Egyik 19

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Európa    Europe

Magyarország
2024.04.26.  Járványok mindig voltak és lesznek, de olyan mértékű pusztításokat nem végeztek, mint a középkorban – fogalmazott Hankó, a Magyar Gyógyszerész Kamara elnöke Covid-tanulságokat megvitató kerekasztal-beszélgetésen, a XXI. Század Intézetben tartott konferencián. Az infektológus megjegyezte, a karantén a pestis- vagy a kolerajárványok idején szinte az egyetlen védekezési eszköz volt a fertőzés terjedése ellen. Kötelező maszkhasználatot pedig több mint száz éve, a spanyolnátha idején már bevezettek, a Covid-járvány idején még erről is meg kellet győzni az embereket. „Az oltásszkepticizmussal hasonló a helyzet, pedig az egyik legsikeresebb népegészségügyi program Magyarországon a kötelező gyermekkori védőoltások protokollja mutatott rá az eseményen Szlávik infektológus, a Belvárosi Orvosi Centrum infektológus szakorvosa". A kanyaró ellen így értük el a 95 százalékos átoltottságot, amivel hazánkban a fertőzést sikerült kiiktatni. "Egészen biztosan lesz következő járvány, kérdés hogy az emberiség meg tudja-e akadályozni, hogy a koronavírushoz hasonló mértékű legyen” – fogalmazott. Szavai szerint a következő, egyelőre állatról emberre ritkán terjedő, kockázatosnak tartott vírus a madárinfluenza, ami ellen már megvan a lehetséges, nagy mennyiségben létrehozható védőoltás, ami abban az esetben jelent segítséget, ha a vírus emberről emberre is terjedne. „Egyelőre még itt nem tartunk, de már átlépett egy olyan határt, hogy bizonyos emlősöket megfertőz” – magyarázta. Hozzátette: a Sars-Covidnál a legnagyobb gondot az jelentette, hogy nem tudtunk olyan gyorsan hatalmas mennyiségben védőoltást kifejleszteni, mint ahogy szükség lett volna erre. A fekete himlő vagy a tbc terjedését is oltásokkal sikerült felszámolni, mégsem lehetett a koronavírus-járvány idején mindenkit meggyőzni az oltások hasznosságáról. A lakosság 60-70 százaléka kapott meg egy oltást, az idősek 70-80 százaléka legalább két oltást. A szakember szerint 80 százalék általános teljes oltottság elérése lett volna ideális. Ennek ellenére nem igaz, hogy a magyar emberek nagyobb arányban haltak meg, mint a szomszédos országokban. Nincsenek erre érvényes adatok – emelte ki. Hankó egyetlen magyar gyógyszerész házaspárról tud, akik áldozatul estek a fertőzésnek, annak ellenére, hogy a legszigorúbb korlátozások idején folyamatosan dolgoztak a patikusok. Mint mondta, nemcsak a hatósági korlátozások betartásával igyekeztek óvni kollégáikat, a szakmán belül központilag is hoztak bizonyos szabályokat. Az egyik, hogy a nagy forgalmú patikáknál a különböző műszakokban dolgozó gyógyszerészek nem találkoztak egymással, hogy ha az egyik csoportból valaki elkapta volna a fertőzést, a másik csoport tagjaira ne terjedjen át. Szlávik kedvezőtlenebb adatokról számolt be: a koronavírus áldozatainak 10 százalékát világszerte az egészségügyben dolgozók tették ki, mivel mind az orvosok, mind az ápolók a frontvonalban dolgoztak, már az oltóanyag megérkezése előtt is. „A járványügyi intézkedéseket lehet utólag kritizálni, csak nem szabad elfelejteni, hogy szükségállapotban a közegészségügynek félkatonai szervezetként kell működnie” – húzta alá. Hozzátette: infektológusként az oltások hasznosságát nem kérdőjelezte meg. Hankó is ezt támasztotta alá: 'amit a gyógyszerhatékonyság engedélyez, az megfelelő hatékonysággal bír'. A koronavírus-oltóanyag esetében ez a betegség súlyosabb lefolyásának megakadályozást jelenti, nem azt, hogy nem fertőződik meg az ember. Ő is elismerte, hogy vészhelyzetben gyors döntéseket kell hozni, de a szakmákkal intenzívebb párbeszédre lett volna szükség. A 2020-as időszakra visszaemlékezve elmondta, volt, hogy tollat sem lehetett biztosítani a recept aláírásához, vagy csak ablakon keresztül szolgálhatták ki a betegeket. Az intézkedések olyan gyorsan követték egymást, hogy az aktuális rendelet elolvasásával zárta a napot. Negyedévente írtuk át a protokollokat a koronavírus-járvány idején, mert az ismeretek változtak, születtek újabb és újabb kutatások – erősítette meg Szlávik, aki épp azt nevezte meg a járvány egyik pozitív hozadékának, hogy a közegészségügyi intézkedések gyorsabbá váltak. „A védekezéshez szükséges eszközök beszerzése mellett a tapasztalatok átadásának a gyorsasága is fontos volt, az első hatékonynak ítélt gyógyszereket rögtön beépítettük a kezelési gyakorlatba, csakúgy, mint az oltóanyagoknál” – mondta. Hankó szerint az ENSZ járványügyi paktuma üdvözlendő, de a lokális szempontokat nem szabad mellőzni, például, hogy adott helyzetben Magyarországon ezt hogyan lehetne alkalmazni. A konferencia korábbi felszólalóival egyetértett abban, hogy a kritikus anyagok gyártását, előállítását országhatáron belül meg kell oldani. Készül ezt illetően egy gyógyszerlista, amit szakmailag indokoltnak tart. (Forrás: index)

2024. április 25.  Denevérvirológiai kutatás indul a Pécsi Tudományegyetemen, melynek Virológiai Nemzeti Laboratóriuma (VNL) az egyre ritkuló és szigorú természetvédelmi oltalom alatt álló denevérek vírusait kutató konzorciumhoz csatlakozott. Az „OneBAT” kutatási téma a Kulturális és Innovációs Minisztérium irányítása alá tartozó Nemzeti Kutatási Fejlesztési és Innovációs Alapból nyújtott, 126,6 millió forint vissza nem térítendő támogatásból valósul meg. A denevérek számos olyan vírust hordoznak, amelyek kiváló modellek lehetnek a különböző, állatról emberre terjedő vírusok elleni küzdelemben, fontos információkhoz juttathatva kutatókat járványok elleni felkészüléshez. A kutatás tizenhárom nemzetközi partner összefogásával valósul meg. A konzorcium célja az európai denevérekben előforduló vírusok vizsgálata, feltárni a természetes vírusgazdák, valamint az alkalmi gazdaszervezetek, a kórokozók és a környezet közötti összetett kölcsönhatásokat, amelyek meghatározzák a fertőző betegségek felbukkanását. A kutatási téma megvalósítása során olyan megújuló módszerek és eljárások kifejlesztése a cél, amelyekkel lehetővé válik az új fertőző betegségek gyors megismerése, az ellenük való védekezés kidolgozása. A kutatásba bevont állatok szerológiai és molekuláris biológiai vizsgálatára szolgáló gyors szabványok kifejlesztésén túl, Európa-szerte összhangba hozott hosszútávú betegség-környezettani felmérések is zajlanak. A OneBAT kutatás során vevőantennákat is telepítenek Magyarországon is, amelyek segítenek a repülő állatok viselkedésének, vonulásának vizsgálatában. (Forrás: portfolio)

Felvidék
2024. április 21. Hiány mutatkozik oltóanyagból. Kelet-Szlovákiában megjelent a sárgaság, már nem csak a falvakban, hanem a városokban, így Felsővízközön is. A higiénikusok a legtöbb esetet a város szélén található három lakóházban igazolták. A hepatitis A vírus széklettel ürül, és érintkezés útján terjed. Az esetek száma folyamatosan emelkedik. A helyiek elmondása szerint a járvány húsvétkor tört ki. Az év eleje óta 47 beteget regisztráltunk – mondta Senajová, járványügyi szakember. A betegség lappangási ideje ötven nap, így azok, akik kapcsolatba kerültek a fertőzöttekkel, közel két hónapig orvosi felügyelet alá kerülnek. Az orvosok az óvodás és iskolás korú gyermekek között azonosítják a legtöbb fertőzöttet. Fontos a személyes higiénia - nem szabad egy pohárból inni, és ugyanazt a szál cigarettát szívni – figyelmeztetett Senajová. (Forrás: ujszo)

Germany
(Friday), 26 April 2024  The spring festival, on the banks of the Neckar river, in Stuttgart, south-west Germany, opened last Saturday and runs for 23 days into next month, with a variety of rides, stalls, snack bars and marquees offering refreshments and entertainment. Last year it attracted 1.4 million visitors. Last weekend a norovirus outbreak has affected more than 800 people. They caught the vomiting bug in a marquee. The scale of infection has increased during the week. Visitors quickly complained of vomiting, nausea and diarrhoea. Rise in norovirus could put pressure on hospitals. By today afternoon, Stuttgart health officials said the number of people infected had reached 815. They believe it was not linked to food or drink served in the festival tent as marquee staff, as well as dishes and water used for washing them up have all tested negative. Officials said it was possible that some visitors may have passed the virus on through secondary infection. They are assuming the virus was passed from person to person, possibly through the air. There is no evidence of hygiene rules being broken. The main symptoms of norovirus are: Feeling sick (nausea); diarrhoea; being sick (vomiting). You may also have: A high temperature; a headache; aching arms and legs. (Source: bbc *)
* British Broadcasting Corporation

United Kingdom
25 April 2024  Two-million people across England and Scotland are still suffering from long Covid-19 symptoms, of whom 381,000 have had their day-to-day activities limited a lot, according to an official study published today. Data produced with the UK Health Security Agency, based on a sample of 139,000 participants show 3.3% of people surveyed between February 6 and March 7 reported having Covid-19 symptoms that had lasted more than four weeks since an initial infection and were not explained by another medical condition, Britain's Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. This was up slightly from the 2.9% of people who reported long Covid-19 in a similar ONS survey in March 2023 which covered the whole UK, although the ONS said the two surveys' methods were not exactly comparable. Of the people reporting long Covid-19 symptoms, 51% said they started more than two years ago, and 71% said they had lasted at least a year. People aged 45-54 were most likely to report long Covid-19 symptoms, at 5% of the age group, and women were 20% more likely to report symptoms than men. The data showed that 9.1% of people who were not working or looking for work reported long Covid-19 symptoms, nearly triple the rate among the population as a whole. In Britain labour force participation has fallen since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, troubling the government and employers. Britain recorded more than 230,000 Covid-19 deaths. A big factor has been an increase in the number of working-age people who are long-term sick, which has risen by around 700,000 since the pandemic. (Source: timeslive * / Reuters)
* from South Africa

Africa

Nigeria
April 28, 2024  Measles outbreak kills 42 children in Adamawa State, Northeast Nigeria. The outbreak of the disease was recorded in the Mubi North (23 deaths) and Gombi (19 deaths) local government areas. So far, there are over 200 infected children. There's also a suspected polio case in Gombi. A team of medical workers has been discharged to the affected communities to tackle the two outbreaks. When contacted, the state health commissioner, Tangwami confirmed the outbreak but said that "details, including mortalities will be given tomorrow at a press briefing to be addressed by the deputy governor". (Source: saharareporters *)
* Sahara Reporters, based in New York City

Asia

China
April 22, 2024  Secrecy clouds the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. When Chinese authorities first started searching for the virus’ origins is unclear. WHO officials heard of an inspection of the Wuhan market on Dec. 25, 2019. According to a recording of a confidential WHO meeting, WHO’s top virus expert, Ben Embarek, told colleagues that Chinese officials that day were “looking at what was on sale in the market, whether all the vendors have licenses (and) if there was any illegal (wildlife) trade.” Ben Embarek said the probe was “not routine” and WHO would “try to figure out what happened.” Such a probe has never been publicly mentioned by Chinese authorities or WHO. Feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began. The first publicly known search took place for the coronavirus on Dec. 31, 2019, when Chinese Center for Disease Control scientists visited the Wuhan market where many early COVID-19 cases surfaced. Early on, Chinese scientists were silenced and politicians took control. Zhang was the first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus. One day after he wrote a memo urging health authorities to act quickly, China’s top health official ordered his lab closed. “They used their official power against me and our colleagues,” Zhang wrote in an email provided by Holmes, an Australian virologist. The government opened investigations into top health officials. China CDC staff were encouraged to report colleagues who mishandled the outbreak to the Communist Party’s disciplinary bodies. As criticism of China grew, the Chinese government deflected blame. They declared their virus response a success and closed investigations into the officials with few job losses. There were no real reforms, because doing reforms means admitting fault. As WHO negotiated with China for a mission to investigate COVID-19 in early 2020, it was China’s Foreign Ministry, not scientists, that decided the terms. China refused a visa for WHO’s Ben Embarek, then the agency’s top animal virus expert. The itinerary dropped nearly all the items linked to an origins search, according to draft agendas. Taking charge of the WHO visit was Liang, an epidemiologist close to top Chinese officials who was widely seen as pushing the party line, not science-backed policies. Liang ordered the Wuhan market disinfected before samples could be collected and promoted a theory that COVID-19 originated from frozen food imported into China. On a train ride with Dr. Aylward, a senior adviser to WHO chief Tedros, Liang lobbied the U.N. agency to praise China’s response in its public report. The new section was so flattering that colleagues emailed Aylward to suggest he “dial it back a bit.” By the time WHO led another visit to Wuhan in January 2021, the origins hunt had become highly politicized. Liang, the Chinese official in charge of two earlier WHO visits, 'organized market workers to tell WHO experts no live wildlife was sold and cut recent photos of wildlife at the market from the report'. The WHO team concluded a lab leak was “extremely unlikely.” Months later, WHO chief said it was “premature” to dismiss the lab leak theory and pressed China to be more transparent, infuriating Chinese officials. China told WHO any future missions to find the origins of COVID-19 should be 'elsewhere'. 'Since then', global cooperation has ground to a halt. Chinese scientists are still under heavy pressure. Researchers who published papers on the coronavirus ran into trouble with Chinese authorities. Others were barred from travel abroad for conferences and WHO meetings. The head of the China CDC Institute of Viral Disease was forced to retire 'over the release of sensitive market data', according to a former China CDC official. “It has to do with the origins, so they’re still worried,” the official said. “If you try and get to the bottom of it, what if it turns out to be from China?”
(Source: apnews)
Note: Original article 'by Kang, a Pulitzer finalist for investigative reporting in China who covers Chinese politics, technology and society from Beijing' and 'Cheng, who reported from Geneva'.

North America

United States
April 26, 2024  In an update published this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found that about 1 in 5 samples of retail milk contain traces of highly contagious bird flu, though these findings may not be indicative of an infectious risk to consumers. "The agency continues to analyze this information; however, the initial results show about 1 in 5 of the retail samples tested are quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)-positive for [Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza] viral fragments, with a greater proportion of positive results coming from milk in areas with infected herds". The FDA noted that additional testing will be required to determine if intact pathogens are actually present in the milk and if consuming these products poses a risk of infection. "To date, the retail milk studies have shown no results that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe," the agency shared, citing the pasteurization process that retail milk undergoes as well as the diverting and destroying of milk from infected cows. The agency also reiterated its long-standing warning against drinking raw milk. (Source: thestate *)
* The State, USA

April 26, 2024 2:46 PM  Three women likely were infected with HIV after undergoing 'vampire facials' at an unlicensed New Mexico spa, the first known instance of the virus being transmitted through cosmetic injection services. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released today, the investigation began in summer 2018 when a woman with no known HIV risk factors was diagnosed. HIV is transmitted via contact with bodily fluids from an infected person, which is why it is most often contracted through sex or the sharing of needles. The patient reported no injection drug use, recent blood transfusions, or recent sexual contact with anyone other than her current sexual partner, who received a negative HIV test result after the patient's diagnosis. However, the patient said she underwent a so-called 'vampire facial,' a cosmetic procedure that draws a client's blood, separates the platelets, and then reinjects the platelet-rich blood into their face through microneedles. Proponents of vampire facials say it helps plump sagging skin and reduces the appearance of acne scars or wrinkles. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) said there's little evidence to support it. The facials seem safe as long as blood is handled properly. Investigators compiled and cross-referenced names and telephone numbers from client consent forms, handwritten appointment records, and telephone contacts to create a list of potentially affected clients.. Investigators found five patients with confirmed spa-related HIV infections, including one who had tested positive for HIV two years before getting a vampire facial in 2018, and a sexual partner of the woman. The other three patients identified had no known social contact with one another, and the only thing they had in common was the procedure done at the spa. Two of the five patients had previously received a positive rapid HIV test result during routine evaluations for life insurance. In 2022, the spa's owner pleaded guilty to five felony counts of practicing medicine without a license and is now serving a 3 1/2-year prison sentence  Within months of the positive test, the Albuquerque salon was shut down. One patient was diagnosed after hospitalization with an AIDS-defining illness in fall 2021, and another after being hospitalized in spring 2023. The New Mexico Department of Health said it had "identified practices that could potentially spread blood-borne infections, such as HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C to clients.' Investigators found a rack of unlabeled tubes containing blood and medical injectables, such as Botox and lidocaine, stored in the kitchen refrigerator along with food. Unwrapped syringes were found in drawers, on counters, and discarded in regular trash cans. There was no steam sterilizer, and equipment that was meant to be single use, like disposable electric desiccator tips, was being reused. The spa's owner operated without appropriate licenses at multiple locations and did not have an appointment scheduling system that stored client contact information. (Source: thestate *)
* The State, USA

(Thursday), 4/25/2024 'The virus reemerged in Europe in 2020'. It has since killed tens of millions of birds and more than 40,000 sea lions and seals in South America. World Health Organization chief scientist Farrar called this an 'animal pandemic' on April 18. The H5N1 bird flu virus is spreading through US cattle herds for the first time. The cow-to-cow transmission is the latest escalation in a global outbreak. Genetic fragments of the virus, discovered in grocery store milk on April 23, suggest the cattle outbreak is more widespread than officials believed. Experts told that drinking pasteurized milk is probably still safe. Pasteurization deactivates pathogens, probably including H5N1, according to the Food and Drug Administration. However, no studies have specifically tested whether pasteurizing milk deactivates H5N1. The FDA is testing that now. The mammal-to-mammal transmission has scientists worried the virus could mutate to spread between humans. There has been no known human-to-human transmission. Dr. Adams, a former surgeon general and the director of health equity at Purdue University, is getting deja vu. He fears the US is making the mistakes of 2020 all over again. "If it keeps spreading in animals, then it is eventually going to cause problems for humans, either because we don't have food because they've got to start exterminating flocks, or because it starts to make a jump in humans," Adams, who served under former President Trump and was on the administration's initial COVID-19 task force, told. "The more it replicates, the more chances it has to mutate." Though he agrees with the CDC's assessment that the current risk to humans is low, Adams fears the US is repeating many mistakes it made in the early days of COVID-19. Who is in charge of an animal pandemic in the US? The CDC? The US Department of Agriculture? The FDA? The answer is, sort of, all of them. So far, the USDA has only been testing cattle herds when an animal appears sick. That means asymptomatic spread could be flying under the radar. "An animal can't tell you, 'Hey, I feel a little under the weather today.' So they're literally waiting until an animal is collapsing or showing fatigue or showing severe symptoms,' Adams said. "We need a testing strategy that is proactive and allows true surveillance, and not reactive." The USDA took a step forward yesterday, ordering that all lactating dairy cows must be tested for H5N1 before they're moved across state lines and that all positive test results must be reported. New York Times columnist Tufekci reported that same day that, until now, the USDA has not been keeping track of positive test results in cattle. The decentralized responsibility could be behind the lack of widespread, clear public messaging so far. For example, Adams says he hasn't changed anything about his diet, since pasteurization and proper cooking procedures should kill any live virus present. But he isn't sure everyone is getting the message. He compared it to the development of COVID-19 vaccines, when people distrusted a process they didn't understand. "The public needs good consistent communication from the White House, from the USDA, helping reassure them what the process is to keep them safe," Adams said. 'The Biden administration, particularly the White House, has been incredibly quiet on this bird flu situation. Why? To me, it looks like they very much don't want to scare the public and spook the economy in an election year,' Adams said. Just like the lockdowns of COVID-19 were devastating for the restaurant and hospitality industries, a crackdown on avian flu can be devastating 'to the chicken industry'. "We're seeing the same tension between business interests and public health interests,' Adams said. Rather than consumers, the people most at risk are agricultural workers or anyone with close or prolonged exposure to chickens or cattle. It's those groups who need strong, targeted guidance right now, Adams said. What's more, many of the workers who handle chickens and cattle are undocumented immigrants. That can make them and their bosses hesitant to call in authorities over diseased animals. Many vulnerable groups were hesitant to report illness in the early COVID days, too, including migrant workers and people who didn't have sick leave from work. "My concern is we keep making the same mistakes over and over again,' Adams said. 'Because we keep focusing on the wrong things instead of focusing on the root causes." (Source: msn * / Business Insider)
* Microsoft

(Thursday), 4/25/2024  This strain of avian flu has been circulating for more than 20 years, but its leap into cows is of significant concern. While avian flu has infected humans - especially in Asia - the virus has yet to prove able to spread efficiently in people. But the more the virus jumps animal to animal, the greater the chance mutations will emerge that allow sustained person-to-person transmission, the required next step for a pandemic. As bird flu spreads in cows, fractured U.S. response has echoes of early covid. Federal agencies with competing interests are slowing the country’s ability to track and control an outbreak of highly virulent bird flu that for the first time is infecting cows in the United States. “This requires multiple agencies to coordinate and communicate internally, but most importantly externally, which doesn’t seem to be happening due to different cultures, priorities, legal responsibilities, scientific expertise, and agility,' said Jetelina, an epidemiologist who writes a weekly infectious-diseases newsletter and has closely tracked the avian flu outbreak. “Mix that in with the usual challenges of scientific uncertainty, complexity and, quite frankly global pressure, and you got yourself an utterly, unacceptable mess.' The response has echoes of the early days of 2020, when the coronavirus began its deadly march around the world. Today, some officials and experts express frustration that more livestock herds aren’t being tested for avian flu, and that when tests and epidemiological studies are conducted, results aren’t shared fast enough or with enough detail. They point, in particular, to a failure to provide more details publicly about how the H5N1 virus is spreading in cows and about the safety of the milk supply. They said the lack of clear and timely updates by some federal agencies responding to the outbreak recall similar communication missteps at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. They fear that the delays could allow the pathogen to move unchecked - and potentially acquire the genetic machinery needed to spread swiftly among people. One dairy worker in Texas has already fallen ill amid the outbreak, the second U.S. case ever of this type of bird flu. A senior administration official said there have been “no competing interests.” The White House’s Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy is coordinating the outbreak response with relevant agencies “that are working quickly and methodically.” The government is “committed to sharing results as soon as possible,” said the official. “This work is an urgent priority as we work to ensure the continued effectiveness of the federal-state milk safety system and reinforce [the Food and Drug Administration’s] current assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe,” the administration official said. Until yesterday, testing for H5N1 in dairy herds was voluntary and limited to cows with certain symptoms. The number of tests per farm was limited, too. That protocol provoked sharp criticism from public health experts. With growing evidence that the virus is more widespread than feared among cows, the U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) announced yesterday that lactating dairy cows must be tested for bird flu before moving across state lines, starting Monday. Responsibility for monitoring and containing the outbreak is divided among three agencies. USDA leads the investigation into the virus in cows, the FDA oversees food safety, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring risks to people. For weeks, key federal agencies have expressed confidence in the safety of the commercial milk supply, including pasteurized products sold at grocery stores. But it was two weeks before the FDA responded directly to questions about whether the agency was testing milk on grocery store shelves for H5N1. On April 23, the agency confirmed that viral particles had been found “in some of the samples,” but it declined to provide details. Yesterday, an FDA official confirmed fragments were found in milk on shelves but declined to say how many samples the agency has tested, how many had virus fragments and where the milk originated. The testing does not indicate whether genetic traces of the virus are active or dead. Yesterday marked the first time since bird flu was detected in cows four weeks ago that CDC, FDA and USDA, along with other agencies, held a news briefing jointly. During the yesterday webinar, Prater, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said early results showed 1 of 5 samples had viral fragments, “maybe with some preponderance for areas with known [infected dairy] herds.” He did not say how many samples were tested, or from what parts of the country. Additional tests must be done to check whether the virus is infectious. Even with these results, the agency has seen nothing to change its assessment that the commercial milk supply remains safe, Prater said. Officials are seeking answers to other key questions: They want to know whether the virus is spreading among cows through mechanical means, such as milking equipment, as evidence suggests, or through the air, which would be more dangerous and lead to more sustained spread. They are also interested in knowing how long livestock will shed virus in their milk once they have recovered from an infection. And, crucially, they will seek to ascertain the risks for human exposure and whether protocols are in place at the state level if additional people test positive. “Given this is a novel outbreak, testing needs to be done widely and rapidly, investigators need to be on affected farms, and scientists and policymakers need to be bringing it all together to set a coordinated plan of action,” Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said last week. He was the White House testing czar during the Biden administration’s coronavirus response. “This is about protecting human health, protecting farmworkers that may be in harm’s way and preventing another pandemic from happening,” said Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health. Nearly three dozen livestock herds in eight states have been infected in the last month. The virus has also spread from dairy farms to poultry farms and infected barn cats. Epidemiologists fear that indicates cows can pass the virus to birds, and possibly other animals, broadening the potential for spread. Worobey, a University of Arizona virologist who led a team of scientists who analyzed 239 genetic sequences released Sunday by the USDA, said the evolutionary tree of the virus “resoundingly indicates that this outbreak had a single origin and that it had been circulating under our noses for months before it was noticed.” All of these outbreaks in at least eight different states traced back to a common ancestor that had been around probably since late 2023. The USDA was too slow in sharing critical genetic data initially, and when “a big dump” of 239 genetic sequences arrived Sunday, it was not comprehensive. “Like what samples they are coming from, when exactly they were collected … and where exactly they were collected,” said Rasmussen, a virologist and principal research scientist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Public health and veterinary experts say they also want more epidemiological data - including information on the movement of animals, their feed sources and how many workers are on-site - to understand how and where the virus is circulating. USDA officials may be constrained by their mission to promote new markets for farmers and protect animal health and welfare. They’ve got two missions that are, in this instance, pointing in different directions. “USDA’s top priority is containing this emerging animal health issue,” USDA spokeswoman Perry said. While H5N1 is typically fatal in poultry, the disease in infected cows has been relatively mild, and animals have recovered in a week to 10 days, according to agriculture officials. The agency has been testing sick and healthy cows in affected herds, and in recent days began testing in unaffected herds, she said last week. The biggest challenge so far has been identifying farms willing to share samples, said Sifford, the USDA’s chief veterinary officer. “Lots of farms aren’t raising their hands to be tested because they don’t want to be known as having an infected herd,” said Poulsen, director of the veterinary diagnostic lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The virus appears to be spreading in cows that are producing milk “and the place that those animals are most closely congregated, have the most contact, would be as they’re moving through the milking parlor,” Sifford said. “We are not seeing this virus moving outside the lactating herd.” The lack of more aggressive testing of livestock and transparent data-sharing has frustrated officials at the Department of Health and Human Services. State health officials have tested at least 23 people; only the dairy worker in Texas, who has since recovered, was confirmed positive. Ongoing surveillance of emergency department visits and flu testing results in regions with bird flu have not identified any unusual or concerning patterns, the CDC’s principal deputy director, Shah, said yesterday. The risk to the public from bird flu remains low. But milk producers are waiting for the USDA’s detailed guidance to know how many tests may need to be performed on milk cows, estimated to number about 8 million, Jonker, chief science officer for the National Milk Producers Federation said. At highest risk are farmworkers, who, like many in the agriculture sector, are undocumented or do not wish to interact with the government, Shah said. In an emergency call three weeks ago with state health and lab officials, Shah laid out a detailed list of operational questions state officials needed to answer to prepare for potential exposures in people. “What nurse and what epidemiologist have you trained up to do this? Do you have the [nasal] swabs ready? Do they know how to approach that conversation in a culturally competent and linguistically competent manner? … Is the lab ready to go?” (Source: msn * / The Washington Post)
* Microsoft

