ISTANBUL Here’s a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Friday, including WHO reporting that mpox virus "does not spread the same way" as COVID-19, Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming Ukraine tried to strike the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu insisting on full control of the Philadelphi Corridor ahead of Gaza cease-fire talks in Egypt, and Tim Walz officially accepting nomination for the US vice president at the Democratic National Convention. TOP STORIES Mpox virus ‘doesn’t spread the same way’ as COVID-19: WHO The contact-transmitted mpox virus is not the same as the airborne COVID-19 virus, and they do not “spread the same way,” a World Health Organization (WHO) official said. Maria Van Kerkhove, the director of the Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention of WHO, and Otim Patrick Ramadan, the team leader of the Acute Events Management of WHO Regional Office for Africa, spoke about mpox virus during an online program they held on X.
“We're not seeing the same situation unfold,” Kerkhove said, referring to the course of the coronavirus. Putin claims Ukraine tried to strike Kursk Nuclear Power Plant Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Ukraine tried to strike the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant situated in the border region of the same name, where Kyiv launched an incursion over two weeks ago. “The enemy tried to strike the (Kursk) nuclear power plant last night,” Putin told a meeting i.