Colombia earthquake toll passes 200 as rescuers dig through Cali US helicopter disables cargo ship as Hormuz stays shut Russian barrage kills at least ten as Kyiv warns of new mobilisation Syria sentences Assad and eight others to death for war crimes Iran to join BRICS Bank as war economy sheds jobs Congo's Ebola toll passes 2,000 as deaths accelerate Cargo ship burns in Bab al-Mandeb as strikes kill crew and rescuers Spain fights worst wildfires in years as new heatwave hits Europe Credit and power questions follow Nvidia's AI pact Attackers kill 60 in South Sudan cattle raid Aid agencies say eastern Chad is past breaking point as Sudanese flee Taipei condemns planned Chinese-Indonesian drill east of Taiwan Gaza medical evacuations stall as US plan makes no progress Palestinians urge Security Council to act on West Bank settlements North Korea fires ballistic missile ahead of US-South Korean exercise Drone halts flights at Hanover as Romania destroys drones at sea Meta on trial over youth addiction as court clears thousands of suits Relief and doubt in Kurdish southeast after Turkey's PKK dissolution vote Hong Kong urges parents not to delay shots after US cuts vaccine schedule Drones set Zawiya oil tanks ablaze after Haftar intelligence chief killed China's car market shrinks for a tenth month as exports surge Study traces Ceuta migrant surge to viral videos as Morocco builds barrier Intel raises $20bn as Sony and TSMC seal Japan sensor venture Trump flown out of Turkey on second jet after Iranian threat Unitree's Shanghai IPO oversubscribed 5,500 times Low water on the Rhine forces first production cuts in Germany Russia frees former US Marine Robert Gilman after four years Qatar backs Turkey-Saudi-Pakistan defence pact as India weighs fallout Rights groups sue Trump administration over ICC sanctions UN says 2.4 million Afghan girls are barred from secondary school Fuel shortage and refinery fire add to strain on Russia's economy Britain approves Eli Lilly's obesity pill in a European first Chinese AI models top global rankings as Beijing tightens rules Israeli strike kills one in Lebanon as Beirut slows talks Lebanon abolishes the death penalty Spotify and Anthropic move to label AI-generated content US immigration agents could get electric-shock gloves Meta unwinds $2 billion Manus deal after Beijing's block Hungary's parliament elects Orban critic Baka as president French newspapers file complaint over Google's AI summaries At least 15 dead after ferry capsizes on Lake Kariba IAEA delegation to visit Syria over nuclear material left by Assad government China's C919 begins first international passenger service Hanwha offers to buy builder of US Navy ships Investigation documents rape of women recruited from Russian prisons as front-line medics Truck collision in Ismailia kills 18, most of them child labourers Judge widens block on Trump's mail-in voting rules Yen intervention fades as Tokyo and Washington split over BOJ Israel and Venezuela restore consular ties after 17 years Panama Canal fees hit record as drought and Iran war squeeze shipping Thailand suspends gun licences after school shooting Philippine vice-president charged over alleged threat to kill Marcos Castro grandson emerges as broker in talks with Washington Golden Dome contractors complete first tests Madagascar divides mpox vaccine doses as outbreak grows US and Canada work to finalise trade deal Trump backs Infantino in FIFA power struggle BSW would tolerate an AfD state premier in Saxony-Anhalt China seeks framework as residential land leases expire Zambia votes as debt and copper revenues dominate campaign Sweida residents expect Damascus to assert control Mine dump collapse kills at least 14 in South Africa Colombia earthquake toll passes 200 as rescuers dig through Cali US helicopter disables cargo ship as Hormuz stays shut Russian barrage kills at least ten as Kyiv warns of new mobilisation Syria sentences Assad and eight others to death for war crimes Iran to join BRICS Bank as war economy sheds jobs Congo's Ebola toll passes 2,000 as deaths accelerate Cargo ship burns in Bab al-Mandeb as strikes kill crew and rescuers Spain fights worst wildfires in years as new heatwave hits Europe Credit and power questions follow Nvidia's AI pact Attackers kill 60 in South Sudan cattle raid Aid agencies say eastern Chad is past breaking point as Sudanese flee Taipei condemns planned Chinese-Indonesian drill east of Taiwan Gaza medical evacuations stall as US plan makes no progress Palestinians urge Security Council to act on West Bank settlements North Korea fires ballistic missile ahead of US-South Korean exercise Drone halts flights at Hanover as Romania destroys drones at sea Meta on trial over youth addiction as court clears thousands of suits Relief and doubt in Kurdish southeast after Turkey's PKK dissolution vote Hong Kong urges parents not to delay shots after US cuts vaccine schedule Drones set Zawiya oil tanks ablaze after Haftar intelligence chief killed China's car market shrinks for a tenth month as exports surge Study traces Ceuta migrant surge to viral videos as Morocco builds barrier Intel raises $20bn as Sony and TSMC seal Japan sensor venture Trump flown out of Turkey on second jet after Iranian threat Unitree's Shanghai IPO oversubscribed 5,500 times Low water on the Rhine forces first production cuts in Germany Russia frees former US Marine Robert Gilman after four years Qatar backs Turkey-Saudi-Pakistan defence pact as India weighs fallout Rights groups sue Trump administration over ICC sanctions UN says 2.4 million Afghan girls are barred from secondary school Fuel shortage and refinery fire add to strain on Russia's economy Britain approves Eli Lilly's obesity pill in a European first Chinese AI models top global rankings as Beijing tightens rules Israeli strike kills one in Lebanon as Beirut slows talks Lebanon abolishes the death penalty Spotify and Anthropic move to label AI-generated content US immigration agents could get electric-shock gloves Meta unwinds $2 billion Manus deal after Beijing's block Hungary's parliament elects Orban critic Baka as president French newspapers file complaint over Google's AI summaries At least 15 dead after ferry capsizes on Lake Kariba IAEA delegation to visit Syria over nuclear material left by Assad government China's C919 begins first international passenger service Hanwha offers to buy builder of US Navy ships Investigation documents rape of women recruited from Russian prisons as front-line medics Truck collision in Ismailia kills 18, most of them child labourers Judge widens block on Trump's mail-in voting rules Yen intervention fades as Tokyo and Washington split over BOJ Israel and Venezuela restore consular ties after 17 years Panama Canal fees hit record as drought and Iran war squeeze shipping Thailand suspends gun licences after school shooting Philippine vice-president charged over alleged threat to kill Marcos Castro grandson emerges as broker in talks with Washington Golden Dome contractors complete first tests Madagascar divides mpox vaccine doses as outbreak grows US and Canada work to finalise trade deal Trump backs Infantino in FIFA power struggle BSW would tolerate an AfD state premier in Saxony-Anhalt China seeks framework as residential land leases expire Zambia votes as debt and copper revenues dominate campaign Sweida residents expect Damascus to assert control Mine dump collapse kills at least 14 in South Africa

