Source: New York Times
Security & Justice
Southern Lebanon Endures Massive Damage: 40,000 Homes Leveled Across 37 Towns
Israeli forces have systematically destroyed entire neighborhoods in southern Lebanon, leveling more than 37 towns and wiping out over 40,000 residential units, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Gaps in Coastal Radar Enabled Israeli Raid in Batroun, Army Commander Says
Lebanon’s army chief, General Joseph Aoun, detailed to Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati how Israeli forces likely exploited gaps in the country's coastal radar system during the recent raid carried out in Batroun. The briefing comes as Lebanese officials seek answers on how Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 unit carried out the landing undetected.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Opinion
The Emptying of Baalbek Is a Moment to Take Stock
“Large numbers of people continue to flee their homes every day, as Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been going on unabated.” These disturbing words could be from almost any news report about Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbour over the past month. However, they can be found in a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre issued on July 27, 2006.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
A Future Without Hezbollah
At the end of September, when Israel’s campaign to destroy Hezbollah was reaching its height, I met one of the group’s supporters in a seaside café in western Beirut. He was a middle-aged man with a thin white beard and the spent look of someone who had not slept for days. He was an academic of sorts, not a fighter, but his ties to Hezbollah were deep and long-standing.
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Sports
Tottenham Forward Son Heung-min Crowned Asia’s International Player of the Year
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was crowned as Asia’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time by the Asian Football Confederation at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Real Madrid Launch Investigation into Racist Insults After El Clasico Defeat
Real Madrid has launched an investigation into racist insults directed at players during Saturday’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in LaLiga, it said on Sunday.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Sunday 14 August 2022 15:35:37
Don’t Blame Monkeys for Monkeypox, W.H.O. Says After Attacks
Monkeys are not to blame for the monkeypox outbreak that has triggered health alerts, including a national health emergency in the United States, as the viral disease has continued to spread, the World Health Organization said this week after reports of attacks against the animals in Brazil.
At least 10 monkeys were rescued last week in São José do Rio Preto in the Brazilian state of São Paulo after the authorities found signs they had been attacked or poisoned, out of fear of monkeypox transmission, according to the G1 news site in that country. Seven of the monkeys later died.
The police in São Paulo are investigating those cases and said the mistreatment of animals could be punishable by three months to one year in jail.
Despite the name, the risk of monkeypox transmission during this outbreak is centered on humans, not animals, Margaret Harris, a W.H.O. spokeswoman, said during a Tuesday news conference.
“What people need to know very clearly is the transmission we are seeing is happening between humans to humans,” she said. “It’s the close-contact transmission. The concern should be about where it’s transmitting in the human population and what humans can do to protect themselves from getting it and transmitting it. They should certainly not be attacking any animals.”
The statement was prompted by a question at the news conference in Geneva about the recent monkey attacks in Brazil.
The virus was named after it was originally found in a group of laboratory monkeys in 1958 in Denmark, but rodents are thought to be the primary animal hosts for the virus, Ms. Harris said.
Some scientists and public health officials have called for a new name for the disease, citing racist overtones and stigmatization, but no official change has been announced. They say the current name could have “potentially devastating and stigmatizing effects” or erroneously link the virus solely to the African continent, when it is now an international crisis.
The W.H.O. is having ongoing conversations on what should be the right name for the virus, Ms. Harris said. She said an announcement would be coming soon.
“Any stigmatization of any person infected is going to increase the transmission,” Ms. Harris said. “Because if people are afraid of identifying themselves as being infected, then they will not get the care and they will not take precautions and we will see more transmission.”
The monkeypox virus is primarily found in Central and West Africa, particularly in areas close to tropical rainforests — and rope squirrels, tree squirrels, Gambian pouched rats and dormice have all been identified as potential carriers.
People who get sick commonly experience a fever, headache, back and muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and exhaustion. A rash that looks like pimples or blisters is also common. Transmission occurs with close physical contact and most commonly spreads once symptoms have appeared, about six to 13 days after exposure. A majority of cases this year have been in young men, many of whom self-identify as men who have sex with men.
The United States declared a national health emergency this month over the monkeypox outbreak, with more than 10,000 confirmed cases nationwide according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The W.H.O. activated its highest level of alert for monkeypox in July, with the number of international confirmed cases rising to more than 31,000 so far.
Two vaccines originally developed for smallpox can help prevent monkeypox infections, with Jynneos considered the safer choice. Supplies in the United States, however, have been limited. People can be vaccinated after exposure to the virus to prevent the development of the disease.