Wednesday, April 24, 2024  The bird flu outbreak in American dairy cattle may have begun in January, or even as early as December, a new analysis of genetic data suggests. Some farmers in Texas had been reporting sick cows since at least February. It has since reported cases in dozens of herds in eight states. The most likely source is feces or other secretions from a wild bird infected with the virus. The Department of Agriculture announced in late March that dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas had tested positive for the virus, called H5N1. It is highly lethal in birds, but so far has led to mostly mild symptoms in cattle and in one farmworker in Texas who became infected. Infected dairy cows seem to carry large amounts of virus in their milk, which turns thick and yellowish. Cows are not usually infected with this type of influenza, and federal officials spent weeks trying to identify the cause of the outbreak. Scientists have criticized federal agencies for withholding key information about the outbreaks, including genetic sequences of the virus from infected cows. On Sunday, the department published 239 genetic sequences, but it omitted some details regarding the locations from which they were obtained and the dates. Yesterday, federal health officials said they had discovered fragments of H5N1 in milk samples obtained at various sites across the nation. The fragments pose no threat to consumers, the officials said. The sequences all carried the same set of mutations that allow the virus to infect mammals - which would be unlikely had the virus jumped from birds to cows more than once, Dr. Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona said. But the Department of Agriculture has released little information on other aspects of the outbreak, including how long cows remain ill and how long it takes them to clear the virus from their bodies, said Dr. Bhadelia, director of the Boston University Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases. “If this really is something that’s been going on for this long, it seems quite plausible that it’s moved already out of the U.S.,” Dr. Worobey said. Canada imports cattle from the United States, he noted. Federal scientists are just beginning to analyze more samples from cows without symptoms to learn whether the outbreak may be more widespread than initially thought. But rather than research each potential pathogen, officials could have turned to a technique called metagenomic sequencing, in which samples can be tested for nearly all known pathogens at once. That technique is more expensive but would save valuable time in situations like this, Dr. Worobey said. (Source: dnyuz / The New York Times)

Globalization

Saturday, 27 April 2024  Antibiotics saw “extensive overuse” globally among hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the pandemic without improving clinical outcomes, while also potentially increasing the already serious and growing threat of antimicrobial resistance from "superbugs", the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said today. Their ystematic prescription 'might create harm for people without bacterial infection, compared to those not receiving antibiotics,” WHO said. The findings were based on data from the WHO Global Clinical Platform for COVID-19, a database of anonymous clinical data from patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Data came from 450,000 patients in 65 countries from January 2020 to March 2023. Antibiotic use ranged from 33 per cent for patients in the Western Pacific Region to 83 per cent in the Eastern Mediterranean and the African Regions. Between 2020 and 2022, prescriptions decreased over time in Europe and the Americas, but they increased in Africa. Most antibiotics were given to critically ill COVID-19 patients at a global average of 81 per cent. Antibiotic use in mild or moderate infections showed considerable variation across regions, with highest use in Africa, at 79 per cent. The most frequently prescribed bacteria-busting antibiotics globally were those with higher potential for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to antibiotics. When they are unnecessary, they offer no benefit while posing risks, and their use contributes to the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance, said Dr Bertagnolio, WHO Unit Head for Surveillance, Evidence and Laboratory Strengthening, Division for AMR. WHO noted that although just eight per cent of hospitalized coronavirus patients also had bacterial infections which can be treated with antibiotics, a staggering three in four were given them on a 'just in case' basis. The UN health agency report maintained that antibiotic use “did not improve clinical outcomes for patients with COVID-19”. “The advice was very clear from the start, that this was a virus. So it wasn’t that there was any guidance or any recommendation that that clinicians go in this direction, but perhaps because people were dealing with something completely new, they were looking for whatever they thought might be appropriate.” Antimicrobials - including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics - are medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants. Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as “superbugs”. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. It occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others. (Source: scoop *)
* Scoop, Australia

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Európa    Europe

Magyarország
2024. év 14. hét.  Tájékoztató a légúti figyelőszolgálat adatairól (2024. április 1 - 7. közötti adatok).     A légúti figyelőszolgálat keretében kijelölt 24 kórház adatai alapján e héten 128 beteget vettek fel kórházba súlyos, akut légúti fertőzés (SARI) miatt, közülük 13-an részesültek intenzív/szubintenzív ellátásban. A 128 SARI beteg közül 6 betegnél influenza A, 28-nál RSV, 3-nál SARS-CoV-2 vírus okozott megbetegedést. Az RSV-pozitív betegek közül 19-en 2 évesek vagy annál fiatalabbak, a COVID-19 fertőzöttek közül 2-en 60 évesnél idősebbek. Influenza okozta SARI megbetegedést a gyermekek és az idősek között diagnosztizáltak.     A figyelőszolgálatban résztvevő orvosok jelentései alapján végzett becslés szerint az országban 10 800-an fordultak orvoshoz influenzaszerű, 120 800-an pedig akut légúti fertőzés tüneteivel.   Influenzaszerű megbetegedés esetén a betegek közel 24%-a 0-14 éves gyermek, több mint 36% 15-34 éves fiatal felnőtt, több mint 27% a 35-59 évesek, közel 13% pedig a 60 éven felüliek korcsoportjába tartozik. Influenzás tünetekkel orvoshoz fordulás gyakorisága egy vármegye kivételével valamennyi közigazgatási területen csökkent az előző hét adataihoz viszonyítva. Laboratóriumi vizsgálattal igazolt, influenzavírus által okozott megbetegedéseket Budapesten és 6 vármegyében - Bács-Kiskunban, Fejérben, Győr-Moson-Sopronban, Hajdú-Biharban, Somogyban és Veszprémben - diagnosztizáltak.   Akut légúti fertőzés esetén a betegek korcsoport szerinti megoszlása: több mint 42%-uk 0-14 éves gyermek, több mint 26% a 15-34 éves fiatal felnőtt, közel 20% a 35-59 évesek, közel 12% a 60 éven felüliek korcsoportjába tartozó. Akut légúti megbetegedés halmozódásáról nem érkezett jelentés.     Légúti minta 113 betegtől érkezett a Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központ (NNGYK) Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumába.   A sentinel kórházak által beküldött 9 minta közül 4 betegnél RSV-t azonosítottak.   A sentinel orvosok által beküldött 86 minta közül 4 betegnél az influenza A(H1pdm09), 1 betegnél az influenza A(H3), 5 betegnél az influenza B, 7 betegnél az RSV, 12 betegnél a human metapneumovírus, 1 betegnél a SARS-CoV-2 vírus kóroki szerepét igazolták. Az influenza pozitivitási arány 11,6%, az RSV pozitivitási arány 8,1%, a HMPV pozitivitási arány 14,0%, a SARS-CoV-2 pozitivitási arány 1,2%.     Hagyományos diagnosztikus célú vizsgálat keretében érkezett 18 légúti minta közül 1 influenza A(H1pdm09), 2 RSV, 2 human metapneumovírus, 2 rhinovírus, 1 parainfluenza vírus volt pozitív.     A 2023. év 40. és a 2024. év 14. hete között összesen 6 541 vizsgálati anyagot dolgoztak fel az NNGYK Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumban. Kilencszáznegyvenöt influenza A[756 influenza A(H1pdm09), 187 influenza A(H3), 2 influenza A(NT)], 68 influenza B, 334 RSV, 1 069 COVID-19 fertőzést igazoltak. Ötvenhárom megbetegedést rhinovírus, 8-at parainfluenza, 6-ot adenovírus, 146-ot human metapneumovírus, 5-öt bocavírus okozott. (Forrás: nnk *)
* 'Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ'

European Commission
April 1, 2024 6:00 am CET  Top European prosecutors are in connection with vaccine negotiations between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the CEO of Pfizer. A European Commission official said the Commission had no knowledge about possible proceedings other than from press articles. Investigating allegations of criminal wrongdoing, European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) take over Belgian probe into affair dubbed 'Pfizergate', looking into text messages between European Commission (EC) President, von der Leyen and boss of Pfizer, Bourla in the run-up to the EU’s biggest vaccine deal at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. The deal was originally seen as a triumph for von der Leyen. But the sheer amount of vaccines purchased has since raised eyebrows. Late last year there were at least €4 billion worth of wasted doses. The vaccine contract with Pfizer has since been renegotiated. Investigators from the EPPO are investigating von der Leyen over 'interference in public functions, destruction of SMS, corruption and conflict of interest." No one has yet been charged in connection with the case. EPPO leads pan-European investigations into financial crimes, and in theory could seize phones and other relevant material from Commission offices or in other countries in Europe such as von der Leyen's native Germany. In 2022, EPPO announced it was looking into the EU’s vaccine procurement more generally, but this is the first time that the office has been linked with Pfizergate explicitly. The probe was originally opened by Belgian judicial authorities in the city of Liège in early 2023 after a criminal complaint lodged by local lobbyist Baldan, 36, with ties to vaccine-skeptic group Bon Sens. The addition of European governments to his complaint adds weight to what might otherwise have been seen as a personal crusade. He was later joined by the Hungarian and Polish governments. Hungary, led by Viktor Orbán, filed a complaint in connection to the Commission president’s role in vaccine negotiations with Pfizer. The complaint centers on the text message exchange. Poland lodged its own complaint along the same lines last November. Following the election of Tusk in December, Poland is in the process of withdrawing its complaint after the election win by a government led by Tusk. The New York Times, which first revealed that the exchange had taken place as the two leaders hashed out the terms of the deal, has launched a parallel lawsuit against the Commission after it refused to disclose the content of the messages following an access to documents request. The case risks putting further scrutiny on the Commission president's role in the mega vaccine deal, which had an estimated value of over €20 billion. The EU’s chief navigates the transition to what will be a second term at the head of the EC. The Commission has so far refused to reveal the content of the text messages, or even confirm their existence, von der Leyen has so far avoided addressing the case. The case now being looked at by EPPO brings together several different legal, political and financial strands - and it intersects with lawsuits that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer brought against Hungary and Poland. Both Hungary and Poland are being sued by Pfizer over missing payments for vaccine doses after stopping deliveries, citing oversupply and the financial strain of the Ukraine war. (Source: politico)

European Union
01/04/2024 14:45  Around '40 per cent of Europeans' said they held a positive view of the EU’s 'fight against the COVID-19 epidemic', according to an exclusive Euronews-Ipsos poll, ranging from 74 per cent in Portugal to a mere 24 per cent holding that view in the Czech Republic ahead of the EU elections in June. The poll was conducted in 18 countries online and by phone between February 23 and March 5. It included a total of nearly 26,000 participants who were of voting age. 'The EU mobilised a massive €800 billion stimulus package amid the pandemic, partly based on joint borrowing, to help economies bounce back from the crisis. They also jointly procured vaccines against the virus, securing up to 4.6 billion vaccine doses worth some €71 billion by the end of 2021, according to a report by the European Court of Auditors. While the vaccine rollout was initially criticised as slower than those in the US and UK, the auditors' report found that the European Commission had 'limited leverage' to overcome supply challenges. The bloc ended up hitting its target of vaccinating 70 per cent of adults against COVID-19 in July 2021. Portugal had the world’s highest vaccination rate by the end of that year'. In Portugal, Finland, Spain, Belgium, and Denmark, more than half of respondents held a mostly positive view of the EU’s impact on that fight. There were differences based on age. Around 47 per cent of respondents aged 65 and older held a positive view of the EU’s handling of the pandemic, compared to 41 per cent of those aged 18 to 29 and 36 per cent of those aged 30 to 49. In Greece, Italy, Sweden, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Poland, and the Netherlands, Europeans surveyed had a more positive than negative view of the EU’s impact on the fight against COVID-19. More than half of the respondents who intended to vote for parties in the Green, Social Democratic, and pro-EU Renew groups were positive about the bloc’s efforts during COVID-19. In all countries, the percentage of respondents who held a negative view was fewer than half of those surveyed. Respondents with the most negative views of the EU’s role during the pandemic were in Romania (42 per cent), Slovakia (41 per cent), and Austria (40 per cent). Around 38 per cent of people in Hungary held a negative view of the EU’s impact on the fight against COVID-19 while 36 per cent of people in the Czech Republic did. The Euronews-Ipsos poll found that those who intend to vote for right-wing populist and eurosceptic parties in the Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament held a more negative view of the EU’s response to the pandemic. Some 49 per cent of those surveyed who intend to vote for ID parties held a negative view compared to just 22 per cent of those voting for ID parties who hold a positive view of the bloc’s impact on the pandemic. Around 32 per cent of Europeans polled said they had neither a positive nor negative view while 28 per cent had a negative view. (Source: euronews)

Europe
Tue, 9 April 2024 You can live a very good life with hepatitis B and you can also get support from your partner. Hepatitis B can be prevented through vaccination. Hepatitis C can be cured in most people through treatment. Hepatitis B and C viruses can be spread through sexual transmission, sharing needles, or during pregnancy from mother to foetus and cause inflammation of the liver. If left untreated, these viruses could lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death. The viruses can also impact mental health, with over a third of survey participants reporting moderate or severe emotional distress such as anxiety and depression. Half of Europeans living with hepatitis B or C struggled to tell other people about it due to the stigma surrounding the virus, according to a new survey that will be presented at the World Hepatitis Summit in Lisbon this week. The survey showed that people with hepatitis B and C experience stigma that can lead them to avoid check-ups. The survey included 547 participants from the UK, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia, with responses collected in February and March 2024. Nearly half of people living with hepatitis C and more than a quarter of people living with hepatitis B said they were not treated well in healthcare settings, according to the survey. Conducted by the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the survey found that a quarter of participants in seven European countries had not told their friends about living with hepatitis B or C. Nearly the same amount had not told their families about living with the virus either. According to the ECDC, roughly six million people are living with chronic hepatitis B and C infection in EU/EEA countries. Yet it’s likely that the number is higher, as many cases go undiagnosed. It can be hard to find survey participants because of the stigma around hepatitis. This is in part because the virus often impacts people who are already in marginalised communities. “I think it's very disappointing that in Europe we're still seeing this level of discomfort with accessing healthcare,” James, chief executive of the World Hepatitis Alliance, told. “I think in Europe, we sometimes think that we are a liberal Western society and that healthcare systems treat everyone the same, and I think, unfortunately, this data really shows that for people living with hepatitis, that isn't their experience,” he added. One takeaway of the survey’s results is the need for more training for medical professionals, not just at medical school, but throughout people's medical career, he said. So they understand the impact that it has on people who are living with it so they can be more sensitive to their mental health concerns, he added. (Source: yahoo)

5 April 2024  In recent months, pertussis cases - or more commonly known as whooping cough - have increased by leaps and bounds across Europe. It is a retro-infection - the latest disease of the Victorian era, returning in the West after the rise of measles, syphilis, gout, leprosy and malaria. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Czech Republic has reported the highest number of cases in the last 60 years and a shortage of vaccines against whooping cough. The current epicenter of whooping cough in Europe is Croatia, where 6,261 cases were reported in the first two and a half months of this year. There have been four deaths in recent weeks in the Netherlands, more than double the usual annual rate. In recent months, the number of cases has also risen sharply in Belgium, Denmark, Spain and the United Kingdom. While whooping cough can be very uncomfortable for adults, pertussis can have serious complications in babies. In most European countries, babies receive the first two doses of the combined pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus vaccine between 2 and 12 months, another dose at 2 years of age, and the final dose between 3 and 7. According to the ECDC, 15- and 19-year-olds account for the majority of current cases, but "virtually all deaths" in the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) this year have occurred in babies under the age of three months. In 2023, a total of 853 cases were registered in England. According to the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA), there were 913 cases in February this year alone. The British Medical Journal reports that the spread is partly due to declining vaccination rates. Pregnant women may be offered the pertussis vaccine to protect newborns from the disease. In England, among this group, it fell from more than 70 percent in September 2017 to 58 percent by September 2023. In the UK, five regional health services reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had adversely affected vaccination rates in a longer term decline. "We've seen a lot of misinformation from the anti-vax lobby during this outbreak, and I think there's a lot of concern on the part of some of us that this misinformation will translate into hesitancy around routine immunization," said Head, a senior researcher on global health at the University of Southampton. Head also pointed to the measles outbreak in Europe, which is also largely attributed to declining vaccination rates. (Source: politico)

North America

United States
Monday, April 1, 2024  A person in the United States has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus (“H5N1 bird flu”), as reported by Texas and confirmed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This person had exposure to dairy cattle in Texas presumed to be infected with HPAI A(H5N1) viruses. The patient reported eye redness (consistent with conjunctivitis), as their only symptom, and is recovering. The patient was told to isolate and is being treated with an antiviral drug for flu. This infection does not change the H5N1 bird flu human health risk assessment for the U.S. general public, which CDC considers to be low. However, people with close or prolonged, unprotected exposures to infected birds or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection. CDC has been monitoring for illness among people exposed to H5 virus-infected birds since outbreaks were first detected in U.S. wild birds and poultry in late 2021. This is the second person reported to have tested positive for influenza A(H5N1) viruses in the United States. A previous human case occurred in 2022 in Colorado. H5 bird flu is widespread among wild birds in the U.S. and globally. These viruses have caused outbreaks in commercial and backyard poultry flocks, and sporadic infections in mammals. HPAI in dairy cows was first reported in Texas and Kansas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on March 25, 2024. Unpasteurized milk from sick cattle collected from two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas, as well as a throat swab from a cow in another dairy in Texas, tested positive for HPAI A(H5) viruses of the genetic clade 2.3.4.4b, which is the same clade that is widespread among birds globally. On March 29, 2024, USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) confirmed HPAI in a Michigan dairy herd that had recently received cows from Texas. The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is providing regular updates on detections in dairy herds, as well as information on epidemiological findings and biosecurity guidance for farmers and veterinarians. CDC is working with state health departments to continue to monitor workers who may have been in contact with infected or potentially infected birds/animals and test those people who develop symptoms. CDC also has recommendations for clinicians on monitoring, testing, and antiviral treatment for patients with suspected or confirmed avian influenza A virus infections. Human infections with avian influenza A viruses, including A(H5N1) viruses, are uncommon but have occurred sporadically worldwide. Human illnesses with H5N1 bird flu have ranged from mild (e.g., eye infection, upper respiratory symptoms) to severe illness (e.g., pneumonia) that have resulted in death in other countries. Preliminary analysis of A(H5N1) viruses has not found changes that would make these viruses resistant to current FDA-approved flu antiviral medications, so these are believed to be effective against these viruses. Candidate vaccine viruses (CVVs) developed against related clade 2.3.4.4b viruses are available for vaccine manufacturing if necessary and preliminary analysis indicates that they may provide reasonable protection against H5N1 influenza viruses. Seasonal flu vaccines do not provide protection against these viruses. Analysis of virus samples is ongoing, influenza viruses constantly change, this is a developing situation, continued surveillance and preparedness efforts are critical. According to CDC’s interim recommendations, people should avoid unprotected exposures to sick or dead animals including wild birds, poultry, other domesticated birds, and other wild or domesticated animals (including cattle), as well as with animal carcasses, raw milk, feces (poop), litter, or materials contaminated by birds or other animals with confirmed or suspected HPAI A(H5N1)-virus infection. People should not prepare or eat uncooked or undercooked food or related uncooked food products, such as unpasteurized (raw) milk, or products made from raw milk such as cheeses, from animals with confirmed or suspected HPAI A(H5N1)-virus infection (avian influenza or bird flu). According to FDA and USDA, there are not concerns with the safety of the commercial milk supply at this time because products are pasteurized before entering the market. Pasteurization has continually proven to inactivate bacteria and viruses, like influenza, in milk. People exposed to birds or other animals with confirmed or suspected HPAI A(H5N1) virus infection should be monitored for any signs and symptoms of illness for 10 days after the last known exposure, including people wearing recommended personal protective equipment (PPE). /Source: cdc/

Globalization

April 3, 2024  Yesterday, Texas reported that the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, had been detected in a person who had contact with dairy cows presumed to be infected with the virus. To date there has been no sustained human-to-human transmission observed and bird flu transmission from infected animals to humans is rare. The number of bird flu outbreaks has been lower so far this season but it spread geographically, including to Antarctica, and to an increasing number of mammals. In addition to poultry and dairy cows reported in the United States, mammals hit by the virus include goats, cats, foxes, racoons, skunks, polar and grizzly bears and elephant seals. Some 887 cases of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza were reported globally between January 2003 and Feb. 26 this year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in its latest report. Of these 462 were fatal, accounting for a rate of 52%. The majority of human cases were detected in people with unprotected exposure to sick or dead poultry, live poultry markets or a contaminated environment. Companion animals, such as cats living in households and with access to the outdoors, could also be a potential vehicle for transmission, it added. The spread of bird flu is a concern for governments and the poultry industry due to the devastation it can cause to flocks, and a risk of human transmission. The EU's Food Safety Agency (EFSA) warned today of a large-scale bird flu pandemic if the virus becomes transmissible between people as humans lack immunity against the virus. These viruses continue to evolve globally, with the migration of wild birds new strains carrying potential mutations for mammalian adaptation could be selected and wild mammals could act as bridge hosts between wild birds, domestic animals and humans, EFSA said. It called for enhanced surveillance for humans and animals, ensuring access to rapid diagnostics, promoting collaboration between the animal and human sectors and implementing preventive measures such as vaccination. (Source: reuters)

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South America

Argentina
April 9, 2024  The dengue virus has exploded across Latin America over the past muggy weeks of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Argentina contends with its worst outbreak of dengue fever in recent memory. It means the Aedes aegypti mosquito has widened its range. Dengue infections in Argentina have soared to over 180,500 this season, including 129 deaths. That’s six times higher than last season’s count, which was already the worst on record. Recent drenching rains that flooded Buenos Aires have created ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes. “Transmission never stopped in the previous season, because less cold winters are favorable for adult mosquitoes,” said Lloveras, a specialist at the Francisco Javier Muñiz Infectious Diseases Hospital in Buenos Aires. “The magnitude is really worrisome, because there is a lot of demand on our health system". Shelves of mosquito repellent are empty as residents hunt in vain and resort to DIY alternatives. The product for avoid the bite of the mosquito that transmits the disease is sold out in virtually all Buenos Aires stores and going for shocking, exorbitant prices online, even to Argentines accustomed to triple-digit inflation, in some cases as much as ten times the retail value. Since February, wholesalers have hiked prices and some Argentines have stockpiled repellent to resell when stories run out. Now most lotions and sprays online fetch between $20 and $40 - five or 10 times the original market price. Rampant hoarding and surging prices have stoked desperation. “That’s a day’s wage', said 53-year-old Contrares, a seller of Gaucho-themed knickknacks in northern Buenos Aires. "Who can afford that?" Contrares and other Argentines are resorting to homespun methods to keep bugs away. He sets egg cartons alight and tosses citronella incense sticks into tiny crackling fires. Other people's technique mixing coffee grounds with garlic cloves to fend off the flying insects. Buenos Aires’ municipal health minister, Quirós, hosted a dengue prevention workshop last week in a crowded shantytown where sanitation is poor and mosquitoes abound. Instagram videos show him instructing residents how to make repellent at home with heaps of herbs and boiled essential oil, both well beyond their purchasing power. And the final step? “Cover and let it rest for 40 days.' Political opponents of Libertarian President Milei’s have used the repellent crisis to criticize the government’s push to deregulate the economy and scrap price controls. In one widely shared video from a market in the town of El Talar outside the capital on April 4, shoppers are seen descending on an employee opening new boxes of bug spray, snatching up stock before he could place a single bottle on a shelf. On that day, as public outrage mounted and the repellent shortage evolved from nuisance to national news, the government - busy battling sky-high inflation and near-daily protests - was forced to intervene: Health Minister Russo has his first TV appearance since the dengue outbreak on the local Telefé channel. He said that authorities lifted import restrictions on foreign-made mosquito repellents to boost supply and announced they would ramp up production at local labs. When asked how Argentines should protect themselves in the meantime, he offered a warning that was instantly mocked on social media: “Be careful with shorts”. (Source: apnews *)
* Associated Press

