Brazil Water Crisis Seen Worsening As Sao Paulo Nears ‘Collapse’

Sao Paulo residents were warned by a top government regulator today to brace for more severe water shortages as President Dilma Rousseff makes the crisis a key campaign issue ahead of this weekend’s runoff vote. “If the drought continues, residents will face more dramatic water shortages in the short term,” Vicente Andreu, president of Brazil’s National Water Agency and a member of Rousseff’s Workers’ Party, told reporters in Sao Paulo. “If it doesn’t rain, we run the risk that the region will have a collapse like we’ve never seen before,” he later told state lawmakers.

Ebola Pandemic Update: Probable Cases In Brazil And Paris, 7 More Isolated In Spain, WHO Warning

Despite claims of containment, Reuters reports seven more people turned themselves in late on Thursday to an Ebola isolation unit in Madrid; but following a visit by PM Rajoy, Spanish citizens can relax as the government is setting up a special Ebola committee. Following yesterday’s scare in Paris, The Independent reports authorities are investigating a ‘probable’ case of a French national who may have contracted the disease in Africa. The World Health organization has warned that East Asia is at risk of becoming a “hot spot” for diseases – but is well prepared after SARS and avian flu but it is the appearance of a confirmed case in Brazil that is most concerning.