• Centrist Chronicle
  • Posts
  • England's Measles Surge, Russia's Navalny Outrage, NASA's Double Success

England's Measles Surge, Russia's Navalny Outrage, NASA's Double Success

Just reporting the facts.

Author

Centrist Chronicle
February 20, 2024

Top Stories

If you no longer wish to receive the latest, no-spin news updates from Centrist Chronicle, click here to unsubscribe


The most significant measles outbreak England has seen in over ten years has expanded beyond its initial center in the West Midlands, now affecting various regions across the nation, recent official figures reveal. The majority of these cases, about two-thirds, involve children aged 10 and below, with nearly half of the cases occurring in children younger than 4 years old.

Measles, a highly infectious disease, can lead to rashes, fever, and complications in breathing. The most severe cases, especially in young children, can lead to pneumonia-related deaths, and about one in every 1,000 instances can cause encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain. The introduction of a measles vaccine in 1963 dramatically reduced the global death toll from 6 million per year to approximately 100,000.

The number of confirmed measles cases in the UK has surged from 17 in October to over 250 by January. In contrast, the United States, with a population five times larger than the UK's, reported only 58 cases in the entirety of the last year.

In Russia, nearly 400 individuals were detained during protests following the death of imprisoned opposition figure Alexei Navalny, as reported by human rights organizations. Navalny, aged 47, reportedly died on Friday due to sudden death syndrome, a broad term often used to describe unexplained causes of cardiac arrest, according to prison authorities who announced this on Saturday. Navalny's relatives have faced difficulties in locating his remains.

Navalny, renowned for his activism on YouTube and a former presidential contender, had garnered a following of 6 million people through his investigative videos uncovering corruption within Russia under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin. After surviving a poisoning attempt with a Soviet-era nerve agent in late 2020, Navalny was treated in Germany. He was arrested in 2021 upon his voluntary return to Russia. His passing occurred just one month prior to elections in which Putin is anticipated to secure a fifth term as president, facing minimal opposition.

In related news, Russian military forces declared on Sunday their takeover of Avdiivka, an eastern Ukrainian town. This represents Russia's most substantial territorial acquisition since seizing the city of Bakhmut in May.


NASA has completed the tally of asteroid samples brought back by its spacecraft last autumn, achieving twice the anticipated amount of cosmic debris.

On Thursday, NASA announced that the Osiris-Rex mission succeeded in gathering 121.6 grams (4.29 ounces) of material, comprising dust and pebbles, from the asteroid Bennu. This quantity, equivalent to just over half a cup, represents the largest sample ever retrieved from beyond the moon.

The process of opening the sample container was delayed due to issues with jammed fasteners, taking NASA more time than initially planned.