MANILA: The Philippines has detected a new case of the mpox virus in the country, the first since December last year, its health department said on Monday, adding it was awaiting test results before being able to determine the strain.
The patient was a 33-year-old Filipino male who had no travel history outside the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
“We are awaiting sequencing results and will update once available,” its spokesperson Albert Domingo said when asked about the strain.
The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared mpox a global public health emergency, its highest form of alert, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that had spread to neighboring countries.
A new form of the virus has triggered global concern as it seems to spread easily though routine close contact.
A case of the new variant was confirmed on Thursday in Sweden and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent. Pakistan on Friday confirmed at least one case of the mpox virus in a patient who had returned from a Gulf country, but said they did not yet know the strain of the virus.
The new case in the Philippines is the 10th laboratory-confirmed case the health department has detected. Its first case was in July 2022.
“Symptoms started more than a week ago with fever, which was followed four days later by findings of a distinct rash on the face, back, nape, trunk, groin, as well as palms and soles,” the Philippine DOH said in a statement.
The disease, caused by the monkeypox virus, leads to flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. 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.
Philippines detects first mpox case this year, yet to determine strain
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Philippines detects first mpox case this year, yet to determine strain

- The patient was a 33-year-old Filipino male who had no travel history outside the Philippines
Senior Tories urge Palestinian recognition in letter to UK PM

- Group of 7 MPs, 6 Lords peers break ranks with party over ‘opportunity for Britain to show leadership’
- It comes ahead of critical Saudi-French conference on 2-state solution next month
LONDON: A group of senior Conservative MPs and peers in the UK have broken ranks with their own party and called on the government to immediately recognize Palestine as a state.
In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer drafted in late March, seven MPs and six House of Lords peers urged the government to give formal recognition to Palestine, The Guardian reported.
It comes ahead of critical UN talks on the issue next month.
The letter, seen by The Guardian, was authored just after Israel broke its tenuous peace agreement with Hamas in March.
The breakdown in negotiations and peace efforts worsened this week after the Israeli cabinet approved plans to “conquer” and occupy almost all of the Gaza Strip.
Former government minister Kit Malthouse, from the moderate wing of the opposition Conservative Party, organized the letter.
It said: “For decades, the Palestinian people have endured occupation, displacement and systemic restrictions on their basic freedoms.
“Recognising Palestine would affirm our nation’s commitment to upholding the principles of justice, self-determination and equal rights. It would send a clear message that Britain stands against indefinite occupation and supports the Palestinian people’s legitimate aspirations.”
The letter was also signed by Conservatives associated with the right of the party, including John Hayes and Desmond Swayne.
Most countries with UN membership formally recognize Palestine as a state, but the US and the majority of European countries do not.
Saudi Arabia and France next month will host a conference to rally support for a two-state solution to the conflict.
French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested that France could grant formal recognition to Palestine at the conference.
David Lammy, the British foreign secretary, said last week that the government was discussing its plans with France for the event in June.
Starmer is understood to not have replied to the Conservative letter.
Last year, David Cameron, the former prime minister, said that he wanted Palestinian recognition as part of peace negotiations with Israel, and not as a reward for the reaching of a two-state solution.
The letter sent to Starmer added: “Recognition should not be treated as a distant bargaining chip but as a necessary step to reinforce international law and diplomacy. Prime minister, we stand ready to offer our public support for this decision.
“This is an opportunity for Britain to show leadership, to be on the right side of history and to uphold the principles we claim to champion. More than 140 UN member states have already recognised Palestine — it is time for the United Kingdom to do the same.”
A government spokesperson told The Guardian that the UK remains committed to a two-state solution, highlighting recent talks between Starmer and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.
Pakistan says armed forces authorized to undertake ‘corresponding actions’ after India strikes

