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A case of a new strain of mpox has been detected in the UK for the first time, it has been announced.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said a single case of the mpox virus variant Clade 1b was detected in London.

There was no evidence of community transmission from the patient, who is being treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

The person involved had been on holiday in Africa and travelled back to the UK on an overnight flight on 21 October.

The case was confirmed to the UKHSA on Tuesday.

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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File pic: Reuters

More than 24 hours later, they developed flu-like symptoms and on 24 October, started to develop a rash which got worse in the following days.

When they attended A&E in London on 27 October, they were swabbed, tested and then isolated while waiting for their results.

Fewer than 10 direct contacts are being traced after the discovery, and Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said the “risk to the UK population remains low”.

A health professional prepares a syringe with the mpox vaccine. File pic: AP
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A health professional prepares a syringe with the mpox vaccine. File pic: AP

“It is thanks to our surveillance that we have been able to detect this virus,” she said.

This is the first time Clade 1b has been detected in the UK. Germany reported its first Clade 1b case earlier this month.

At least 1,000 deaths from the strain had been reported across Africa at that time, which prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the increasing spread of the disease a global health emergency for the second time in two years.

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Mpox: What is the risk?

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Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the government was securing more vaccines and “equipping healthcare professionals with the guidance and tools they need to respond to cases safely”.

Common symptoms of mpox include a skin rash or pus-filled lesions which can last two to four weeks. It can also cause fever, headaches, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

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Mpox, and the Clade 1b strain is usually passed on by close physical contact, contact with infected animals or sexual transmission. Professor Hopkins said there was no evidence of a transpiration route of infection.

Gay and bisexual men and men who have sex with men are considered the most at risk of contracting the virus, and vaccination clinics are focused in London, Manchester and Brighton, according to Professor Hopkins.

Clade Ib mpox has been widely circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent months and there have also been cases reported in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sweden and India.

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Man who died after being hit by bus in Cowgate, Edinburgh, named

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Man who died after being hit by bus in Cowgate, Edinburgh, named

A man who died after being hit by a bus in Edinburgh has been named.

Michael Leneghen, 74, died after being struck at around 7.25pm on Saturday 2 November in the Cowgate area of the city.

On the day of the incident, police issued a warning for members of the public not to share distressing images and videos circulating online.

In a statement, Mr Leneghen’s family thanked members of the public and emergency services who were involved and asked for privacy.

A single-decker bus collided with Mr Leneghen, who was on foot, Police Scotland say.

Sergeant Paul Ewing of Edinburgh’s road policing unit said the force’s thoughts were with Mr Leneghen’s family and friends “as well as everyone affected by this tragic incident”.

“Our enquiries remain ongoing. We have already spoken to a number of people who were in the area at the time and work is ongoing to check public and private CCTV footage,” he added.

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“We are still keen to hear from anyone who has not yet spoken to police. If you have any information about what happened, then please get in touch.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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UK sanctions Russian military officer accused of Salisbury novichok poisoning in crackdown on Kremlin

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UK sanctions Russian military officer accused of Salisbury novichok poisoning in crackdown on Kremlin

The UK has sanctioned a Russian military officer accused of helping poison former double agent Sergei Skripal with novichok in Salisbury.

The Foreign Office has imposed 56 new sanctions on people and entities linked to Russia, including those in the Wagner mercenary group that operates unofficially on Vladimir Putin’s behalf, and companies based in China, Turkey and central Asia supplying parts to Russia.

Denis Sergeev, who the Met Police charged over the attempted murder of double agent Mr Skripal, has been sanctioned under the chemical weapons sanctions regime.

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“Sergeev provided support in the preparation and use of the chemical weapon novichok in Salisbury…and provided a coordinating role in London on the weekend of the attack,” the Foreign Office said.

Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal.
Pic: Shutterstock
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Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal were poisoned with novichok. Pic: Shutterstock


Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury, Wiltshire, in March 2018.

Police said nerve agent novichok was applied to the front door of his home.

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Three Russians, who police said are GRU military intelligence officers, have been charged in absentia over the incident.

Sergeev was the last to be charged after police said he was acting under the alias Sergey Fedotov.

