World
Pakistan says at least one case of mpox virus detected
Sequencing of confirmed case under way to determine whether virus is same deadly Clade 1 variant discovered by Sweden.
Pakistan has confirmed at least one case of the mpox virus, a day after Sweden confirmed an infection with a more easily spread and deadlier variant linked to a recent outbreak in Africa.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Health said in a statement on Friday that the mpox strain that had caused the confirmed case was not immediately known.
Irshad Roghani, director of public health in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the 34-year-old patient is being treated, said samples had been sent to Islamabad for genetic sequencing to ascertain which variant of the virus the patient contracted.
On Thursday, Sweden announced it had discovered a more dangerous variant of the virus, named Clade 1, in an infected patient.
Clade 1, which spreads more easily through close contact, is linked to a deadly surge of the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that began in September. The Swedish case marks the first such infection outside the African continent, according to Sweden’s Public Health Agency.
A statement from the agency quoted epidemiologist Magnus Gisslen as saying the patient had been infected during a visit to “the part of Africa where there is a major outbreak of mpox Clade 1”.
An earlier outbreak in 2022 was linked to a milder variant, known as Clade 2, endemic in West Africa. It caused about 140 deaths and 90,000 cases, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men.
Health emergency
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern on Wednesday over the spread of Clade 1 in Africa after a surge in the DRC spread to Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
It said there have been more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in Africa caused by mpox this year, which already exceed last year’s figures. More than 96 percent of all cases and deaths have been in the DRC.
After the discovery of the case in Sweden, the WHO said it reflected “the interconnectedness of our world” and further imported cases of the new strain in Europe were likely
The organisation has advised against any travel restrictions and border closures to stop the spread of mpox, saying they “don’t work and should be avoided”.
Reporting from London, Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull said the WHO’s declaration was “specifically to encourage governments to release funding aimed at research, to release funding to boost health systems and to accelerate the rollout of those sorts of measures again”.
“Epidemiologists in Europe are saying there may only be one case detected in Sweden but that almost certainly means there are a number of cases that are unidentified out there and that of course points to the possibility of rapid international transmission.”
Pakistan’s Health Ministry has directed officials at border crossings and airports to ensure strict surveillance and collect samples for medical tests if they see symptoms of the disease in any passenger returning from abroad.
The disease caused by the virus leads to flu-like symptoms, pus-filled lesions and muscular pain. It is usually mild but can kill with children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV, all at higher risk of complications.
China said on Friday that it will begin screening people and goods entering the country for mpox over the next six months.
Danish drugmaker Bavarian Nordic said it was ready to produce up to 10 million doses of its vaccine targeting mpox by 2025 and was seeking European approval to use its mpox vaccine in children aged 12 and above.
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World
Israel takes hard line against terrorists, allowing deportation of family members
A new law in Israel allows for the deportation of family members of Palestinian attackers, including Israelis, to the Gaza Strip or another location.
Passed by Israel’s parliament, known officially as Knesset, early on Thursday with a 61-41 vote, the law was championed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his far-right allies. Deportation of a terrorist’s immediate family member could be ordered by the interior minister authority following a hearing, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Family members who had advance knowledge of an attack and failed to report it to police or “expressed support or identification with an act of terrorism or published words of praise, sympathy or encouragement for an act of terrorism or a terrorist organization” would be subject to the law, The Times of Israel reports.
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They would be deported for a period of seven to 20 years. The Israel-Hamas war is still raging in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed and most of the population has been internally displaced, often multiple times.
Legal experts believe that any attempt to implement the law would likely lead to it being struck down by Israeli courts.
“The bottom line is this is completely nonconstitutional and a clear conflict to Israel’s core values,” Eran Shamir-Borer, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute and a former international law expert for the Israeli military, told the Associated Press.
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It is unclear if the law will apply in the occupied West Bank, where Israel already has a long-standing policy of demolishing the family homes of attackers. Palestinians have carried out scores of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis in recent years.
Palestinians living in Israel make up around 20% of the country’s population. They have citizenship and the right to vote but face widespread discrimination. Many also have close family ties to those in the territories and most sympathize with the Palestinian cause.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Future budget commissioner urges capitals to work on new EU-wide taxes
The next long-term budget should be larger than the current 1% of the EU’s GDP, said Polish Budget Commissioner-designate Piotr Serafin, stressing the urgent need to work on new EU-wide taxes by early 2025 at the latest.
The European Union urgently needs to speed up work on new own resources to feed its long-term budget (2028-34) and deliver solutions for its citizens, Polish Commissioner-designate for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration Piotr Serafin told MEPs during his confirmation hearing on Thursday.
“Progress on this matter has been insufficient and time is running. I expect the Council [representing member states] to resume work on this issue at the beginning of next year at the latest,” he added.
Own resources, such as the existing customs duties or contributions based on the value-added tax (VAT) levied by member states, are one of two options available to the EU to feed its common budget — the other being direct contributions from member states, but for the next Commission own resources is a priority.
The Commission estimates that the introduction of the proposed new own resources, EU-wide taxes on carbon emissions and big multinationals by 2026, could raise around €36 billion from 2028 onwards.
Serafin stressed that his mandate is to focus on the new own resources but promised MEPs that he’ll do his best to convince member states to spend more money at EU level rather than at national level.
“When it comes to new priorities like defence, like competitiveness, it makes sense from the perspective of finance ministers to spend money at EU level instead of at national level,” Serafin said. “It will simply be cheaper.”
How new and old priorities and programmes – from agriculture and the green transition to defence and security – will be funded after 2027 was the main concern of MEPs who questioned the Polish candidate – who said he was unable to make any commitments on the Commission’s future plans for the budget.
Negotiations on the next long-term budget do not start until summer 2025, but regions and capitals are putting pressure on the Commission to ditch proposals it has been mulling to centralise all programmes into one national cash pot per member state.
For the next five-year term, the likely new budget commissioner wants “fewer, more focused programmes” and “a plan for each country linking key reforms with investment, targeted where EU action is most needed,” he told MEPs.
But also a more flexible, more focused, more impactful and simpler EU budget which is at the same time ambitious in design and size.
“Accessing EU funds does not have to be a bureaucratic nightmare,” Serafin said in his opening remarks, adding that “we must get the maximum out of every euro in the EU budget”.
As anti-fraud commissioner, Serafin plans to strengthen cooperation between the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in order to recover EU funds quickly.
“We must do everything we can to eliminate fraud and organised crime in the EU,” he added, stressing that this would also ensure that tax revenues are diverted away from fraudsters and towards addressing the bloc’s key challenges.
Creating a closer link between the rule of law report and the EU budget will also help ensure that EU values are respected, Serafin said.
The Polish commissioner-designate is likely to get the green light from MEPs, but the whole new EU Commission will then have to pass a vote in plenary by the end of November before taking up its new mandate – probably in early December.
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