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Medical Express Ghana has recorded its first death from Mpox, health authorities confirmed Sunday, amid a sharp rise in new infections in the West African country. Twenty-three new cases have been confirmed in the past week, bringing the total number of infections to 257 since the virus was first detected in Ghana in June 2022.
The latest figure marks the highest weekly increase since the outbreak began and the first fatality recorded in the country.
Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh told AFP “that the situation is under control.”
GBP/USD sank for a fifth straight session on Wednesday, falling as the US Dollar (USD) catches a broad-market bid after the Federal Reserve (Fed) held rates steady and stuck to its stubborn wait-and-see stance, trimming hopes for a September rate cut. With odds of a rate cut on September 17 flying out the window, newfound market pressure will be on a hefty raft of economic data coming out of the United States (US) throughout the back half of the trading week.
Forex Today: No changes expected at the BoJ meeting
US PCE inflation, due on Thursday, is expected to accelerate slightly, with analysts anticipating an uptick to 0.3% MoM in June compared to the previous month’s 0.2%. A resurgence of inflationary pressure is the last thing investors want, as it could spell doom for ongoing rate cut expectations.
Fed’s Powell: We have made no decisions about September
Friday’s NFP jobs report could add further fuel to rate hold fears. July’s NFP net employment gains report is expected to hold in positive territory after seasonal adjustments. However, the figure is expected to ease to 110K from June’s 147K.
A fifth straight down day has put Cable on a collision course with the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) near 1.3131. Price action has pivoted firmly bearish after GBP/USD flubbed a bullish climb toward 1.3600, although new short entries will face challenges with technical oscillators already pinned in oversold territory.
The Pound Sterling (GBP) is the oldest currency in the world (886 AD) and the official currency of the United Kingdom. It is the fourth most traded unit for foreign exchange (FX) in the world, accounting for 12% of all transactions, averaging $630 billion a day, according to 2022 data.
Its key trading pairs are GBP/USD, also known as ‘Cable’, which accounts for 11% of FX, GBP/JPY, or the ‘Dragon’ as it is known by traders (3%), and EUR/GBP (2%). The Pound Sterling is issued by the Bank of England (BoE).
The single most important factor influencing the value of the Pound Sterling is monetary policy decided by the Bank of England. The BoE bases its decisions on whether it has achieved its primary goal of “price stability” – a steady inflation rate of around 2%. Its primary tool for achieving this is the adjustment of interest rates.
When inflation is too high, the BoE will try to rein it in by raising interest rates, making it more expensive for people and businesses to access credit. This is generally positive for GBP, as higher interest rates make the UK a more attractive place for global investors to park their money.
When inflation falls too low it is a sign economic growth is slowing. In this scenario, the BoE will consider lowering interest rates to cheapen credit so businesses will borrow more to invest in growth-generating projects.
Data releases gauge the health of the economy and can impact the value of the Pound Sterling. Indicators such as GDP, Manufacturing and Services PMIs, and employment can all influence the direction of the GBP.
A strong economy is good for Sterling. Not only does it attract more foreign investment but it may encourage the BoE to put up interest rates, which will directly strengthen GBP. Otherwise, if economic data is weak, the Pound Sterling is likely to fall.
Another significant data release for the Pound Sterling is the Trade Balance. This indicator measures the difference between what a country earns from its exports and what it spends on imports over a given period.
If a country produces highly sought-after exports, its currency will benefit purely from the extra demand created from foreign buyers seeking to purchase these goods. Therefore, a positive net Trade Balance strengthens a currency and vice versa for a negative balance.
Australia will use landmark social media laws to ban children under 16 from video-streaming site YouTube, a top minister said on Wednesday, stressing the need to shield them from “predatory algorithms”.
As per AFP, communications Minister Anika Wells said four-in-ten Australian children had reported viewing harmful content on YouTube, one of the most visited websites in the world.
“We want kids to know who they are before platforms assume who they are,” Wells said in a statement.
“There’s a place for social media, but there’s not a place for predatory algorithms targeting children.”
Australia announced last year it was drafting laws that will ban children from social media sites such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram until they turn 16.
The government had previously indicated YouTube would be exempt, given its widespread use in classrooms.
“Young people under the age of 16 will not be able to have accounts on YouTube,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Wednesday.
“They will also not be able to have accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X among other platforms.
“We want Australian parents and families to know that we have got their back.”