Undated handout file photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of Dawn Sturgess, who died in 2018 after being exposed to the Novichok nerve agent that had been discarded in a perfume bottle following the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Home Secretary Priti Patel has granted permission for 44-year-old Ms Sturgess's inquest to be converted into a public inquiry to better examine any possible Russian involvement, amid allegations she died as an indirect result of Kremlin-sponsored po
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Dawn Sturgess died after picking up a sample perfume bottle with novichok in

A public inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, a woman unwittingly killed after coming across a sample perfume bottle containing novichok, heard Mr Skripal believed Mr Putin had ordered the attack on him.

Moscow has repeatedly rejected British accusations the Kremlin was involved.

The inquiry heard the amount of novichok in the perfume bottle was enough to kill thousands of people.

Also included in the latest sanctions round are companies supplying Russia with military equipment being used in its war against Ukraine.

Ten companies based in China, and a handful from Turkey, Estonia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, are on the list for supplying and producing machine tools, microelectronics and components for drones used by Russia in Ukraine.

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North Korean troops near Ukrainian border

Russian-based mercenary groups operating in sub-Saharan Africa with links to the Kremlin are also on the list.

The Foreign Office said they have threatened peace and security in Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic, and have committed widespread human rights abuses across Africa.

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Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “Today’s measures will continue to push back on the Kremlin’s corrosive foreign policy, undermining Russia’s attempts to foster instability across Africa and disrupting the supply of vital equipment for Putin’s war machine.

“And smashing the illicit international networks that Russia has worked so hard to forge.

“Putin is nearly 1,000 days into a war he thought would only take a few. He will fail and I will continue to bear down on the Kremlin and support the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom.”

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Lindsay Rimer: Sisters of murdered teenage girl still fighting for justice 30 years on

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Lindsay Rimer: Sisters of murdered teenage girl still fighting for justice 30 years on

Police have made a direct appeal to those involved in the murder of a teenager to finally bring her family closure, exactly 30 years after she disappeared.

Lindsay Rimer, 13, went out to buy a box of Corn Flakes late in the evening on 7 November 1994 and never returned home. Her body was found in a canal close to her home six months later.

Lindsay’s family have also marked this year’s anniversary with a renewed appeal for information from the public, particularly in the town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire where Lindsay lived and died.

“This person should be in prison, not us because that’s where we feel we’ve been for the last 30 years,” her sister Kate Rimer told Sky News.

Juliet Rimer was just one when her sister was killed but has recently been reading letters and diaries to gain a better understanding of a life cut short.

“It’s just, it’s a bit of a horror film that we have to do this,” she said. “The fact that I had a sister that I never knew who was murdered, I just can’t wrap my head around that. It’s had a massive impact on me.”

Lindsay months before her death
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Lindsay months before her death

Kate, who played the part of her sister in a police reconstruction a year after her disappearance, says the family believes someone has information that could lead to her killer’s arrest.

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“It’s usually been my mum who does this but the emotional toll it’s taken on my parents means that they just can’t do this anymore.

“It’s incredibly emotional, it opens everything up, and it reflects back over 30 years ago and everything that we lived through then. And just the horror of a loved family member, a child being murdered, is a really bizarre situation. You live your normal life around that and then we’re opening up again to bring murder and death back into our family.”

In the years since Lindsay’s disappearance, police have spoken to more than 5,000 people and examined 1,200 vehicles. Two men were arrested and later released.

A new sighting of Lindsay after she left the convenience shop on the night she disappeared has been confirmed and police believe those in the community have vital information.

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Juliet, left, and Kate Rimer speak to Sky News this month
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Juliet, left, and Kate Rimer speak to Sky News this month

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Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle of West Yorkshire Police made a direct appeal to those who were involved in killing and disposing of her body.

“Has this been on your conscience for thirty years?” he said.

“It’s perfectly possible there’s more than one person involved, its perfectly possible there’s a vehicle involved. Maybe you didn’t murder Lindsay but you know exactly who did because you were there and that’s sat on your conscience for 30 years.

“Now is the time to come and talk to us, now is the time to draw a line under this and bring that closure for Lindsay’s family.”

New posters featuring Lindsay’s picture have gone up around Hebden Bridge as part of the appeal for information and an increased police presence will be in the town.

Juliet said: “It has been 30 years but Lindsey didn’t deserve this and we owe it to her as her family to keep doing this.”

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