World Health Organization

9 April 2024  More than 6000 people are getting newly infected with viral hepatitis each day. Every day, there are 3500 people dying globally due to hepatitis B and C infections. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2024 Global Hepatitis Report released at the World Hepatitis Summit, the viral hepatitis disease is the second leading infectious cause of death globally. New data from 187 countries show that the estimated number of deaths from viral hepatitis increased from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022, the same as tuberculosis, a top infectious killer. Updated WHO estimates indicate that 83% - 254 million people - live with hepatitis B and 50 million with hepatitis C in 2022. Half the burden of chronic hepatitis B and C infections is among people 30–54 years old, with 12% among children under 18 years of age. Men account for 58% of all cases. In 2022, there were 2.2 million new infections, down from 2.5 million in 2019. These include 1.2 million new hepatitis B infections and nearly 1 million new hepatitis C infections. Prevention measures such as immunization and safe injections, along with the expansion of hepatitis C treatment, have contributed to reducing the incidence. The report highlights that despite better tools for diagnosis and treatment, and decreasing product prices, testing and treatment coverage rates have stalled. Far too few people with hepatitis are being diagnosed and treated, said WHO Director-General Dr Ghebreyesus. Across all regions, only 13% of people living with chronic hepatitis B infection had been diagnosed and approximately 3% (7 million) had received antiviral therapy at the end of 2022. Regarding hepatitis C, 36% had been diagnosed and 20% (12.5 million) had received curative treatment. The burden of viral hepatitis varies regionally. The WHO African Region bears 63% of new hepatitis B infections, yet despite this burden, only 18% of newborns in the region receive the hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination. In the Western Pacific Region, which accounts for 47% of hepatitis B deaths, treatment coverage stands at 23% among people diagnosed, which is far too low to reduce mortality. Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Russian Federation and 'Viet Nam', collectively shoulder nearly two-thirds of the global burden of hepatitis B and C. These results fall well below the global targets to treat 80% of people living with chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C by 2030. Despite the availability of affordable generic viral hepatitis medicines, many countries fail to procure them at lower prices. Pricing disparities persist both across and within WHO regions, with many countries paying above global benchmarks, even for off-patent drugs or when included in voluntary licensing agreements. For example, although tenofovir for treatment of hepatitis B is off patent and available at a global benchmark price of US$2.4 per month, only 7 of the 26 reporting countries paid prices at or below the benchmark. Similarly, a 12-week course of pangenotypic sofosbuvir/daclatasvir to treat hepatitis C is available at a global benchmark price of US$60, yet only 4 of 24 reporting countries paid prices at or below the benchmark. Only 60% of reporting countries offer viral hepatitis testing and treatment services free of charge, either entirely or partially, in the public sector. Financial protection is lower in the African Region, where only about one third of reporting countries provide these services free of charge. Funding for viral hepatitis both at a global level or within dedicated country health budgets, is not sufficient to meet the needs. This arises from a combination of factors, including limited awareness of cost-saving interventions and tools, as well as competing priorities in global health agendas. This report seeks to shed light on strategies for countries to address these inequities and access the tools at the most affordable prices available. 'The WHO elimination goal by 2030 should still be achievable, if swift actions are taken now'. They include:   Expanding access to testing and diagnostics;   Shifting from policies to implementation for equitable treatment;   Strengthening primary care prevention efforts;   Simplifying service delivery, optimizing product regulation and supply;   Developing investment cases in priority countries;   Mobilizing innovative financing;   Using improved data for action;   Engaging affected communities and civil society and advancing research for improved diagnostics and potential cures for hepatitis B. (Source: who)

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Magyarország
2024. év 11. hét.  Tájékoztató a légúti figyelőszolgálat adatairól (2024. március 11 - 17. közötti adatok).     A légúti figyelőszolgálat keretében kijelölt 24 kórház adatai alapján e héten 162 beteget vettek fel kórházba súlyos, akut légúti fertőzés (SARI) miatt, közülük 17-en részesültek intenzív/szubintenzív ellátásban. A kórházi ápolást igénylő 162 SARI beteg közül 84-en 2 évesek vagy annál fiatalabbak, 39-en 60 évesek vagy annál idősebbek. Húsz betegnél influenza A, 52-nél RSV, 2-nél SARS-CoV-2 vírus okozott megbetegedést. Negyvenkét RSV-pozitív beteg 2 éves vagy annál fiatalabb, a COVID-19 fertőzöttek egyike 2, másikuk 16 éves.     A figyelőszolgálatban résztvevő orvosok jelentései alapján végzett becslés szerint az országban 26 400-an fordultak orvoshoz influenzaszerű, 196 500-an pedig akut légúti fertőzés tüneteivel.  Influenza okozta SARI megbetegedést a 20 év alattiak és az 50-75 évesek korcsoportjaiban diagnosztizáltak. Influenzaszerű megbetegedés esetén a betegek több mint 42%-a 0-14 éves gyermek, közel 30% 15-34 éves fiatal felnőtt, közel 19% a 35-59 évesek korcsoportjába tartozik, kevesebb mint 9% pedig 60 éven felüli. Azonos korcsoportba tartozó 100 000 lakosra a megbetegedések száma a 3‑5 évesek és a 6-14 évesek között a legnagyobb - 921, illetve 694 esettel. Az influenzás tünetekkel orvoshoz fordulás gyakorisága tizenkilenc közigazgatási területen csökkent, egy területen - Baranyában - nem változott az előző hét adataihoz viszonyítva. Orvoshoz fordult, 100 000 lakosra jutó betegek száma Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Somogy és Győr-Moson-Sopron vármegyékben volt a legnagyobbb, 456, 455, illetve 446 esettel, Heves, Veszprém és Békés vármegyében pedig a legalacsonyabb, 88, 159, illetve 166 esettel. Laboratóriumi vizsgálattal igazolt, influenzavírus által okozott megbetegedéseket Budapesten és 10 vármegyében - Bács-Kiskunban, Csongrád-Csanádban, Fejérben, Győr-Moson-Sopronban, Hajdú-Biharban, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnokban, Komárom-Esztergomban, Pest vármegyében, Somogyban s Veszprémben - diagnosztizáltak.   Akut légúti fertőzés esetén a betegek korcsoport szerinti megoszlása: több mint 50% 0-14 éves gyermek, közel 24% 15-34 éves fiatal felnőtt, közel 17% a 35-59 évesek, közel 9% a 60 éven felüliek korcsoportjába tartozó. Akut légúti megbetegedés halmozódásáról nem érkezett jelentés.    Légúti minta 299 betegtől érkezett a Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központ (NNGYK) Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumába.   A sentinel kórházak által beküldött 19 minta közül 1 betegnél influenza A(H1pdm09) vírust, 7 betegnél RSV-t, 3 betegnél human metapneumovírust azonosítottak.  A sentinel orvosok által beküldött 174 minta közül 18 betegnél az influenza A(H1pdm09), 3 betegnél az influenza A(H3), 4 betegnél az influenza B, 11 betegnél az RSV, 14 betegnél a human metapneumovírus, 1 betegnél a SARS-CoV-2 vírus kóroki szerepét igazolták. Az influenza pozitivitási arány 14,4%, az RSV pozitivitási arány 6,3%, a SARS-CoV-2 pozitivitási arány 0,6%.    Hagyományos diagnosztikus célú vizsgálat keretében érkezett 36 légúti minta közül 3 influenza A(H1pdm09), 1 influenza A(H3) vírus, 3 RSV, 6 human metapneumovírus pozitív volt.    A 2023. év 40. és a 2024. év 11. hete között összesen 6 053 vizsgálati anyagot dolgoztak fel az NNGYK Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumban. Kilencszázhuszonegy influenza A[734 influenza A(H1pdm09), 185 influenza A(H3), 2 influenza A(NT)], 53 influenza B, 278 RSV, 1 065 COVID-19 fertőzést igazoltak. 50 megbetegedést rhinovírus, 7-et parainfluenza, 6-ot adenovírus, 102-t human metapneumovírus okozott. (Forrás: nnk *)
* 'Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ'

Ireland
March 15, 2024  Brain fog is a debilitating symptom commonly reported by people with long COVID. For some people, brain fog can feel like a slowdown in thinking or difficulty recalling short-term memories, Campbell, a geneticist at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, says. For example, “patients will go for a drive, and forget where they’re driving to.” That might sound trivial, he says, but it actually pushes people into panic mode. Campbell’s team studies repetitive head trauma. They knew that traumatic brain injuries can disrupt the blood brain barrier - and that people with these injuries sometimes report having brain fog. That mental muddling reminded the team of what people with long COVID can experience. Maybe the blood brain barrier disruption seen in some concussion patients applies to long COVID brain fog, too, the researchers surmised. Evidence for SARS-CoV-2’s damaging effects on the brain has been mounting for years. Studies in cells and animals suggest the virus can crumble components of the blood brain barrier. In patients with brain fog, MRI scans revealed signs of damaged blood vessels in their brains, researchers reported February 22 in Nature Neuroscience. But until now, no one knew if this kind of damage persisted long after the initial infection subsided. The team scanned the brains of 32 people, 10 of whom had recovered from COVID-19, and 22 with long COVID. Of those with long COVID, half reported having brain fog. In these people, dye injected into the bloodstream leaked into their brains and pooled in regions that play roles in language, memory, mood and vision - in eight of 11 participants with brain fog, the dye tended to escape from blood vessels and enter brain tissue. Leaky blood brain barriers in the brain could explain the memory and concentration problems linked to long COVID. That barrier, tightly knit cells lining blood vessels, typically keeps riffraff out of the brain. If the barrier breaks down, bloodborne viruses, cells and other interlopers can sneak into the brain’s tissues and wreak havoc, says Nath, a neurologist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. It’s too early to say definitively whether that’s happening in people with long COVID, but the new study provides evidence that “brain fog has a biological basis,” says Nath, who wasn’t involved with the work. Study coauthor Campbell remembers one of the first people scanned, someone with severe brain fog. Their temporal lobes, brain regions that sit behind the eyes, were “just flooded with this dye,” he says. Autopsies of people who have died from COVID-19 reveal barrier breakdowns, Nath and others have shown. In people recovered from COVID, the dye had trouble crossing the blood brain barrier. Likewise, in long COVID patients without brain fog, the dye mostly stayed put, confined within blood vessels. The new findings offer an opportunity to think about potential therapies, Nath says. Perhaps researchers can find a way to slow down the blood brain barrier’s breakdown - or reverse it. (Source: sciencenews)

United Kingdom
Thu 14 Mar 2024  Covid vaccines, including those from Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna, proved highly effective at preventing severe disease in the pandemic, but medicines regulators also recorded increases in some rare heart and clotting conditions. The latest, large study sought to investigate the overall impact of a Covid vaccination, given that infection with the virus itself is known to significantly raise the risk of heart failure and various other serious cardiovascular problems. Researchers analysed health records from more than 20 million people across the UK, Spain and Estonia and found consistent evidence that the jabs protected against serious cardiovascular complications of the disease. Writing in the journal Heart, the researchers describe how the adenovirus-based Covid vaccines produced by Oxford-AstraZeneca and Janssen, and the mRNA-based vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, were most protective against Covid-related heart failure and blood clots in the first month after contracting the virus. 'In that period, the risk of heart failure was 55% lower, and the risks of blood clots in the veins and arteries were down 78% and 47% respectively, compared with rates in unvaccinated people. Three to six months after infection, the risk of heart failure in vaccinated people was 39% lower than in unvaccinated people, with the risk of blood clots in the veins and arteries down 47% and 28% respectively. From six to 12 months post-infection, the risks of the same complications were 48%, 50% and 38% lower, respectively, for vaccinated people.' Covid vaccinations substantially reduce the risk of heart failure and potentially dangerous blood clots linked to the infection for up to a year, according to the study. The protective effect arises from the vaccines reducing the severity of the disease when people experience breakthrough infections, when the virus takes hold despite a person being vaccinated. The message overall is that if you are vaccinated, your risk of having post-Covid cardiovascular and thromboembolic complications is reduced quite dramatically, Prieto-Alhambra, a professor of pharmaco- and device epidemiology at the University of Oxford and a senior author on the study, said. (Source: theguardian)

Europe
15 Mar 2024  Closer during crises? A survey's respondents were interviewed in March/beginning of April 2020, again in July 2020, and finally in November 2022 to analyze whether a change in attachment to Europe occurred between the first and the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The results show that the emotive dimension of EU attachment changed over the course of these crises and are suggesting that far-reaching EU-level actions in case of crises create, rather than require, a perception of belonging to an EU-level community. (Source: tandfronline *)
* Taylor& Francis Online, originating in England.

Africa

Uganda
14 March 2024  The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has warned all headteachers and principals of both government and private education institutions in Kampala regarding an outbreak of conjunctivitis, commonly known as red eye disease, following reports of confirmed cases in several schools and educational facilities within the city. Conjunctivitis happens when the membrane covering the insides of your eyelids and the white part of your eye, called the conjunctiva, becomes inflamed. Inflammation of the conjunctiva causes the whites of your eyes to appear pink or red in colour. The most common pink eye symptoms include redness in one or both eyes, itchiness in one or both eyes, a gritty feeling, and discharge in one or both eyes that forms a crust during the night that may prevent your eye or eyes from opening in the morning. Affected persons may also experience tearing, sensitivity to light. In response to the outbreak, KCCA's health teams have advised schools to reinforce existing infection prevention measures. These measures include frequent handwashing with water and soap, avoiding touching or rubbing the eyes, refraining from shaking hands and maintaining close contact, as well as screening visitors entering the schools and institutions. (Source: allafrica / Nile Post - Kampala)

Atlantic Ocean

12 March 2024  High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been in existence for decades but the world is currently in the grip of a major flare up, with the H5N1 strain of the virus causing the deaths of countless wild and domesticated birds. Antarctica and its outlying islands have escaped the worst due to their remoteness. But this situation is on the turn. Avian influenza had already infected other seabirds and mammals on the British Overseas Territory, but scientists report 10 penguins on South Georgia - gentoo and king penguins - have now fallen victim. The beaches on South Georgia, one of the world's great wildlife havens are famous for their spectacular aggregations - a million-plus individuals all jostling together to court, mate and bring up their young. Bird flu was first identified on South Georgia, in October 2023, in the large scavenging seabird known as the brown skua, with detections in kelp gulls shortly after. In January this year, cases were confirmed in elephant and fur seals. It's also spread to Antarctic terns and wandering albatrosses. The cases were confirmed in samples sent back to the UK to the International Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza at the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) laboratories in Weybridge. Two dead skuas infected with HPAI were recently picked up by Argentine scientists near their Primavera base on the continent's peninsula, so the virus is unquestionably moving south. The virus has already got to gentoos on the Falklands some 1,500km to the west, so it was probably only a matter of time before South Georgia's also became infected. Skuas winter around South America as do giant petrels and scientists think these birds are the vector that bought the disease into South Georgia. Skuas are constantly in amongst the penguin colonies - different penguin species, which on South Georgia include kings, gentoos, macaronis and chinstraps - scavenging and preying on eggs and chicks. Macaronis will spend much of the coming southern winter at sea, which will help them avoid infection. Kings and gentoos, however, will continue to roost on shore, leaving them open to further exposure. "Penguins live in very close proximity to each other, so that lends itself to the idea that they might spread the virus rapidly between each other. But we don't know how easily the virus can get into different penguin species, what sort of clinical disease it might cause and how rapidly it might spread between birds themselves," Dr Banyard, who leads the avian virology workgroup at the APHA, told. The breeding season is closing on the sub-Antarctic island so the immediate impacts are likely to be limited. But there'll be concern for next season when wildlife gathers again en masse. (Source: rnz * / BBC)
* Radio New Zealand

North America

United States
March 20, 2024  A simple skin biopsy test has shown a high accuracy rate in detecting an abnormal form of alpha-synuclein, the pathological hallmark of Parkinson’s disease, according to neurologists at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). In a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, results from the study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, validate this cutaneous method as a reliable and convenient tool to help physicians make more accurate diagnoses of Parkinson’s and the subgroup of neurodegenerative disorders known as synucleinopathies. Affecting an estimated 2.5 million people in the United States, the synucleinopathies include Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and pure autonomic failure (PAF). While the four progressive neurodegenerative diseases have varying prognoses and do not respond to the same therapies, they do share some overlapping clinical features such as tremors and cognitive changes. Additionally, all are characterized by the presence of an abnormal protein present in the nerve fibers in the skin called phosphorylated α-synuclein (P-SYN). In this investigation, titled the Synuclein-One Study, Gibbons, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and colleagues at 30 academic and community-based neurology practices enrolled 428 people, ages 40-99 years, with a clinical diagnosis of one of the four synucleinopathies based on clinical criteria and confirmed by an expert panel or were healthy control subjects with no history of neurodegenerative disease. Participants underwent three 3-millimeter skin punch biopsies taken from the neck, the knee, and the ankle. Among the participants with clinically confirmed Parkinson’s disease, 93 percent demonstrated a positive skin biopsy for P-SYN. Participants with DLB and MSA tested 96 percent and 98 percent positive, respectively. One hundred percent of participants with PAF were positive for the abnormal protein. Among the controls, just over 3 percent tested positive for P-SYN — an error rate the authors suspect may indicate some of the healthy controls are at risk for a synucleinopathy. “Each year, there are nearly 200,000 people in the U.S. who face a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and related disorders. Too often patients experience delays in diagnosis or are misdiagnosed due to the complexity of these diseases. With a simple, minimally-invasive skin biopsy test, this blinded multicenter study demonstrated how we can more objectively identify the underlying pathology of synucleinopathies and offer better diagnostic answers and care for patients", said lead author Gibbons, a neurologist at BIDMC. “Parkinson’s disease and its subgroup of progressive neurodegenerative diseases show gradual progression, but alpha-synuclein is present in the skin even at the earliest stages. These are systemic disorders that impact the peripheral and central nervous systems in profound ways. “While we have been aware of the presence of alpha-synuclein in cutaneous nerves for many years, we were thrilled with the accuracy of this diagnostic test”, said senior author Freeman, director of the Center for Autonomic and Peripheral Nerve Disorders at BIDMC and professor of neurology at HMS. The team’s findings are built on earlier work by Freeman and Gibbons. The pair, together with immunohistochemist Wang, a research scientist at BIDMC and an assistant professor of neurology at HMS, have been focused on finding a reliable biomarker for synucleinopathies since 2009. In 2023, the BIDMC researchers demonstrated and published in the journal Neurology that this technique could reliably distinguish between Parkinson’s and MSA, a differentiation that is critical to properly managing the diseases that appear clinically similar but have very different prognoses. Developing the research around alpha-synuclein in the skin is part of a licensing collaboration with CND Life Sciences, a neurodiagnostics company. The authors anticipate that this research will play a role in accelerating drug development for synucleinopathies. (Source: news.harvard *)
* The Harvard Gazette

(Tuesday), March 19, 2024  Numerous lawmakers have scrutinized the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sen. Johnson has called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to explain why dozens of pages of material on the origins of COVID-19 are “still hidden under HHS’s heavy redactions.” He has long been scrutinizing government health agencies for their actions revolving around the outbreak. Johnson (R-Wis.) has been investigating various government health agencies’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He previously demanded the trove of documents from HHS Secretary Becerra and Dr. Fauci back in 2021 as part of a tranche of documents on the global pandemic. Sen. Johnson is following up on the request after a testy hearing with Becerra last week. “It is well past time for HHS to meet its legal obligation and produce, without redactions, the approximately 50 pages of priority records my office identified in 2021. You previously testified that I am ‘absolutely entitled’ to that information,” Johnson wrote in a Friday letter to Becerra. In September 2021, the senator’s team asked for an unredacted review of 400 pages of priority records. After Johnson’s initial request in 2021, the department coughed up roughly 4,000 pages worth of material that contained some redactions, according to his letter. Now that request has been reduced to 50 pages. This past Thursday, Johnson pressed Becerra about why the department hadn’t furnished the outstanding documents during a Senate Finance Committee hearing. 'It is an accommodation process where we try to make sure that we fulfill the request as best we can without undermining national security, confidentiality,' Becerra explained at the time. Johnson was dissatisfied with that response and stressed to the HHS secretary, “We fund the agencies. We pay their salaries. That data should be made available to the American public.” The Wisconsin Republican demanded the material by the week of April 8, and he is seeking a phone call or meeting with Becerra by that same time to discuss HHS’ compliance with the 2021 request. The senator wants HHS to flag specific privileges it feels preclude the removal of redactions and to furnish the material uncensored where it can’t identify a legitimate privilege. (Source: nypost *)
* The New York Post

South America

Brazil
March 19, 2024  Today, former Brazilian President Bolsonaro, who governed from 2019 to 2022, was formally accused for first time over alleged falsification of his COVID-19 vaccination status, with more allegations potentially in store. Police accuse Bolsonaro and his aides of tampering with the health ministry’s database shortly before he traveled to the U.S. in December 2022, two months after he lost his reelection bid to da Silva. Bolsonaro needed a certificate of vaccination to enter the U.S., where he remained for the final days of his term and the first months of Lula’s term. The former president has repeatedly said he has never taken a COVID-19 vaccine. Bolsonaro denied any wrongdoing during questioning in May 2023. Brazil’s Supreme Court has already seized Bolsonaro’s passport. During the pandemic, Bolsonaro was one of the few world leaders who railed against the vaccine. He openly flouted health restrictions and encouraged other Brazilians to follow his example. His administration ignored several offers from pharmaceutical company Pfizer to sell Brazil tens of millions of shots in 2020, and he openly criticized a move by Sao Paulo state’s governor to buy vaccines from Chinese company Sinovac when no other doses were available. The federal police indictment released by the Supreme Court alleged that Bolsonaro and 16 others inserted false information into a public health database to make it appear as though the then-president, his 12-year-old daughter and several others in his circle had received the COVID-19 vaccine. Police detective Shor, who signed the indictment, said in his report that Bolsonaro and his aides changed their vaccination records in order to 'issue their respective (vaccination) certificates and use them to cheat current health restrictions.' 'The investigation found several false insertions between November 2021 and December 2022, and also many actions of using fraudulent documents,' Shor added. If convicted for falsifying health data, the 68-year-old politician could spend up to 12 years behind bars or as little as two years, according to legal analyst Costa. The maximum jail time for a charge of criminal association is four years, he said. Brazil’s prosecutor-general’s office will have the final say on whether to use the indictment to file charges against Bolsonaro at the Supreme Court. The indictment sheds new light on a Senate committee inquiry that ended in October 2021 with a recommendation for nine criminal charges against Bolsonaro alleging that he mismanaged the pandemic. Then prosecutor-general Aras, who was widely seen as a Bolsonaro ally, declined to move the case forward. Bolsonaro retains staunch allegiance among his political base, as shown by an outpouring of support last month, when an estimated 185,000 people clogged Sao Paulo’s main boulevard to decry what they - and the former president - characterize as political persecution. Brazil’s top electoral court has already ruled Bolsonaro ineligible to run for office until 2030, on the grounds that he abused his power during the 2022 campaign and cast unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system. Another investigation relates to Bolsonaro’s involvement in the Jan. 8, 2023, uprising in the capital of Brasilia, soon after Lula took power. The uprising resembled the U.S. Capitol riot in Washington two years prior. He has denied wrongdoing in both cases. Hoffmann, chairwoman of the Workers’ Party, whose candidate defeated Bolsonaro, celebrated his indictment on social media: 'What is up now, Big Coward? Are you going to face this or run away to Miami?' Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Wajngarten, called his client’s indictment “absurd” and said he did not have access to it. “When he was president, he was completely exempted from showing any kind of certificate on his trips. This is political persecution and an attempt to void the enormous political capital that has only grown,” Wajngarten said. (Source: apnews *)
* Associated Press

18 March 2024  Unprecedented outbreak of dengue surges across Brazil - more than 1.5 million people have already caught the virus so far this year. The nation battles an epidemic that is straining resources and spreading well beyond the areas traditionally affected. The patients in places like Brasilia, the capital of the country, are suffering, they wait for six hours to be attended to. “There are two epidemics at the same time,” said Prof Ribas Freitas, Professor of Epidemiology at São Leopoldo Mandic School of Medicine, Campinas. He is concerned that another mosquito-borne disease from the same family of arboviruses - chikungunya - being misdiagnosed in many areas. “The complications are very different … and if doctors don’t know if a patient has dengue or chikungunya, they can interpret complications incorrectly,” he says. Epidemiologists are expecting the number of dengue cases to more than double the previous record - 4.5 million cases were reported in 2023 and hospitals were overrun. The control of mosquitoes right now is not too efficient, because they are flying with the virus. The mosquito control is more efficient when you do it before they hatch, in November, December, to avoid an epidemic even starting. Authorities have started to roll out the Qdenga vaccine developed by the Japanese company Takeda, which has an overall efficacy of 61.2 per cent. A limited vaccination campaign has been launched, but it is unlikely to be enough to halt the outbreak. Brazil – home to 214 million – has secured only enough doses to vaccinate 3.3 million people this year. To start with, just 521 cities will receive the vaccine, in a campaign targeting 10 and 11 year olds. Scientists at Brazil’s Butantan Institute in São Paulo are also working on a promising shot, which had an 80 per cent efficacy against symptomatic cases after one dose in a recent trial, but it is unlikely to be ready for widespread distribution until at least 2025. The World Mosquito Program has released mosquitoes infected with the naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria, which prevents the Aedes aegypti from being able to transmit dengue, in five areas. The results are promising: Science reported that in Niterói, where Wolbachia has been deployed since 2015, just 58 confirmed cases have been reported this year. Nearby Rio de Janeiro is 14 times bigger, but has seen 161 times more cases, with 9,355 detected since January. The initiative will be expanded to six new Brazilian cities in the coming months, but scaling up the programme nationwide will be slow. The virus, spread by mosquitoes, has already ripped through much of South America and the Caribbean. Reported cases are close to two million so far this year, making it the seventh worst outbreak since 2000. In the first two months of this year alone, Peru was forced to declare a health emergency across much of the country, Paraguay registered more than five times the typical number of suspected cases for the period (almost 100,000), and vast swarms of mosquitoes coursed through Argentina. South America and the Caribbean reported more than one million cases only twice in the 10 years between 2000 and 2009. Major epidemics typically occur cyclically – every three to five years. But infections have dropped below one million only twice since 2015. Globally, data on dengue transmission remains patchy, partly because cases are generally mild and can be misdiagnosed. According to the World Health Organization, some 400 million people are infected with the virus – dubbed ‘breakbone fever’ because severe joint pain can be one of the symptoms – each year, while at least 100 million become ill. Although the death rate is generally low, the virus exacts a heavy toll on productivity and health systems, with some 500,000 people hospitalised annually and many more experiencing symptoms including fatigue and brain fog that can last for weeks. (Source: telegraph)

