Briefly

SWITZERLAND

WHO says monkeypox outbreak containable

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that there have been 131 confirmed monkeypox cases and 106 further suspected cases since the first was reported on May 7 outside the countries where it usually spreads. While the outbreak is unusual, it remains "containable" and limited, the WHO said, and it is convening further meetings to support member states with more advice on how to tackle the situation. The United States is preparing to give monkeypox vaccines to close contacts of people infected and to deploy treatments, with five cases now either confirmed or probable and the number likely to rise.

IRAN

Thousands attend slain colonel's funeral

Thousands of mourners poured into the streets of Teheran on Tuesday to pay their respects to a senior Revolutionary Guard member fatally shot by two gunmen on a motorcycle earlier this week, punching the air with their fists and chanting "Death to Israel". The killing on Sunday of Colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodaei bore the hallmarks of previous deadly shooting attacks in Iran blamed on Israel, such as those targeting the country's nuclear scientists. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack. Iranian officials have blamed "global arrogance", which is code for the United States and Israel, for Khodaei's killing.

Agencies via Xinhua