- India says struck nine sites that served as militant recruitment centers, launchpads and indoctrination centers
- Pakistan army says at least six locations across its territory targeted, with 26 civilians killed and 46 injured
Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday the country’s top national security body had authorized its armed forces to take “corresponding actions” in response to Indian strikes inside Pakistani territory in which 26 civilians were killed overnight.
In the sharpest military escalation in more than two decades between the nuclear-armed rivals, the Indian government said it struck nine Pakistani "terrorist infrastructure" sites where a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 had been planned. The assault took place on the tourist hill station of Pahalgam in the part of Kashmir governed by India, with 26 men killed.
The Pakistani military said six locations across its territory - Ahmedpur East, Muridke, Sialkot, Shakargarh in the eastern province of Punjab and Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir - were targeted. Azad Kashmir is the part of the disputed Kashmir valley that is administered by Pakistan.
In response, Pakistan military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said five Indian planes and one combat drone that had attacked Pakistan were shot down, naming three Rafales and an MiG-29 and Su-57 each.
“In consonance with Article-51 of the UN Charter, Pakistan reserves the right to respond, in self-defence, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing to avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives and blatant violation of its sovereignty,” PM Sharif’s office said in a statement after he chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee, referring to the right of self-defense according to Chapter VII, Article 51, of the UN Charter.
“The Armed Forces of Pakistan have duly been authorized to undertake corresponding actions in this regard.”
The statement added that India, “against all sanity and rationality, has once again ignited an inferno in the region,” saying the responsibility for ensuing consequences lay squarely with New Delhi.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said the Chargé d’Affaires had been summoned "to receive Pakistan’s strong protest over the unprovoked Indian strikes.”
“The Indian side was warned that such reckless behavior poses a serious threat to regional peace and stability.”
“Terrorist camps”
In New Delhi, two Indian military spokespersons told a briefing Indian forces had attacked facilities linked to militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistani officials say India only hit civilian infrastructure.
The strikes targeted "terrorist camps" that served as recruitment centers, launchpads, and indoctrination centers, and housed weapons and training facilities, the Indian spokespersons said.
They said Indian forces used niche technology weapons and carefully chose warheads to avoid collateral damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure, but did not elaborate on the specifics or methods used in the strikes.
"Intelligence and monitoring of Pakistan-based terror modules showed that further attacks against India were impending, therefore it was necessary to take pre-emptive and precautionary strikes," Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, the top official in its external affairs ministry, told the briefing.
The joint briefing by the Indian military and foreign ministry listed past attacks in India blamed on Pakistan, with Misri saying Pakistan had not done anything to "terrorist infrastructure" after the Pahalgam attack, which triggered the latest standoff.
Pakistan had denied involvement in the attack and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had offered to be part of any credible and transparent investigation, which he reiterated in the latest statement by the NSC.
Kashmir has been disputed between India and Pakistan since 1947. Both rule it in part and claim it in full and have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants involved in a separatist insurgency in its part of Kashmir since 1989, which Islamabad denies, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination.
The current confrontation is reminiscent of the last major military standoff between the two nations in 2019, when an Indian airstrike in the northwestern town of Balakot was followed by Pakistani retaliatory action, including the downing of an Indian fighter jet and the capture of its pilot, who was later released in a gesture of goodwill.
On Wednesday morning, the South Asian neighbors also exchanged intense shelling and heavy gunfire across much of their de facto border called the Line of Control, which divides disputed Kashmir between them.
The shelling across the frontier in Kashmir killed 10 civilians and injured 48 in the Indian part of the region, police there told media. At least six people were killed on the Pakistani side, Reuters reported, quoting officials.
Four local government sources in Indian-administered Kashmir told Reuters three fighter jets had crashed in separate areas of the Himalayan region during the night. Indian defense ministry officials have not officially confirmed the report.
(With input from Reuters)
Finnish fighter jet crashes in Arctic town, pilot ejected