Globalization

March 2024 "Recent changes in patterns of mammal infection with highly pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) virus worldwide" / Plaza - Gamarra-Toledo - Euguí - Lambertucci. Abstract: "We reviewed information about mammals naturally infected by highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus subtype H5N1 during 2 periods: the current panzootic (2020–2023) and previous waves of infection (2003–2019). In the current panzootic, 26 countries have reported >48 mammal species infected by H5N1 virus; in some cases, the virus has affected thousands of individual animals. The geographic area and the number of species affected by the current event are considerably larger than in previous waves of infection. The most plausible source of mammal infection in both periods appears to be close contact with infected birds, including their ingestion. Some studies, especially in the current panzootic, suggest that mammal-to-mammal transmission might be responsible for some infections; some mutations found could help this avian pathogen replicate in mammals. H5N1 virus may be changing and adapting to infect mammals. Continuous surveillance is essential to mitigate the risk for a global pandemic". (Source: cdc.gov *): https://tinyurl.com/pfkae9nu
* Emerging Infectious Diseases / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

11 March 2024  The next pandemic? It's already here for Earth's wildlife.    "When people ask me* what I think the next pandemic will be I often say that we are in the midst of one - it's just afflicting a great many species more than ours. I am referring to the highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1), otherwise known as bird flu, which has killed millions of birds and unknown numbers of mammals, particularly during the past three years. This is the strain that emerged in domestic geese in China in 1997 and quickly jumped to humans in south-east Asia with a mortality rate of around 40-50%. My research group encountered the virus when it killed a mammal, an endangered Owston's palm civet, in a captive breeding programme in Cuc Phuong National Park Vietnam in 2005. How these animals caught bird flu was never confirmed. Their diet is mainly earthworms, so they had not been infected by eating diseased poultry like many captive tigers in the region. This discovery prompted us to collate all confirmed reports of fatal infection with bird flu to assess just how broad a threat to wildlife this virus might pose". Two decades on, bird flu is killing species from the high Arctic to mainland Antarctica.    Mammals known to be susceptible to bird flu during the early 2000s included primates, rodents, pigs and rabbits. Large carnivores such as Bengal tigers and clouded leopards were reported to have been killed, as well as domestic cats. Until December 2005, most confirmed infections had been found in a few zoos and rescue centres in Thailand and Cambodia. In 2006 nearly half (48%) of all the different groups of birds (known to taxonomists as "orders") contained a species in which a fatal infection of bird flu had been reported. These 13 orders comprised 84% of all bird species. The strains of H5N1 circulating were probably highly pathogenic to all bird orders. The list of confirmed infected species included those that were globally threatened. Important habitats, such as Vietnam's Mekong delta, lay close to reported poultry outbreaks. "Our 2006 paper showed the ease with which this virus crossed species barriers and suggested it might one day produce a pandemic-scale threat to global biodiversity". In the past couple of years, bird flu has spread rapidly across Europe and infiltrated North and South America, killing millions of poultry and a variety of bird and mammal species. A recent paper found that 26 countries have reported at least 48 mammal species that have died from the virus since 2020, when the latest increase in reported infections started. A wide range of scavenging and predatory mammals that live on land are now confirmed to be susceptible, including mountain lions, lynx, brown, black and polar bears. Not even the ocean is safe. Since 2020, 13 species of aquatic mammal have succumbed, including American sea lions, porpoises and dolphins, often dying in their thousands in South America. The UK alone has lost over 75% of its great skuas and seen a 25% decline in northern gannets. Recent declines in sandwich terns (35%) and common terns (42%) were also largely driven by the virus. Scientists haven't managed to completely sequence the virus in all affected species.   We know it can already infect humans - one or more genetic mutations may make it more infectious. Between January 1 2003 and December 21 2023, 882 cases of human infection with the H5N1 virus were reported from 23 countries, of which 461 (52%) were fatal. Of these fatal cases, more than half were in Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Laos. Poultry-to-human infections were first recorded in Cambodia in December 2003. Intermittent cases were reported until 2014, followed by a gap until 2023, yielding 41 deaths from 64 cases. The subtype of H5N1 virus responsible has been detected in poultry in Cambodia since 2014. In the early 2000s, the H5N1 virus circulating had a high human mortality rate, so it is worrying that we are now starting to see people dying after contact with poultry again. It's not just H5 subtypes of bird flu that concern humans. The H10N1 virus was originally isolated from wild birds in South Korea, but has also been reported in samples from China and Mongolia. Recent research found that these particular virus subtypes may be able to jump to humans after they were found to be pathogenic in laboratory mice and ferrets. The first person who was confirmed to be infected with H10N5 died in China on January 27 2024, but this patient was also suffering from seasonal flu (H3N2). They had been exposed to live poultry which also tested positive for H10N5.    Species already threatened with extinction are among those which have died due to bird flu in the past three years. The first deaths from the virus in mainland Antarctica have just been confirmed in skuas, highlighting a looming threat to penguin colonies whose eggs and chicks skuas prey on. Humboldt penguins have already been killed by the virus in Chile.    How can we stem this tsunami of H5N1 and other avian influenzas? Completely overhaul poultry production on a global scale. Make farms self-sufficient in rearing eggs and chicks instead of exporting them internationally. The trend towards megafarms containing over a million birds must be stopped in its tracks. To prevent the worst outcomes for this virus, we must revisit its primary source: the incubator of intensive poultry farms. (Source: allafrica / "Republished from The Conversation Africa - Johannesburg")
* by Bell, a conservation biologist who studies emerging infectious diseases, Professor of Conservation Biology, University of East Anglia.

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Európa    Europe

Magyarország
2024. év 8. hét.  Tájékoztató a légúti figyelőszolgálat adatairól (2024. február 19 - 25. közötti adatok).    A légúti figyelőszolgálat keretében kijelölt 24 kórház adatai alapján e héten 357 beteget vettek fel kórházba súlyos, akut légúti fertőzés (SARI) miatt, közülük 42 fő részesült intenzív/szubintenzív ellátásban. A kórházi ápolást igénylők közül 154 beteg 2 éves vagy annál fiatalabb, 102 beteg 60 éves vagy annál idősebb. 82 betegnél influenza A, 100-nál RSV, 27-nél SARS-CoV-2 vírus okozott megbetegedést. Az RSV-pozitív betegek közül 86-an 2 évesek vagy annál fiatalabbak, a COVID-19 fertőzöttek közül 20-an 60 évesek vagy annál idősebbek. Influenza okozta SARI megbetegedést valamennyi korosztályban diagnosztizáltak.     A figyelőszolgálatban résztvevő orvosok jelentései alapján végzett becslés szerint az országban 55 100-an fordultak orvoshoz influenzaszerű és 286 000-an akut légúti fertőzés tüneteivel.    Influenzaszerű megbetegedés esetén a betegek több mint 40%-a 0-14 éves gyermek, közel 29% 15-34 éves fiatal felnőtt, kevesebb mint 23 % a 35-59 évesek, alig több mint 8 % a 60 éven felüliek korcsoportjába tartozik. Azonos korcsoportba tartozó 100 000 lakosra a 3‑5 évesek között között és a 6-14 évesek között volt a legnagyobb - 1 864, illetve 1 465 esettel -  a megbetegedések száma. Az influenzás tünetekkel orvoshoz fordulás gyakorisága hét közigazgatási területen nőtt, tizenkét területen csökkent, egy területen - Budapesten -nem változott, az előző hét adataihoz viszonyítva. Az orvoshoz fordult, 100 000 lakosra jutó betegek száma Győr-Moson-Sopron, Somogy és Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg vármegyében volt a legmagasabb, 1 087, 1 003, illetve 813 esetben, míg Heves, Békés és Vas vármegyében a legalacsonyabb, a 239, 356, illetve 370 esetben. Laboratóriumi vizsgálattal igazolt, influenzavírus által okozott megbetegedéseket Jász-Nagykun–Szolnok vármegye kivételével az ország valamennyi vármegyéjében diagnosztizáltak.    Akut légúti fertőzés esetén a betegek korcsoport szerinti megoszlása: közel 51% 0-14 éves gyermek, 23% körüli a 15-34 éves fiatal felnőtt. Közel 18%-uk 35-59 éves, több mint 8,% 60 éven felüliek korcsoportjába tartozó. Akut légúti megbetegedés halmozódásáról hét jelentés érkezett - Baranya, Bács-Kiskun, Fejér, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Hajdú-Bihar, Pest, valamint Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg vármegyéből. Megbetegedések három óvodában, egy általános iskolában és három szociális intézményben voltak. Egy szociális otthonban az influenza A vírus kóroki szerepe igazolódott a jelentés írásáig (a további légúti minták virológia vizsgálata folyamatban van - három esetben történt légúti mintavételezés ).    Légúti minta 398 betegtől érkezett a Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központ (NNGYK) Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumába.  A sentinel kórházak által beküldött 39 minta közül öt betegnél influenza A(H1pdm09)-t, egy betegnél influenza A(H3) vírust, tizennyolc betegnél RSV-t, öt betegnél human metapneumovírust azonosítottak.  A sentinel orvosok által beküldött 285 minta közül 89 betegnél az influenza A(H1pdm09), 12 betegnél az influenza A(H3), egy betegnél az influenza A(NT), tizenöt betegnél az influenza B, tizennyolc betegnél az RSV, öt betegnél a human metapneumovírus, hét betegnél a SARS-CoV-2 vírus kóroki szerepét igazolták. Az influenza pozitivitási arány 41,1%, az RSV pozitivitási arány 6,3%, a SARS-CoV-2 pozitivitási arány 2,5%.   A hagyományos diagnosztikus célú vizsgálat keretében érkezett 74 légúti minta közül huszonhárom influenza A(H1pdm09), egy influenza A(H3), tíz RSV, hat human metapneumovírus, kettő SARS-CoV-2 vírus pozitív volt.    A 2023. év 40. és 2024. év 8. hete között összesen 5 191 vizsgálati anyagot dolgoztak fel az NNGYK Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumban. 788 esetben 'influenza A[6181 influenza A(H1pdm09), 168 influenza A(H3), 2 influenza A(NT)]', harminchét főnél influenza B, százkilencvenhárom főnél RSV, 1 056 főnél COVID-19 fertőzést igazoltak. Negyvenkét megbetegedést rhinovírus, hatot parainfluenza, ötöt adenovírus, ötvenet human metapneumovírus okozott. (Forrás: nnk *)
* 'Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ'

2024. február 25.  Egyre több a lepkehimlős óvodás. Gyakori vírusfertőzés ez az óvodások körében. Általában nem jár súlyos tünetekkel. Legjellegzetesebb tünete a kiütés, ami elsősorban a két orcán, néha pedig az orrnyergen jelentkezik, a pirosodás egy pillangót formál. Miután a szél is kifújhatja a gyermek arcát, de mástól is kipirulhat, ezért ha a bőrből nem kiemelkedő, apró elemű kiütéseket talpasztalunk testszerte, akár a végtagokon – amelyek általában alig viszketnek –, jó eséllyel lepkehimlős a gyermek. Sokszor megesik, hogy csalánkiütésnek nézik a lepkehimlőt, de az előbbi sokkal erőteljesebben viszket, allergiás reakciónál hirtelen erőteljesebb tünetek jelentkeznek – magyarázta Havasi, a Házi Gyermekorvosok Egyesületének elnöke. A lepkehimlőnek általában kevés tünete van, a kiütések megjelenése előtt néhány nappal hőemelkedés jelentkezhet, esetleg egy kis láz, enyhe vírusos panaszokkal, de ezek nagyon gyakran elkerülik a figyelmet. A kiütések általában néhány nap alatt elmúlnak, mondta a gyermekorvos. A betegség súlyosabb lefolyása nagyon ritka, de várandós kismamák lehetőség szerint kerüljék a lepkehimlős gyermekeket, tanácsolta. A betegség általában már a tünetek jelentkezése előtt fertőz, ezért van az, hogy sorban jelentkezhet egy-egy óvodás csoport tagjain, ha egyikük már elkapta. A lepkehimlőt döntően csak egyszer szokták elkapni a gyerekek. A lakosságnak több mint a fele átesik élete során ezen a fertőzésen, általában kisgyerekkorban. A lepkehimlő alapesetben gyógyszerelés nélkül elmúlik, de ha egyéb tünetek is jelentkeznek, akkor mindenképpen forduljanak orvoshoz – ajánlotta a Házi Gyermekorvosok Egyesületének elnöke.
(Forrás: infostart *)
* Infostart, az InfoRádióval együttműködve tájékoztat

2024.02.22.  Tízmillió forintra bírságolta meg a Közbeszerzési Döntőbizottság a Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központot (NNGYK) az őszi Moderna-vakcinabeszerzés miatt. Mint emlékezetes, tavaly januárban a Pfizer és a BioNTech pert indított a magyar állam ellen, mivel Magyarország 2022 novemberében az ukrajnai konfliktusra hivatkozva visszautasította 2021-ben, Európai Uniós keretszerződésben megrendelt hárommillió COVID-19 vakcina átvételét és kifizetését. Hasonló okból perlik Lengyelországot is, Romániában pedig azért robbant ki botrány, mert az akkori kormány túl sok vakcinát rendelt, ezzel pedig kárt okozhattak a román költségvetésnek. A kormány perben áll a Pfizerrel, az őszi szezon előtt csak a Modernától kért ajánlatot mintegy százezer dózisra a fokozottan védendő lakossági csoportoknak. Meglehetősen későn, csak november végén folytatták le a meghívottal a beszerzési tárgyalást. December elején Takács egészségügyért felelős államtitkár elmondta, hogy azok kaphatnak az új vakcinából, akik a térítésmentes influenza-oltásra is jogosultak, továbbá a Moderna gyártója adta a legkedvezőbb árat, a Pfizer nem is adott ajánlatot. Törvényességi ellenőrzés állapította meg, hogy az NNGYK nem tudta meggyőzően bizonyítani a beszerzés feltétlen, pontosabban „rendkívül sürgős” szükségességét és hogy előre nem látható okból előállt rendkívüli sürgősség miatt a nyílt, a meghívásos vagy a tárgyalásos eljárásra előírt határidők nem lennének betarthatók. A kifogásolt közbeszerzéssel az NNGYK 100 ezer adag Moderna vakcinát szerzett be, amelynek becsült értéke mintegy 1,5 milliárd forint. Az eljárást hivatalból indította a Közbeszerzési Hatóság elnöke, a Közbeszerzési Döntőbizottság február 20-án tette közzé az elmarasztalást. (Forrás: nepszava)

2024. február 22.  Országos átlagban a szennyvizek SARS-CoV-2 örökítőanyag sűrűsége tovább csökkent a 7. héten, 2024. február 12 -18. között, Budapest, Debrecen, Kecskemét, Pécs, Szekszárd, Szolnok, Szombathely és Tatabánya esetében. Emelkedést Eger és Kaposvár esetén mutattak ki, míg a további 10 vizsgált településen pangás mérhető. Vírusvariáns vizsgálatok a 150 000 főnél több lakost ellátó szennyvíztelepek (Budapest három szennyvíztisztítója, Debrecen, Győr, Miskolc, Pécs és Szeged) szennyvíz mintáiból készülnek, amennyiben a minta SARS-CoV-2 örökítőanyag sűrűsége eléri a vizsgálatra alkalmas szintet. A vizsgálatok eredménye a hazai lakosság több mint 40%-ára vonatkoztatható. A variánsok azonosítása a mennyiségi meghatározásnál jóval hosszadalmasabb és költségesebb vizsgálattal jár, emiatt a mérések havonta történnek. 2024 januárjában szinte kizárólagossá vált a JN.1 variáns (a BA.2.86 alvariánsa), ezzel párhuzamosan az egyéb leszármazási vonalak örökítőanyaga a minták többségében a kimutatható szint alá csökkent. Az azonos időszakban vizsgált szennyvíz minták variáns megoszlása egyezést mutat a klinikai mintákban tapasztalt aránnyal.     A szennyvizek Influenza A örökítőanyag sűrűsége az előző heti csúcsérték után a 7. héten csökkenésnek indult. Az Influenza A vírus a SARS-CoV-2-nél jelentősen alacsonyabb kópiaszámban mutatható ki a szennyvíz mintákban, így az eredmények is nagyobb szórást mutatnak - az egyes mintavételi helyek szerinti bontásban a tapasztalatok szerint kevésbé reprezentatívak, az eredmények országos összesítésben értelmezhetőek. A mintavételi helyek megegyeznek a SARS-CoV-2 kimutatásnál bemutatott nagyvárosokkal. (Forrás: nnk *)
* Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ

Spain
"2024. febr. 26".  Prime Minister Sánchez is under pressure from the opposition to remove former transport minister Ábalos from his position as a representative because he is suspected of knowing about a 50 million euro corruption scandal involving the purchase of masks during the epidemic, and is demanding that he shed light on the matter in parliament. .The corruption scandal in question is known as the Koldo case, which concerns Koldo García, a former adviser to Ábalos, who, as part of a corruption network involving several businessmen and public officials, collected more than 50 million euros in bribes from the government for the "brokerage and purchase" of masks at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic. Ábalos was dismissed from his position as transport minister by Sánchez in July 2021. He was an adviser to the former minister García Ábalos, an adviser to the state railway company (RENFE) and a member of the board of the Puertos del Estado public body. (state port administration) between 2018 and 2021, among others. After receiving government contracts to supply masks to health authorities, García tried to “hide these fees” and avoid tracking the money, according to investigators. A few hours after the outbreak of the scandal, at the meeting of the Socialist International in Madrid on Saturday, February 24, Sánchez reiterated the full commitment of the coalition leader - the PSOE and the left-wing Sumar platform - to the fight against corruption "wherever it is". comes from and whoever falls into it', pointing out that 'whoever does it pays', indirectly referring to the Koldo case. The main opposition force in the parliament, the Partido Popular, and the third force in the parliament, the far-right Vox party, are demanding the resignation of Ábalos and all the clarity of the case that shook the Spanish political scene and caused a scandal. public opinion since last week. PP Secretary General Gamarra called for the resignation of the former minister from his deputy position, claiming that Sánchez was also involved in the scandal, because he believed that the prime minister knew about the corruption conspiracy when he fired Ábalos in July 2021. that Sánchez "must provide explanations as to why he fired Ábalos, knowing what he must have already known," did not report the matter to the courts. Over the weekend, Ábalos defended his innocence in the matter, admitting that if the scandal had happened when he was a minister, "then he should have resigned", on the other hand, now, in his position as a member of parliament, he has 'no responsibility'. (Source: euractiv *)
* Euractiv (headquarters in Brussels, Belgium).

European Commission
26 February 2024  Can the EU survive another five years of von der Leyen? Five years ago, she came to the position of President of the European Commission with a less glamorous reputation. Schulz, her compatriot and former president of the European Parliament, described her as the "weakest minister" in Angela Merkel's government. "There was a strong sense that she was upstairs after the German defense minister's debacle, which included a run-down of the armed forces to the point where some soldiers had to take part in NATO exercises with broomsticks instead of guns'. Even the younger partners of the then German government coalition did not support her candidacy. This time, she is less joking as she gets his second five-year term. Still, she carries considerable baggage. There was a farce with the EU's vaccine procurement, which left the EU behind the UK in administering Covid vaccines in the first months of 2021. It turned out that the EU had failed to negotiate treaties that made European shipments a priority, so it found itself standing in the queue. Von der Leyen compounded the mistake by trying to include an emergency clause in the EU withdrawal agreement that would have prevented the export of vaccines from the EU to the UK. She quickly backed down after Ireland complained that it would have meant re-establishing a hard border with Northern Ireland, something the EU had insisted months earlier was out of the question. The disintegration also occurred in connection with Poland's former Law and Justice government, which many in Poland and other parts of the EU saw as excessive institutionalization. Poland has been threatened with withholding of Covid recovery funds after offending the liberal-minded masters of the EU by passing socially conservative laws on abortion and gay marriage - which should surely be outside the purview of a trading bloc and a perfectly legitimate cause for an elected government. a Member State. It is none of her business, but von der Leyen presided over the Commission at a time when Euroscepticism was growing in many member states, including the victory of Wilders in last year's Dutch parliamentary elections, Georgia Meloni's rise to power in Italy and the likely victory of Le Pen's National Assembly in June's European Parliament elections. Then there's the EU's Green Deal, which took a major hit last month after farmers from several countries took their tractors to Brussels to protest regulations they say are putting them out of business. Von der Leyen backed away from measures such as reducing EU citizens' meat consumption and some environmental laws. But no one can say that she did nothing for the farmers. The strangest incident during his presidency was when he announced a review of wolf protection laws last September. 'The concentration of wolf packs in some European regions poses a real threat to livestock and potentially to humans.' Many would agree, even if some conservationists would be outraged at the sudden retreat from the EU's strong rules on the Habitats Directive, which were not previously known to place farmers above rare species. But then a possible inspiration came to light: it turned out that von der Leyen had a 30-year-old pony, Dolly, who had been mauled to death by wolves. It seems that the wolves are not circling von der Leyen just yet, and she may very well win another mandate. But the EU she leads is fragile and economically stagnant. Last year she called for Britain to rejoin the EU to "solve the problems of Brexit". It's a tempting invitation given the EU's own problems. (Source: spectator *)
* The Spectator (United Kingdom)

Európai Bizottság
2024. február 21.  Az Európai Bizottság (EB) félidős értékelése azt mutatja, hogy a 800 milliárd euro-s, a koronavírus-járvány utáni helyreállítást segítő és az ellenálló képességet fokozó Európai Uniós (EU) finanszírozási eszköz (RRF) felhasználása pozitív változást és kézzelfogható eredményeket hozott a reformok és beruházások végrehajtásában. A NextGenerationEU nevű helyreállítási terv középpontjában álló reform- és beruházási eszköz, pénzügyi csomag teljesítette eddigi céljait, végrehajtása "jól halad", mondta Gentiloni, az EB gazdaságpolitikáért felelős tagja Brüsszelben ma. 2023 végéig több mint 1150 "mérföldkövet" és célt értékelt az EB, megállapítása szerint az EU-s tagállamok a terveikben szereplő reform- és beruházási menetrendet kielégítően teljesítik. A brüsszeli testület az RRF alapból eddig közel 225 milliárd euro-nyi támogatást folyósított a tagállamoknak, valamint 67 milliárd euro előtámogatást a reformok és beruházások végrehajtásának fellendítésére, a koronavírus-járvány okozta válság, majd pedig az energiaválság költségvetésre gyakorolt rövid távú hatásainak enyhítésére. Az EU-ban a gazdasági cselekvőképesség visszatért a járvány előtti szintre, a munkanélküliség alacsony, 6 százalék körüli szintre csökkent. Az EU-s foglalkoztatás rövid távon várhatóan akár 0,8 százalékkal is nőhet - mondta Gentiloni. Az állami beruházások 2019 és 2025 közötti várható növekedésének körülbelül a fele az EU-s költségvetésből, különösen a helyreállítási alapból támogatott beruházásokból származik - tájékoztatott. A korábbi válságokkal ellentétben az állami beruházások az EU-ban a koronavírus-járvány és az azt követő energiaválság idején nőttek, a 2019-es 3 százalékról 2023-ra 3,3 százalékra. 2024-ben az állami beruházások várhatóan elérik a GDP 3,4 százalékát - részletezte. Az EU-s biztos kijelentette: az RRF kulcsfontosságú eszköz az EU zöld átállásának felgyorsításában. Kiemelte: valamennyi tagállam terve meghaladta az éghajlat-politikai célkitűzésekre vonatkozó 37 százalékos célt sőt, egyes tagállamok teljes tervük több mint 50 százalékát a zöld menetrendnek szentelték. A helyreállítási tervek REPowerEU fejezetei révén a tagállamok további 60 milliárd euro-nyi forrást fordíthatnak a zöld átállásra. E pénzellátás elősegíti az energiamegtakarítást, a tiszta energiatermelés felgyorsítását és az EU energiaellátásának szétágaztatását, valamint az adóteher nélküli kibocsátású ipar gyártási termelőképességének bővítését - emelte ki. Emlékeztetett: a tagállamok frissítették is nemzeti terveiket, hogy képesek legyenek kezelni az Oroszország Ukrajna elleni háborúja, a pénzromlás és az ellátási láncok szakadása következtében megnövekedett energiaárakat. 2023 végéig az EU Tanácsa jóváhagyta mind a 27 nemzeti terv felülvizsgálatát, hogy maximalizálja hatásukat. A frissítések közel 150 milliárd euro-val növelték a gazdaságoknak nyújtott EU-s támogatás mértékét - mondta. Gentiloni kiemelte: az RRF a jelenlegi tervek szerint 2026-ig érvényes, a helyreállítási és ellenálló képességi eszköz révén nyújtott támogatás okozta pozitív lendület várhatóan folytatódni fog. Az EB jelenleg 18 kifizetési kérelmet értékel, és arra számít, hogy 2024-ben több mint 20 további kifizetési kérelmet nyújtanak be a tagállamok. Ennek alapján a testület több mint 100 milliárd euro-s támogatás kifizetésére számít az év végéig. A biztos arra figyelmeztetett, hogy a nemzeti tervek kialakításában kellő rugalmasságra van szükség a zökkenőmentes végrehajtás biztosításához. A tagállamok hivatalos ügyintézéssel kapcsolatos megfelelő teljesítőképessége kulcsfontosságú a gyors végrehajtáshoz, csakúgy mint a területi és helyi hatóságok, valamint a közösségi partnerek szoros bevonása a megvalósítás során. A helyreállítási eszköz gyors bevezetése és a gyorsan végzett kifizetések azt mutatják, hogy az RRF támogatta a tagállamokat a válság idején, a befektetések és reformok egyedülálló csoportosítása segíti a gazdaságokat abban, hogy jobban felkészüljenek a jövőre - tette hozzá Gentiloni gazdaságpolitikai biztos. (Forrás: infostart)