Albanese said the age limit may not be implemented perfectly – much like existing restrictions on alcohol — but it was still the right thing to do.
A spokesman for YouTube said Wednesday’s announcement was a jarring U-turn from the government.
“Our position remains clear: YouTube is a video sharing platform with a library of free, high-quality content, increasingly viewed on TV screens,” the company said in a statement. “It’s not social media.”
On paper, the ban is one of the strictest in the world.
But the current legislation offers almost no details on how the rules will be enforced – prompting concern among experts that it will simply be a symbolic piece of unenforceable legislation.
It is due to come into effect on December 10.
Social media giants – which face fines of up to Aus$49.5 million (US$32 million) for failing to comply – have described the laws as “vague”, “problematic” and “rushed”.
TikTok has accused the government of ignoring mental health, online safety and youth experts who had opposed the ban.
Meta – owner of Facebook and Instagram – has warned that the ban could place “an onerous burden on parents and teens”.
The legislation has been closely monitored by other countries, with many weighing whether to implement similar bans.
When the final whistle blew on a blisteringly hot Athens night where Rangers had at points been both tremendously valiant and desperately vulnerable, Russell Martin’s side had ultimately got what they came for.
When the draw for the Champions League second round qualifier threw up Panathinaikos, it looked the most hazardous of first steps to the league phase, and Rangers rode their luck from all the way from Glasgow to Greece.
And yet while they have some Greek wastefulness and Jack Butland heroics to thank for their passage into the next round, the character demonstrated by a team in the early days of an overhaul by the new head coach was to be admired as they drew 1-1 on the night to progress 3-1 on aggregate.
Martin had asked his players to be resilient in the face of the Panathinaikos onslaught, and while other areas of their game would have been concerning, they delivered that in spades.
“We will get better. The group will grow so much from this,” Martin said after the game. That’s his challenge now, to add the quality to the foundations of the character his team has shown over these two testing encounters.
“That’s the big thing for me with Russell Martin, is that he thrives on the training ground,” former Rangers goalkeeper Cammy Bell said on BBC Sportsound.
“The longer he has with his players, the better they will get.
“This Rangers team showed a bit of character. It’s all positive at the moment, they just need to keep this momentum going.”
Rosalía has become the latest public figure to face pressure regarding the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. On Wednesday (July 30), the superstar published an Instagram Story expressing her sentiment over the escalating situation in Palestine while responding to her critics.
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The spotlight on her intensified after Spanish fashion designer Miguel Adrover cited her “silence” as the reason he refused to collaborate with the artist on a custom project.
“I have followed with great sadness what has been said in recent days […] The fact that I have not used my platform in line with other people’s style or expectations does not mean that I do not condemn what is happening in Palestine,” the singer wrote.
She also condemned the violence in the region, noting, “It is terrible to see innocent people being killed day after day, and those who should stop this are not doing so.” However, Rosalía took issue with the “shaming” she has faced, suggesting that condemnation between individuals is not as productive as holding decision-makers accountable.
“I do not see how shaming each other is the best way to move forward in the fight for Palestinian freedom,” she said, arguing that “the finger should be pointed upwards (towards those who make decisions and have the power to act) and not horizontally (between us).”
Rosalía also acknowledged her own imperfections and contradictions: “In today’s world, we all live in constant contradiction, myself included,” she added, before expressing her respect for those actively working to make a difference, including NGOs, activists, journalists and volunteers.
Her remarks come after Miguel Adrover publicly refused to design for the MOTOMAMI singer. The designer, known for his political outspokenness, took to Instagram on Tuesday (July 29) to reveal that he had turned down a request for a custom-made dress for Rosalía.
“Doing ‘The Right Thing’… Silence is complicity, and even more so when you have a big loudspeaker where millions of people listen to you when you sing,” Adrover wrote in the caption. “That’s why you have the responsibility to use this power to denounce this genocide.”
In the third slide of that post, Adrover shared a screenshot of an email exchange with Rosalía’s team regarding the collaboration. “I’m sorry, but Miguel doesn’t work with any artist who doesn’t publicly support Palestine,” the reply read.
Addressing the Spanish artist directly, Adrover further added in the caption, “Rosalía, this is nothing personal. I admire you for all your talent and for everything you’ve achieved […] Now we have to do “The Right Thing.”
Though Rosalía had previously avoided extensive public commentary, fans noted that she had shared an Instagram Story in October 2023 to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
With the 2025-2026 Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus seasons launching in the United States, a debated innovation recently recieved positive data on how it can passively reduce respiratory diseases.
