Hackers are coming for your health data

Since the Taliban returned to power in August, life in Afghanistan has become more and more difficult. The country, which was already beset by an economic crisis, is now confronted with a worsening humanitarian catastrophe. Billions of dollars in aid money have dried up, funding for hospitals is non-existent and nearly half the population faces acute hunger. Our team on the ground reports.

Hackers breached a Federal Bureau of Investigation email system and sent thousands of fake messages, according to the US law enforcement agency. The FBI said it has shut down the server.

Three-time FIFA World Cup winner Pele on Thursday stated he is feeling "better" and quipped that he can`t wait to get back to playing the beautiful game. Considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time, Pele has been in poor health in recent years and has had quite a few stints in the hospital.

FBI agents managed to foil a number of plots to influence the election results, which involved hacking a media company and abusing social media. The hackers allegedly took details from 100,000 voters.

Health Minister Jens Spahn has stressed there's an alternative to Germany's homegrown BioNTech-Pfizer jab. He had come under fire from medical groups for limiting supplies in order to use up the country's Moderna stock.

Opponents of the certificate, which restricts entry to events and restaurants to mostly vaccinated people, forced Sunday's referendum. Most voters, instead, have backed the government's approach.

Russia is one of the countries with the lowest vaccination rates and highest Covid-19 death rates in the world. With just over 30 percent of the population vaccinated, the Russian authorities' vaccination campaign has been deemed a fiasco. And yet when Vladimir Putin announced the launch of the Sputnik V vaccine in summer 2020, it was supposed to "save humanity from Covid". More than a year later, the jab has still not arrived on the European market and the majority of Russians do not trust it.

The leader of the UK's opposition Labour party said on Sunday (December 12) that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had broken the public's trust over COVID-19 regulations, making him "unfit for public office." Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Keir Starmer said Johnson posed a risk to public health following reports that parties were held at Downing Street during a 2020 Christmas lockdown when such festivities were banned.

A quarter of couples experience infertility despite regular sex, according to the French national research institute INSERM. The reasons include exposure to pollutants, endocrine disruptors, trying for a child later on in life, smoking and obesity. But in more than 15 percent of cases, the cause of the infertility remains unconfirmed. France's health minister has decided to take action by putting together a working group to better understand the issue and suggest changes by the end of the year. FRANCE 24's Eléonore Vanel and Camille Nedelec report.

Digital sovereignty is a key idea in the internet age — the idea that parties must have sovereignty over their own digital data. This can be applied on an individual basis or toward nations — the bottom line is that digital sovereignty involves consideration of how data and digital assets are treated.

The war-torn country's health system has been facing a severe crisis since the Taliban takeover, which resulted in the suspension of much-needed international aid.

Germany is Europe's economic powerhouse, with fantastic medical facilities and highly qualified professionals. But the fourth wave of the pandemic is threatening to bring the health care sector to its knees.