Vatican
Saturday, February 24, 2024  Pope Francis canceled today's audience as a precaution, after suffering from a mild flu. Francis is scheduled to meet the Roman deacons in the morning. In April, the Pope spent three days in Rome's Gemelli Hospital due to bronchitis, according to the Vatican. He was discharged after intravenous antibiotics. The 87-year-old pope was forced to cancel some of his activities and an international trip at the end of November due to breathing problems. The examination at the time ruled out lung complications. Ferenc had part of one of his lungs removed when he was young and still living in his home country of Argentina. In the past two years, Ferenc has indicated several times that he would be ready to resign if his health deteriorates to such an extent that it hinders the leadership of the Catholic Church. In a TV interview last month, he said he felt in good health and denied any immediate plans to quit. When asked about his health in a recent television interview, Francis reverted to his usual refrain: "He's still alive, you know." (Source: apnews *)
* Associated Press

Africa

February 21, 2024  The African Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with the Governments of the Republic of Ghana, the Republic of Rwanda and the United Republic of Tanzania convened a high-level working breakfast on the operationalization of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) and security in the neglected tropics of Africa. a future free from diseases (NTDs). AU heads of state and government, ministers of health, AU specialized bodies, the Development Community, civil society organizations and representatives of the press met at the event. AMA Special Envoy Hon. Sidibe on February 16, moderated on the occasion of the 37th Ordinary Session of the African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government. The establishment and operationalization of the AMA is a significant step towards strengthening pharmaceutical regulation, promoting access to safe and effective medicines and improving public health across Africa. On the other hand, ensuring Africa's NTD-free future means building health resilience on the continent, as NTDs cause significant morbidity and mortality, which collectively contribute to poverty and undermine economic development in Africa, said H.E. Amb. Cessouma, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian and Social Development, African Union Commission. Through the African Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa's Development (AUDA-NEPAD) African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) programme, it has taken a leading role in preparing the road map for the functioning of the AMA. It used the foundation laid by the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization Initiative (AMRH) to strengthen common standards and processes for the regulation of medical products and coordinated regional harmonization through Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as a pillar of the AMA. It established Regional Regulatory Centers of Excellence (RCORE) to increase regulatory capacity and played a key role in establishing continental technical committees, building on the work of the AMRH. The technical upsurge of the AMA is the key to the liberation of the continental pharmaceutical trade, Grey-Johnson underlined on behalf of. Ms. Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD. "Despite the presence of almost 500 pharmaceutical manufacturers on the continent, we face significant obstacles in terms of investment, infrastructure and access to international markets, only five manufacturers have international certification. The challenges we face are often related to the insufficiency or lack of drug control, characterized by unclear policies and incomplete or inconsistent legal and regulatory frameworks. It is therefore crucial to strengthen regulatory measures and accelerate the establishment of the African Medicines Agency,” noted Hon. Sidibe, AU Special Envoy for the African Medicines Agency. In 2022, Tanzania became one of the first signatories of the Kigali Declaration. "Since time is not on our side, we call on countries to join Tanzania and invest their domestic resources in eradicating neglected tropical diseases," said Hon. Dr. Ndumbaro, Minister of Culture, Arts and Sports of the United Republic of Tanzania. Objectives of the African Health Strategy 2016-2030 Essential medicines, commodity security and supply systems are included as strategic approaches. Safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines, medical products and technologies – a cornerstone of universal health coverage – are key to a healthy and productive population in Africa. Controlling and eliminating NTDs directly contributes to the goals of universal health coverage (UHC), which cannot be fully achieved without addressing NTDs as part of the national health agenda. (Source: au.int *)
* African Union, international

Asia

North Korea
Feb 28, 2024  Under authoritarian control, North Korea imposed some of the world’s strictest pandemic measures, including near-total travel bans and large-scale border walls. Many embassies closed in Pyongyang because they were unable to rotate staff or ship supplies during the Covid-19 crisis. North Korea has only recently begun easing international restrictions. A delegation from the German Federal Foreign Office visited the North Korean capital of Pyongyang on a technical inspection trip, for the first time since its embassy was shuttered during the pandemic. There was still no decision on reopening the embassy, which was closed in March 2020. Britain, which closed its embassy and pulled all diplomatic staff from North Korea in May 2020, was also seeking to send a team. Britain called on North Korea to allow the international community, including all diplomats and UN agencies and humanitarian non-governmental organisations, to enter the country, a spokesperson said. Sweden’s special envoy for the Korean peninsula, Mr Semneby told that there was some progress towards the eventual return of Swedish diplomats to Pyongyang, but declined to elaborate. One diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that the shuttered facilities would need to be swept for listening devices, as well as cleared of insects and repaired after years of closure. According to NK Pro, a Seoul-based website research that tracks North Korea, as of January 2023 nine countries had functioning embassies in Pyongyang, but only China, Russia, Mongolia and Cuba have been allowed to rotate staff at their embassies since 2023. (Source: straitstimes *)
* The Straits Times (Singapore)

North America

United States
Thursday, February 22, 2024  Shares of Moderna jumped roughly 13% today after the company posted a surprise quarterly profit, partly due to deferred revenue, even as the company cut sales of its only marketable product, a Covid vaccine. The biotech company posted sales of $2.81 billion in the fourth quarter, and revenue from the Covid vaccine fell 43% year-over-year. This decrease was primarily due to lower vaccine volume, but was partially offset by a higher average selling price for the jab, according to Moderna. The company said it booked $600 million in deferred revenue during the quarter for the company's work with Gavi, a global vaccine NGO that coordinates a global vaccine distribution program. Still, the deferred revenue boosted Moderna's full-year Covid vaccine sales to $6.7 billion, an amount the company first disclosed in January. It posted $18 billion in revenue in 2022 and expects vaccine sales to decline even further in 2024. The company noted that the vaccine won 48% of the US Covid vaccine market last year. That's up from 37% in 2022. This includes costs related to the company's efforts to scale back production of the Covid vaccine, as well as the write-off of unused doses of the vaccine. Revenues at the biotech company and other Covid vaccine makers fell as the world continued to recover from the outbreak and became less reliant on vaccines and treatments. Moderna reiterated its 2024 sales guidance of roughly $4 billion. This forecast also includes the arrival of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, which could receive US Food and Drug Administration approval on May 12. The RSV vaccine will have a competitive advantage because it is the only one that comes in a pre-filled syringe, making it easier for pharmacists to administer, CEO Bancel said today. The company will continue to cut spending in 2024, including a full-year planned research and development spending of $4.5 billion, down from $4.8 billion in 2023. Moderna said it expects to return to sales growth in 2025 and break even by 2026 with new product launches. The company currently has 45 products under development, nine of which are under testing. These include Moderna's combination vaccine targeting Covid and flu, which could win approval as early as 2025. The manufacturing pipeline also includes Moderna's personalized cancer vaccine, a highly anticipated vaccine being developed with Merck to target various tumor types in combination with the blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda. (Source: cnbc)

February 21, 2024  ABC to go to court over 'General Hospital' over COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The series' former cast members are suing the network for religious discrimination for firing them for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.      In a ruling issued yesterday, a Los Angeles judge found that the Wahls "sincerely professed" religious beliefs that ABC should have considered by granting them immunity and allowing them to follow safety protocols that the were introduced before the introduction of mandatory vaccination guidelines. ABC was among the studios that completed the summer 2021 vaccine mandates agreed upon by Hollywood guilds and studios. Return-to-work protocols dictated that vaccines may be required for those working in "Zone A" of the production - typically the project's main actors, as well as key crew members who work closely with them in the highest-risk areas of the series. .In 2022, father and son Wahl, who both worked in the show's special effects department, sued ABC after their request for a religious exemption was denied. The rejections were based on the ABC's uncertainty as to whether their objections to administering the vaccine were based on their Christian faith. ABC argued that the Wahls had no genuine religious beliefs and that even if they had, it could not have accommodated them without undue hardship. It also claimed that IATSE waived any right its members had to challenge the mandatory vaccination rules. In its ruling against ABC, the court concluded that the studio likely discriminated against the Wahls on the basis of their religion by failing to find a solution to the vaccine denial. The court ruled that it was up to the jury to decide whether the Wahls were "honest in their beliefs." The court also found that ABC could have afforded the accommodation to Wahls without undue financial or logistical hardship. The Wahls worked largely behind the scenes, running construction and special effects shops for the show. While they occasionally had to go to the production's "Zone A" where the main actors were filming, they were regularly tested for COVID-19, always wore masks and did their best to socially distance themselves from the cast. A reasonable accommodation could have allowed the Wahls to comply with safety protocols in place from July 2020 through the fall of 2021, before the vaccination authorization was granted, the court said. During this time, there was no virus outbreak in the production of the General Hospital, the staff members' lawyers claimed.     The ruling comes on the heels of ABC losing a similar lawsuit by Rademacher, who was fired from General Hospital for refusing to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Unlike crew members who were not in close, masked contact with others, the court found in that case that the nature of their work made it impossible for unvaccinated actors to work safely on set during the pandemic. On this issue, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Goorvitch sided with ABC in Rademacher's lawsuit. He pointed to the actor's refusal to cooperate with Disney officials in an investigation into whether he should be exempt from vaccination mandates as a follower of the Ramallah Revelation book. Goorvitch concluded that such solutions were not possible for the actor. "This decision is consistent with other cases in which courts have held that actors cannot be placed on pre-vaccination protocols because the nature of their work requires close, undisguised contact with other performers," the judge wrote in the order. Rademacher's exemption was denied in part because her religion did not include the formal insignia of religious institutions, and the ABC's belief that her opposition to obtaining the vaccine was "rooted in health or efficacy concerns" rather than her faith. business. One consistency among the lawsuits against Disney and its subsidiaries is how the company is portrayed as handling requests for religious exemptions.     The interviews that screen the applications appear to be conducted by Disney attorneys who investigate the backgrounds of those seeking waivers. In another lawsuit by an actor who challenged his termination after being denied a vaccination exemption, a federal judge dismissed some of Dunbar's claims. U.S. District Judge Gee ruled that producers Disney and 20th Television do not have to face a disparate impact claim that accused them of pursuing a vaccination policy that discriminates against followers of the Universal Wisdom Church. Dunbar's religious exemption was denied because he previously received tattoos and ear piercings in violation of his faith as a member of the Church of Universal Wisdom. (Source: hollywoodreporter)

February 21, 2024  Four major nonprofits that rose to prominence during the coronavirus pandemic by capitalizing on the spread of medical misinformation collectively gained more than $118 million between 2020 and 2022, enabling the organizations to deepen their influence in statehouses, courtrooms and communities across the country, an analysis of tax records shows. Children’s Health Defense and Informed Consent Action Network raise doubts about the safety of vaccines despite assurances from federal regulators. Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance and America’s Frontline Doctors promote anti-parasitic or anti-malarial drugs as treatments for covid, long after regulators and clinical trials found the medications to be ineffective or potentially harmful. Leaders of these groups argue that their promotion of alternative treatments for covid and other conditions is safe.    Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy Jr., received $23.5 million in contributions, grants and other revenue in 2022 alone - eight times what it collected the year before the pandemic began - allowing it to expand its state-based lobbying operations to cover half the country. It paid Kennedy, then chairman and chief legal counsel and now an independent candidate for president, more than $510,000 in 2022, double his 2019 salary. The group started an internet TV channel with daily programming casting doubt on vaccine safety. It says its legal team works closely with state attorneys general to protect off-label use of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to prevent or treat covid. The group donated $50,000 in 2021 to the Republican Attorneys General Association which returned the funds. It has filed lawsuits, written amicus briefs or engaged in appeals in more than two dozen cases since the start of 2020, including an ongoing antitrust lawsuit against media companies alleging suppression of what it claims is “wholly accurate and legitimate reporting” that “self-appointed ‘truth police’” deemed “misinformation.” In 2022 the group spent at least $3 million in legal fees. The organization says it helped defeat coronavirus vaccine requirements for New York health-care workers. In January, it joined forces with Kory, president of Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCA), in suing to stop California’s medical board from punishing doctors who spread what the board determined was misinformation. Children’s Health Defense said it also helped fund Maine physician Nass’s legal defense against the state medical board’s allegations that she improperly prescribed ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. Her license has been suspended by the state medical board until April 2025.     Informed Consent Action Network, nearly quadrupled its revenue to about $13.4 million in 2022, giving it the resources to finance lawsuits seeking to roll back vaccine requirements as Americans’ faith in vaccines drops. The group spent nearly $6 million on online “educational programs” in 2022 that the group says reached more than 6 million viewers in 209 countries. It paid Executive Director Bigtree $284,000 in 2022, a 22 percent increase from 2019. Bigtree now works as communications director for Kennedy’s presidential campaign. The group has used its pandemic fundraising to file more than 40 lawsuits since 2020, including suing federal agencies for records on vaccine safety data to drive vaccine skepticism. The group spent more than a third of its 2022 contributions and grants on legal fees. It supported a 2022 lawsuit that created religious vaccine exemptions for schools in Mississippi - which has one of the highest childhood vaccination rates in the country - and is raising money to “free the five” other states that still bar exemptions for people who say their religious beliefs prevent them from being vaccinated.    Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCA) took in more than $8 million in contributions, grants and other revenue in 2022 - nearly 23 times as much as in 2020 - as it continued to tout the anti-parasitic ivermectin as a treatment for covid or against legislation promoting vaccines, which it also began promoting to prevent and treat flu and RSV. The CDC has said there is no clinical data to support the use of ivermectin for flu and RSV. Merck, a pharmaceutical company that manufactures ivermectin, has said there is “no scientific basis” and “no meaningful evidence” to prescribe the drug for covid. When the pharma company that sells it tells you it’s not intended to treat a viral disease because it acts on parasites, that’s saying something. In cases involving two doctors alleged to have followed FLCCA guidance, three patients died. The salaries of Kory and Marik, chairman and chief scientific officer of FLCCA, also rose significantly. In 2022, Kory earned $368,815 from the FLCCC - nearly 60 percent more than his 2021 salary - and Marik earned $400,000, eight times his 2021 earnings. Kory told that he and Marik had left their jobs as “full-time practicing physicians and medical educators” to “dedicate their full attention to the FLCCC.” The credentials and certification committee of the American Board of Internal Medicine has urged that Kory’s and Marik’s certifications be taken away for spreading misinformation, a recommendation that both men are appealing. Marik’s medical license in Virginia expired in 2022. Kory said he and Marik frequently appear on shows run by Children’s Health Defense and Informed Consent Action Network. Kory also used Twitter to encourage his hundreds of thousands of followers to visit his telehealth practice, which charges up to $2,350 for three video appointments.    America’s Frontline Doctors paid the group’s founder, Gold, $581,000 in 2022, more than 17 times what she was paid by the group in 2020s. In a November 2022 lawsuit, the group accused Gold of using nonprofit money to fund her lifestyle. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, citing a lack of jurisdiction, in December 2022. The group spent nearly $1.5 million on legal fees in 2021 and again in 2022, funding work including its opposition to coronavirus vaccine mandates. In 2023, it had to defend itself in an ongoing lawsuit alleging that its promotion of hydroxychloroquine led to the death of a Nevada man who had been prescribed the anti-malarial drug by a doctor affiliated with the organization. Jimenez, a lawyer for America’s Frontline Doctors disputes the allegations - the group is “fighting for the freedom of choice and health care for individuals and fighting for physician independence.”     Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance and America’s Frontline Doctors went from receiving $1 million combined when they formed in 2020 to collecting more than $21 million combined in 2022. The National Christian Foundation gave more than $1.8 million in total to the four groups from 2020 through 2022. The organization describes itself on its website as working with donors to be a “good steward of all God has entrusted to you.” The foundation told all grants are initiated on the recommendation of its more than 25,000 donors. Some of the individuals behind the family foundations or trusts that fund the four groups also contributed the legal maximum in personal donations to Kennedy’s presidential bid. DonorsTrust, which  contributed $1 million in total to Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance, America’s Frontline Doctors and Informed Consent Action Network in 2021 and 2022, calls itself on its website a “principled philanthropic partner for conservative and libertarian donors.” DonorsTrust noted that donations to the same three groups fell to less than $10,000 combined in 2023. Public health experts worry that the well-funded anti-science movement could lead to devastating long-term public health consequences if childhood diseases once vanquished by vaccines come roaring back. Nationally, the proportion of kindergartners with a vaccine exemption reached a new high of 3 percent in the 2022-2023 school year, according to the CDC. Public health experts, including Gostin, director of Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, predict this trend will result in more outbreaks of preventable disease, such as the spate of measles among people who remain unvaccinated. “We’ll find ourselves back a half-century, when the U.S. was ravaged by infectious diseases,” Gostin said.  (Source: msn)

Globalization

Mon, Feb 26, 2024  Measles has been on the rise across most regions, especially due to a high amount of missed vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic when health systems were overrun with an excessive amount of patients. According to the WHO, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated a setback in providing immunization services, leaving millions of unvaccinated children vulnerable to measles and increasing the likelihood of spreading to communities. Measles is a "highly contagious, serious airborne disease caused by a virus that can lead to severe complications and death." "We can see, from data that's produced with WHO data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that more than half of all the countries in the world are going to be at high or very high risk of outbreaks by the end of this year," Crowcroft, senior technical adviser on measles and rubella for WHO, said in a press conference in Geneva. The disease is common in children, but can seriously affect all age groups, according to the CDC. Though measles vaccines were introduced in 1963, an estimation of 128,000 people died from measles in 2021, especially children under the age of five, the WHO reported. Deaths increased by 43 percent in 2022, exceeding 130,000 deaths due to the disease. Crowcroft cited data saying that more than 306,000 measles cases were reported globally last year, marking a 79 percent increase from 2022. It can be extremely dangerous to a certain group of people, including children younger than five years, adults older than 20 years, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems from other diseases like leukemia and HIV infection. Symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes in the first seven to 14 days after exposure. This year, a total of 35 measles cases so far have been reported by 15 jurisdictions across the United States, according to data from the CDC. The states include Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York City, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. The CDC noted the measles cases in these states are often associated with an increase in the number of people who travel abroad, as well as spreading it with communities of unvaccinated people. Florida recorded its largest outbreak in the US, its seventh case of the virus on Friday, February 23 - a child under the age of five, in Brownard County. “Measles is the most infectious pathogen in humans that we know of," Dr. Kimberlin, Co-Director of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Alabama, told. “It’s like a heat-seeking missile. It will find the people who are not immune, and they’re going to get sick.” (Source: the-express *)
* Daily Express US

22 February 2024  Using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, we show blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption in patients with long COVID-associated brain fog. Transcriptomic analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells revealed dysregulation of the coagulation system and a dampened adaptive immune response in individuals with brain fog. Accordingly, peripheral blood mononuclear cells showed increased adhesion to human brain endothelial cells in vitro, while exposure of brain endothelial cells to serum from patients with long COVID induced expression of inflammatory markers. Together, our data suggest that sustained systemic inflammation and persistent localized BBB dysfunction is a key feature of long COVID-associated brain fog. (Source: nature)

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Európa

Magyarország
2024. február 8. Megjelentek a Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Intézet légúti figyelőszolgálatának ez év 5. hetére vonatkozó adatai, továbbá a szennyvízvizsgálati eredmények. A kórházi ápolást igénylő 291 SARI beteg (súlyos légúti tünetekkel küzdő ember) közül 88-an 2 évesek vagy annál fiatalabbak, 115-en 60 évesek vagy annál idősebbek. Influenza A 74 betegnél, RSV 44, SARS-CoV-2 vírus pedig 59 betegnél van a megbetegedések hátterében. Az RSV-pozitív betegek közül 36-an 2 évesek vagy annál fiatalabbak, a Covid-19 fertőzöttek közül 48-an 60 évesek vagy annál idősebbek. Influenza okozta SARI megbetegedést valamennyi korosztályban azonosítottak. A légúti figyelőszolgálatból származó jelentések és adatok alapvetően az influenzaszerű tünetekkel orvoshoz fordulók számát, valamint az orvosok által beküldött minták elemzésének eredményét összegzik. Az 5. heti 335 minta közül 92 betegnél az influenza A(H1pdm09), 15 betegnél az influenza A(H3), egy betegnél az influenza A(NT), két betegnél az influenza B, tizennyolc betegnél az RSV, négy betegnél a human metapneumovírus, 15 betegnél a SARSCoV-2 vírus kóroki szerepét igazolták. Az influenza pozitivitási arány 32,8 százalék, a SARS-CoV-2 pozitivitási arány 4,5 százalék. A sentinel kórházak által beküldött 29 minta közül kilenc betegnél influenza A(H1pdm09), hat betegnél RSV, egy betegnél SARS-CoV-2 vírust azonosítottak. A hagyományos diagnosztikus célú vizsgálat keretében érkezett 34 légúti minta közül tíz influenza A(H1pdm09), kettő SARS-CoV-2 vírus-pozitív volt. Laboratóriumi vizsgálattal igazolt, influenzavírus által okozott megbetegedéseket Nógrád vármegye kivételével valamennyi területen megállapítottak. 'A 100 000 lakosra jutó orvoshoz fordult' betegek száma a legmagasabb Zala (1 042), Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg (932) és Győr-Moson-Sopron (842) vármegyében, legalacsonyabb Heves (158), Komárom-Esztergom (269) és Csongrád-Csanád (274) vármegyében. Az 5. héten a szennyvízben az Influenza A vírus örökítőanyagának sűrűsödése mutatható ki. Amint az NNGYK rendszeresen megjegyzi: az Influenza A vírus a SARS-CoV-2-nél jelentősen alacsonyabb kópiaszámban mutatható ki a szennyvíz mintákban, az eredmények országos összesítésben értelmezhetők. Jelentősen visszaszorulni látszik a koronavírus terjedése. Az 5. héten a szennyvíz SARS-CoV-2 örökítőanyag sűrűsége országosan stagnál. Az országos átlagot tekintve a 2023. év 47. hetét követő mintákban még a JN1 variáns (a BA.2.86 alvariánsa) jelentős növekedése volt megfigyelhető, 2024. első hetében e variáns vált meghatározóvá. Ezzel párhuzamosan a korábban legnagyobb arányban tapasztalt EG.5 ('XBB.1.5-like+F465L') variáns arányának jelentős csökkenését figyelték meg. Emelkedés egyik mintavételi hely esetében sem mutatkozik, enyhe csökkenés az Észak-Pesti Szennyvíztisztító Telep ellátási területén, Egerben, Győrben, Szekszárdon és Szolnokon van. A győri övezet átkerült az alacsony jelenlétet mutató csoportba, növekszik a mérsékelt kategóriába tartozó övezetek száma..Az azonos időszakban vizsgált szennyvízminták variáns-megoszlása egyezést mutat a klinikai mintákban tapasztalt aránnyal. (Forrás: infostart)

2024. február 8.  A hajdú-bihari kormányhivatal az influenzaszerű megbetegedések számának növekedése miatt, a betegek és a dolgozók védelméért, járványügyi megelőző intézkedésként teljes körű látogatási tilalmat rendelt el a Debreceni Egyetem klinikai központ nagyerdei, Kenézy Gyula, illetve a berettyóújfalui Gróf Tisza István osztályain. Az intézkedés a központ valamennyi osztályán mától lép életbe. A maszkviselés továbbra is kötelező. (Forrás: magyarhirlap)

2024. február 07.  Magyarországon az új omikron variánsok elleni Spikevax (Moderna) monovalens XBB, és egy korábbi Pfizer bivalens (Wu/Om BA1.2) oltóanyag egyaránt elérhető. (Forrás: portfolio)

