First Thing: Mpox outbreak in Africa is public health emergency, says WHO

Experts urge accelerated access to vaccines and testing. Plus, Columbia University president resigns

Good morning.

An outbreak in Africa of mpox, the disease formerly known as monkeypox, has been declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization.

The declaration must accelerate access to testing, vaccines and therapeutic drugs in the affected areas, medical experts urged, and kickstart campaigns to reduce stigma surrounding the virus.

A new variant is spreading between people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 4 August, there had been 38,465 cases of mpox and 1,456 deaths in Africa since January 2022, including more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in the DRC alone this year.

How is the WHO responding? Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general, said the situation warranted the “highest level of alarm under international health law”. The WHO released $1.5m from its contingency fund, and called on donors to help reach the $15m it needs for the response.

What are experts saying? Trudie Lang, a professor of global health research at Oxford University, said: “I have heard so many people refer to this as being very similar to the early days of HIV.” Dr Ayoade Alakija, the chair of Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance, said if the outbreak was in Europe, mpox would have already been considered a major international health emergency.

Israeli forces in Gaza ‘use civilians as human shields’ against possible booby-traps

Israeli soldiers are using Palestinian civilians as human shields in Gaza to enter and clear tunnels and buildings they suspect may have been booby-trapped, a leading Israeli NGO and newspaper have reported.

The practice was so widespread across different units fighting in Gaza that it could in effect be considered a “protocol”, said Nadav Weiman, the executive director of Breaking the Silence, a group founded by Israeli combat veterans to document military abuses.

The group has collected testimony describing the practice from veterans of the 10-month war in Gaza. The accounts they have heard match those reported in an investigation by the newspaper Haaretz, which claimed that the chief of staff’s office was aware of the practice.

What are the details? Palestinian civilians, mostly young men, are picked up by Israeli soldiers, who dress them in Israeli army uniforms and send them into tunnels and damaged houses ahead of Israeli forces, soldiers told Haaretz and Breaking the Silence. Their hands are tied together and a camera is attached to their bodies as they go in.

What’s the latest with ceasefire talks? A new round is expected to begin today, although expectations of success are low. Israel has hardened its position in recent weeks and Hamas has indicated it is unlikely to attend the talks in Qatar.

Columbia University president Minouche Shafik resigns over Gaza protests

The president of Columbia University, Minouche Shafik, has resigned following months of criticism of her handling of campus protests over the war in Gaza.

“This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community,” Shafik wrote in an email to staff and students.

Shafik, whose tenure began in July 2023 and made her the first woman to head the prestigious university in New York City, sparked controversy with her decision to call the New York police department on to campus in response to student protests, drawing the ire of students and faculty.

What’s next for Shafik? She is a member of the UK House of Lords and said she will be accepting a role with the foreign secretary, “to chair a review of the [UK] government’s approach to international development”.

In other news …

JK Rowling and Elon Musk have been named in a cyberbullying lawsuit filed in France by the Olympic champion boxer Imane Khelif. Khelif’s attorney says she was the victim of “misogynistic, racist and sexist” cyberbullying.

Heavy rains in Sudan have killed at least 68 people, compounding hardship in a country that is already facing multiple crises.

The Department of Justice is considering options that include breaking up Google, according to the New York Times and Bloomberg, a week after a judge ruled the Alphabet company had illegally monopolized the online search market.

Stat of the day: 200,000 Russians evacuated amid Ukraine incursion into Kursk region, Russia says

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said on Wednesday forces were continuing to advance into Russian territory after their surprise offensive. Ukrainian officials have said Kyiv has no plans to occupy Russian territory and that the objective is to prevent Russian missile fire into Ukraine. At least 200,000 people have so far been evacuated from the border regions, according to Russian data.

Don’t miss this: How a true crime producer documented his own rising horror

Sirin Kale writes about the life and tragic death of John Balson. His symptoms began with dizziness, headaches, a lack of sleep and panic attacks. Over time, they grew worse. All the while, this beloved husband, father and son was wondering about the role his work as a true crime producer played in his illness.

Climate check: Unprecedented 15 national temperature records broken in 2024

A record 15 national heat records have been broken in 2024, as weather extremes grow more frequent and climate breakdown intensifies. The geographic range of all-time national records is staggering. Mexico tied its peak of 52C (125.6F) at Tepache on 20 June. On the other side of the world, the Australian territory of Cocos Islands tied its all-time high with 32.8C (91F) on 7 April for the third time this year.

Last Thing: How to stop crocodiles being poisoned? Teach them eating cane toads is like ‘a bad late night takeaway’

During infestations of cane toads, whose bodies contain poisonous toxins, Australian crocodiles can eat so many they die of poisoning. So researchers have been injecting dead cane toads with nausea-inducing chemicals – lithium chloride, a strong salt – to train them to avoid the amphibians. It’s showing promising results in protecting the crocs. “[It’s like] a bad late night takeaway,” one scientist said. “You remember that taste and you often swear off that food for a very long time, so it’s a relatable experience.”

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