space power," he said. The technology is "not directed against any particular country," according to Modi. But it risks escalating tension with Pakistan after February clashes in Kashmir. Modi faces a general election next month.
Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday directed NASA to return humans to the surface of the moon within the next five years, using either the troubled Space Launch System (SLS) rocket or a rocket from a private space company.
"It is the stated policy of this Administration and the United States of America to return astronauts to the Moon within the next five years."
Why it matters: Returning humans to the moon, establishing a permanent human presence there and then launching Mars missions is the Trump administration's vision for the next iteration of American space exploration. It's also ambitious, and a timetable that's likely to slip.
Pine Ridge Reservation residents were stranded without water and the South Dakota Army National Guard activated to help Monday, after flooding washed out a county rural water line and a humanitarian crisis continued to unfold.
Why it matters: An enormous amount of flooding caused by a blizzard and then melting snow has devastated the usually dry region over the past 2 weeks. It is one of many places in the Midwest to be impacted by deadly flooding, which prompted President Trump to approve a disaster declaration for parts of Nebraska and Iowa. But as some regions slowly begin to recover, the remote reservation remains in crisis.