2024. február 01.  Légúti figyelőszolgálati tájékoztató (idei, 4. heti adatok). A légúti figyelőszolgálat keretében kijelölt 24 kórház adatai alapján a negyedik héten 222 beteget vettek fel kórházba súlyos, akut légúti fertőzés (SARI) miatt, közülük 19-en részesültek intenzív/szubintenzív ellátásban. A kórházi ápolást igénylők közül 69-en 2 évesek vagy annál fiatalabbak, 89-en 60 évesek vagy annál idősebbek. 50 betegnél influenza A, 33-nál RSV, 41-nél SARS-CoV-2 vírus van a megbetegedések hátterében. Az RSV-pozitív betegek közül 26-an 2 évesek vagy annál fiatalabbak, a COVID-19 fertőzöttek közül 32-en 60 évesek vagy annál idősebbek. Influenza okozta SARI megbetegedést valamennyi korosztályban megállapítottak. A figyelőszolgálatban résztvevő orvosok jelentései alapján, becslés szerint 2024. január 22 – 28. között az országban 36 900-an fordultak orvoshoz influenzaszerű, 233 400-an akut légúti fertőzés tüneteivel. Akut légúti fertőzésben a betegek több mint 50%-a 0-14 éves gyermek, közel 23%-a 15-34 éves fiatal. Több mint 17%-uk a 35-59 évesek, 9,%-uk a 60 éven felüliek korcsoportjába tartozó. Influenzaszerű megbetegedésben a betegek több mint 38%-a 0-14 éves gyermek, közel 30%-a 15-34 éves fiatal. Közel 28%-uk a 35-59 évesek, 9%-uk a 60 éven felüliek korcsoportjába tartozó. Kiugróan magas a 100 000 azonos korcsoportba tartozó lakosra jutó megbetegedések száma a 3-5 évesek (1 220) körében, ezt követi a 6-9 évesek (960) és a 10-14 évesek (811) érintettsége. Az előző héthez viszonyítva e héten 17 közigazgatási területen nőtt, egy területen csökkent, két területen nem változott az influenzás tünetekkel orvoshoz fordulók gyakorisága. 'A 100 000 lakosra jutó orvoshoz fordult betegek száma' Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg (693), Győr-Moson-Sopron (667) és Zala (666) vármegyében volt a legmagasabb, Heves (153), Békés (153) és Csongrád-Csanád (203) vármegyében a legalacsonyabb. Laboratóriumi vizsgálattal igazolt, influenzavírus által okozott megbetegedéseket Békés, Nógrád és Tolna vármegye kivételével minden további területen megállapítottak. E héten 298 betegtől érkezett légúti minta a Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központ (NNGYK) Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumába. A sentinel orvosok által beküldött 238 minta közül 54 betegnél az influenza A(H1pdm09), 14 betegnél az influenza A(H3), négy betegnél az influenza B, nyolc betegnél az RSV, három betegnél a human metapneumovírus, 21 betegnél a SARS-CoV-2 vírus kóroki szerepét igazolták. Az influenza pozitivitási arány 30,3%, a SARS-CoV-2 pozitivitási arány 8,8% volt. A sentinel kórházak által beküldött 26 minta közül hat betegnél influenza A(H1pdm09)-et, kilenc betegnél RSV-t, egy betegnél human metapneumovírust, öt betegnél SARS-CoV-2 vírust azonosítottak. Betegségmegállapítás céljából hagyományos vizsgálatra érkezett 34 légúti minta közül nyolc influenza A(H1pdm09), egy RSV és egy SARS-CoV-2 vírus pozitív volt. (A 2023. év 40 – 2024. 03. hete között 3 639 vizsgálati anyagot dolgoztak fel az NNGYK Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumban. 239 betegnél influenza A fertőzést igazoltak - 158 influenza A(H1pdm09-et), 81 influenza A(H3)-at -, tíz betegnél influenza B-t, ötvenhatnál RSV-t, 1 003-nál COVID-19-et. Harminchét megbetegedést rhinovírus okozott, 5 megbetegedést parainfluenza, 2-t adenovírus, 19-et human metapneumovírus). E héten akut légúti megbetegedés halmozódásáról két jelentés érkezett. Egy-egy Hajdú-Bihar és Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg vármegyei óvodából jelentettek köhögéssel és lázzal, felsőlégúti tünetekkel járó megbetegedéseket. Az ok-okozat tisztázására mindkét járványban történt légúti mintavételezés. A Hajdú-Bihar vármegyei óvodában az influenza A vírusnak volt kóroki szerepe, a másik óvodából származó légúti minták virológia vizsgálata folyamatban van. A 4. héten a szennyvizekben országos átlagban az Influenza A vírus örökítőanyaga ismét sűrűsödik. A kimutatási határt 12 minta esetében haladta meg a kópiaszám, amely az előző évi influenza szezonra jellemző érték. Országosan a szennyvíz SARS-CoV-2 örökítőanyagának átlagsűrűssége stagnál a vizsgált városok többségénél. Sűrűsödés Salgótarjánban mutatható ki, csökkenés Békéscsabán, Egerben, Kecskeméten és Szegeden észlelhető. A szennyvíz mintákban országos átlagban a JN1 variáns (a BA.2.86 alvariánsa) jelentős növekedése figyelhető meg a 2023. év 47. hetét követő mintákban, a variáns ez év első hetében már meghatározóvá vált. Ezzel párhuzamosan a korábban legnagyobb arányban kimutatott EG.5 ("XBB.1.5-like+F465L') variáns arányának jelentős csökkenését figyelték meg. Az azonos időszakban vizsgált szennyvíz minták variáns megoszlása egyezést mutat a klinikai mintákban tapasztalt aránnyal. Az elsődleges elemzések alapján megállapítható, hogy az influenza szennyvízben mért vírusterhelés emelkedését 2 héttel követi a sürgősségi ellátási igény növekedése, míg a koronavírus (SARS-CoV-2) örökítőanyag vírusterhelés emelkedését 1 héttel követi a mentőszolgálat hívásszámának növekedése.
(Forrás: nnk *)
* 'Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ'

Asia

Vietnam
05/02/2024  Sleep researchers from Vietnam have found that even a mild COVID-19 infection may increase symptoms of insomnia. They surveyed more than 1,000 people who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the six months before the study. More than 75 per cent of participants reported experiencing insomnia. The participants had not been hospitalised and had no history of insomnia or psychiatric illness. The authors said this was “remarkably higher than previously reported among the general population”. Almost a quarter of those surveyed reported severe insomnia, while half of participants said they woke up more frequently in the night. Around a third said it was harder to fall asleep or they did not sleep as well as they did before having the infection. Of the participants, people with a pre-existing chronic condition and those who had symptoms of depression or anxiety had higher rates of insomnia that were statistically significant. As it was an observational study, the researchers could not determine the direct impact of anxiety and depression on insomnia. The researchers pointed out that there were several limitations to the study, including the online collection of data which could lead to bias. The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, today. Previous studies have found that people with lingering symptoms of COVID-19, known as long COVID, have reported moderate to severe sleep problems. Other studies have found that concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, and not just the disease itself, have contributed to increases in insomnia. Hoang of Phenikaa University, Vietnam was lead author of the study. She said that there are small actions that you can take to improve your sleep, including taking a warm shower before bed, shutting off your phone at least one hour before going to sleep, exercising daily, and avoiding caffeine late in the day. (Source: euronews)

North America

United States
February 1, 2024  Deer are beta-testing chronic wasting disease (CWD), a highly lethal, highly contagious neurodegenerative disease. It is devastating North America’s deer, elk, and other cervids. In the half century since it was discovered in a captive deer colony in Colorado, CWD has worked its way into more than 30 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces, as well as South Korea and several countries in Europe. In some captive herds, the disease has been detected in more than 90 percent of individuals. CWD kills indiscriminately, gnawing away at deer’s brains until the tissue is riddled with holes. “The disease is out of control,” Abdelaziz, a biochemist at the University of Calgary, told. CWD's cause: infectious misfolded proteins called prions. Prion diseases, which include mad cow disease, have long been poorly understood threats. CWD is the most difficult among them to contend with - more transmissible and widespread than any other known, Jorge, a wildlife biologist at the University of Georgia, told. CWD is already a perfect example of how dangerous a prion disease can be - scientists are quite certain that CWD will be impossible to eradicate; even limiting its damage will be a challenge, especially if it spills into other species, which could include us. Unlike standard-issue microbes - viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi - prions are just improperly folded proteins, devoid of genetic material, unable to build more of themselves from scratch, or cleave themselves in two. To reproduce, they simply find properly formed proteins that share their base composition and convert those to their aberrant shape, through mostly mysterious means. And because prions are slightly malformed versions of molecules that our bodies naturally make, they’re difficult to defend against. The immune system codes them as benign and ignores them, even as disease rapidly unfolds. “This is an entirely new paradigm of infectious disease,” Napper, a biochemist and vaccinologist at the University of Saskatchewan told. “It’s a part of your own body that’s turning against you.” And yet, we’ve managed to keep many prion diseases in check. Kuru, once common in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, was transmitted through local rituals of funerary cannibalism; the disease fizzled out after people stopped those practices. Mad cow disease (more formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy) was contained by culling infected animals and eliminating the suspected source, cow feed made with infected tissues. Even scrapie, a highly contagious prion disease of sheep and goats, is limited to livestock, making it feasible to pare down infected populations, or breed them toward genetic resistance. CWD, meanwhile, is a fixture of wild animals, many of them migratory. And whereas most other prion diseases primarily keep quarters in the central nervous system, CWD “gets in pretty much every part of the body,” Jorge told. Deer then pass on the molecules, often through direct contact; they’ll shed prions in their saliva, urine, feces, reproductive fluids, and even antler velvet long before they start to show symptoms. Mathiason, a pathobiologist at Colorado State University, and her colleagues have found that as little as 100 nanograms of saliva can seed an infection. Her studies suggest that deer can also pass prions in utero from doe to growing fawn. Deer also ingest prions from their environment, where the molecules can linger in soil, on trees, and on hunting bait for years or decades. A team led by Pritzkow, a biochemist at UTHealth Houston, has found that plants can take up prions from the soil, too. And unlike the multitude of microbes that are easily done in by UV, alcohol, heat, or low humidity, prions are so structurally sound that they can survive nearly any standard environmental assault. In laboratories, scientists must blast their equipment with temperatures of about 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135 degrees Celsius) for 60 to 90 minutes, under extreme pressure, to rid it of prions - or drench their workspaces with bleach or sodium hydroxide, at concentrations high enough to rapidly corrode flesh. Infected deer are also frustratingly difficult to detect. The disease typically takes years to fully manifest, while the prions infiltrate the brain and steadily destroy neural tissue. Deer drool and urinate more, stumble about, and begin to lose weight. Eventually, a predator picks them off, or a cold snap freezes them, or they simply starve; in all cases, though, the disease is fatal. Because of CWD, deer populations in many parts of North America are declining; there is definitely some concern that local populations will disappear. Researchers worry the disease will soon overwhelm caribou in Canada, imperiling the Indigenous communities who rely on them for food. Hunters and farmers, too, are losing vital income. Deer are unlikely to go extinct, but the disease is depriving their habitats of key grazers, and their predators of food. In laboratory experiments, CWD has proved capable of infecting rodents, sheep, goats, cattle, raccoons, ferrets, and primates. But so far, jumps into non-cervid species don’t seem to be happening in the wild - and although people eat an estimated 10,000 CWD-infected cervids each year, no human cases have been documented. Still, lab experiments indicate that human proteins, at least when expressed by mice, could be susceptible to CWD too, Gilch, a molecular biologist at the University of Calgary, told. And the more prions transmit, and the more hosts they find themselves in, the more opportunities they may have to infect creatures in new ways. Prions don’t seem to evolve as quickly as many viruses or bacteria, Gilch told. She and other researchers have detected a multitude of CWD strains bopping around in the wild - each with its own propensity for interspecies spread, with transmission so unchecked, and hosts so numerous. The options to slow CWD's advance are so far limited. Even if sturdier prion resistance is someday found, “it’s probably just a matter of time until prions start to adapt to that as well,” Gilch said. Vaccines, in theory, could help, and in recent years, several research groups - including Napper’s and Abdelaziz’s - have made breakthroughs in overcoming the immune system’s inertia in attacking proteins that look like the body’s own. Some strategies try to target the problematic, invasive prions only; others are going after both the prion and the native, properly folded protein, so that the vaccine can do double duty, waylaying the infectious invader and starving it of reproductive fodder. (So far, lab animals seem to do mostly fine even when they’re bred to lack the native prion protein.) In early trials, both teams’ vaccines have produced promising immune responses in cervids. But neither team yet fully knows how effective their vaccines are at cutting down on shedding, how long that protection might last, or whether these strategies will work across cervid species. One of Napper’s vaccine candidates, for instance, seemed to hasten the progression of disease in elk. Vaccines for wildlife are also tough to deliver, especially the multiple doses likely needed in this case. Napper and other researchers plan to compound their formula with a salty apple - cider slurry that he hopes wild cervids might eat with some regularity. CWD is not, and may never be, the prion disease that most directly affects us. Should any CWD vaccines come to market, though, they will almost certainly be the first prion vaccines that clear the experimental stage. (Source: msn)

Thu February 1, 2024  Covid-19 vaccines provided 54% protection against symptomatic infection among immunocompetent adults who were recently vaccinated compared with those who did not receive an updated vaccine, early data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published today suggests. Vaccine manufacturers updated their formulations to target the Omicron variant XBB.1.5, which was the predominant circulating strain for much of 2023. The new CDC data shows that the latest vaccines are similarly effective against JN.1, which has been causing most Covid-19 infections in the United States since late December. For this analysis, researchers analyzed trends among more than 9,000 adults who were tested for Covid-19 at Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy locations between mid-September and mid-January. “While we don’t have an estimate of vaccine effectiveness specific to immunocompromised people, the fact that the vaccine is working in the general population provides, I think, reassurance for the whole population,” Link-Gelles, lead author of the new study who heads the CDC’s vaccine effectiveness program for Covid and RSV said. Generally, the goal of the US Covid-19 vaccination program is to prevent severe disease. The latest Covid-19 vaccines have only been available since September, after a recommendation from the CDC’s independent vaccine advisory committee and official signoff from the agency and the US Food and Drug Administration. Still, only about 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 9 children have gotten the latest Covid-19 vaccine, which is recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older, the CDC estimates. By comparison, nearly half of adults and children have gotten the flu vaccine this season. And a flu season where the vaccine matches the circulating strain with 50% effectiveness would be considered a really good match, Link-Gelles said. The US doesn’t have a system in place to track Covid-19 cases, but wastewater data suggests that Covid-19 continues to circulate at high levels in the US. During the week ending January 13, there were nearly 31,000 Covid-19 hospitalizations and more than 1,800 deaths, according to CDC data. (Source: cnn)

Globalization
February 3, 2024  COVID vaccines don’t add any protection for vaccinated with history of infection. Vaccinated people who took one of the shots actually saw a slight decrease in protection against infection, researchers in Japan found. They compared people who had received at least two doses of the original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to people who received a bivalent shot on top of at least two doses of the originals. “We did not find sufficient evidence of the effectiveness of bivalent vaccines among previously infected older adults,” the researchers, with the Department of Health Care Administration and Management at Kyushu University and other institutions, said. The paper was published following peer review in BMC Infectious Diseases on 29 January 2024. Funding came from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. “I would interpret the study to mean that in those without previous infection a booster vaccination is more important and valuable [than] in those with previous infection where the impact may be smaller or non-existent,” Dr. Klausner, clinical professor of medicine, population and public health sciences at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, told. In vaccinated people without prior infection, the study estimated a bivalent booster added 18.6 percent protection against infection. Limitations of the paper included not examining the long-term protection from the bivalent vaccines. Authors declared no conflicts of interest. The bivalent vaccines were available in the United States, Japan, and some other countries from the fall of 2022 to the fall of 2023. They were introduced, without clinical trial data, because the original vaccines stopped performing as well against emerging variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. The shots were widely recommended in the United States. Japan used two versions of the bivalent shots, one targeting the BA.1 subvariant and another based on the BA.4/Ba.5 sublineages. The United States only used the version that targeted the latter. The bivalent vaccines have since been replaced by new monovalent shots that target the XBB.1.5 virus subvariant, although that strain has since been displaced in many places. In Japan, the new shots are available to the population but authorities are only recommending them to the elderly and people with underlying health problems. In the United States, officials recommend the new shots for virtually every person aged 6 months or older, regardless of whether they’ve been infected before. Just 22 percent of adults and 11 percent of children have received one of the new shots, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “We do need nuance in our vaccine recommendations - vaccination has less benefit in younger people, those generally healthy, and in those recovered from infection,” said Dr. Klausner, who was not involved in the research. “Vaccine efforts should be targeted to those most at risk of complications and severe disease like the elderly, those with chronic medical conditions or immunocompromise or in either of those groups without prior infection.”     Several other new papers have focused on the bivalent vaccines, the publication mentioned:     In a study published in the January 2024 issue of the "Journal of Korean Medical Science" the researchers said that “The BA.1-based bivalent vaccine was effective only in individuals without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection”. The funding came from the Korea University College of Medicine, and no disclosures were listed. The study’s limitations included a lack of stratification by vaccine manufacturer.     In volume 29 Issue 3 / 18/Jan/2024 of journal "Eurosurveillance," European researchers' study estimated that bivalent vaccines provided strong protection against severe illness initially but that the shielding dropped to near-zero over time. They examined records of adults aged 60 or older who experienced severe acute respiratory infection between February and August 2023. The researchers estimated that vaccine effectiveness started at 80 percent against the infection but dropped to 0 percent beyond 269 days. The researchers did not adjust for prior infection, a fact they listed as one of the limitations of the paper. Funding came from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Declared conflicts included sponsorship from Pfizer for one author and payments from Pfizer for another. (Source: ntd *): http://tinyurl.com/6t7hjarb
* New Tang Dynasty Television (New York City)
Note: The Japanese study's conclusion: "Bivalent vaccines are effective against COVID-19 infections among older adults without a history of infection." See it: http://tinyurl.com/bdf5zan6

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Magyarország
(Kedd), 2024.01.30.  Berretta: - Másfél hónapja nyomást gyakorolnak Önre az európai partnerei, hogy fogadjon el egy 50 milliárd euro-s segélyezési tervet Ukrajna számára az európai költségvetésből. Csütörtökön mit fog javasolni?
- Semmi nem változott. Tehát a magyar álláspont továbbra is egyértelmű: ahogy telik az idő, továbbra is úgy gondoljuk, hogy az ukrajnai háborúnak nincs katonai megoldása. Sajnos a 26 másik fél még mindig úgy gondolja, hogy van katonai megoldás. Az ő javaslatuk a katonai megoldás irányába mutat, amit én nem támogatok. És a magyaroknak sem tetszik. Mi úgy gondoljuk, hogy az egyetlen megoldás a diplomáciai megoldás. Ez tűzszünetet és béketárgyalásokat jelent. Ebben az összefüggésben arra kérnek bennünket, hogy négy év alatt 50 milliárd euro-t adjunk Ukrajnának. Mivel számunkra nem tetszik a háború eszkalálódása, és nem gondoljuk, hogy a megoldás a csatatéren születik, nem tetszik nekünk ez a javaslat. Jogunk van nem egyetérteni, mert van egy költségvetésünk az Európai Unióban, ami három évvel ezelőtt lett elfogadva a többi országgal együtt, beleértve Magyarországot. Ez az európai költségvetés olyan alap, amelyet mások most meg akarnak változtatni. Úgy gondolom, hogy az Európai Unió minden tagjának joga van megvédeni a költségvetés azon változatát, ahogyan azt létrehozták. Ez egy nagyon is európai álláspont, mivel ezt az európai költségvetést 27 tagállam fogadta el. Az alapvető kérdés ebben az esetben a szuverenitás kérdése. Magyarország, mint szuverén állam ellenzi a költségvetésnek ezt a módosítását. Sajnos egy független országnak ezt a jogát a 26-ok nem fogadják el. Ezért próbálnak minket meggyőzni, majd ezután nyomást gyakorolni, majd zsarolni, hogy rákényszerítsenek, hogy csatlakozzunk hozzájuk. Nagyon nehéz egyedül maradni ebben a családban. Az Európai Unió vagy még inkább az európai egység támogatójaként osztom azt a nézetet, hogy az európai egység érték. Magyarország nem szívesen él a vétójogával, és szavaz mások ellen, mert megértjük, hogy az egység érték. Tehát ez a nagy kihívás, amivel mindannyian szembesülünk: hogyan kerüljünk ki ebből a helyzetből?
- Ön tett egy ajánlatot szombaton…
- Úgy döntöttünk, hogy egy kompromisszumos ajánlatot teszünk: rendben, nem értünk egyet a költségvetés módosításával. Nem értünk egyet azzal, hogy 50 milliárd euro-t kelljen adnunk, ami egy óriási összeg. Nem értünk egyet azzal, hogy ezt négy évre kellene biztosítanunk, és így tovább. De legyen, Magyarország kész részt venni a 27-ek megoldásában, ha garantálják, hogy minden évben döntünk arról, hogy továbbra is küldjük-e ezt a pénzt, vagy sem. És ennek az évenkénti döntésnek ugyanolyan jogalapja kell, hogy legyen, mint ma: egyhangúnak kell lennie. Sajnos ezt az álláspontot egyes országok úgy értik vagy értelmezik, mint egy eszközt arra, hogy minden évben megzsarolják őket.
- Önnek van egy bizonyos múltja ezen a téren…
- A mi álláspontunk az, hogy ez nem a vétóval való zsarolásáról szól, hanem az Európai Unió egységének helyreállításáról és fenntartásáról. Tehát ha valakit arra kényszerítünk, hogy részese legyen valaminek, amit nem szeret, és joga van ahhoz, hogy ne legyen részese, de rá nyomást gyakoroltak, őt kényszerítették bármilyen módon, hogy részese legyen, akkor tisztességes és észszerű, hogy minden évben lehetőséget adjunk neki arra, hogy részt vegyen a döntésben, hogy ez folytatódjon-e, vagy sem. Ez lenne a kompromisszum. Ez a mi álláspontunk.
- És hogyan fogadják jelenleg a javaslatát? Scholz kancellár például?
- Ha jól értem, a fogadtatás a Financial Times-ban jelent meg… Szóval nem éppen pozitív a visszhangja.
- A Financial Times hétfőn valóban közölt egy cikket, amelyben azt állították, hogy az unió vétó esetén úgy büntethetné a magyar gazdaságot, hogy megtagadná Magyarországtól az európai kifizetéseket, ami hatással lenne az Önök országába irányuló befektetésekre és a valutára. Hallott már ilyen tervről?
- Ez egyfajta zsarolási útmutató. Röviden összefoglalva: azt mondják, hogyha szuverén országként viselkedünk, akkor Magyarországot azonnal hatalmas pénzügyi blokád alá veszik, és összekötik az ukrán kérdést a jogállamisággal. A kettőnek semmi köze egymáshoz! Hogy akkor Magyarországon armageddon lenne. Ez áll a Financial Times által közzétett dokumentumban. A dokumentum hitelességében nem kételkedem. Brüsszelt ismerve képesek rá.
- Az Európai Tanács egyik magas rangú tisztviselője a közzététel után egyfajta cáfolatot adott ki, mondván, hogy ez egy Magyarország gazdasági helyzetéről szóló feljegyzés volt, amelyet a tanács főtitkárságának felelőssége mellett készítettek. Nem tudjuk pontosan, hogy miről van szó, de a tanács egyfajta korrekciót tesz közzé…
- Mindannyiunknak van némi tapasztalatunk a nemzetközi politikában. Nem az óvodából jöttünk ki. Ha a Financial Times közöl egy dokumentumot, amiben részletesen leírják a Magyarország elleni pénzügyi blokád és a velünk szembeni zsarolás forgatókönyvét, akkor biztosak lehetünk abban, hogy létezik ilyen. Megértem, hogy ezt a többieknek milyen nehéz elfogadni, hiszen az Európai Unió az elmúlt években egyre inkább imperialista irányba mozdult el, különösen az Egyesült Királyság kilépése után. Egyre kevésbé szuverén államok közösségéről van szó. Egyre többször, függetlenül attól, hogy milyen jogaid vannak a Szerződések alapján, milyen észszerű érvet hozol fel nekik, olyasmire próbálnak rákényszeríteni, amit nem akarsz. Még konkrétabban: Brüsszel az elmúlt években ideológiai háborút vív Magyarország ellen, és folyamatosan zsarolni próbál bennünket. Még a bizottság elnöke is nyilvánosan kijelentette a legutóbbi parlamenti ülésen, hogy Magyarország addig nem kapja meg a neki járó uniós forrásokat, amíg nem hajlandó változtatni a migrációval és a genderrel kapcsolatos álláspontján. Szóval mi ez, ha nem zsarolás? Mi, magyarok hosszú évek óta ilyen körülmények között élünk.
- A másik 26 tagállam azt állítja, hogy egy évente jóváhagyott éves terv nem teszi lehetővé Ukrajnának, hogy négy évre tervezze kiadásait. Ez elfogadható érv az Ön szemében?
- Ez egy olyan érv, amelyet komolyan kell venni, de nem fogadom el. Először is nem tudjuk, mi lesz a következő három-négy hónapban Ukrajnában. Hát még négy év múlva… Másodszor, senki sem tudja, hogy az amerikaiak részt vesznek-e a játékban, akár most, akár a novemberi amerikai választások után. Harmadszor: ki végezte el az összeadást, ki számolt? Miért pont 50 milliárd euro? Nem tudjuk pontosan, hogy ez az összeg minek felel meg. És végül a fő érv, legalábbis egy demokrata számára, hogy öt hónap múlva választások lesznek Európában. Teljesen figyelmen kívül hagynánk az európaiak véleményét, ha ma olyan döntést hoznánk, amely négy évre lekötné Európát, és ez egy óriási összegre vonatkozik. Mintha nem lenne jelentősége az emberek véleményének, bármi legyen is a júniusi európai parlamenti választás eredménye. Ha Európa jogállamiságon alapuló demokratikus közösségként kíván viselkedni, egyszerűen nem hozhatunk ilyen döntést. ***
- Azt tudja, hogy az ukránok számára sürgős…
- Megértem az ukránokat. Szeretnék egy hatalmas összeg garanciáját a lehető leghosszabb ideig. Értem, de ez nem európai érdek. Európában másként kell viselkednünk. Ennyi pénzre az európaiaknak is szükségük van. Európában egyre jobban szenvedünk a gazdaság gyenge teljesítményétől. Ez a pénz nagyon hasznos lenne az európai népeknek, a franciáknak, a németeknek, a magyaroknak, a lengyeleknek… Összességében úgy gondolom, hogy több érv van a mi megoldásunk mellett – évenkénti döntés, a fejlemények függvényében felülvizsgálva –, mint az ellen-oldalnak, akik 50 milliárd euro-t szeretnének egyszerre kiosztani Ukrajnának négy évre.
- Mit válaszol azoknak, akik azt gondolják, hogy legbelül Trump novemberi megválasztását várja, hogy az Ön nézőpontja győzedelmeskedjen? Nagy szövetséges lenne Ön számára…
- Térjünk vissza 2016-ba, az első kampányához, a választások előtt. Akkoriban mindenki azt mondta, hogy a választást Clinton nyeri, nem Trump. Akkoriban világosan megmondtam, hogy Trump-ra szükségünk van Európában. Mert amikor Trump azt mondja, hogy „Tegyük újra naggyá Amerikát” vagy „Amerika az első”, az legitimál minket abban, hogy „Tegyük újra naggyá Európát” és „Európa az első”. Tegyék Európát az első helyre, tegyék Franciaországot az első helyre, és tegyék Magyarországot az első helyre. Ez a normális hozzáállás a nemzetközi politikában, ha nemzeti érdeken alapuló megállapodásokat akarunk találni. Végül nem szabad elfelejtenünk, hogy Trump az Egyesült Államok egyik legsikeresebb külpolitikát folytató elnöke volt. Egyetlen háborút sem indított el. Az Ábrahám-megállapodások volt az egyetlen komoly esély arra, hogy békét, egyensúlyt és elfogadható életformát teremtsünk a nagyon nehéz közel-keleti régióban. Személyes meggyőződésem továbbra is az, hogyha 2022 februárjában Trumpn-ak hívják az amerikai elnököt, nem lett volna háború Európában. Ma nem látok rajta kívül senkit sem Európában, sem Amerikában, aki elég erős vezető lenne ahhoz, hogy megállítsa a háborút. A békének van neve: Trump.
- von der Leyen elnök az Európai Parlamentben egyértelművé tette, hogy mintegy 20 milliárd euro-t nem fizetnek ki Magyarországnak mindaddig, amíg bizonyos problémák fennállnak Magyarországon, mint például a gyermekvédelmi törvény az LMBTQ-személyekkel, a tudományos szabadságot ért csorbák, a csalás elleni küzdelem hiányosságai. Hogyan reagál erre az emlékeztetésre?
- Először is emlékeztetni kell arra, hogy a bizottság három hónappal ezelőtt egyértelműen kijelentette, hogy a magyar közbeszerzésekre vonatkozó szabályozással nincs semmilyen probléma. Ez egy jó szabályozás. Ebből a szempontból Magyarország az EU-tagállamok legjobb első harmadában található. A korrupció elleni küzdelem kudarca tehát már nem egy szilárd érv. Majd a bizottság kimondta, hogy a magyarországi igazságszolgáltatás rendben van. Ezért az Európai Unió legerősebben ellenőrzött és újraértékelt igazságszolgáltatási rendszerével rendelkezünk. Ennek a kifogásnak is vége. De mivel a bizottságot politikai szándék vezérli, mert ideológiai háborút folytat Magyarország ellen, von der Leyen elnöknek új sérelmeket kell kreálnia Magyarország megtámadására és zsarolására. Az új sérelem pedig a migrációra és a genderre vonatkozik. Ennek semmi köze a korrupcióhoz vagy az igazságszolgáltatás minőségéhez, Magyarország ebből a szempontból jól áll. Nyilvánvaló tehát, hogy nem a jogállamiság az igazi érv Magyarország ellen. Nem is beszélve a zsarolási kísérletről, amely azt mondja: ha Magyarország nem adja oda az 50 milliárd euro-t Ukrajnának, akkor megfosztjuk a tanácsi szavazati jogától. Ez egyértelműen tisztességtelen magatartás, mert egy ország jogának megvonásáról csak akkor lehet szavazni, ha probléma van a jogállamisággal. De Ukrajnának semmi köze a jogállamisághoz! Az európai intézmények nem veszik komolyan a jogállamiságot. Ez csak egy eszköz a szuverenitásukat megőrizni óhajtó és saját véleménnyel rendelkező országok zsarolására. Másrészt ez nem jó Magyarországnak, mert mint minden normális ember, mi is szeretjük, ha szeretnek minket. Szeretjük, ha emberként és országként tisztelnek bennünket, amit méltánytalanul megtagadnak Magyarországtól. Ennek ellenére továbbra is úgy gondolom, hogy az európai egység fontos.
- Beszélt Meloni asszonnyal erről a helyzetről?
- Folyamatosan beszélek mindenkivel.
- Támogatja ő Önt?
- Nem, egyedül vagyunk. Számunkra ez elvi kérdés, de a többi 26 ország hatalmi kérdést csinál belőle. Sajnos ez egy nehéz helyzet. Mint tudják, sok-sok éve vagyok az Európai Tanács tagja. Ezekben a bonyolult helyzetekben az a fontos, amit stratégiai nyugalomnak nevezünk: ne ugorj rá mindenre, ami mozog, ne reagálj azonnal, maradj nyugodt. Fontos, hogy az európaiak megértsék, hogy a tagállamok, ha nem értenek egyet olyan kérdésekben, mint a háború, a migráció, a gender, azonnal imperialista reakciót tapasztalnak Brüsszelből, és a zsarolás egy formájának vetik őket alá.
- Európa súlyos mezőgazdasági válságon megy keresztül. Magyarországot érintette az európai piac megnyitása az ukrán termékek előtt. Mit vár a bizottságtól, amelynek júniusig megoldást kell javasolnia?
- Ez a történet megmutatja, hogy a háborútól függetlenül milyen komoly probléma Ukrajna Európa számára. A háború csak rávilágít Ukrajna fontosságára, de a háború nélkül is jelentős kihívást jelent Európa számára Ukrajna, és meg kell értenie, hogy miként közeledjen az Európai Unióhoz. Nagyon óvatosnak kell lennünk, mert Ukrajna hatalmas ország. És Ukrajna közeledése az Európai Unióhoz vagy akár az Európai Unióhoz való csatlakozása katasztrofális hatással lesz, vagy katasztrofális hatással lehetne az európai gazdaságokra, különösen a mezőgazdasági szektorban. Tehát mi történik? Sokat szenvedünk itt Magyarországon, mert szomszéd ország vagyunk, ahogy Lengyelország is. Önök, Franciaországban, messze vannak. Önöket mi védjük, ha szabad így mondanom. A kontinens távol tartja Ukrajnát Önöktől, de előbb-utóbb Franciaországot is eléri az ukrán gazdaság Európai Unióra gyakorolt hatása. És Önök pontosan ugyanúgy szenvedni fognak, mint mi. Nagyon egységesnek kell lennünk, és világosan el kell magyaráznunk az ukránoknak, milyen lépéseket kell tenni annak érdekében, hogy közelítsük feléjük az Európai Uniót és a piacainkat. Az ukrán mezőgazdasági termelés jóval olcsóbb, mint a francia és a magyar gazdáké, és ez nem fenntartható. Nem tudunk versenyezni velük, és tönkretesszük mezőgazdasági közösségeinket. Ezt nem tehetjük meg; az ukránoknak ezt meg kell érteniük. A bizottságnak az európai érdekeket kell megvédenie az ukránokkal szemben, nem pedig az ukrán érdekeket az európai gazdákkal szemben.
(Forrás: miniszterelnok *)
* Miniszterelnöki Kabinetiroda

