Global News Podcast - First case of deadly Mpox found outside Africa

Episode Date: August 16, 2024

The first case of a deadly Mpox variant has been found outside Africa. Sweden has reported a case of someone who was infected in Africa where there is a major outbreak of the Mpox Clade 1 variant. The World Health Organisation says it expects more infections will be found in Europe in the coming days. Also: five people are charged over the death of Friends star Matthew Perry, and Washington condemns Russia for sending a ballerina to jail for donating to a US-funded pro-Ukraine charity.

Hello, this is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service, with reports and analysis from across the world. The latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are supported by advertising. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Thank you. Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Bernadette Keogh, and in the early hours of Friday 16th August, these are our main stories.

The World Health Organisation says more cases of a dangerous variant of MPOX are likely to be found in Europe in the coming days after Sweden reports the first infection outside Africa. As international pressure builds for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a new round of talks begins in Qatar. The authorities in the United States charge five people over the death last year of The Friends star Matthew Perry. Also in this podcast. It's nothing less than just vindictive cruelty. We're talking about 50 bucks to try to alleviate the suffering of people in Ukraine. Washington condemns a jail term handed to a ballerina

for donating to a US-funded charity supporting Ukraine. Washington condemns a jail term handed to a ballerina for donating to a US-funded charity supporting Ukraine. Just a day after the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency over the spread of a more deadly variant of mpox, the first case of the disease has been found outside Africa. Sweden says a man who was infected while in an African country has fallen ill with the new variant. Dr Bharat Pankania teaches at the University of Exeter Medical School. He says there's no doubt the new version of mpox is more of a public health threat. This particular variant of MPOX, as we now call it, Clade 1B, is appearing to be much more infectious. And by being much more infectious,

unfortunately, it generates more cases. And then generating more cases also results in more people unwell, and then some of them will die. Magnus Gisland is Sweden's chief epidemiologist. He told the BBC that so far the outbreak there seems to be limited to that one patient. We don't have any indications of spread from this person, but of course, that's something that we are looking at very closely together with sort of authorities, local authorities. So it's very important to avoid a spread within the country. My colleague Nigel Adderley asked our health correspondent Dominic Hughes

how the international community has been reacting. As you would expect, a lot of public health officials around the world paying a lot of attention to that. We've heard here in the UK, for example, that the UK Health Security Agency are monitoring and surveilling. As you would expect, they have told us that they are ready should the need arise, but there are no cases here yet. But obviously then we've had this case that's been reported in Sweden, which is the first case outside of Africa related to what's known as this Clade 1B. Basically, that's a variant of mpox.

And this is essentially a variant of the disease that is driving this surge in infections across 16 countries in Africa. It's more dangerous and more infectious than the variant that led to the outbreak in 2022. And that outbreak affected more than 100 countries. So there's a lot of concern out there, I think. And you mentioned what's been going on in Sweden. Around Europe, do you feel that's really sharpened things up in terms of the medical response? Yes, I think so. I mean, we know that there will be monitoring and surveillance and people are looking at their ability to test. They're looking at their ability to trace people in the same way that they did through COVID, you know, when they did contact tracing, trying to keep track of who is where and who has what infection, all those kind of measures that were put in place will be very familiar to people, I'm sure. So across Europe and across the world, I think public health officials will be noting what's happening in Africa and really preparing for another outbreak like we saw in 2022, 2023. You mentioned the outbreak then,

of course, COVID-19 occurred before that, but do you feel lessons have been learned, maybe in areas like Europe, which could be put into action here? What happened in that previous outbreak in 2022, you know, that affected, I think it was 111 countries and we saw nearly 100,000 cases worldwide and probably more, in fact, that weren't actually identified. So we have sort of been down this road before, particularly with MPOCs. And the things that made the difference then are the things that I think will make the difference now. One is vaccines and two is behavioural change. So trying to get people to modify their behaviour to reduce the risk that they could come into contact with this very, very infectious virus. The problem with mpox is there is a period before you show

any of the early symptoms, which are like basically flu-like symptoms before you develop these blisters on your skin. But even before that, you can be contagious, spread the virus to other people without knowing you're sick yourself. And even then, when you develop the flu-like symptoms, you might just think, well, I've got a bit of flu or I've got a bit of COVID or I've got a terrible cold and not realise that you've got MPOC. So that's one of the real difficulties, I think, that public health officials will be wrestling with. Dominic Hughes. The United States has said there's been a promising start to Gaza ceasefire talks, but there's still a lot of work to do.

Together with Egypt and Qatar, where the talks are being held, the US wants a truce not only to try to bring an end to the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and free the surviving Israeli hostages. The pressure is also on the negotiators to get a ceasefire to stop Iran attacking Israel in revenge for the assassination of the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran two weeks ago. However, while Israeli spy chiefs are in Qatar, Hamas hasn't sent anyone. Vedant Patel, the US State Department's spokesman, said there was still close contact with Palestinian groups. There are representatives on the ground there from Israel, from the United States,

from Qatar and Egypt, and Qatar and Egypt, as part of that process, are mediating with Hamas. And so you heard me say a number of times this week that our partners assured us that Hamas would be representative in one way, shape or form, and they certainly would be part of the ongoing conversations, which is probably necessary when we're talking about negotiations. Hamas has said that any ceasefire must involve the total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

But Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has vowed to eliminate Hamas. Our correspondent, Wura Davis, is monitoring the negotiations from Jerusalem. These talks were meant to last for two days. That was the scheduled duration. And there are unconfirmed reports via a well-connected Israeli journalist, Barak Ravid, that they have agreed to stay on for a second day. And that is, you know, when there has been very little progress in recent days and weeks, that is a good sign. So the Israeli and American negotiators who've been sent to Qatar are hopefully, and it's been

confirmed, going to stay on for a second day. And of course, the key thing here, as you said in the introduction, is some signs of progress. Because were the talks to collapse, then there's a real danger that vacuum could be filled by this Iranian promise, this Iranian threat to follow through on its revenge. So any signs of progress are being grasped at by those international players who really want them to succeed. And why hasn't Hamas sent anyone to the talks? Well, Hamas has never, in the duration of these talks over the last 10 months, never sat down directly with senior American figures. Hamas has accused Israel of moving the goalposts, particularly conditions, says Hamas, about the free movement of Palestinians within Gaza in the event of a ceasefire, and also Israeli control over an area called the Philadelphia Corridor,

which is the area between Gaza and the Egyptian border. Now, Israel says it hasn't changed its demands, but Hamas isn't physically present at the talks. But, of course, Qatar is where most of Hamas's leaders in exile are, so they'll be aware of what's going on, and the Qatari and Egyptian negotiators will certainly keep Hamas officials in the loop. Well, we've been here so many times.

What hopes are there of a ceasefire? Do both sides really want one? This is the big question. There are hardliners in new Hamas leadership in Yahya Sinwa and far right-wing ministers in the Israeli government who clearly perhaps don't want a ceasefire. Even Benjamin Netanyahu himself talks about total victory, and some of his ministers disagree with that,

saying now is the time for compromise. You know, you're going to have to compromise if there's to be a ceasefire, if those 120 or so Israeli hostages and the bodies of dead hostages are to be released. So there is a lot of pressure, particularly from the international community, from the American government, from the British, the Germans and the French. We hear there may be ministerial visits by high profile European figures in coming days to try and reach some sort of deal. But these talks in Qatar are talks about talks. We're not going to see in the next two days

hostages released. We're not going to see a ceasefire. The key thing in Qatar is to try and make progress around a framework for future peace talks. Wura Davis. Five people, including two doctors, have been charged in connection with the death of the actor Matthew Perry, who was best known for his role in the sitcom Friends. The 54-year-old was found dead in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles last October after taking the drug ketamine. Martin Estrada is the United States Attorney for the Central District of California.

These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry, but they did it anyways. In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being. Our correspondent in Los Angeles, Peter Bowes, gave us this update. Five people have been charged, and these are defendants who, according to the

authorities, took advantage of Matthew Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves. And one of the key allegations is that they knew what they were doing, that what they were doing was wrong, that it was potentially dangerous to Matthew Perry to use ketamine, which is the drug in question, without any kind of medical supervision. One of those charged is a woman called Jasveen Sanger. She lives in North Hollywood, sometimes described as the ketamine queen, allegedly a drug dealer. And she is alleged to have supplied the vials of the drug that were actually used by Matthew Perry on the day of his death. There's another of the defendants, Dr Salvador Plasencia. He is alleged to have been involved in this complicated sort of web of individuals and through the interception of

text messages between these people, he is said to have speculated about how much money Matthew Perry would actually pay for these drugs. Another of the defendants is Kenneth Iwasmasa, who was the live-in personal assistant to Matthew Perry, who had various responsibilities involving his care, but he is alleged to have been a go-between, also alleged to have actually injected the drug himself on the day of Matthew Perry's death.

And, Peter, it's worrying how easy it seems to be able to acquire the controlled drugs in the US. It is deeply worrying, and I'm sure there are many people here in Los Angeles, indeed around the world, who are fans of Matthew Perry. Matthew Perry, the actor, hugely lauded, of course, his role in Friends. Those will be deeply shocked, I think, by the extent of the detail that we've heard of the alleged involvement of so many people. It is, as you imply, kind of widely known that there is a huge problem

with the abuse of prescription drugs in this country. And to quote one of the individuals at the press conference, there are many who will play roulette with people's lives, the implication being that clearly that's what was happening with Matthew Perry, but many other people in this country are the victims of the misuse of prescription drugs because there are so many other alleged, at least in this case, alleged enablers around

who are prepared to profit from the supply of these drugs. Peter Bowes. A new study has revealed people don't grow old gracefully, but in fits and starts. Scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine in California found that the most dramatic periods of ageing come in your mid-40s and early 60s. John Donison reports. For those who've ever woken up feeling like they've dramatically aged overnight, this study might provide some explanation. The Stanford team tracked more than 100 volunteers aged between 25 and 75 for a period of up to six years. They monitored changes to more than 135,000 molecules in the human body, including those linked to cardiovascular disease, loss of muscle mass and weight gain. The researchers detected two standout waves of

age-related changes. On average, the first occurred around the age of 44 and the second around the age of 60. Professor Michael Snyder led the study. Most people think of people just gradually getting older, but we looked at molecular and all kinds of changes going on in people, and we discovered that there are dramatic changes that occur as people hit their 60s. That was sort of known before because many age-related diseases pop up then. But I think the birth that's happening around in the mid-40s was quite unexpected, although in hindsight might make sense. Professor Snyder said the mid-40s spike was initially assumed to be linked to the menopause, but the scientists found similar shifts in men at the same age. The study suggested behavioural factors at certain times of life could be significant.

For example, increased alcohol consumption in your 40s, often considered a particularly stressful decade due to work and family pressures. John Donison reporting. Still to come. China has a high unemployment rate, particularly amongst young people. And people really struggle to get jobs and they really want to hold on to jobs like this. Protests in China over a bike courier pictured pleading on his knees before a security guard. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads?

Get current affairs podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story, plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. A $50 donation made by a ballerina to a US-funded charity supporting Ukraine has landed her in jail in Russia. Ksenia Karolina, who works in Los Angeles and holds dual US-Russian nationality, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. She was visiting the city of Ekaterinburg when she was arrested in January.

The Russian authorities accuse her of raising money for an organisation that provides arms to the Ukrainian military. But John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, said that Ksenia Karolina was innocent of any crime. It's nothing less than just vindictive cruelty. We're talking about 50 bucks to try to alleviate the suffering of people of Ukraine. And to call that treason is just absolutely ludicrous. Earlier this month, Russia and Western governments carried out the largest prisoner exchange since the Cold War. Ms Karolina's lawyer said she couldn't be included because at that stage she hadn't been sentenced. Her partner, the boxer Chris Van Heerden, said she couldn't be included because at that stage she hadn't been sentenced. Her partner,

the boxer Chris Van Heerden, said she should not have been left behind. I'm angry with the State Department because Kassena was supposed to be part of the swap that took place. I was putting a lot of pressure and I was slowed down and pushed back and said, look here Chris, there will be no prison swap until after the election or even maybe early next year. So we have time to get our ducks in a row. But guess what? We did not have time. Rebecca Kesby has been speaking to our Eastern Europe correspondent, Sarah Rainsford, about the case. Just how extraordinary is the conviction and the sentence, even by Russian standards? I think it's fair to say that even by the extremely repressive standards of Russia today,

this is extreme. I think had this happened in Russia, if she'd been in Russia and had made a payment from inside Russia, it would be easier somehow to understand, although it would also be a very, very harsh sentence. But this is a payment that Ksenia Karelyna made whilst in the United States as an American citizen to an organisation based in the United States and supporting Ukraine. And the fact is that when she was back in Russia, she was treated, of course, as a Russian citizen because her American passport doesn't count there. She was prosecuted under Russian law. And even a payment made abroad is enough in Russia to get you convicted as a traitor. So I think, you know, it is a deeply, deeply repressive environment.

It is, you know, a society that has been divided into patriots and traitors and enemies, and, you know, allies for years now. And I'd say the sort of beginning of the peak was back in 2014, when Russia illegally annexed Ukraine. From then on, it's been an escalating system of repression. And I think, you know, this kind of idea of if you're not with us, you're against us has led to the laws on treason being tightened and to convictions and prosecutions like this one although as I say this is exceedingly harsh. Her partner has told us that he's planning to appeal to the US State Department to get help for this but is there any hope of a successful appeal from within Russia? No there is no chance that this conviction would be overturned on appeal within the normal legal proceedings in Russia.

She will be serving that sentence unless she's able to get out some other way using her American citizenship and any government pressure that's brought to bear. I mean, that is the reality. And, you know, bear in mind that when there was that big prisoner swap just a week or so ago, there were dual citizens involved in that swap. And that is the problem. If you're in Russia with any other passport, you are considered as a Russian citizen, your other passport doesn't count. So there's no protection. Apart from if you're prosecuted, you might hope that the US government can intercede and can negotiate for you. Does this decision today then give a nod to a new period maybe of hostage diplomacy employed by Moscow and what kind of message does that send to dual nationals and even foreign nationals living in Russia at the moment? Well I think the signal to anyone in Russia is to be afraid and I think

that's what's you know that's deliberate this is supposed to tell people that if they don't support and act in support of the Russian government, the Russian state, and show any kind of dissent, then they are in danger, and that their foreign passport won't protect them if they have one. In terms of hostage diplomacy, well, you know, prisoner swaps didn't start a couple of weeks ago. They have been happening on and off very sporadically for some time. They take a huge amount of negotiation, discussion, political will, and I think the chances of another swap coming any time soon are pretty slim. Sarah Rainsford. To Greece now, where wildfires have ravaged land and homes leading all the

way up to the suburbs of Athens. These blazes are common in the southern European country, but scientists say climate change is intensifying the problem. Our correspondent, Jessica Parker, reports from the countryside just north of Athens, where this fire broke out, to speak to the people who live there. On burnt-out, hilly scrubland, two men are hoisted up a thick wooden mast, replacing destroyed power lines. And nearby is the town of Vanavas. It's in this area where Sunday's wildfire began. It is an apocalyptic-looking scene. These hillsides are now blanketed in dark grey ash and soil.

Some of the pine trees have survived, but lots of them have basically been reduced to what look like blackened matchsticks protruding from the earth. In a cafe at Baravas, I meet Georgia, a young mum. We thought that they will grow up in a green area, perfect climate with good temperatures, but now the temperatures are very high, so 40 degrees for two months now so it's very high for us we are not used to that even for greece we love summer but not like that do you think greece and the world is doing enough about climate change of course not we're doing everything to destroy the whole planet but you'll stay in this

area you don't have that choice always if If your house is here, if your friends, your family, where to go? The fire went until Pedeli and Vrliscia, Meliscia, Halandri. That's in Athens. It's not a mountain like here. It's nothing. Sit down here. Her partner George is also in the bar. He's a volunteer firefighter and was among the hundreds to tackle the flames. It was like hell. It was like a war. Everywhere fire, panic everywhere. It was like a windy day and we didn't have water to refill our trucks, our vehicles.

In a mayor's office in the nearby seaside town of Nea Makri, spokesman Stelios Markakis says depleting water reserves are a huge concern for Greece. He highlights tourism as something that's draining resources. All over the world there's a discussion about that. We need sustainable tourism. Firefighting aircraft continue to circle in the skies. Mitigation measures like clearing land of flammable materials such as dead leaves and branches are becoming more stringent. On a bigger scale, Greece's Prime Minister today said the climate crisis required a collective effort.

But here, many are worried, as a hot sun continues to beat down on the tinder dryer. Jessica Parker reporting. To China now. A huge crowd of delivery riders demonstrate outside a building in downtown Hangzhou in eastern China. Their anger had been sparked by pictures of a bike courier kneeling at the feet of a security guard outside the building. I heard more about what led up to the protest from our China media analyst, Kerry Allen. This all went back to Monday when this delivery driver

went to a building in Hangzhou, which is a city in eastern China, and he was stopped by a security guard who told him that he'd damaged railings, scaling them during a rush delivery. And as a result, the takeaway rider got down on his knees and he was trying to plead with the security guard because he said he was worried about this affecting his job. And this image went viral because a lot of people started gathering round. They saw this happening. And the images appeared online, videos as well. And it led to a lot of anger about the idea that a delivery driver would be treated in such a way that he'd literally be getting down begging just to be able to get out and do his job.