Symbolic image: Hong Kong urges parents not to delay shots after US cuts vaccine schedule

Symbolic image

Hong Kong urges parents not to delay shots after US cuts vaccine schedule

4 sources

A US executive order cuts the childhood vaccines federal agencies recommend from 17 diseases to 11 and lengthens the gaps between doses. Hong Kong's health authority pushed back on Tuesday.

Trump signed the order on Monday, 10 August; it also splits the combined measles, mumps and rubella shot into single injections. According to FAZ, vaccines against hepatitis A and B, Covid-19, rotavirus, meningococcal, RSV and influenza, and per the South China Morning Post also dengue, are no longer recommended for all children but only for certain high-risk groups. Trump said the MMR shot could be deadly and, asked by a reporter for evidence, said there was none; he repeated the disproven claim linking measles vaccination to autism and pointed to European practice. Parents could still choose all vaccines, he said.

Hong Kong defends its own programme

The Centre for Health Protection said on Tuesday that health policy must rest on scientific evidence and that vaccination schedules should not be altered arbitrarily without reliable data, citing irreversible risks to children. Its own programme covers 11 diseases from birth to Primary Six.

What the evidence says

FAZ notes single MMR vaccines are not currently available in the US and that the Cochrane Collaboration found no higher autism rate among children vaccinated against measles.

Other opinions

SCMP frames the order around Hong Kong's own programme and leaves aside Trump's autism claim, which FAZ centres on.