*** Kiemelés tőlem - J.

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European Parliament
Jan 25, 24  A forecast.     The 2024 European Parliament elections will see a major shift to the right in many countries, with populist radical right parties gaining votes and seats across the EU, and centre-left and green parties losing votes and seats.     We collected the most recent opinion polls in every EU member state and applied a statistical model of the performance of national parties in previous European Parliament elections, building on a model we developed and used for the 2009, 2014, and 2019 elections.        The results show that the two main political groups in the parliament – the European People’s Party (EPP) and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) – will likely continue to lose seats which is resulting in an increasing fragmentation of European party systems, at both the national and European levels.     We expect the EPP to remain the largest group in the parliament, and therefore maintain most agenda-setting power, including over the choice of the next commission president. Our model predicts significant seat losses for the EPP in Germany, Italy, Romania, and Ireland, but significant gains in Spain.     We forecast that the S&D will lose a lot of seats in Germany, and the Netherlands, and will gain most seats in Poland.     The “grand coalition” of the EPP and the S&D is set to lose seats, holding 42 per cent of the total, compared to its current 45 per cent.     We predict that the centrist Renew Europe (RE) group and the Greens/European Free Alliance (G/EFA) will also lose seats, falling from 101 to 86 and 71 to 61 respectively. We expect RE to lose most seats in France and Spain, and to make most gains in the Czech Republic and Italy and the G/EFA to lose most seats in Germany, France, and Italy.     Even with the RE group, the “super grand coalition” of the three centrist groups will only hold 54 per cent of the seats, compared to its current 60 per cent - not enough for these three groups to guarantee a winning majority when they vote together.     Almost half the seats will be held by MEPs outside the “super grand coalition” of the three centrist groups.     The Left group should increase their representation from 38 to 44 seats - it will make most gains in Germany, France, and Ireland. In addition, if the Five Star Movement in Italy, which we predict will win 13 seats, decided not to sit with the non-attached (NI) MEPs, it may choose to join either the G/EFA or the Left, which would bolster the number of MEPs sitting to the left of the S&D.     The left coalition – of the S&D, the G/EFA, and the Left – will lose seats, with 33 per cent of the total, compared to the current 35 per cent. And, even if the left coalition can secure the support of RE – which they have done on environmental and social rights issues during the current term – it would hold only 45 per cent of the seats, compared to 50 per cent in the current parliament.     The main winners in the elections will be the populist right. The major winner will be the radical right Identity and Democracy (ID) group, which we expect to gain 40 seats and, with almost 100 MEPs, to emerge as the third largest group in the new parliament.     A centre-right coalition – of the EPP, RE, and the ECR – will likely lose some seats, holding 48 per cent instead of the current 49 per cent. A “populist right coalition” – made up of the EPP, the ECR, and ID – will increase their share of the seats from 43 per cent to 49 per cent.     The majority of the non-attached MEPs are from extreme right parties, meaning that with their support, majority coalitions could form to the right of RE for the first time in the history of the European Parliament. The “pivotal MEP” in the next parliament is likely to be in the EPP group, rather than in the centrist RE (or previously Liberal) group for the first time.     Anti-European populists are likely to top the polls in nine member states (Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Slovakia) and come second or third in a further nine countries (Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden). These results will be particularly significant in several member states which will hold national parliament elections soon after the European Parliament election.     We also predict that the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group will gain 18 seats. Our model predicts that the ECR will lose seats in Poland, and gain most seats in Romania and Spain, in addition to Italy. We expect the ECR to pick up a lot of seats in Italy, as a result of Brothers of Italy (FdI) emerging as one of the largest delegations in the European Parliament (with 27 seats). With the expected fall of Forza Italia to only 7 seats, though, the EPP may approach Brothers of Italy to join their group. And, if Fidesz in Hungary (which we expect to win 14 seats) decides to join the ECR rather than to sit with the non-attached MEPs, the ECR could overtake RE and ID and become the third largest group.     It predicts that ID will lose many seats in Italy, with the decline of Lega, but these losses will be offset by significant gains in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Bulgaria, and Austria.     We expect the ECR and ID groups together to account for 25 per cent of MEPs, and have more seats combined than the EPP or the S&D for the first time.     The “EU-critics” on the radical right and radical left will increase dramatically to hold 37 per cent of the seats, compared to 30 per cent in the current parliament. Populist voices, particularly on the radical right, are likely to be louder after the 2024 elections than at any point since the European Parliament was first directly elected in 1979.     A populist right coalition of Christian democrats, conservatives, and radical right MEPs could emerge with a majority for the first time. This ‘sharp right turn’ will affect the foreign policy choices that the EU can make, particularly on environmental issues, where the new majority is likely to oppose ambitious EU action to tackle climate change.         There is uncertainty regarding which political groups some parties will eventually join. There are two types of uncertain parties: (1) those that are not currently represented in the parliament and are not currently members of a European political party (which would automatically determine their group membership); and (2) those that currently have MEPs but might join a different political group in the next parliament. We have already mentioned the three largest parties in this list: Fidesz from Hungary, Brothers of Italy and the Five Star Movement from Italy. Beyond these, there are 25 other parties whose group membership remains uncertain. Together, we predict that these 28 parties will win 122 seats in June 2024, meaning that the eventual sizes of the groups might be somewhat different from those in our forecast. Most of the uncertain parties are those that will sit to the right of the EPP, in either the ECR, ID, or as non-attached MEPs. The likely “sharp right turn” is unlikely to change as a result of changes to these parties’ current or expected group membership. The sizes of the potential coalitions between the political groups in the chamber will benefit the right.         Different coalitions have tended to dominate in different policy areas in 2019-2024:   A centrist grand coalition (EPP + S&D, usually also with RE) typically won on budgets, budgetary control, culture and education, economic and monetary affairs, foreign affairs, internal market and consumer protection, legal affairs, and transport and tourism;   A centre + left coalition (S&D + RE+ G/EFA + the Left) usually won on civil liberties and justice and home affairs, development, employment and social affairs, environment, and women’s rights and gender equality;   A centre + right coalition (EPP + RE + ECR, and sometimes ID) usually won on agriculture and rural development, fisheries, industry and research, and international trade.   These coalitions and winning patterns are likely to continue, at least at the start of the next parliamentary term.          EU support for Ukraine - the majority in the next European Parliament is likely to back a continuation of the type of financial, logistical, and military aid that Western states have been approving for Kyiv since February 2022. However, there will be a larger number of MEPs (particularly in ID and among the non-attached MEPs) who are more sympathetic towards Russia. Support for Ukraine in the rest of the parliament might also soften as national parties start to respond to the changing opinions of their voters, expressed by their votes in the European Parliament elections.         Our analysis suggests two significant shifts in coalition patterns.     Firstly, the smaller size of the centrist grand coalition, even with RE support, is likely to mean that it will no longer be as dominant on some policy issues. In particular on economic and monetary affairs and internal market and consumer protection – where the grand coalition has won votes in the current parliament by smaller margins – we could see a significant shift to the right, as the EPP looks to partners to its right rather than to the S&D. Given the Euroscepticism of the ECR and ID, and some national parties in the EPP, we could therefore see majorities in the next parliament in support of more economic, fiscal, and regulatory freedom for member states. This bloc would be likely to vote against proposals from the commission to enforce common rules and instead side with the growing group of national governments – such as those in Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, and Sweden – which are pushing for less interference from Brussels in national economic, fiscal, and regulatory policies.     Secondly, the smaller number of MEPs on the left relative to the right means that in several policy areas in which the left has tended to win by small margins, a right-wing majority will now be more likely to win than a left-wing majority. This is likely to be particularly true in two areas – civil liberties and justice and home affairs, and environment – where narrow centre-left majorities may be replaced by a new populist right winning coalition (of EPP + ECR + ID + most non-attached MEPs). On civil liberties and justice and home affairs, this could have major implications for EU migration and asylum policies, where there is likely to be a majority in the European Parliament that supports very restrictive immigration policies and will seek to push the commission to reform the EU’s asylum policy framework to allow more discretion for member states and to limit any sharing of refugee allocations.     This new winning majority on civil liberties and justice and home affairs could also have implications for the EU’s efforts to enforce the rule of law. In the current parliament there has been a narrow majority in favour of the EU imposing sanctions (such as withholding budget payments) on member states in which the rule of law is backsliding – in particular in Hungary and Poland. But after June 2024 it is likely to be harder for the centrist and centre-left MEPs (in RE, S&D, G/EFA, the Left, and parts of EPP) to hold the line against the 'continued erosion of democracy, rule of law, and civil liberties' in Hungary and any other member state that might head in that direction.     The biggest policy implications of the 2024 European Parliament elections are likely to concern environmental policy. In the current parliament, a centre-left coalition (of S&D, RE, G/EFA, and the Left) has tended to win on environmental policy issues, but many of these votes have been won by very small margins. The significant shift to the right in the new parliament will mean that an ‘anti-climate policy action’ coalition is likely to dominate. This would significantly undermine the EU’s Green Deal framework and the adoption and enforcement of common policies to meet the EU’s net zero targets. Perhaps the best illustration of this is what would have happened if the key vote on the EU’s nature restoration law was held after the 2024 elections. The law forces member states to restore at least 20 per cent of the EU’s land and seas by 2030, with binding targets to restore at least 30 per cent of degraded habitats by 2030, rising to 60 per cent by 2040 and 90 per cent by 2050. The key vote was on 12 July 2023, on a motion by the EPP to reject the commission’s proposal outright. The proposal to reject failed by only 12 votes (312 in favour, 324 against), and the parliament then went on to accept the commission’s proposal, with a series of votes against amendments from the groups on the right to water down the proposed actions. The dramatic increase in the number of MEPs to the right of the EPP is likely to seriously limit the EU’s actions to tackle the climate crisis.         The European Parliament elections will not only have implications for politics and policy at the EU level, they will also have an impact on domestic politics in many countries. The European Parliament elections are essentially 27 national elections, and the national debates that take place in the run-up to the June 2024 elections will affect the positions that the heads of state or government feel able to take in the months and years that follow the elections. If political parties campaign on a platform to block certain EU decisions, or the way the citizens in a country have voted in the European Parliament elections is perceived to demand a tougher mandate on immigration, a “no” to further EU enlargement, or a vote against the EU’s Green Deal agenda, this will influence the national governments’ approaches to EU policymaking after the 2024 elections.     The 2024 European Parliament election in Austria will come just a few months before the next national election, which is set for autumn 2024. If the two mainstream parties – the centre-right People’s Party of Austria (ÖVP) and the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) – continue to haemorrhage support, the radical right Freedom Party (FPÖ) could convert the success of the anti-system change vote into a national electoral victory.     Bulgaria has experienced five parliamentary elections since the beginning of 2021. This level of instability has contributed to the rapid acceleration of the anti-system vote, which the far-right and pro-Russia party, Revival, has greatly benefitted from: it won 14 per cent in the last election in 2023, making it the third largest party. If Revival wins three seats in the European Parliament election, as we predict, it will enter the European Parliament for the first time, gaining institutional legitimacy as Bulgaria’s mainstream parties continue to lose their own legitimacy - after holding its fifth national election in two years, Bulgaria is still nowhere near forming a stable government.     In France, the latest government led by President Macron is currently hovering at a 30 per cent approval rating. It will be French voters’ first opportunity to express this disapproval electorally and the first test for the French left after the break-up of the New Ecological and Social People’s Union (NUPES). There is every chance that Le Pen’s radical right National Rally (RN) will win the election. This would set the tone for the 2027 presidential election and could establish Le Pen as the potential next French president.     In Germany, the European Parliament election is likely to see the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) become the second largest German party in the European Parliament, behind a re-emergent Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU). The election will also be the first test for the new anti-immigrant radical left Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW). The next German parliamentary elections will be held in autumn 2025. The continued polarisation of German politics will therefore be a major concern for the centrist parties, and the CDU/CSU will be under pressure to say whether they would be willing to enter a coalition with the AfD.     In Italy, the European Parliament election will be the first electoral test for the new government led by prime minister Giorgia Meloni, as well as the new leaders of Forza Italia (led by deputy prime minister Tajani) and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) led by Schlein. A decisive victory for Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, at the expense of its two coalition partners (Forza Italia and the League), would establish Brothers of Italy as the dominant party on the right in Italy. With voters on the left split between PD, the Five Star Movement, and the centrist parties, it remains to be seen whether these elections can establish a path forward for the left in Italy.     In the Netherlands, it is far from certain whether a government will be in place by the time of the European Parliament election or whether the country will be heading towards another national election. Wilders’s (PVV) is set to emerge as the largest Dutch party in the European Parliament, while Omzigt’s New Social Contract (NSC) will win MEPs for the first time. A decisive victory for these two parties could encourage them to form a coalition together. The combined Green-Left (PvdA-Groen Links) list may raise questions about the viability of this alliance going forward.     In Poland, the European Parliament election will be an opportunity to see whether Polish voters have sustainably turned away from the populist right Law and Justice party (PiS). We expect PiS to top the poll in Poland in June 2024 with 31 per cent of the votes and the centrist European Coalition (KE) alliance to come second with 24 per cent of the votes, closing the gap between it and PiS even further. The new centrist Third Way (TD) should win MEPs for the first time, further consolidating its position as a key ally of KE in a post-PiS Poland. The radical right is expected taking votes from PiS.     In Spain, the European Parliament election will be a referendum on prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE) government and the deal Sánchez made with the Catalan nationalists to win the premiership after the July 2023 national election. We expect a significant backlash against Sánchez and his deal, with the centre-right People’s Party (PP) emerging as the clear winner and with the radical right Vox winning 10 per cent of the votes. The new Sumar alliance of the radical left and the greens is set to lose votes.     Sweden is likely seeing a further consolidation of support for Andersson’s centre-left Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP), following its re-emergence as the largest party after the September 2022 national election. The radical right Sweden Democrats (SD) look set to come second in the poll, mainly at the expense of the centre-right Moderata, which is likely to be punished for tacitly supporting Andersson’s minority government.         While the parliament is not the most significant EU institution when it comes to foreign policy, the way in which the political groups align after the elections, and the impact that these elections have on national debates in member states, will have significant implications for the European Commission’s and Council’s ability to make foreign policy choices, most notably in implementing the next phase of the European Green Deal. The implications of this vote are far reaching for the geopolitical direction of the European Council and European Commission from 2024 onwards. The next European Parliament can be expected to block legislation necessary to implement the politically difficult next phase of the Green Deal – impacting the EU’s climate sovereignty – and push for a harder line on key issues for other areas of EU sovereignty including migration, enlargement, and support for Ukraine.          National governments will feel constrained by the way these elections shape domestic debates, affecting the positions they can take in the European Council. This is likely to bolster the growing axis of governments around the European Council table that are attempting to limit the EU’s influence from within – those of Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Sweden, and likely a PVV-led government in the Netherlands.         These findings should also be set against the expectation that whether or not Trump wins the US presidential election in autumn 2024 – and the polls currently suggest there is a real possibility he will. Europe will have a less globally engaged United States to rely on. This may increase the inclination of anti-establishment and Eurosceptic parties to reject strategic interdependence and a broad range of international partnerships in defence of European interests and values, instead seeking to pursue a more cautious approach to foreign policy decisions.

Note:
Forecast by political group and member state:

Hungary:

Total: 21 (MPPs):    EPP: 0;    S&D: 4;    ID: 0;    RE: 1;    ECR: 0;    G/EFA: 0;    Left: 0;    NI: 16".

Forecast vote share by member state, 2024:

Party     Forecast vote share;     Forecast MEPs;     Difference Expected;     EP group
Fidesz       43.9%                                   14                                    1                     NI
DK            13.1%                                     4                                    0                  S&D
MHM           6.2%                                     2                                    2                     NI
MM             5.8%                                     1                                  −1                     RE
MKKP          5.0%                                     0                                    0                     0
MSZP          4.6%                                     0                                  −1                     0
LMP            3.8%                                     0                                    0                      0
Jobbik         3.5%                                     0                                  −1                     0
PM              2.3%                                     0                                    0                     0

(Parties:    Fidesz-Magyar Polgári Szövetség;    Demokratikus Koalició;    Mi Hazánk Mozgalom;    Momentum Mozgalom;    Magyar Kétfarkú Kutya Párt;    Magyar Szocialista Párt;    Lehet Más a Politika;    Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom;    Párbeszéd - A Zöldek Pártja).

(Source: ecfr *)
* European Council on Foreign Relations (Berlin, Germany)

..

.

Európa    Europe

Magyarország
2024. január 18.  Az ez év második hetében volt légúti fertőzésekről. 2024. január 8 – 14 között a légúti figyelőszolgálat keretében kijelölt 24 kórház adatai alapján a második héten 166-an kerültek kórházba súlyos, akut légúti fertőzés (SARI) miatt, közülük 19 fő részesült intenzív/szubintenzív ellátásban. A kórházi ápolást igénylő 166 SARI beteg közül 40-en 2 évesek vagy annál fiatalabbak, 91-en 60 évesek vagy annál idősebbek. Influenza A 19 betegnél, RSV 13-nál, SARS-CoV-2 vírus 78-nál állt a megbetegedések hátterében. A COVID-19 fertőzöttek közül 62-en 60 évesek vagy annál idősebbek.    A Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központ (NNGYK) Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumban 3 032 vizsgálati anyagot dolgoztak fel. Influenza A-t 96 betegnél, influenza A(H1pdm09)-et 44 betegnél, influenza A(H3)-at 52 betegnél, influenza B-t 5 betegnél, RSV-t 26 betegnél, COVID-19 fertőzést 924 betegnél igazoltak. Rhinovírus 34 megbetegedés hátterében állt, parainfluenza 4 megbetegedést okozott, adenovírus 2-t, human metapneumovírus 11-et.    A sentinel kórházak által beküldött 15 minta közül két betegnél influenza A(H1pdm09), egy betegnél az influenza A(H3), négy betegnél RSV, két betegnél SARS-CoV-2 vírust azonosítottak.    A hagyományos diagnosztikus célú vizsgálat keretében érkezett 21 légúti minta közül 3-3 influenza A(pdm09), illetve influenza A(H3), egy RSV és négy SARS-CoV-2 vírus pozitív volt.    A figyelőszolgálatban résztvevő orvosok jelentései alapján végzett becslés szerint ez év második hetében az országban 24 800-an fordultak orvoshoz influenzaszerű és 176 400-an akut légúti fertőzés tüneteivel. Légúti minta 221 betegtől érkezett a Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központ (NNGYK) Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumába. A sentinel orvosok által beküldött 185 minta közül tizenhárom betegnél az influenza A(H1pdm09), kilenc betegnél az influenza A(H3), öt betegnél az RSV, 24 betegnél a SARS-CoV-2 vírus kóroki szerepét igazolták. Az influenza pozitivitási arány 11,9%, a SARS-CoV-2 pozitivitási arány 13,0% volt.    Akut légúti megbetegedések halmozódásáról egy jelentés érkezett Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén vármegyéből: egy óvódában 28 exponáltból 21-en betegedtek meg - 18 gyermek, 3 dolgozó - köhögéssel és lázzal járó tünetekkel. Kóroktani tisztázás céljából három személytől vételeztek mintát, a légúti minták laboratóriumi vizsgálata folyamatban van.    Légúti kórokozók szennyvízalapú követése és előrejelzés (SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A).    A szennyvíz SARS-CoV-2 örökítőanyag koncentrációja országos átlagban csökkenő irányvonalú a mintavételi helyek többségénél. Pangás mérhető Egerben, Kecskeméten, Pécsett és Szekszárdon. Emelkedés egyik vizsgált településen sem mutatható ki.    Az Influenza A vírus örökítőanyagának koncentrációja a szennyvizekben országos átlagban csökkenő irányvonalú. A kimutatási határt a koncentráció 3 mintában haladta meg. (Az Influenza A vírusra vonatkozó eredmények országos összesítésben értelmezhetők, mivel az Influenza A a SARS-CoV-2-nél jelentősen alacsonyabb kópiaszámban mutatható ki a szennyvíz mintákban, az eredmények nagyobb szórást mutatnak, az egyes mintavételi helyek szerinti bontásban kevésbé reprezentatívak). Az Influenza A vírus szennyvízből történő kimutatásának mintavételi helyei megegyeznek a SARS-CoV-2 kimutatásnál szereplő nagyvárosokkal, így a vizsgálatok ebben az esetben is a hazai lakosság több mint 40%-át követik. A szennyvíz minták vizsgálatai a mintavételt követő 48 órán belül kezdődnek el. A mintákból az ülepedő szennyeződések eltávolítása után ultraszűréssel koncentrálják a vírusrészecskéket, majd a tisztított nukleinsavból digitális PCR technológiával történik a koncentráció mérése. A folyamat azonos reakciótérben zajlik a SARS-CoV-2 kimutatással /multiplex PCR/.    Az NNGYK elsődleges elemzései alapján megállapítható, hogy a koronavírus (SARS-CoV-2) örökítőanyag emelkedését 1 héttel követi a mentőszolgálat hívásszámának növekedése, az influenza szennyvízben mért vírusterhelés-emelkedését pedig 2 héttel követi a sürgősségi ellátási igény növekedése. (Forrás: 'nnk' *)
* 'Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ'