So it sort of struck a raw nerve, do you think? It did, yes, because there have been videos in the past of people doing jobs like this, but almost being subjected to degrading experiences. So in the past of people doing jobs like this, but almost being subjected to degrading experiences. So in the past, I've seen similar kind of behavior, you know, managers getting staff to kind of kneel down, kowtow to their boss, literally get down on their knees and worship their boss almost. And there is a bit of concern about it in China that this kind of behavior happens. And what's been the reaction on social media to it? What's really interesting about this is that there's been images that have appeared on foreign social media platforms today, like X, the platform that used to be Twitter,

showing that other delivery drivers have come out and protest in Hangzhou. Now, the reason I mentioned that they've appeared on X is because in China, any gatherings of people protesting are automatically blocked because China doesn't want any shows of dissent online. But people are aware of them. They've been seeing these images on Weibo before they've been taken down. These drivers have been wanting to protest about this incident. And they're asking, well, what's going to happen? Are the drivers likely to lose their jobs because of this? Are they going to be punished? There's a big concern about, as they perceive, the upper class and the way they treat the lower class in China. And I think especially these kind of gig economy workers, because China has a high unemployment rate,

particularly amongst young people. And people really struggle to get jobs. And they really want to hold on to jobs like this. In fact, actually, a lot of delivery driver jobs actually ask for a master's degree. So the idea that these might just be young people just trying to make a bit of money and really struggling just to actually do their job because of all of these systematic rules, it's really triggered a conversation that I don't think is going to go away. Kerry Allen. Post-Olympics stress disorder. The Games are all over and as the razzmatazz fades and the Olympic torch moves on,

what do those who have twisted every sinew do now? Even the biggest stars have talked about depression and anxiety setting in. Simon Jack talked to Adam Burgess, Team GB canoeist who won a silver in Paris, and to Dr Karen Howells, a lecturer in sports psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University, who's researched the post-Olympic blues. She started by outlining some of the issues for athletes after the massive adjustment following the Games. Loss of purpose, don't know what to do with themselves, a realisation that actually nothing's changed. And that has a real impact on their wellbeing. Adam, do you recognise some of that? I mean, I'm guessing having won a silver medal, the euphoria still with you? Is it draining

away? What's your experience? Still very much on cloud nine, kind of looking forward to life, to returning a bit more normality soon hopefully but I mean I know it's going to hit at some point I had a very different experience coming home from Tokyo there's a quote I'd say from Cool Runnings that I love where yes his coach how will I know if I'm enough when I'm stood up on that podium and his coach said you'll know because if you're not enough without the medal you'll never be enough with it. And for me, that's something that I think just sums it up so well that, you know, you need to be happy with your life outside of sport. They're amazing experiences that we can have. But yeah, ultimately, we have to come back down to earth eventually. Yeah. And when they do have to come down to earth, Karen, what kind of post-event help is there available?

I think the individual national governing bodies provide sports psychology support. I suppose it's the four to six weeks after the games when some of the formal network that the athletes might have utilised before the games have gone. The last couple of days started to think that, you know, I could really do with a bit of routine. You know, we're so well looked after in that build-up. Even like the little things like, you know, our food all provided in the hotel or Olympic Village.

Now we've got to cook for ourselves again. Karen, this is something that affects even the greatest Olympians of all time. You know, the Simone Biles of the world, Adam Peaty. They've described about problems with depression, anxiety, whatever. What is your advice to other Olympians who might be struggling? So I think the first thing is understanding that this is normal. I've not yet met an Olympian who hasn't experienced the blues at all. Second, have something else in place to do. Engaging in something other than the sport just to keep them occupied. And I think the third thing is about social support. And the Olympians that we spoke to really appreciated support from others who've been through it

more than support from sports psychologists. And really, those who know what you're going through are those who competed as well. Dr Karen Howells and Adam Burgess. And that's all from us for now, but there'll be a new edition of the Global News podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on X at Global News Pod.

This edition was mixed by Matt Dean and the producer was Alison Davies. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Bernadette Keogh. Until next time, goodbye. podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story, plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts.