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

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

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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.

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 needed 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.

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.