First Mpox Case Detected in Azerbaijan

A test tube labelled "Mpox virus positive" is held in this illustration taken August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
A test tube labelled "Mpox virus positive" is held in this illustration taken August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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First Mpox Case Detected in Azerbaijan

A test tube labelled "Mpox virus positive" is held in this illustration taken August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
A test tube labelled "Mpox virus positive" is held in this illustration taken August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

A case of mpox has been found in Azerbaijan, Interfax news agency reported on Saturday, adding that the patient had been isolated and was receiving treatment in hospital.
Interfax quoted Azerbaijan's Ministry of Health and Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) as saying the patient was a 22-year-old citizen of Azerbaijan who had been on a tourist trip abroad from Jan. 2-11.
A few days after his return, he went to a clinic in Azerbaijan's capital Baku complaining of weakness, fever, a skin rash, enlarged lymph nodes and muscle pains, Interfax reported.
The ministry and TABIB did not specify where the patient had been abroad.
According to Reuters, Interfax said family members who had been in contact with the patient had shown no signs of the disease and were under home observation.
Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact, and typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild, but it can be lethal.
In August, the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency after an mpox outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo that had spread to neighboring countries and beyond.



NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
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NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File

Ukraine is still getting essential defense equipment despite the war in the Middle East, which is depleting stockpiles in Europe and the United States, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Thursday.

"The good news is that essential equipment into Ukraine continues to flow," he told reporters. That included American-made Patriot missile interceptors, which Ukraine desperately needs, he added, AFP reported.

The PURL program, launched last year, allows Ukraine to receive US equipment financed by European countries.

Some 75 percent of the missiles used by Patriot batteries in Ukraine have been supplied through the program, and 90 percent of the munitions used by other air-defense systems, Rutte added.

Rutte called on European countries to increase their own production capacity.

"They need to produce more extra production lines, extra shifts, opening new factories. The money is there," he said.


Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
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Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)

Germany's foreign minister Thursday said it was encouraging if the United States was talking directly to Iran to end the war in the Middle East, but Washington should make its intentions clear.

"I hear that there are signs that the US is speaking directly to Iran. I think that this is encouraging and this is welcome," Johann Wadephul told reporters before heading into the meeting of G7 foreign ministers outside Paris, AFP reported.

With US Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to join the discussions from Friday, he added: "For the German government it is of great importance to know precisely what our American partners are intending."


US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The United States has sent Iran a "15-point action list" as a basis for negotiations to end the current conflict, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday, adding that there are signs that Tehran was interested in making a deal.

 

Witkoff, speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House, said that the nascent talks could be successful if the Iranians realize there were no good alternatives - a realization Tehran might be coming to, he argued, Reuters reported.

 

"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction," Witkoff told reporters.

 

"We have strong signs that this is a possibility."

 

Witkoff said Pakistan had been acting as a mediator, confirming statements from Pakistani officials.