Plus: Inside an mpox clinic in DR Congo ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. US President-elect Donald Trump was quick to announce a new pick for attorney general after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration. Aoife Walsh details new nominee Pam Bondi's longstanding ties to Trump. In DR Congo, Anne Soy surveys the difference a vaccination programme has made in the fight against mpox. My picks of the week include a closer look at Russia's new Oreshnik missile. And finally, the latest volcanic explosion in Iceland is seen in all its mesmerising power. But first, have a go at the weekly news quiz. | |
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QUESTIONS ANSWERED | A relationship that goes back years |
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| | Bondi has served as the first female attorney general of Florida. Credit: EPA | Donald Trump has named Pam Bondi as his new nominee for attorney general. If confirmed by the Senate, she would play a key role in defending legal challenges to Trump policies and implementing his vow to remake the justice department. |
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| | What is Bondi's background? | Born in Tampa, Florida, Bondi graduated with a degree in criminal justice from the University of Florida in 1987, before going on to receive a professional degree from Stetson University College of Law three years later. She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1991. Before entering politics, Bondi spent more than 18 years as a prosecutor at the Hillsborough county state attorney’s office, trying cases "ranging from domestic violence to capital murder", according to a profile on her lobbying firm's website. | When did she enter politics? | She was elected as Florida's first female attorney general in 2010 - having won the support of former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin - zoning in on opioid abuse, synthetic drugs and human trafficking. | What role has she played in Trump's network? | Bondi is a chair at America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank founded by former Trump staff members, where she leads its legal arm. She previously served on Trump's opioid and drug abuse commission. Bondi was part of his legal team during his first impeachment trial and when he made false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen from him due to voter fraud. She also publicly supported him by showing up at court during his hush money trial in New York, which ended in May with a conviction on 34 counts of fraud. | | | Trump's court cases: A New York judge has delayed Trump's scheduled sentencing as his attorneys continue to push for his conviction to be tossed out. Gaetz's future: The Florida lawmaker who withdrew from consideration for attorney general said he will not return to his seat in the House of Representatives. Trump's team: On the outside they appear united by one thing - loyalty to the top man. But beneath the surface, there are competing agendas. | |
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| What we know about Russia's Oreshnik missile | There seems to be no clear consensus about what the new missile, whose codename means "hazel tree" in Russian, actually is. Here's what experts have said. | Find out more > |
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| Will China lead on climate action if US backtracks? | China deciding to take a more central role in climate action, just as the US is stepping back, would mark a tectonic shift in the COP process. | Here's how > |
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| Gautam Adani faces new challenge | The 62-year-old Indian billionaire, a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, faces US fraud charges that could potentially jeopardise his global ambitions. | Read now > |
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| Your weekend listening: Speech influencers | The Global Story podcast considers how internet culture is influencing the way many of us speak, as traditional media loses its grip on standard discourse. | Listen now > |
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| Progress against mpox after vaccines | | Nurse Jackson Murhula says Lwiro clinic is only receiving two or three mpox cases a day at the moment. Credit: BBC | At least 900 people in DR Congo are thought to have died because of mpox this year. But after a vaccination programme, the number of infections appears to have dropped. While it is too soon to declare the outbreak over, medical professionals sound cautiously optimistic. |
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| | Anne Soy, senior Africa correspondent |
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| | Among the children being treated this week is three-year-old Atukuzwe Banissa. He groans in pain, his eyes shut and face covered in whitish spots left behind by the healing sores. His mother, 25-year-old Julienne Mwinja, says his symptoms began with teary eyes. She administered eye drops, but within a day, the little boy developed sores in his mouth, face and body.
"He looked like he'd been scalded by hot water," the mother of three told the BBC. That is when she brought him to Lwiro hospital where he was admitted for more than a week. For the medics at Lwrio, it is heartening that people are now tending to come to the clinic as soon as they get symptoms rather than first going to traditional healers. |
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FOR YOUR DOWNTIME | Not a documentary | Roman history experts separate fact from fiction in Gladiator II. | |
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And finally... in Iceland | The car park at the world-famous Blue Lagoon has been engulfed in lava, after a nearby volcano erupted for the seventh time in less than a year - footage from the scene is a mesmerising spectacle. | |
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Six Steps to Calm | Discover a calmer future with this course of six science-backed techniques, weekly to your inbox. | |
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MORE BBC NEWSLETTERS | | US Election Unspun: Cut through the noise in the US presidential election and its global impact, every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe. | | World of Business: Gain the leading edge with global insights for the boardroom and beyond, every Wednesday. Subscribe. | | The Essential List: The best of the BBC, handpicked by our editors, in your inbox every Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe. | |
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