Geneva
Swine flu is over: The swine flu pandemic has officially ended, the World Health Organization said this week. “We are now moving into the post-pandemic period,” said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan. Since being declared a pandemic last year, the H1N1 virus has killed more than 18,000 people—far fewer than the hundreds of thousands that experts initially feared. Chan credited “pure good luck” for the lower death toll, citing the failure of the virus to mutate to a more lethal strain and the prompt development of an effective vaccine. The WHO expects remnants of H1N1 to continue to circulate for several years, posing about the same threat to public health as other strains of flu.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fashion model’s ‘blood diamonds’: The war-crimes trial of former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor took a bizarre turn this week as supermodel Naomi Campbell was accused of lying about a gift of uncut diamonds from Taylor. Prosecutors seek to prove that Taylor trafficked in blood diamonds—gems that are used to buy arms—to fund his brutal wars in West Africa. At the International Criminal Court, Campbell admitted receiving three uncut stones in her room after a 1997 dinner party at Nelson Mandela’s house, at which Taylor was also a guest, but she said she didn’t know who had sent them. Actress Mia Farrow, another guest at the party, testified that Campbell had bragged of receiving the diamonds from Taylor. Campbell’s former agent, Carole White, testified that the model had discussed diamonds with Taylor at dinner. “Naomi, I think, was flirting with him,” she said, “and he was flirting back.”
Hamburg, Germany
9/11 mosque closed: German police have closed the Hamburg mosque attended by the 9/11 hijackers, saying it once again had become a meeting place for extremists. The mosque was home base for Mohamed Atta and two other 9/11 pilots, as well as for some of the plotters of the attacks. It has been under surveillance since 2001, and German intelligence officials say it’s back to functioning as a jihadist hub. “Young men are being turned into religious fanatics there,” said Christoph Althaus, Hamburg’s top security official. He said dozens of worshippers from the mosque are known to have attended military training camps in Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
-
Weapons: Julia Garner stars in 'hyper-eerie' psychological thrillerThe Week Recommends Zach Cregger's 'top notch' new film opens with 17 children disappearing at exactly the same time
-
Freakier Friday: Lohan and Curtis reunite for 'uneven' but 'endearing' sequelThe Week Recommends Mother-and-daughter comedy returns with four characters switching bodies
-
Al fresco art: the UK's best sculpture parksThe Week Recommends Soak up the scenery with a stroll through these open-air galleries
-
The news at a glance...Internationalfeature International
-
The bottom line
feature Youthful startup founders; High salaries for anesthesiologists; The myth of too much homework; More mothers stay a home; Audiences are down, but box office revenue rises
-
The week at a glance...Americas
feature Americas
-
The news at a glance...United States
feature United States
-
The news at a glance
feature Comcast defends planned TWC merger; Toyota recalls 6.39 million vehicles; Takeda faces $6 billion in damages; American updates loyalty program; Regulators hike leverage ratio
-
The bottom line
feature The rising cost of graduate degrees; NSA surveillance affects tech profits; A glass ceiling for female chefs?; Bonding to a brand name; Generous Wall Street bonuses
-
The news at a glance
feature GM chief faces Congress; FBI targets high-frequency trading; Yellen confirms continued low rates; BofA settles mortgage claims for $9.3B; Apple and Samsung duke it out
-
The week at a glance...International
feature International