International

Monkeypox cases top 5,000: WHO

AFP

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that 5,322 laboratory-confirmed cases of monkeypox had been reported to it in the current outbreak, 85 percent of which are in Europe.

Though case numbers are rapidly increasing, the United Nations health agency has not set a date for its emergency committee on monkeypox to convene for a second meeting.

“From January 1 to June 30 this year, we have 5,322 laboratory-confirmed cases and one death,” WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told reporters in Geneva.

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The number has increased by 56 percent in eight days. The previous figure given by the WHO, for the period up to June 22, was 3,413 cases.

A surge in monkeypox cases has been reported since early May outside the West and Central African countries where the disease has long been endemic.

Chaib said infections had now been reported in 53 countries.

“Eighty-five percent of cases are in Europe, followed by the African region, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Pacific,” she said.

“The WHO continues to ask countries to pay particular attention to monkeypox cases to try to stop further infections.”

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Most monkeypox infections so far have been observed in men who have sex with men, of young age and chiefly in urban areas, according to the WHO.

The normal initial symptoms of monkeypox include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes and a blistery chickenpox-like rash.

On June 23, the UN health agency convened an emergency committee of experts to decide if monkeypox constitutes a so-called Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) — the highest alarm that the WHO can sound.

But a majority found the situation had not yet crossed that threshold.

However, they acknowledged the emergency nature of the outbreak and said controlling its further spread required intense response efforts.

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The committee can reconvene at any time, depending on the changing situation.

The WHO’s 16-member emergency committee on monkeypox is chaired by Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who is a former director of the WHO’s Vaccines and Immunisation Department.

International

President Boric announces curfew following triple police homicide in Chile

Chile offers residency and Chilean nationality to Nicaraguan opponents

Chilean President Gabriel Boric has implemented a nighttime curfew in three municipalities of the Biobío region following the murder of three police officers. The Chilean leader emphasized that “criminals will answer to Chile and its justice system.”

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Boric stated that he made the decision “after discussing with the General Director of the Carabineros, the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, the Head of National Defense, and the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, having also considered various alternatives and taking into account the needs of the ongoing investigation.”

He further detailed that “I have instructed to decree a curfew in the municipalities of Cañete, Contulmo, and Tirúa from midnight to 7:00 AM. Additionally, police and military presence will be intensified to our utmost capacity with joint patrols in the area.”

International

President López Obrador meets with Astros and Rockies ahead of Mexico City Series

Last Friday, before the 2024 Mexico City Series between the Astros and Rockies at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium in Mexico City, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met with representatives from both teams.

Through his social media, the President shared his interaction with executives from the Houston and Colorado teams, as well as with Astros’ Mexican pitcher, José Urquidy.

“Yesterday (Friday), before starting the tour, I had breakfast with executives and friends from the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies. There’s increasingly more baseball fever in our country,” López Obrador wrote.

The photos also featured former Mexican major leaguers Vinicio “Vinny” Castilla and Jorge de la Rosa, both of whom played for the Colorado team.

On Saturday night, the Houston Astros won the first game in the “capital inferno,” home of the Mexico City Red Devils, with a commanding score of 12 to 4.

This Sunday, the second game of the series will take place at AHH, with both teams arriving in Mexico on a losing streak. Another great Major League celebration is anticipated at the “fire diamond.”

International

Social media star Om Fahad fatally shot in Baghdad

An Iraqi TikToker, previously sentenced to prison last year for posting content deemed “indecent” on social media, was fatally shot in Baghdad on Friday, according to two security officials.

Om Fahad, who had tens of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram, gained fame for her videos featuring her in tight outfits dancing to Iraqi music, in a country that is predominantly conservative and patriarchal.

The young woman was shot by an assailant on a motorcycle while she was in her vehicle outside her home in central Baghdad, two security officials reported anonymously to AFP.

In February 2023, a court initially sentenced Om Fahad to six months in jail for “publishing various videos with indecent intentions that violate modesty and public morals.”