The sudden surge of monkeypox cases outside Africa has alarmed public health authorities around the world. In Europe and North America it’s the first time community transmission has been recorded among people with no links to west or central Africa. So what is happening?
Ian Sample talks to virologist Oyewale Tomori about why monkeypox is flaring up, whether we should fear it, and what we can learn from countries such as Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which have been tackling this virus for decades.
We discuss President Biden’s trip to Asia and his goals to strengthen ties in the region. Plus: we preview this weekend’s elections in Australia, catch up on the latest from the Cannes Film Festival, and hear about a symphony that is out of this world.
North Korea’s zero-covid strategy appears to have failed. The country has officially acknowledged 162 cases; the true number is probably orders of magnitude more.
The country’s health-care system is inadequate, and pre-existing conditions such as tuberculosis and malnutrition are rampant. With elections impending in Turkey, politicians have begun competing with each other to scapegoat refugees. And why girls outperform boys in the Arab world’s schools.
Dark matter makes up most of the matter in the Universe, and is thought to be needed for galaxies to form. But four years ago, astronomers made a perplexing, and controversial discovery: two galaxies seemingly devoid of dark matter.
This week the team suggests that a cosmic collision may explain how these, and a string of other dark-matter-free galaxies, could have formed.
10:49 Researchers experiences of the war in Ukraine
We hear the stories of scientists whose lives have been affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including researchers who have become refugees, soldiers and activists in the face of a horrifying conflict.
20:46 Imaging the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way
Last week, a team of researchers released an image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive blackhole at the centre of our galaxy. We hear how they took the image and what it is revealing about these enormous objects.
We have the latest on Russia’s invasion as Ukraine ends its fight for Mariupol. Plus: crisis simmers in Sri Lanka, a look at Cuba’s new penal code and the latest news from the world of tech.
We discuss the possibility of unilateral action on the Northern Ireland protocol and hear the latest on the conflict in Ukraine from Kharkiv. Plus: Yemen’s Sana’a airport finally reopens, and it’s the first day of the Cannes Film Festival.
Monocle’s editorial director Tyler Brûlé and panellists Aleksandra Tirziu and Chandra Kurt cover the weekend’s biggest news. Plus: we check in with our friends and contributors in London, Helsinki and Hong Kong.
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