- The road leading to the airport was closed to traffic, and police blocked access to the airport
ROVANIEMI : A Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet crashed Wednesday near the Rovaniemi airport in Finland’s Arctic north, but the pilot was rescued after ejecting, the armed forces said.
No details were available about the cause of the crash, which occurred “in the Rovaniemi airport area” around 11:00 am (0800 GMT), the military said.
Dark smoke could be seen rising from the scene and several emergency vehicles were dispatched to the area, public service broadcaster YLE said.
The road leading to the airport was closed to traffic, and police blocked access to the airport, it added.
Airport operator Finavia told AFP that it did not expect civilian flights to be affected by the accident for the time being, with the next flight not expected for several hours.
Vatican conclave to pick new pope, world awaits white smoke

- Cardinals vote in the Sistine Chapel, cut off from world
- New pope unlikely to emerge before Thursday or Friday
- Lead cardinal tells peers to set aside personal desires
VATICAN CITY: Roman Catholic cardinals will begin the task on Wednesday of electing a new pope, locking themselves away from the world until they choose the man they hope can unite a diverse but divided global Church.
In a ritual dating back to medieval times, the cardinals will file into the Vatican’s frescoed Sistine Chapel after a public Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and start their secret conclave for a successor to Pope Francis, who died last month.
No pope has been elected on the first day of a conclave for centuries, so voting could continue for several days before one of the red-hatted princes of the Church receives the necessary two-thirds majority to become the 267th pontiff.
There will be only one ballot on Wednesday. Thereafter, the cardinals can vote as many as four times a day.
They will burn their ballots, with black smoke from a chimney on the roof of the chapel marking an inconclusive vote, while white smoke and the peeling of bells signalling that the 1.4-billion member church has a new leader.
The pope’s influence reaches well beyond the Catholic Church, providing a moral voice and a call to conscience that no other global leader can match.
At a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning before entering the conclave, the cardinals prayed that God would help them find a pope who would exercise “watchful care” over the world.
In a sermon, Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re told his peers they must set aside “every personal consideration” in choosing the new pontiff and keep in mind “only ... the good of the Church and of humanity.”
Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, is 91 and will not enter the conclave, which is reserved for cardinals under the age of 80.
Cardinals in recent days have offered different assessments of what they are looking for in the next pontiff.
While some have called for continuity with Francis’ vision of greater openness and reform, others have said they want to turn the clock back and embrace old traditions. Many have indicated they want a more predictable, measured pontificate.
A record 133 cardinals from 70 countries will enter the Sistine Chapel, up from 115 from 48 nations in the last conclave in 2013 — growth that reflects Francis’ efforts to extend the reach of the Church to far-flung regions with few Catholics.
No clear favorite has emerged, although Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle are considered the front-runners.
NO EAVESDROPPING
However, if it quickly becomes obvious that neither can win, votes are likely to shift to other contenders, with the electors possibly coalescing around geography, doctrinal affinity or common languages.
Among other potential candidates are France’s Jean-Marc Aveline, Hungary’s Peter Erdo, American Robert Prevost and Italy’s Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
Re suggested the cardinals should look for a pope who respected the diversity within the Church. “Unity does not mean uniformity, but a firm and profound communion in diversity,” he said in his sermon.
As in medieval times, the cardinals will be banned from communicating with outsiders during the conclave, and the Vatican has taken high-tech measures to ensure secrecy, including jamming devices to prevent any eavesdropping.
The average length of the last 10 conclaves was just over three days and none went on for more than five days. A 2013 conclave lasted just two days.
The cardinals will be looking to wrap things up quickly again this time to avoid giving the impression that they are divided or that the Church is adrift.
Some 80 percent of the cardinals who enter the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday were appointed by Francis, increasing the possibility that his successor will in some way continue his progressive policies despite strong pushback from traditionalists.
Among their considerations will be whether they should seek a pope from the global south where congregations are growing, as they did in 2013 with the Argentinian Francis, hand back the reins to Europe or even pick a first US pope.
China says US side initiated upcoming Geneva meeting on tariffs

BEIJING: An upcoming meeting between China and US trade representatives in Geneva was requested by the US side, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
China announced earlier that Vice Premier He Lifeng will visit Switzerland from May 9 to 12 during which He will also have a meeting with a US delegation led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
China’s position of opposing US tariffs has not changed and any dialogues must be based on equality, respect and mutual benefit, spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters.