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With Pride events scheduled around the world in the coming weeks, U.S. officials are preparing for a return of monkeypox, the infectious disease formerly called monkeypox that has affected tens of thousands of gay and bisexual men around the world in 2022. A combination of behavioral changes and vaccination quelled the epidemic, but the majority of people at risk have not yet been vaccinated.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Thursday of a deadlier version of the disease ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo and urged people at risk to get vaccinated as soon as possible. So far, no cases of this subtype have been identified outside Africa. But the escalating outbreak in Congo still poses a global threat, just as infections in Nigeria sparked the 2022 outbreak, expe...

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot five times on Wednesday, in the worst attack against a European leader in decades. Officials said the act was a politically motivated assassination attempt, fueling fears that Europe's increasingly polarized and vitriolic politics could lead to violence.Mr Fico, a veteran politician, underwent hours of emergency surgery after being seriously injured in a central Slovakian town. Hospital and government officials said Thursday that Mr. Fico's condition had stabilized overnight but remained serious.Here's what we know about the shooting.How did it happen?Videos from the scene indicate that Fico was killed in Banikov Square in the center of Handlova city, where the prime minister had held a government meeting.The attacker is seen in the ...

European Union regulators on Thursday opened an investigation into American tech giant Meta over the potentially addictive effects Instagram and Facebook have on children, an action with far-reaching implications because it cuts to the core of how they are designed the company's products.Meta products could "exploit the weaknesses and inexperience of minors" to create behavioral addictions that threaten their mental well-being, the European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-member bloc, said in a statement. EU regulators could eventually fine Meta up to 6% of its global revenue, which last year amounted to $135 billion, as well as impose other product changes.The investigations are part of a growing effort by governments around the world to rein in services like Instagram and...

Sasson's report took particular note of Avi Maoz, who headed the Ministry of Housing and Housing for much of this period. A political activist who spoke openly early in his career about expelling all Arabs from the West Bank, Maoz helped found a settlement south of Jerusalem in the 1990s and began building a professional alliance with Benjamin Netanyahu, then Israel's ambassador to the United States United. Nations and would soon move on to his first term as prime minister. Years later, Maoz would be instrumental in ensuring Netanyahu's political survival.“The picture that emerges in the eyes of the beholder is grave,” Sasson wrote in his report. “Instead of the government of Israel deciding to create settlements in the territories of Judea and Samaria, its place was taken,...

The Biden administration, under intense pressure from House lawmakers, moved on Wednesday to ban funding from a prominent virus-hunting nonprofit group whose work with Chinese scientists had put it at the center of theories that Covid would have leaked from a laboratory.The decision, announced in a letter from the Department of Health and Human Services, came on the heels of a fiery congressional hearing this month in which lawmakers attacked the group's president for allegedly misrepresenting its work with virologists in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic began. Republicans went further, demanding that Peter Daszak, the president of the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, be criminally investigated.For EcoHealth, which relied on federal funding to study the threat of wild animal viruses, the...

The French government declared a state of emergency in New Caledonia on Wednesday as it struggled to quell deadly riots in the semi-autonomous French Pacific territory.French authorities have undertaken what they called a "massive" mobilization of security forces since violent protests erupted in New Caledonia this week against a proposed amendment to the French Constitution that would change local voting rules in the territory. The French parliament's vote approving the amendment on Tuesday triggered deadly riots overnight.“The priority is to restore order, calm and serenity,” Gabriel Attal, the French prime minister, told lawmakers on Wednesday.The French government said more than 1,800 security officers are already in the territory and that 500 reinforcements will arrive in the nex...

Netflix is ​​no longer simply operating in the “sports adjacent” business. On Wednesday, the streaming giant announced a three-season deal with the National Football League that will include broadcasting two Christmas Day games on its service this year. It's the first time Netflix has partnered with a major sports league, and it likely won't be the last.The move follows Netflix's increasingly aggressive push into the live events business. For the past two weeks, “The Roast of Tom Brady” has been the most-watched English-language television program; a six-day wacky talk show about John Mulaney went viral as part of the Netflix Is a Joke live comedy festival in Los Angeles; and the stand-up special “Katt Williams: Woke Foke” has been viewed 4.3 million times.“Last year, we d...

Sameh Shoukry, Egypt's foreign minister, immediately objected, saying the crossing was still closed because of Israel's control over it and because its military operations were endangering truck drivers and aid workers. In a statement from Egypt's Foreign Ministry, Shoukry rejected what he described as "the policy of distorting facts."Israeli officials rarely publicly criticize Egypt, with which Israel maintains a decades-old peace treaty and sensitive security cooperation.Defying international pressure, Israel launched a limited invasion of Rafah on May 6, seizing areas to the east. Even if the trucks were allowed to pass through the Rafah crossing, it is unclear whether they could safely cross into eastern Rafah, where Israeli forces are fighting Hamas militants.Israel rece...

STDs are on the rise across the United States. More than 3,700 cases of congenital syphilis have been reported in 2022, about 11 times the number recorded ten years ago.Syphilis during pregnancy can lead to miscarriages and stillbirths, and children who survive may become blind or deaf or have severe developmental delays. But timely testing and treatment can prevent most of these outcomes.Sexually transmitted infections disproportionately affect communities of color. Socioeconomic status and education level can also influence prenatal care.I cover infectious diseases at the Times. I would love to hear firsthand from women who have had syphilis during pregnancy. Were you offered testing during pregnancy? If you tested positive were you treated? How has syphilis affected your child...

At the end of a somber day in the Ukrainian capital, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken sat at Barman Dictat, a crowded basement cocktail bar where a punk-jazz band screamed.After a few songs, the band's frontman called Mr. Blinken to the stage on Tuesday and, sure enough, America's top diplomat slung a red Epiphone guitar over his shoulder.“I know this is a really, really difficult time,” said Mr. Blinken, who ditched his trademark dark suit and tie for blue jeans and a dark button-down shirt. It was a reference to recent Russian military gains. Ukrainian soldiers, particularly in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, he said, “are suffering tremendously.”“But they need to know, you need to know, the United States is with you, much of the world is with you,” he said, capturing the...