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India’s first suspected Mpox case reported

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A young man in India who had recently returned from a country experiencing an Mpox (monkeypox) outbreak, has been identified as the first suspected Mpox case in India.

He is symptomatic but stable, with samples taken to confirm infection.

Authorities have initiated contact tracing and are managing the case according to established protocols to identify sources and assess the impact within India.

This situation aligns with the earlier risk assessment by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Officials stress there is no cause for alarm, stating, “the country is well-prepared to handle isolated travel-related cases.” They also asserted that robust measures are in place to manage and mitigate any potential risk.

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed between humans through close physical contact. It can sometimes be deadly, causing fever, muscular aches, and large boil-like skin lesions.

The World Health Organization declared an international emergency on August 14 due to a surge in cases of the Clade 1b strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which then spread to nearby countries. A vaccination campaign against Mpox in Congo will begin on October 2.

(Excerpts : TOI)

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Google Maps updates Gulf of Mexico name for US users

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Google Maps has changed the Gulf of Mexico’s name to the Gulf of America for people using the app in the US.

Explaining the move, Google said it was making the change as part of “a longstanding practice” of following name changes when updated by official government sources.

It said the Gulf – which is bordered by the US, Cuba and Mexico – would not be changed for people using the app in Mexico, and users elsewhere in the world will see the label: “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)”.

It comes after President Donald Trump ordered the body of water to be renamed in US government documents after he returned to office last month.

Mexico had decried the move, arguing that the US had no legal right to change the Gulf’s name.

The change was made by Google on Monday after the Geographic Names Information System, a US government database run by the Interior Department, listed an update to the Gulf’s name.

The listing reads: “The Gulf of America, formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico, with an average depth 5300 ft is a major body of water bordered and nearly landlocked by North America with the Gulf’s eastern, northern, and northwestern shores in the U.S. and its southwestern and southern shores in Mexico.”

It said the change was made in accordance with Trump’s executive order to “restore names that honor American Greatness”.

Following the signing of the order, President Trump proclaimed 9 February as “Gulf of America Day”.

“I call upon public officials and all the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities,” a White House statement said.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum had asked Google to reconsider its decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico.

She argued the US could not legally change the Gulf’s name because the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea dictates that an individual country’s sovereign territory only extends up to 12 nautical miles out from the coastline.

The Associated Press, a global media organisation, said that it would not change the name of the Gulf of Mexico in its style guide – which is used by most US media outlets.

Because of the style guide decision, the White House said it was barring an AP reporter from covering an executive order signing in the Oval Office.

“It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,” AP’s Executive Editor Julie Pace said in a statement. “Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.”

Trump’s executive order, signed on 20 January, also ordered North America’s tallest mountain – Denali – be called Mount McKinley, which was its name previously.

That change is not yet reflected on Google Maps, though the AP has adopted the mountain’s old name in its style guide.

(BBC News)

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BJP secures landmark victory in Delhi elections after 27 years

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party will form the government in Indian capital Delhi after 27 years as it scripted an impressive election victory.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won or is leading in 47 seats in the 70-member legislative assembly, while the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is ahead in 23 seats, according to data from the Election Commission of India (EC).

A party that wins more than the halfway mark of 35 seats can form the government.

“Development wins, good governance triumphs,” Modi wrote on X, adding that his party would leave “no stone unturned” in developing Delhi .

The election was a battle of prestige for both the BJP and AAP, given Delhi’s symbolic importance as the country’s capital.

The city, a federally-administered territory, was governed by the AAP since 2013, with voters backing its strong record of welfarism. But the party and its leaders have faced several challenges recently, with leaders embroiled in corruption allegations which they have denied.

For the BJP, securing Delhi represents more than just electoral success – it marks a crucial foothold in the nation’s capital after being out of power there since 1998.

The party, which has had recent election successes in other states, such as Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, threw resources at the Delhi campaign, with Modi as well as Home Minister Amit Shah attending events.

Congress, the main opposition party at the national level, was also in the race, but is unlikely to win even one seat.

The party governed Delhi from 1998 to 2013, but was ousted over allegations of corruption that saw voters turn to AAP instead. It has failed to make a mark since.

Experts say that the win in politically crucial Delhi will reinforce Modi’s popularity among Indian voters after his party lost its outright majority in last year’s general election.

The defeat is a big blow to the AAP, a much smaller party which was praised in its early years in power for focusing on improving education and health facilities in the city. It also governs Punjab state, but retaining Delhi would have been a triumph for the beleaguered party which now faces questions about its future.

On Saturday, the biggest upsets for AAP included top leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia losing in the New Delhi and Jangpura constituencies, respectively.

Incumbent Chief Minister Atishi managed only a narrow victory from the Kalkaji constituency.

In a video message on X, Kejriwal said he and his party “humbly accepted” the verdict of the people and congratulated the BJP on its win.

“I hope they live up to the expectations of the people who voted for them,” he said.

More than 60% of eligible voters cast their ballot in the election on Wednesday. Most exit polls had predicted an absolute majority for the BJP, although such predictions have gone wrong in the past.

Much of the BJP campaign targeted Kejriwal, an anti-graft activist, who – along with Sisodia – had been jailed over the past two years in a corruption case relating to a now-scrapped alcohol sales policy. Both leaders, who deny all the charges, separately got bail last year after spending months in jail.

Kejriwal has accused Modi’s party of carrying out a “political vendetta” against him and the AAP, which the BJP denies.

The Supreme Court’s bail conditions banned him from entering the chief minister’s office or signing files. Kejriwal resigned from the role days after his release from prison.

Source: BBC

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Protesters set fire to ex-Bangladesh PM’s family home

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Protesters in Bangladesh have vandalised and set fire to the former family home of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, as well as those of other members of her party.

The unrest was sparked by news that Hasina would address the country via social media from India, where she has been in exile since a student-led revolt ousted her last year.

The 77-year-old Hasina, who was in charge of Bangladesh for 20 years, was seen as an autocrat whose government ruthlessly clamped down on dissent.

On Wednesday evening, an excavator smashed down the house of Hasina’s late father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is also Bangladesh’s founding president. The structure had been repurposed into a museum.

Hasina’s father is widely viewed as an independence hero, but anger at his daughter has tarnished his legacy among Hasina’s critics.

In a Facebook livestream, Hasina condemned the attack on her father’s former home and demanded “justice”.

“They can demolish a building, but they can’t erase history,” she said.

While Hasina fled to India last August, anger has not dissipated against her and members of her party Awami League. More than 200 people were killed last year when Hasina’s government attempted to crack down on the protests.

On Wednesday, protesters also vandalised and torched the houses and businesses of senior Awami League leaders. There have been calls on social media to rid the country of “pilgrimage sites of fascism”.

Police told the BBC’s Bengali service that around 700 protesters showed up at the residence on Wednesday night, and dozens of police officers were deployed.

Since Hasina’s ouster, a caretaker government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has kept the country running.

Yunus has pledged to hold elections in late 2025 or early 2026.

(BBC)

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