Mystery illness hospitalizes 200 in India
NEW DELHI — At least one person has died and 200 others have been hospitalized from an unidentified illness in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, reports said Monday.
The illness was detected Saturday evening in Eluru, an ancient city famous for its hand-woven products. Since then, patients have experienced symptoms ranging from nausea and anxiety to loss of consciousness, doctors said.
A 45-year-old man who was hospitalized with symptoms similar to epilepsy and nausea died Sunday evening, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Officials are trying to determine the cause of the illness. So far, water samples from affected areas haven’t shown any signs of contamination, and the chief minister’s office said people not linked to the municipal water supply have also fallen ill. The patients are of different ages and have tested negative for covid-19 and other viral diseases such as dengue, chikungunya or herpes.
An expert team appointed by the federal government reached the city to investigate the sudden illness Monday.
State chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy visited a government hospital and met patients who were ill. Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu demanded on Twitter an “impartial, full-fledged inquiry into the incident.”
Iran, U.S. hail easing in Persian Gulf
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Monday it was glad the United States “got the message” and modified its behavior in the Persian Gulf, after the top U.S. Navy official in the region said his forces had reached a state of deterrence with Iran after months of regional attacks and seizures at sea.
“We are happy that the other party has got the message and made its behavior more respectful,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters. He said the U.S. military is the “main source of tension” in the region and that Iranian forces have always acted professionally.
“Unfortunately, the U.S. has often had an unprofessional approach toward Iran’s navy,” he said.
He was responding to Vice Adm. Sam Paparo’s remarks, delivered at a conference in Bahrain on Sunday. Paparo, who oversees the Navy’s 5th Fleet based in Bahrain, said the two sides had reached a state of “uneasy deterrence” and that he had a “healthy respect” for Iran’s regular navy and the naval forces of its Revolutionary Guard.
Tensions remain high over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and imposed heavy sanctions on Iran. The killing of Iran’s top general in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in January pushed the two countries to the brink of war, with Iran responding with a missile attack on U.S. forces.
King equal under law, Spaniard says
MADRID — A Spanish government official said Monday that Juan Carlos I deserves no special treatment by the legal system, amid reports the former monarch is preparing to admit alleged undeclared income.
National newspapers El Pais and El Mundo cited unidentified sources in their reports that the former king, who in August went to live abroad amid a financial scandal, wants to confess to nonpayment of taxes. El País said the undeclared income amounts to more than $605,000.
Under Spanish law, confessing to undeclared income and paying the outstanding taxes allows offenders to avoid being charged with a crime.
The former monarch’s legal team didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment. After he left Spain, Juan Carlos went to stay in the United Arab Emirates, but it is not clear whether he is still there.
Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos said in an interview Monday with public broadcaster RTVE that “everybody is equal before the law, for better or for worse.”
Romanian premier quits after election
BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania’s center-right prime minister resigned Monday after a general election in which voters delivered nominal victory to the left-leaning, populist opposition party.
With 95% of votes counted in Sunday’s election, Ludovic Orban’s National Liberal Party has been defeated by the populist Social Democrat Party. But the Social Democrats appear unlikely to emerge on top in what promises to be prolonged post-election wrangling to form a new coalition government.
Orban — who is also the party leader — said he was resigning from government because the National Liberal Party had to focus on talks to establish a new parliamentary majority.
“My objective is to form a majority that will not include the PSD,” he said, using the Romanian acronym for the Social Democrat Party.
“I want my resignation to show clearly that I am not holding onto any position,” Orban said. “I place Romania’s interests above [the National Liberal Party’s] interests and above my personal interests.”
Orban’s Cabinet will remain in office in a caretaker capacity, but under Romania’s law must be replaced by a new administration within 45 days.