Global News Roundup: India Battles Nipah Virus, Italian Town Collapses, and More
Global events unfolded on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, encompassing health crises, political tragedy, and infrastructure failures.
Across Asia, authorities in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia implemented precautionary measures following the detection of two Nipah virus cases in India, according to Sky News. The Indian health ministry stated the cases were identified in the eastern state of West Bengal in late December. Temperature screening was set up at airports to prevent the spread of the highly lethal virus.
In India, a plane crash claimed the lives of five people, including Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra state, Sky News reported. The private plane crashed en route from Mumbai to Pawar's home city, Baramati. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Pawar after the incident. The cause of the crash, which occurred in an open field approximately 159 miles (254 km) from Mumbai, remains unknown. The aircraft burst into flames upon impact, leaving no survivors.
Southern Sicily faced a natural disaster as heavy rain triggered a landslide in the town of Niscemi, forcing the evacuation of 1,500 residents, Sky News reported. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni visited Niscemi, where dozens of houses were left "uninhabitable," teetering on the edge of a cliff after the ground collapsed. Some structures and cars were also damaged.
In Haiti, gang violence continued to escalate, leading to a surge in sexual violence cases, Euronews reported. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported a tripling in the number of sexual abuse cases being treated at a clinic in Haiti's capital over the past four years. Diana Manilla Arroyo, MSF's head of mission in Haiti, expressed alarm, stating, "The extent to which numbers have increased, it has shocked us." Gangs control approximately 90% of the capital since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
In Sweden, Gröna Lund amusement park was fined nearly €588,000 (€491,000) in connection with a 2023 rollercoaster derailment, according to Euronews. The incident, which occurred on June 25, 2023, on the Jetline ride, resulted in one fatality and nine injuries. Witnesses described a chaotic scene where the front of the train appeared to jump off the tracks, with one car tilting toward the ground. Three people were thrown from the rollercoaster.
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