Latest News
Mpox declared public health emergency in Africa
Mpox, the high infectious disease that used to be called monkeypox, has been declared a public health emergency in Africa by the continent’s top health body.
Scientists from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) say they are alarmed by the speed at which a new strain of mpox has been spreading.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 13,700 cases and 450 deaths have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The virus, which can cause lesions across the whole body, has spread to other African countries, including Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), Kenya and Rwanda.
The declaration of a public health emergency will help governments co-ordinate their response and potentially increase the flow of medical supplies and aid into affected areas.
Africa CDC head Jean Kaseya warned that the disease could spiral out of control if immediate steps were not taken to contain it. “This declaration is not merely a formality. It is a clarion call to action. It is a recognition that we can no longer afford to be reactive. We must be proactive and aggressive in our efforts to contain and eliminate this threat,” he said.
Health chiefs outside Africa will also be monitoring the situation to assess the risk of the outbreak spreading further.
On 29 July, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said the risk from the mpox virus was “very low” in Europe.
Mpox spreads from animals to humans and between people through close contact with someone who is infected – including through sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.
It can cause symptoms such as fever, muscle aches and lesions across the body. If left untreated, mpox can be deadly.
There are two main strains of the virus known to exist. The milder one caused the global outbreak in 2022 that affected Europe, Australia, the US and many other countries – and was mainly spread through sexual contact.
The second more deadly strain, endemic in central Africa, is behind the new recently discovered variant in DR Congo.
There are three vaccines that exist but only people at risk or who have been in close contact with an infected person are usually able to have it.
Dr Kaseya said there were plans to secure about 10 million doses to limit the spread of the disease in Africa.
[BBC]
The BCB has said that they will rely on the Bangladesh government’s directive before finalising their tour to Pakistan later this month. Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play five T20Is there from May 25 to June 3, but the PSLs schedule was revised following cross-border tensions between Pakistan and India.
According to the revised fixtures, the PSL final will now be held on May 25, when Pakistan and Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play the first T20I.
ESPNcricinfo has learned that the PCB has sent a new schedule for the T20Is between Pakistan and Bangladesh, with the first match now slotted for May 27, and the last on June 5.
BCB’s media committee chairman Iftekhar Rahman said they will rely on information from government security agencies and the Bangladesh high commission in Islamabad to take the final decision.
“Once we receive official communication about the dates and venues [of the tour], we will forward it to the government,” Rahman said. “The BCB is not the decision-maker in this matter. If the government agencies and our embassy declare Pakistan safe for travel, only then will we proceed.
“In our previous meeting, we agreed that any such situation would be referred to the foreign and home ministries. Once we get clearance from all relevant bodies, we will finalise the tour. Security concerns were more significant in the past, but Pakistan has proven it can ensure safety. Still, given the current circumstances, we need to assess whether the situation across the country is stable before sending the team.”
Before playing Pakistan, Bangladesh are scheduled to play two T20Is against UAE in Sharjah on May 17 and 19. They were then supposed to fly to Lahore on May 21.
[Cricinfo]
President Donald Trump has said the US has “no stronger partner” than Saudi Arabia during his first major foreign trip – a whirlwind visit of Gulf countries mainly focused on shoring up investment.
Speaking in Riyadh, the US president also pledged to lift all sanctions against Syria, saying it was now time for the country to move forward with “a chance at greatness”.
Day one of the tour saw the US and Saudi Arabia announce a $142bn (£107bn) arms deal, as well as other investments that the country’s crown prince said could eventually be worth $1tn.
Trump also made Saudi Arabia the first foreign stop during his first term, in 2017. The rest of his trip will include stops in Qatar and the UAE.
Trump’s arrival in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday was met with a grand reception, including a lavish lavender-coloured carpet rolled out to greet him. He had even chosen a purple tie to match it.
Riyadh swapped red carpets for lavender in 2021, saying that it was a symbol of the kingdom’s desert wildflowers and generosity.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Trump on the tarmac and provided an honour guard of Arabian horses to accompany his presidential limo.
In his remarks at an investment forum, Trump lauded the US-Saudi relationship as “more powerful than ever before”.
“From the moment we started we’ve seen wealth that has poured – and is pouring – into America,” he said.
Trump is trying to woo foreign investors to the US to boost the American economy, a key focus of his administration in the nearly four months of his second term.
“I like him too much,” Trump said of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de-facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman. “That’s why we give so much.”
The pomp and ceremony was a step up from the muted welcome for former US President Joe Biden, who travelled to the oil-rich kingdom in 2022 to seek their help in lowering petrol prices, fist-bumping the crown prince.
That visit came two years after he declared Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state following the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump flew to the Gulf to strike financial deals and argued in his speech that it is through this kind of commerce and economic development that the Middle East would transcend violence and division.
Underscoring his commitment to deal-making, Trump was joined by a number of business leaders including billionaire ally Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
The high-profile executives are meeting a Saudi Arabia eager to diversify its oil-rich economy by increasing its artificial intelligence capabilities.
Mr Huang announced during the visit that Nvidia will sell more than 18,000 of its latest AI chips to Saudi company Humain.
During his address, Trump said it was his “dream” to have Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords, a deal brokered in his first administration that saw relations between Israel and some Gulf countries normalised for the first time.
But his good friend, Mohammed bin Salman, has made it clear that will not happen until there is a permanent end to the war in Gaza and a clear path to Palestinian statehood.
There is a limit to what this friendship can deliver.
Trump only briefly addressed the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
He told those in attendance that people in Gaza deserved a “better future”, which had been held back by Hamas choosing “to kidnap, torture and target” for “political ends” – a reference to the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.
Trump also announced he was lifting sanctions on Syria to improve the country’s new government, a move he suggested was requested by Mohammed bin Salman.
“Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” the US leader said.
American sanctions on Syria had been in place for over a decade, meant to apply pressure and economic pain against the dictatorship of former President Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December.
Syria has since elected a new transitional president, creating an opening for renewed US diplomacy efforts.
The surprise announcement to lift the sanctions represents a sea change for Syria, described by its foreign minister Asaad Shibani as a “new start” in the country’s reconstruction path.
Robert Ford, who served as US ambassador to Syria under President Barack Obama, applauded the Trump administration’s move to lift sanctions.
“I visited Syria three months ago and the country is simply devastated after the 13-year civil war. It needs to rebuild, it needs reconstruction, it needs foreign financing to do that,” he told the BBC.
“So removing the sanctions, that will enable international capital flows to go into Syria from Gulf states, from other Arab states and from different aid agencies is absolutely vital.”
Trump was expected to meet Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia.
From Riyadh, Trump will head to both Qatar and the UAE, which has already committed to investing $1.4tn in the US over the next decade.
[BBC]
Latest News
BBC cameraman haunted by Gaza’s malnourished children captures Israeli strike on hospital
The war’s horrors multiply. The dead, the pieces of the dead. The dying. The starving. More and more of them now – all the weight of human suffering witnessed by a brave BBC cameraman in Gaza.
The urge to avert our gaze can be overpowering. But the cameramen who work for the BBC cannot turn away, and on Tuesday one of them became a casualty himself. For their safetynthe names of the cameramen in Gaza are not revealed.
The BBC cameraman was not seriously wounded, but that was a matter of luck. The Israeli bombs launched into the car park of the European Hospital in Khan Younis killed and wounded dozens.
The Israelis say the leader of Hamas was hiding in a command-and-control compound under the hospital. The army said it conducted a “precise strike” – and blamed Hamas for”cynically and cruelly exploiting the civilian population in and around the hospital”. Hamas denies such charges.
At the time of the attack, families whose sick children are to be evacuated from Gaza were gathering in the hospital. There were also families waiting to meet children returning from treatment abroad.
[BBC]
French Navy Ship ‘BEAUTEMPS BEAUPRE’ sets sail from Colombo
BCB to follow government directive before finalising Pakistan tour
Trump pledges to lift Syria sanctions as he seals $142bn arms deal on Saudi visit
-
Features3 days agoSAITM Graduates Overcome Adversity, Excel Despite Challenges
-
Business6 days agoJohn Keells Properties and MullenLowe unveil “Minutes Away”
-
News3 days agoDestined to be pope:Brother says Leo XIV always wanted to be a priest
-
Sports3 days agoASBC Asian U22 and Youth Boxing Championships from Monday
-
Foreign News4 days agoMexico sues Google over ‘Gulf of America’ name change
-
Opinion6 days agoRatmalana: An international airport without modern navigational and landing aids
-
Opinion3 days agoDrs. Navaratnam’s consultation fee three rupees NOT Rs. 300
-
Features2 days agoChampioning Geckos, Conservation, and Cross-Disciplinary Research in Sri Lanka