UNDAIDS chief: HIV infections could jump over 6 times if US support is dropped

LONDON (AP) — The head of the U.N. AIDS agency says the number of new HIV infections could jump more than six times by 2029 if American support of the biggest AIDS program is dropped. UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima warned that millions of people could die and more resistant strains of the disease could emerge. Since President Donald Trump’s announcement the U.S. would freeze all foreign assistance for 90 days, Byanyima said officials estimate that by 2029, there could be 8.7 million people newly infected with HIV, a tenfold jump in AIDS-related deaths of 6.3 million and an additional 3.4 million children made orphans.

Israeli police raid Palestinian bookshop in east Jerusalem and seize books

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police have raided a long-established Palestinian-owned bookstore in east Jerusalem, detaining the owners and confiscating books about the decades-long conflict. The police claimed the books incited violence. The Educational Bookshop, established over 40 years ago, is a hub of intellectual life in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed to its capital in a move not recognized internationally. The three-story bookstore, raided on Sunday, has a large selection of scholarly and popular books about the conflict and the wider Middle East, including many by Israeli and Jewish authors. The owner, the Muna brothers were in court in Jerusalem on Monday. Their appeal was denied.

Ecuador’s conservative incumbent and a leftist lawyer advance to presidential runoff

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador will choose its next president in a runoff election in April between conservative incumbent Daniel Noboa and leftist lawyer Luisa González. Neither won outright in Sunday’s first-round election but both were well ahead of the other 14 candidates. The run-off on April 13 will be a repeat of the October 2023 snap election that earned Noboa a 16-month presidency. He and González are now vying for a full four-year term, promising voters to reduce the country’s widespread criminal activity. The spike in violence across the South American country is tied to the trafficking of cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru.

At least 51 are dead after a bus plunged off a bridge in Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — At least 51 people are dead after their bus plunged off a bridge Monday on the outskirts of Guatemala’s capital, said Hector Flores, who was helping coordinate the municipal government’s response. Firefighting spokesman Edwin Villagran said a multi-vehicle crash sent the bus off the bridge before dawn. Others were seriously injured. The bus fell 115 feet into a sewage-polluted stream. It landed upside down and half-submerged. The bus had come from Progreso, northeast of the capital. Volunteer firefighting spokesman Ôscar Sánchez said children were among the victims.