Europe’s migrant crisis is getting worse — with more people trying to escape to new homes via the Mediterranean Sea, more dying as a result and more countries, including some long welcoming to refugees, taking fresh steps to control the influx.

The International Organization for Migration reported Friday that more than 55,500 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean into Europe in the first 28 days of January. This after a year in which more than 1 million migrants were “irregular arrivals” in Europe.

Others, though, did not make it. IOM counted 3,722 people dead or missing in 2015 in the same sea. So far this year, 244 are known to have died in the Mediterranean, most when attempting to cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece, and at least 15 more have died after reaching European shores. Deaths on this route are increasing at an alarming rate,” group spokesman Joel Millman told reporters Friday.(CNN)…[+]

MOSCOW  — Over 100 people have died in the last three weeks in Russia of complications from flu, Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said Thursday.

“As of yesterday, 107 people died including four pregnant women and eight children,” Interfax news agency quoted Skvortsova as saying.

All of the victims had not been vaccinated and did not seek medical advice in time, she said, adding that the current death toll means little as the major swine flu epidemic killed 687 people in Russia back in 2009. “Around 4,500 people died of heart attacks, 6,000 of strokes, and 1,000 were killed in road accidents in Russia over the same period,” the minister said.

However, Skvortsova said, the country is well prepared for this year’s flu outbreak and pharmacies have sufficient stocks of anti-viral drugs and protective masks. The minister also predicted the epidemic would peak in the next two weeks and peter out by the end of February.(Xinhua)…[+]

BRUSSELS  – The Zika virus, a mosquito-borne virus which is suspected of causing birth defects, has reached Europe with reported cases found in Britain, Denmark and Portugal.

Last Saturday, Public Health England confirmed that as of Jan. 18, three British travelers associated with travel to Colombia, Suriname and Guyana, have been diagnosed with the Zika virus. Moreover, a Danish citizen who traveled to Latin America and returned to Denmark had been diagnosed with the Zika virus on Tuesday, making it the first case discovered in the country, according to Aarhus University Hospital where the patient was hospitalized. On Wednesday this week, Portuguese authorities also confirmed that five cases of the Zika virus had been diagnosed, according to the National Health Institute Doctor Ricardo Jorge (INSA).

The five diagnosed in Portugal contracted the virus in Brazil, said INSA. Portuguese Health Minister Adalberto Campos Fernandes said that the Portuguese can be reassured the situation about the Zika virus is under control and the risk is confined.(Xinhua)…[+]

A tour boat capsized off the coast of Nicaragua, killing at least 13 people and leaving more passengers missing, officials said. The boat was carrying 32 people — 25 Costa Ricans, four Americans and three Nicaraguans, Costa Rica’s foreign ministry said.

The 13 dead were all Costa Rican, the foreign ministry said, citing the Nicaraguan foreign ministry. Nicaraguan officials did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. The boat, traveling between Nicaragua’s Big Corn Island and Little Corn Island, flipped over Saturday near the larger island, Nicaragua’s state-run El 19 Digital news agency said. Some passengers remain missing, the Costa Rican foreign ministry said, but did not specify how many.(CNN)…[+]

CANBERRA — Smoking among Australia’s youth has reached a record low, with researchers attributing the steady decline to tighter regulation of tobacco products.

An Australian study, published in the Journal of Public Health Research and Practice on Thursday, found 3.4 percent of Australian adolescents, aged 12 to 17, smoked daily.

This compares with the latest state data from New South Wales (NSW) in 2014, which put the figure closer to 6.7 percent for heavy, light or occasional’ smokers of the same age. In 1996, 23.5 percent of adolescents in NSW were classed in that category. Over the past 20 years, the Australian government has adopted several anti-smoking measures, including heavily taxing all tobacco products, pulling tobacco advertisement from television and film and introducing smoke-free environments. In 2012, Australia introduced plain packaging for all tobacco-related products, in a world-first designed to make smoking less appealing to impression young kids. (Xinhua)…[+]

BEIJING   — President Xi Jinping has underscored the need to implement the “strictest” measures to ensure food safety. Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks in an instruction published Thursday.

Noting the impact that food safety has on people’s livelihoods and public confidence in the government, Xi called on all authorities to perform their due duty with the people at the forefront of all work. The reputation of food safety in China is grave, Xi said, adding that there needs to be a more unified, authoritative supervision system as well as supporting regulations.

He said the strongest measures were needed, featuring rigorous standards, strict supervision, serious punishments and an authoritative accountability system. In a separate instruction, Premier Li Keqiang pledged “zero tolerance” to food safety violations, promising timely and harsh punishment for guilty parties. He urged government agencies to continue tackling the big issues related to food safety and to remember that the interests of the people were their top priority.(Xinhua)…[+]

NEW DELHI (Xinhua) — Indian police have detained a Syrian national in the western state of Goa on charges of overstaying in India, police official claimed on Wednesday. “The Syrian national was picked up from an offshore casino off the coast of Goa late Monday night following tip-off from intelligence agencies,” a senior police official said. He added: “We can’t reveal his name due to security reasons. But he is being questioned to find any kind of terror connection.” A week ago, another Syrian national, Mussa Alareef, was booked by the police in Goa for overstaying in India, and the Syrian Embassy has been informed about his arrest, the official said…[+]

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) — Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said on Tuesday that the debris found in Thailand was not from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

A metal object found in southern Thailand during the weekend has fueled speculation that it was from the missing Boeing 777. Liow said a Malaysian team comprising officials from the Department of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Transport and Malaysia Airlines has examined the recovered debris.

“From their detailed report, they have ascertained that the part assembly number, wire bundle number and bolts part number do not match those of a Boeing 777,” he said in a statement. “Additionally, the part numbers which were found on the recovered debris are not listed in the MAS B777 Illustrated Parts Catalogue manual. Based on these identifying details, the team has confirmed that the debris does not belong to a B777 9M-MRO aircraft (MH370),” he added. Liow said Malaysia remained committed to continuing the search effort in the Southern Indian Ocean. The aircraft disappeared on March 8, 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with a total of 239 passengers on board…[+]

SAN DIEGO (Xinhua) — No evidence or signs of casualties were found after sweeps of a building at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego where an active gunshot was reported Tuesday morning, said a Navy commanding officer.

“A DoD (Department of Defense) employee reported the gun shot… the initial report was not through phone call, it was made in person,” Capt. Curt Jones, commanding officer of Naval Base San Diego, said at a press conference in the afternoon.

“We are now clearing the building for couple of times… moving people out of the building, and we (have) not found anything which substantiates the earlier report,” Jones said. An active shooter was reported around 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning in the southern California border city of San Diego. Local police officer confirmed a single witness reporting three gunshots fired in the basement of Building 26 of the center.

“An active shooter has just been been reported in building #26 at Naval Medical Center San Diego. All occupants are advised to run, hide or fight,” the Center posted on its Facebook page. “We don’t take any of these calls as a joke, we take them very seriously,” San Diego Police Department Chief Shelley Zimmerman told Xinhua…[+]