European Countries Step Up Security at Jewish Sites

A resident stands with an Israeli soldier near a cordoned-off Israeli police station that was damaged during battles the previous day to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on October 8, 2023. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A resident stands with an Israeli soldier near a cordoned-off Israeli police station that was damaged during battles the previous day to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on October 8, 2023. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
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European Countries Step Up Security at Jewish Sites

A resident stands with an Israeli soldier near a cordoned-off Israeli police station that was damaged during battles the previous day to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on October 8, 2023. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A resident stands with an Israeli soldier near a cordoned-off Israeli police station that was damaged during battles the previous day to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on October 8, 2023. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Germany and France on Saturday moved to reinforce security around Jewish temples, schools and monuments after the surprise attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas against Israel.

Germany tightened police protection of Jewish and Israeli institutions, as some supporters of the Palestinians took to the streets of Berlin to celebrate the attack.

France focused on Jewish temples and schools in cities across the country, as one Jewish leader expressed concern at the possibility the conflict might be imported there.

"In Berlin, police protection has been immediately stepped up," Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told Bild newspaper. "The federal government and the regions are closely coordinating their actions."

Germany's authorities were also closely watching "potential supporters of Hamas in the Islamist sphere", she added.

Berlin police posted photos on social media showing "people celebrating the attacks on Israel by passing out pastries" on Sonnenallee, the main avenue in the city's Neukoelln district.

Police had in some cases carried out identity checks and filed complaints, they added.

The German account of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network posted photos of the distribution of pastries on the streets of Berlin and a message celebrating "the resistance of the Palestinian people".

Later Saturday, Berlin's famous Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of reunified Germany, was lit up in the colors of the Israeli flag.

"In solidarity with Israel," wrote Chancellor Olaf Scholz on X, formerly Twitter. Israel's ambassador replied on the same platform, thanking him for "this beautiful symbol".

In France, security had already been stepped up at synagogues in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Strasbourg because of religious holidays observed since late September.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin sent an urgent message to regional officials asking them to reinforce surveillance even further.

"At a time when terrorist attacks from Gaza are hitting Israel, I ask you to immediately step up vigilance, security and protection of Jewish community sites in France," he wrote in a message seen by AFP.

He called for a "visible and systematic static presence", and the use of soldiers from France's Operation Sentinelle, a special force deployed across the country since the 2015 terror attacks.

In the east of France, increased surveillance of Jewish schools and synagogues in the city of Strasbourg was being organised, said Pierre Haas, of the Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF).

"We were very shocked and worried by this outburst of violence," he told AFP.

Knowing the Israeli army would hit back, he said, "we're not reassured by the possibility of the conflict being imported to France".

Police sources confirmed that security had also been stepped up in the southern port city of Marseille, the north of France and in the Paris region.

London's police service said late Saturday it had increased patrols across parts of the UK capital after "a number of incidents ... in relation to the ongoing conflict in Israel and the border with Gaza".



China Discovers Cluster of New Mpox Strain

A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
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China Discovers Cluster of New Mpox Strain

A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Chinese health authorities said on Thursday they had detected the new mutated mpox strain clade Ib as the viral infection spreads to more countries after the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency last year.
China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention said it had found a cluster outbreak of the Ib subclade that started with the infection a foreigner who has a history of travel and residence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Reuters reported.
Four further cases have been found in people infected after close contact with the foreigner. The patients' symptoms are mild and include skin rash and blisters.
Mpox spreads through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body. Although usually mild, it can be fatal in rare cases.
WHO last August declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that spread to neighboring countries.
The outbreak in DRC began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But the clade Ib variant appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
The variant has spread from DRC to neighboring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, triggering the emergency declaration from the WHO.
China said in August last year it would monitor people and goods entering the country for mpox.
The country's National Health Commission said mpox would be managed as a Category B infectious disease, enabling officials to take emergency measures such as restricting gatherings, suspending work and school, and sealing off areas when there is an outbreak of a disease.