WHO, scientists call for urgent action on mpox strain
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- “There is a critical need to address the recent surge in mpox cases in Africa,” Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for mpox, said
- John Claude Udahemuka of the University of Rwanda said the strain spreading there was extremely dangerous
LONDON: The spread of mpox in Africa needs to be addressed urgently, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as scientists warned separately of a dangerous strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“There is a critical need to address the recent surge in mpox cases in Africa,” Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for mpox, said in a briefing note to journalists.
In a separate briefing, John Claude Udahemuka of the University of Rwanda, who has been working on an outbreak in Congo’s hard-to-reach South Kivu province, said the strain spreading there — a mutated version of the clade I mpox endemic in Congo for decades — was extremely dangerous. It has fatality rates of around 5 percent in adults and 10 percent in children.
This year, roughly 8,600 mpox cases have been reported in Congo, and 410 deaths, Cris Kacita, the doctor in charge of operations in the country’s mpox control program, told Reuters last week.
Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact, causing flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most cases are mild but it can kill.
A different, less severe form of the virus — clade IIb — spread globally in 2022, largely through sexual contact among men who have sex with men. This prompted the WHO to declare a public health emergency. Although that has ended, Lewis said on Tuesday the disease remained a health threat. Two people died in South Africa this month of this form of the virus after a handful of cases were diagnosed.
Vaccines and treatments were used to combat the global outbreak, but they are not available in Congo.
The WHO and scientists said efforts were ongoing to address that.
In South Kivu, Adahemuka and other researchers said the new strain was spreading partly by sexual contact among men and women, and particularly among sex workers.
He said other close contact routes needed study, with evidence of transmission at school and from caregiver to child. The disease also seemed to be causing miscarriages among pregnant women as well as a longer-term rash and other lingering symptoms, the team said.
Leandre Murhula Masirika, research co-ordinator in the health department in South Kivu province, said 20 cases were arriving at hospital in the mining town of Kamituga every week.
“At the rate things are going, we risk becoming a source of cases for other countries,” said Kacita. South Kivu borders Rwanda and Burundi.
He said 24 of 26 provinces in Congo were affected and the outbreak was the worst mpox epidemic yet.
“Every criminal involved in the planning and execution of these strikes must know that justice will be served“
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday welcomed a decision from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Russia’s chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, and former defense minister Sergei Shoigu.
The warrants — issued over strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure that constitute alleged war crimes — are the latest in a series of actions by the court over the Ukraine war, including an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“These barbaric missile and drone strikes continue to kill people and inflict damage across Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
“This decision is a clear indication that justice for Russian crimes against Ukrainians is inevitable,” he added.
“Every criminal involved in the planning and execution of these strikes must know that justice will be served. And we do hope to see them behind bars,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on social media.
The two men are accused of the war crimes of directing attacks at civilian objects and causing excessive incidental harm to civilians, as well as the crime against humanity of “inhumane acts” in Ukraine, the ICC said in a statement.
The Ukrainian presidency’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote that “Shoigu and Gerasimov bear individual responsibility” for the strikes.
“This is an important decision. Everyone will be held accountable for evil,” he said.
“Every war criminal should be held accountable,” said Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets.
The country’s prosecutor general’s office also welcomed the news in a statement.
“This is a new significant step toward full accountability for the aggressor,” it said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday welcomed a decision from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Russia’s chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, and former defense minister Sergei Shoigu. (AFP/File)
NAIROBI: Thousands of Kenyan anti-tax protesters have entered parliament, and part of the building is on fire. Legislators are evacuating.
Police earlier Tuesday fired live ammunition at the protesters in the capital, Nairobi, as thousands continued to rally and demand that legislators vote against new taxes proposed in a controversial finance bill.
The protesters outmaneuvered police to enter parliament after legislators voted to pass the bill.
Police fired live bullets at the protesters, and journalists saw some bodies outside parliament moments before some protesters breached security.
Lawmakers fled through a tunnel, but protesters allowed opposition legislators who voted against the bill to walk out of the besieged building.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission shared a video of officers shooting at protesters and said they would be held to account.
Two people died in similar protests last week.
The finance bill introduces new taxes, including an eco-levy that would raise the price of goods like sanitary towels and diapers.
The Kenya Law Society President Faith Odhiambo said 50 Kenyans, including her personal assistant, had been “abducted” by people believed to be police officers.
Some of those missing included those who were vocal in the ongoing demonstrations and were taken away from their homes, workplaces and public spaces in the run-up to Tuesday’s protests, according to civil society groups.
Police officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Parliament Speaker Moses Wetangula directed the inspector general of police to provide information on the whereabouts of those the opposition said were abducted by police.
President William Ruto was outside the capital attending an African Union retreat. On Sunday, he said he was proud of the young people who had come out to exercise their democratic duty and said he would engage the youth on their concerns.
- While antisemitism has been on the rise worldwide, it is a particularly sensitive subject in Germany, where Jewish institutions are under heavy police protection
- Anti-Muslim incidents registered in Germany also rose last year, the CLAIM network of NGOs monitoring Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred said
BERLIN: Antisemitic incidents in Germany, from graffiti to attempted arson, rose around 83 percent last year, watchdog RIAS said on Tuesday, surging after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Around half the 4,782 recorded antisemitic incidents were linked with anti-Israel activism, with many involving a relativization or denial of the Nazi Holocaust in which 6 million Jews were killed, RIAS said.
While antisemitism has been on the rise worldwide, it is a particularly sensitive subject in Germany, where Jewish institutions are under heavy police protection.
Critics including prominent Jewish-German intellectuals say this has led to German authorities and media failing to differentiate sufficiently between antisemitism and criticism of Israel and as a result curbing freedom of speech.
In the week after the Hamas-led attack, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated the idea of Israel’s security as a “reason of state” or matter of national interest for Germany.
In its antisemitism report, RIAS cited incidents such as the destruction of Israeli flags hung in solidarity with Israel after Oct. 7. In another incident, “Free Palestine from Zionists” was scrawled on a toilet door and the words “Save Israel” and Star of David scratched off.
Felix Klein, the government official charged with coordinating the fight against antisemitism, has said antisemitism was already on the rise before Oct. 7, in part driven by the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD).
The AfD has said Germany, which has a Jewish population of about 225,000, should move on from atoning for its past crimes, with members accused — and in some cases convicted — of using Nazi language.
Klein said many incidents since then could be traced back to Germany’s growing Muslim community, and urged Muslim associations to speak up more against this.
Anti-Muslim incidents registered in Germany also rose last year, the CLAIM network of NGOs monitoring Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred said on Monday.
Israel says around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 hostages seized in the Oct. 7 attack. The Israeli offensive launched in retaliation in Gaza has killed more than 37,600 people, Palestinian health authorities say.
- Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by eight runs in St. Lucia in Caribbean to qualify ahead of 2021 champion Australia
- In the semifinals, Afghanistan will take on unbeaten South Africa in Tarouba, Trinidad on Wednesday night
KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghans in their thousands took to the streets to celebrate their men’s national cricket team reaching the Twenty20 World Cup semifinals for the first time on Tuesday.
Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by a nervy eight runs in St. Lucia in the Caribbean to qualify ahead of 2021 champion Australia.
Big screens in various cities drew huge gatherings, even though the match started at 5 a.m. Kabul time.
“I can’t find words to explain my happiness at this moment, it is a massive victory for all Afghans,” said Shah Mohammad, 42, from Kabul. “We are so proud of our national team. They have created such a happy moment for us, and now we are optimistic that the team will make it to the final.”
In the semifinals, Afghanistan will take on unbeaten South Africa in Tarouba, Trinidad on Wednesday night (Thursday morning for Afghans). India plays defending champion England in the other semi.
“All (eyes) on the next one !!,” Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan posted on X. “This is for each and every (Afghanistan) fan who believed in us and kept us going.”
Khan was congratulated in a video call after the match by Taliban acting minister of foreign affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Former president Hamid Karzai also applauded the team and the country. “I offer my heartfelt congratulations to all the countrymen, especially the players of the national cricket team, and wish them continued success,” Karzai wrote on X.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board displayed pictures of the jubilant cricketers including Khan and Gulbadin Naib embracing after the team defended a small revised total of 114 runs against Bangladesh.
“This VICTORY means the world to us!,” the ACB wrote on X. “Congratulations to the entire nation.”
Afghan cricket fans in different countries celebrated the historic achievement by posting videos of them doing the national dance, known as Attan.
Afghanistan’s feat is a mild surprise. It was building to it. It reached the second round at the last three T20 World Cups. This time, it knocked out New Zealand in the group stage, and beat former champion Australia for the first time last weekend.
Three of the top five wicket-takers in the tournament are from Afghanistan. Fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi has a leading 16. Khan, who grabbed a match-winning four-wicket haul against Bangladesh, has 14. Fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq has 13.
The opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have stitched together three century partnerships and are among the top three leading run-scorers in the tournament with 281 and 229 respectively.
Rashid, who was carried on the shoulders of his teammates during a victory lap in St. Lucia, believed their performances will inspire Afghan youth.
Those youth, however, will not include girls. As phenomenal as the men’s success is, it puts in stark contrast the fate of the women’s national team, which was dropped as soon as the Taliban seized power in 2021 after the United States and NATO forces withdrew after two decades of war.