The new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine trialled commercially available germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) appliances in senior care facilities, finding they reduced rates of viral respiratory infections by about 12.2%.
GUV appliances, which purify the air with UV-C light rays and deactivate harmful micro-organisms like viruses and bacteria.
“Some of the key advantages of germicidal ultraviolet air-treatment appliances are that they are easily installed into existing facilities and cost-effective to use,” says lead author Dr Andrew Shoubridge from Flinders University and SAHMRI’s Microbiome and Host Health Programme, in a press release on July 28, 2025.
“When used in conjunction with existing infection control measures, they could be transformative in reducing rates of seasonal respiratory viral infections and protecting residential aged care facilities against emerging pathogens.”
This randomized clinical trial tested commercially available LAF Technologies GUV appliances that are already used in a wide range of clinical and commercial settings, including hospitals.
The appliances can be mounted to ceilings or walls, fitted into ventilated AC systems, are harmless to people, and have already proven to reduce levels of airborne pathogens in laboratory and hospital settings.
Senior author of the study, Professor Geraint Rogers, conceived this world-first trial and the transformative adaptation of this technology to reduce respiratory viral outbreaks in vulnerable older Australians.
“Our study aimed to explore new ways in which to protect aged care residents from harmful outbreaks of viruses, without disrupting their day-to-day activities.
“Based on our findings, it’s difficult to see why you wouldn’t install these appliances in aged care facilities.”
How can identifying land on exoplanets help scientists better understand whether an exoplanet could harbor life? This is what a recently submitted study hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how identifying land on exoplanets could help dispel waterworld false positives, which occur when the data indicates an exoplanet contains deep oceans (approximately 50 Earth oceans), hence the name “waterworld”. This study has the potential to help scientists develop more efficient methods for classifying exoplanets and their compositions, specifically regarding whether they contain life as we know it, or even as we don’t know it.
For the study, the researchers analyzed spectral data obtained from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) spectral library, with the exception of desert sand and ice. The goal of the study was to ascertain if the proposed next generation space telescope, Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), would be able to detect land masses on rocky exoplanets. In the end, the researchers determined that HWO would need a telescope size of approximately 8 meters (26 feet) to detect land masses based on signal-to-noise (SNR) data within the visible and ultraviolet wavelengths, while also building a case for HWO’s abilities for detecting oxygen biosignatures.
The study notes in its conclusions, “Detecting land via reflected light spectroscopy can help HWO rule out O2 biosignature false positives associated with the suppression of O2 sinks due to extremely deep oceans. Land detection is possible because all likely land surfaces for exo-Earth analogs have a positive sloping reflectance spectrum in the visible, whereas liquid water and water ice/snow are flat or slope negatively, respectively.”
As noted, HWO is a proposed next generation space telescope mission aimed to be the most powerful space telescope built that succeeds NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). HWO planned capabilities include imaging objects in the optical, infrared, and ultraviolet wavelengths with its primary goal being to directly image a minimum of 25 habitable exoplanets. Despite HWO not being slated to launch until the 2040s, scientists and engineers continue to develop the technologies necessary for HWO to complete its mission and identify a habitable world beyond Earth.
Current waterworld exoplanet candidates include exoplanets (and distances from Earth) orbiting TRAPPIST-1 (40 light-years) and Kepler-11 (2,110 light-years), along with Kepler-62e (1,200 light-years), Kepler-62f (1,200 light-years), Kepler-22b (587 light-years), and GJ 1214b (40 light-years). Most recently, a 2024 study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters announced JWST had discovered a “steam world” identified as GJ 9827d, which resides approximately 97 light-years from Earth and whose radius is slightly less than two Earths. What makes GJ 9827d intriguing is while its atmosphere is comprised of steam, the planet itself is estimated to be too hot to support life as we know it.
While the number of waterworld exoplanets are currently limited, this recent study comes as the number of confirmed exoplanets within our Milky Way Galaxy is rapidly approaching 6,000, which currently includes 219 terrestrial (rocky) exoplanets and 1,746 super-Earths like GJ 9827d. While JWST is powerful enough to analyze exoplanet atmosphere compositions, HWO could begin a new era in exoplanet discovery and exploration by directly imaging habitable worlds and potentially discovering an exoplanet capable of supporting life as we know it, or even as we don’t know it.
What new discoveries about identifying land on exoplanets will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!