The Taliban have used their interpretation of Islamic law to ban girls from education after age 11, ban women from public spaces, and exclude them from many jobs.
The International Cricket Council has helped to develop the Afghan men but not penalized them for not offering any women’s cricket.
The ICC’s stance has come into sharper focus as Afghanistan has grown more successful.
“I think the semifinal is going to be a massive, massive inspiration for the youngsters back home in Afghanistan,” Rashid said. “We have done it at under-19 level (two World Cup semifinals), but this level we haven’t done that. Even Super Eight was first time for us and then in semis. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
- Hyderabad-based NALSAR is widely considered one of India’s best legal universities
- Students say the school’s Tel Aviv partners contribute to Israel’s ‘infrastructure of oppression’
NEW DELHI: Students at India’s top law school have joined the global campus movement to sever ties with Israeli academic institutions, which they accuse of being complicit in Israel’s deadly war on Gaza and atrocities committed against the Palestinian population.
The academic boycott of Israel is part of the Boycott, Divest and Sanction campaign, which started in 2005. Targeting Israeli universities, research institutions and their activities, it has been supported by an increasing number of student communities since the beginning of the war in October.
Students of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, a public law school in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, officially joined the campaign on June 15, with a petition requesting that the NALSAR administration cut ties with Tel Aviv University and Radzyner Law School.
The public petition was signed by 362 people, including 275 students, 70 alumni and 12 faculty members.
“Israeli universities such as Tel Aviv University and the Radzyner Law School have both directly and indirectly either contributed to the current onslaught in Gaza or defended its legitimacy in academic literature,” Hamza Khan, who is completing his degree at NALSAR this year, told Arab News.
“They have played a crucial role in collaborating with defense-tech companies, whose products today are actively deployed by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) against Palestinians. These institutions continue to be a part of Israeli militarism and contribute to the infrastructure of oppression and open support for Israel’s crimes.”
The petition calls on NALSAR’s vice chancellor to “cut all ties pertaining to International Exchange Programmes with Israeli Institutes: Tel Aviv University and The Radzyner School of Law as a part of complete academic and economic disassociation with the Israeli State and academia that continues to remain not just a mute spectator but an active complicit in the ongoing crisis.”
Israeli forces have in the past eight months killed over 37,000 people in Gaza, wounded tens of thousands of others, destroyed the enclave’s health infrastructure, and cut it off from supplies of water, food, fuel and medical aid.
Israel has also destroyed 80 percent of Gaza’s schools which, coupled with persecution and targeted killings of Palestinian scholars, has been referred to by international rights groups and UN experts as scholasticide, leading to total annihilation of Palestine’s education.
“Remaining silent in the face of such violations would be hypocritical and signal double standards,” Khan said.
“NALSAR’s legacy extends beyond producing corporate lawyers and being a top-ranking national law university. It is about instilling in us humanity, ethics, values, and the courage to speak out against injustice.”
NALSAR is widely considered one of India’s best law schools.
Among some of its prominent alumni are Dr. Anup Surendranath, a leading Indian expert in criminal and constitutional law, Supreme Court lawyer Talha Raman, and Alok Prasanna Kumar, co-founder of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, a leading Indian think tank that advises the government on law, regulation and policy.
Despite India’s historic support for Palestine, the Indian government has been mostly quiet in the wake of the deadly attacks on Gaza and, according to local media reports, has also been selling weapons to Israel.
Students do not agree with the policy and are trying to break the silence.
“We have not shied away from raising questions that matter, questions that are essential to the ideas we believe in,” said Shreyam Sharma, a final-year student and one of the conveners of the students’ action.
“Israel has flouted any convention that exists. The ICJ (International Court of Justice) has already hinted at the possibility of a violation (being) genocidal in nature. Multiple human rights experts have prepared reports based on concrete evidence that conclude that genocide is being committed.”
Akhil Surya, also a final-year student, said they were “ashamed” of their country’s inaction.
“The genocide in Palestine is the most documented and broadcasted in real time. Many of us who have been watching the visuals from Palestine for over eight months now have wondered ... ‘What can we do, being so far away?’” he said.
“Inspired by the BDS movement that sprang up in every corner of the world, we felt that as students, we can do what we can.”
Despite repeated attempts, NALSAR’s vice chancellor did not respond to requests for comment.
Dr. Srijan Mandal, who teaches constitutional history and one of the university’s faculty members supporting the petition, said the students felt they needed to “do something to acknowledge what is happening in Palestine, what Israel is doing in Palestine,” and take any action despite their weak position in the power structure.
“The least we can do is that our institution does not have formal agreement of student exchange and other possible exchanges with Israeli institutions,” he told Arab News.
“This is the least we can do.”
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