2024. január 17. szerda.  A magas megbetegítő képességű madárinfluenza vírusa bárhol megjelenhet az országban. Az állattartóknak mindent meg kell tenniük annak érdekében, hogy baromfiállományuk se közvetlen, se közvetett módon ne érintkezhessen vadon élő madarakkal. A betegség elszórtan továbbra is jelen van hazánkban. Kaposváron, egy körülbelül 39 000 hízópulykát számláló telepen az állattartó az állatok megemelkedett elhullását tapasztalta. A Nemzeti Élelmiszerlánc-biztonsági Hivatal (Nébih) laboratóriuma az elhullott állatokból vett mintákból tegnap a vírus H5N1 altípusát mutatta ki. Az érintett állományt felszámolták. Amennyiben a járványügyi helyzet összességében kedvezően alakul, a hatóság az ország nagy részében rövidesen feloldhatja a korlátozást a jelenleg még az alatt álló területeken. (Forrás: nebih)
Lásd még: tematikus aloldal a madárinfluenzával kapcsolatban / Nébih / : http://tinyurl.com/tz8rz35d

2024. január 12.  Bizonyítottság hiányában első fokon felmentette a Budapesti XVIII. és XIX. Kerületi Bíróság az egyik megyei kórház szakorvosát, aki 2020 decemberét megelőzően saját nevére és címére 5-5 doboz Iverlast 6 és Iverlast 12 nevű, összesen 200 tabletta gyógyszert rendelt Indiából. Az Iverlast "ivermectin" hatóanyagú féreghajtó, amely mint lehetséges gyógyszer a világjárvány idején számos országban felmerült a Covid-19 elleni kezelésben. Az Iverlast Magyarországon nem engedélyezett. A gyógyszerek kézbesítése nem történt meg; a NAV Repülőtéri Igazgatóság munkatársai a csomagot átvizsgálták, azt visszatartották. A doktornőt egészségügyi dolgozóként elkövetett gyógyszerhamisítás bűntettével vádolta az ügyészség. Szakértői vélemények alapján nem volt megállapítható az indokolatlan mennyiség a megrendelt gyógyszerek esetében, ezért a terheltet az ellene emelt vád alól bizonyítottság hiányában a bíró felmentette. Az ügyész három nap gondolkodási időt tartott fenn a jogorvoslati nyilatkozat megtételére. A vádlott és védője bűncselekmény hiányában történő felmentés miatt jelentett be fellebbezést. Az ügy másodfokon a Fővárosi Törvényszéken folytatódik. (Forrás: hvg)

European Commission
January 17, 2024  The European Union has a new Covid jabs plan. It is orchestrating a tender for an “estimated” 146 million doses over 24 months of mRNA Covid vaccines updated to the dominant variant. This latest tender can be renewed for 12 months twice. The final number of doses isn’t clear because it’s a joint procurement agreement. That means that no matter who wins the tender, there won’t be any obligation for countries to buy the doses they asked for. It gives more power to countries in choosing whether or not they actually need more shots. 18 EU countries have signed up, plus Norway and the Republic of Northern Macedonia. The tender is being led by the EU's Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). Pfizer/BioNTech continue to be tied into their long-term contract. The move is widely expected to award Moderna a new contract. The European Commission has come under fire from public health leaders to ensure there is more than one vaccine available to countries, to offer choice to people but also to spread the risk in case of future supply chain threats. As of last year, at least 215 million expired doses were binned at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of €4 billion. That bill is for a huge contract of around 1.1 billion doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine inked by the EU in 2021, which has since come under intense scrutiny for the personal role that von der Leyen may have played in negotiations. The contract has already been renegotiated to delay and spread out deliveries through 2026 to better meet the lower demands of countries. The remaining vaccines from Moderna, Novavax and others have either expired or the doses have all been delivered. Meanwhile, in Hungary and Poland, Pfizer is suing after the countries stopped paying their share of the vaccine bill, saying they didn't need more doses. The virus is still out there, mutating and causing sickness and deaths. Annual Covid shots for older and vulnerable people are likely to be a public health strategy for years to come. (Source: politico)

United Kingdom
Jan 15, 2024  In August, a team of more than 200 scientists began work at a new state-of-the-art vaccine research lab based at the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) science and defence technology campus Porton Down, near Salisbury in Wiltshire. The Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre will look at ways to respond to future pandemics quicker. Scientists will work to ensure future pandemics are stopped in their tracks and do not cause the same disruption to everyday life as Covid-19, has been unveiled by the Government. Live viruses will be kept on-site in specialist containment facilities, with researchers looking at pathogens that do not yet have a vaccine, or ones where immunisation could be improved, such as flu, mpox or hantavirus. Scientists at the facility will develop a range of prototype vaccines and tests. It took 362 days to develop the Covid-19 vaccine, but the team at the Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre want to reduce that time to 100 days. The UK and other G7 countries signed up to the ‘100 Days Mission’ in 2021. The government has invested £65 million into the lab. Professor Dame Harries, the head of the UK Health Security Agency, said the new facility would ‘ensure that we prepare so that if we have a new Disease X, a new pathogen, we have as much of that work in advance as possible’. (Source: metro *)
* United Kingdom

Asia

China
Jan. 17, 2024  What China knew in the pandemic’s crucial early days? A researcher in the state-affiliated Chinese lab had isolated and mapped the virus that causes Covid-19 well before Beijing revealed publicly that it had done so. Chinese researchers isolated and mapped the virus in late December 2019, at least two weeks before Beijing revealed details of the deadly virus to the world, congressional investigators said. The Chinese researcher in Beijing uploaded a nearly complete sequence of the virus’s structure to a U.S. government-run database on Dec. 28, 2019, documents obtained from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by a House committee show. The Chinese researcher who submitted the virus sequence, Dr. Ren of the Beijing-based Institute of Pathogen Biology, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The institute is part of the state-affiliated Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The documents describing a new timeline were obtained by Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee after the committee threatened to subpoena the HHS. The committee has spent months probing Covid’s origins, U.S. government funding of overseas research and other issues. Egorin, HHS assistant secretary for legislation, wrote last month to the committee’s chair, Rep. McMorris Rodgers (R., Wash.), that Ren submitted the virus sequence on Dec. 28, 2019, to a genetic database, GenBank, run by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta says the virus sequence was shared within China with China’s equivalent of the CDC on Jan. 5 but not made known globally to scientists. The discovery calls into serious question the legitimacy of any scientific theories based on such information, McMorris Rodgers said. Chinese officials at that time were still publicly describing the disease outbreak in Wuhan, China, as a viral pneumonia 'of unknown cause” and had yet to close the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, site of one of the initial Covid-19 outbreaks. The first known publication of the sequence of the Covid virus, called SARS-CoV-2, came on Jan. 11, 2020, after Chinese authorities shared the information with the World Health Organization (WHO). On Jan. 12, 2020, NIH received and published a SARS-CoV-2 sequence from another source. The sequence published was nearly identical to the sequence that was submitted by Dr. Ren, Egorin told the committee. The extra two weeks could have proved crucial in helping the international medical community pinpoint how Covid-19 spread, develop medical defenses and get started on an eventual vaccine. It “underscores how cautious we have to be about the accuracy of the information that the Chinese government has released,' said Bloom, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle who has reviewed the documents and the 'recently discovered' gene sequence. “This [database] submission shows that in fact, at least by Dec. 28, 2019, scientists within China did know this pneumonia was being caused” by a new coronavirus. “It’s important to keep in mind how little we know.” The sequence that Dr. Ren provided in December 2019 'was never published' and was deleted from the database on Jan. 16, 2020, after NIH, following its protocols, asked her for more technical details and she didn’t respond, Egorin wrote. It is unclear why Ren didn’t respond. Dr. Ren has written in the past about her search for Covid’s causes. In a May 2020 article in the scientific publication Chinese Medical Journal, she and her colleagues described how samples were taken from five patients at a hospital in Wuhan, China, between Dec. 18 and Dec. 29, 2019. Sequencing, they wrote, revealed the presence of a new coronavirus “that is associated with severe and fatal respiratory disease in humans.” The Journal has previously reported that Chinese specialists met with the WHO in Beijing on Jan. 3, 2020, but didn’t disclose that the new disease was caused by a coronavirus, a fact Chinese officials already knew. Dr. Ren is listed in contract documents as being a collaborator on a U.S.-funded project to study how coronaviruses can be transferred from animals to humans. The work, which included collecting bat samples in China, was overseen by the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance. HHS and NIH didn’t respond to requests for comment on why information about Dr. Ren’s submission wasn’t made public earlier. (Source: wsj)

16 January 2024  Scientists in Beijing - who are linked to the Chinese military - cloned a Covid-like virus, known as GX_P2V, and used it to infect mice. According to the study, carried out by the Beijing University of Chemical Technology, the virus was discovered in 2017 prior to the Covid outbreak in Malaysia in pangolins. The researchers cloned the virus and stored multiple copes in the Beijing lab, where it continued to evolve. It is unclear when the newly surfaced study was conducted. But the researchers said it was possible the virus had undergone a 'virulence-enhancing mutation' in storage, which made it more deadly. The mice had been 'humanized', meaning they were engineered to express a protein found in people, with the goal being to assess how the virus might react in humans. Every rodent that was infected with the pathogen succumbed to the infection between seven and eight days after being infected, which the researchers described as 'surprisingly' quick. Symptoms included eyes turning completely white, rapid weight loss and fatigue. The team find high levels of viral load in the mice's brains and eyes - suggesting the virus, despite being related to Covid, multiplies and spreads through the body in a unique way - and in lungs, noses and windpipes. By day six, the viral load had 'significantly decreased' in the lungs, but the animals' brains had shrunk and there were 'exceptionally high' virus levels in their brains. The results suggest that the virus infects via the respiratory system and then migrates to the brain - unlike Covid which causes lower lung infections and pneumonia in severe cases. However, there have been examples of Covid being found in brain tissue of severely sick patients. The original strain of Covid also killed 100 percent in mice in some studies, meaning the new results may not be directly applicable to humans. 'Severe brain infection during the later stages of infection may be the key cause of death in these mice,' the researchers said. They concluded: 'This is the first report showing that a SARS-CoV-2-related pangolin coronavirus can cause 100 percent mortality in hACE2 mice'. Writing in a scientific paper that has not yet been published, they warned the finding 'underscores a spillover risk of GX_P2V into humans'. 'It's a terrible study, scientifically totally pointless, Professor Balloux, an infectious disease expert based at University College London, wrote. 'I can see nothing of vague interest that could be learned from force-infecting a weird breed of humanized mice with a random virus. Conversely, I could see how such stuff might go wrong...' Professor Ebright, a chemist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, told he wholeheartedly agreed with Professor Balloux's assessment. He added: 'The preprint does not specify the biosafety level and biosafety precautions used for the research. The absence of this information raises the concerning possibility that part or all of this research, like the research in Wuhan in 2016-2019 that likely caused the Covid-19 pandemic, recklessly was performed without the minimal biosafety containment and practices essential for research with a potential pandemic pathogens.' Dr Glinsky, a retired professor of medicine at Stanford, said on social media: 'This madness must be stopped before [it is] too late.' DailyMail.com exposed in 2022 how similar research virus-manipulation research was being carried out by Boston University. Researchers were found to have created a new Covid strain that had an 80 percent death rate among mice. It sparked nationwide debate about whether the experiments were an illegal form of research known as 'gain of function' - which involves purposefully making viruses more deadly or infectious to study their evolution. The Biden Administration tightened rules around such research in October 2022, but the definition of gain of function remains contested. Dr Parks, a molecular biologist from the University of Michigan, said the Chinese study was 'classic gain of function, whether they tell you it is or not.' One of the Chinese researchers was Dr Tong, who trained at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, a Chinese military medical research institute run by the People's Liberation Army. Dr Tong studied there between 1988 and 1991 for a master of science and then again between 1997 and 2000 for a PhD. He also co-authored a paper in 2023 with 'bat woman' Shi, who helps run the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). Researchers there, with US Government grants, were performing gain of function experiments on coronaviruses in the months leading up to the Covid outbreak. It comes as Dr Daszak, head of the New York based non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, which funded controversial experiments in Wuhan which some fear started the pandemic, told the WHO event the discovery of a never-before-seen virus of considerable interest with 'almost' as much potential to infect humans as Covid. 'We found a lot of SARS-related coronaviruses, but one in particular we found was quite common in bats where people were commonly exposed,' he said. (Source: dailymail)

Japan
11-Jan-2024  The earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula in central Japan on January 1 has resulted in 26,000 people living in shelters. Due to overcrowding and the lack of access to safe water, some quake-affected areas are at risk of the spread of epidemic diseases, such as digestive and respiratory infections. (Source: cgtn *)
* China Global Television Network

North America

United States
January 20, 2024  Of all clinical lab tests, 13.7% were positive for influenza. To date, 47 children have succumbed to the flu this season with seven this week. Patient visits for respiratory illnesses have decreased to 4.7%, still well above the national baseline of 2.9%. States and territories reporting flu activity include the following: Very High (7 states and New York City): Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wyoming;   High (16 states and Washington, D.C.)...;   Moderate (13 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands)...;   Low (9 states and Puerto Rico)...;   Minimal (5 states and the Northern Marianas Islands): Delaware, Minnesota, Oregon, South Dakota and Vermont.   The CDC recommends all people older than six months of age get the seasonal flu vaccine, either via an injection or nasal spray. There are several multi-strain variations available this year. If given early enough, there is evidence that antivirals can lessen the intensity and duration of influenza symptoms. (Source: weatherbug)

January 19, 2024  Dagar, 44, of Hillsborough, New Jersey, a former employee of Pfizer Inc was convicted of insider trading yesterday for buying stock options in November 2021 just before Pfizer announced clinical trial results for the COVID antiviral drug Paxlovid, federal prosecutors said. They alleged Dagar had traded and tipped a friend on Nov. 4, 2021, the day before the drug maker announced that Paxlovid had performed well in the trial. Dagar was a senior statistical program lead for the Paxlovid drug trial. Dagar's friend Bhiwapurkar pleaded guilty to securities fraud in October. The charges carry maximum sentences of 20 years, but any sentences would likely be much lower and would be imposed by the judge based on several factors. (Source: reuters)

Jan 16, 2024  Musser, the American fitness model and actor - renowned for his roles in ‘All My Children’ and ‘Grown Ups’ - has passed away unexpectedly at the age of 50. The suspected cause of his untimely demise is a severe case of COVID-19. Despite his robust health and diligent adherence to COVID-19 protocols, Musser’s health took a turn for the worse as he grappled with a severe form of the virus. He was both vaccinated and boosted against the virus. While Musser’s illness has sparked discussions on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, it is important to remember that while vaccinations reduce the risk of severe disease, they do not eliminate it entirely. The story of Musser serves as a stark reminder of the relentless grip of the COVID-19 virus, even as the world continues its fight against the pandemic. (Source: bnn *)
* BNN Breaking /Hong Kong/

12 January 2024  EcoHealth, which originally focused on conservation, now works around the world to investigate the origins of viruses, map where they have spread and analyse them to find out where the next outbreak could occur. British zoologist Dr Daszak, who lives in New York with his wife, joined EcoHealth - formerly The Wildlife Trust - in 2001. His early career focused on diseases spread by frogs. Dr Daszak has authored more than 300 scientific papers over his career, which has spanned more than three decades. EcoHealth had its funding pulled and projects to find viruses in China cancelled due to concerns about its ties to the Covid lab leak theory - but it has continued to operate in Thailand and other parts of Asia with millions of dollars in US government grants. Dr Daszak, head of the New York based research group, non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, is known to be close to Dr Fauci, the ex-chief medical advisor to the US President. He was awarded millions of dollars' worth of grants from US Government bodies on behalf of EcoHealth alliance and was paid $354,000 in 2019. EcoHealth Alliance came to global attention in the wake of the pandemic for its role in funding 'risky' research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) prior to Covid emerging. Two years before Covid emerged, Dr Daszak proposed working with Wiv scientists to alter coronaviruses and release them into bats as part of a plan to inoculate them against the virus. His organisation funded controversial experiments on manipulated coronaviruses in Wuhan which some fear started the pandemic. It has since emerged EcoHealth Alliance provided WIV $3.3million for experiments. Dr Daszak now finds himself at the centre of debate surrounding Covid's origins after being given another US Government grant for coronavirus research. His ongoing project involves collecting blood samples from people deemed to be living in virus hotspots, with parts of Asia being key areas of interest. Dr Daszak detailed his finding in bats at an event held by the World Health Organization (WHO) on future pandemic research preparedness. He told attendees at the WHO conference about his team's ongoing efforts to comb Southeast Asia for threatening animal viruses and has presented the discovery of a never-before-seen bat coronavirus of considerable interest with 'almost' as much potential to infect humans as Covid. 'We found a lot of SARS-related coronaviruses, but one in particular we found was quite common in bats where people were commonly exposed,' Dr Daszak told the WHO event. The virus – which was not named – was found in a species called the Least Horseshoe Bat in a cave system in Thailand frequented by farmers who use the rich guano, bat faeces, within as fertilizer for their crops. Dr Daszak said that after lab analysis, scientists found the virus was a close relative of both SARS-CoV2, the scientific name for Covid, and another pathogen called RATG13, itself a 96 per cent genetic match for Covid. He also said additional experiments found the new virus was able to bind to human tissue 'almost as well' as Covid. 'We consider this to be a potential zoonotic pathogen,' he added. However, Dr Daszak added: 'We know that most people in the region have either had Covid or been vaccinated and that will provide really good protection, we think, against this virus.' But he said this was just one of the pathogens of interest identified in just this cave - analysis also revealed a pathogen related to the Mojiang virus, which struck down a group of Chinese miners in 2012 with fatal pneumonia, to be present. ‘In South and South East Asia there is a very dynamic interface, with as many as 60,000-plus people a year being infected by bat coronaviruses, so that’s a high risk for future pandemic emergence,’ Dr Daszak said. His findings come after EcoHealth Alliance was the recipient of a $650,000 US-Government funded project to investigate bat coronaviruses in Asia. Some scientists consider these virus-hunting experiments at risk of causing a future pandemic. The research is controversial because critics believe such projects, where scientists collect virus samples and bring them back to labs for analysis, may have sparked the Covid pandemic. It is unclear what these experiments were, but some believe they constituted gain of function studies, a controversial area of pathogen research where virus can be manipulated to become deadlier or more transmissible. Dr Daszak said the virus surveillance project is being done in labs with lower biosecurity procedures than the WIV, where some scientists think Covid was spawned. BSL, short for Biosafety Level, ranges from 1 to 4, with the higher rating indicating a more secure lab. ‘In some parts of the region we are working with very resource-poor areas so we are using basic technology that can work in BSL-2 labs,' he said. A BSL-2 lab is likely to have restricted access, personal protective equipment (PPE) regulations, airtight workstations and some decontamination protocols. But such labs are a far cry from BSL-4 facilities, specifically designed to work with the most dangerous pathogens to human health, such as Ebola or smallpox. For comparison, in the UK, labs working on coronaviruses are typically required to be a BSL-3 facility. Dr Daszak, a frog-focused zoologist, expert in zoonosis – when animal pathogens jump to people – has been a central figure in the debate about Covid's origins. One of the most stringent deniers of the hypothesis the virus was man-made, he has staunchly dismissed the lab leak theory and is a firm defender of Covid having natural origin. Dr Daszak has been accused of orchestrating a campaign to direct blame for Covid was away from WIV. This involved allegedly persuading 26 other scientists to sign off on a letter he wrote to the scientific journal The Lancet, claiming the virus could only have been natural in origin and to suggest otherwise creates 'fear, rumours, and prejudice'. The letter was so influential that it persuaded most experts into refusing even to consider that the virus could have been man-made. It also later emerged that Dr Daszak told his fellow signatories in an email that the letter would not be sent under the EcoHealth logo to not make it identifiable as coming from any 'one organisation' or 'person'. These emails show that he even considered not signing the letter himself, although in the end he did. Dr Daszak was also accused of not declaring EcoHealth's, and therefore his own, ties with WIV during investigations into the pandemic. In January 2021, he joined the WHO team sent to Wuhan to investigate the origins of the virus. The group's report, published in March 2021, concluded it was 'extremely unlikely' that the virus originated in a laboratory. But Dr Daszak came under fire after it emerged that he had a working relationship with Dr Zhengli, a virologist at the WIV nicknamed 'Bat Woman', and one of the scientists whose work he was tasked with investigating. Dr Daszak also chaired a group of scientists probing Covid's origins for the medical journal The Lancet but stepped down when his link with Chinese virus research was revealed. Now Dr Daszak urged the WHO to continue to help 'keep the politics out of science'. Professor Gao - the ex-head of China's equivalent of the UK Health Security Agency or Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the US - who also spoke at the WHO event, described Dr Daszak as an expert who has had 'very strong collaboration with China'. An EcoHealth spokesperson said EcoHealth Alliance did not provide WIV with $3.3million in funding. They said it was in fact NIH who issued a grant of that value to EcoHealth Alliance then sub-awarded $598,611 to the WIV. (Source: dailymail)

South America

Brazil
Fri, January 19, 2024  The vaccination records of Brazil's former president Bolsonaro - a COVID-19 skeptic who publicly opposed the vaccine - are false, the country's comptroller general's office said yesterday after an investigation regarding the alleged tampering of information on his COVID-19 vaccination card. Bolsonaro was infected with COVID-19 in July 2020, nearly one year before the record of his first vaccine. During his tenure, Bolsonaro often stated that he had not been vaccinated against the disease and would not do so. He also dismissed the effectiveness of vaccines and spread fears about the possible side effects of immunization, going so far as to associate the vaccine with the development of AIDS. Last May, Bolsonaro's home in Brasilia was raided by the federal police under the vaccine probe. Some of his aides were arrested and his cell phone was seized. The records show that Bolsonaro received a dose of the immunizer in a public healthcare center in Sao Paulo in July 2021. The investigation concluded, however, that the former president had left the city the previous day and didn't leave Brasilia until three days later, the nurse listed in the records as having applied the vaccine on Bolsonaro denied doing so and was no longer working at the center and the listed vaccine lot was not available on that date. Registration of two other vaccine doses that would have been given to Bolsonaro was removed from his record even before the investigations began, saying these were also fake. Bolsonaro has previously denied having knowledge of or ordering false information to be inserted into his vaccination records. (Source: yahoo)

The World Health Organization (WHO)

January 11, 2023  Almost 10,000 coronavirus deaths were reported in December, and admissions to hospitals and intensive care units surged, World Health Organization Director General Tedros said in Geneva at a news conference. 'Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable death is not acceptable,” Tedros said as he urged governments to carry on close surveillance and to provide people with vaccines and treatments. There was a 42 percent increase in hospitalizations and a 62 percent increase in ICU admissions from the previous month. Trends are based on data reported to the WHO from fewer than 50 countries, mostly in Europe and the Americas, said Tedros, who noted that this is not the full picture. 'It is certain that there are also increases in other countries that are not being reported,' he said. The WHO said in an email today that Russia appears to be reporting the most cases to the health body but stressed that 'many countries have reduced or stopped reporting, which is part of the problem.' The JN.1 variant is now the most commonly reported globally, Tedros said. The new dominant variant appears to be much more adept than earlier ones at infecting those who are vaccinated or who have been previously infected, The Washington Post reported. Van Kerkhove, technical leader at the WHO for covid-19, said at the same conference that other respiratory infections around the world are also on the rise - trends she expects to continue into January. The WHO is urging people to take precautions, including testing, vaccinating, wearing masks and ensuring indoor areas are well ventilated. 'The vaccines may not stop you being infected, but the vaccines are certainly reducing significantly your chance of being hospitalized or dying,' Ryan, head of emergencies at the WHO, said yesterday.    Hospitalizations and coronavirus wastewater levels are rising across the United States, which is in the throes of another covid uptick as people resume work and school after the holidays. The CDC recommends getting an updated coronavirus vaccine to increase protection against JN.1.     This week in Spain, masks became mandatory in hospitals and health facilities as the country experiences a surge in cases of flu, coronavirus and other respiratory illnesses. (Source: msn * / The Washington Post)
* Microsoft Network

2024/01/11  Lots of barriers hindering our work in Gaza, Sudan, and Ethiopia - WHO laments. 'Almost 90 percent of the population of Gaza - 1.9 million people - have been displaced,' and with 'only 15 hospitals are functioning even partially, the lack of clean water and sanitation, and overcrowded living conditions are creating the ideal environment for diseases to spread,' World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros said in Geneva yesterday. After 100 days of conflict, the situation in the Gaza Strip was 'indescribable,' Dr Tedros told. 'Delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza continues to face nearly insurmountable challenges, he said. Intense bombardment, restrictions on movement, fuel shortages, and interrupted communications make it impossible for WHO and our partners to reach those in need.' "We have the supplies, the teams and the plans in place. What we don’t have is access,' he said. 'WHO has had to cancel 6 planned missions to northern Gaza since the 26th of December, when we had our last mission, because our requests were rejected, and assurances of safe passage were not provided. A mission planned for today has also been cancelled,' the Director-General said. 'Many missions have been cancelled to the north, briefing from the ground, WHO’s Representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Dr Peeperkorn, said. 'Nowhere in Gaza is a safe place,' he said, adding: 'If you do not get the permission, you cannot move'. "Our requests were repeatedly rejected, Dr Peeperkorn said. We hope and we plea that we got a kind of confirmation for missions tomorrow to hospitals in the north is approved. So, I am a little bit like first see then believe.' Due to lack of access, 'we don't know what we’re dealing with. We don't actually, we're not fully aware of and what measures we need to put in place to actually control any diseases that are spreading,' for her part, Health Emergencies Interventions Technical Officer Dr Zakaria explained. 'If you continue to destroy infrastructure, if you continue to destroy services at this rate and then you blame the people who are trying to come in and support and help and provide lifesaving assistance? Who is to blame here? Is it the people who are destroying the infrastructure and destroying livelihoods and destroying the services? Or is it those who are trying to help restore those services under intense bombardment? Under the threat of violence? Are they the ones to blame'?, WHO’S Health Emergencies Programme Executive Director, Dr Ryan, said. Dr Tedros called on Israel 'to approve requests by WHO and other partners to deliver humanitarian aid.' Even without a ceasefire, “corridors can be established to allow the safe passage of humanitarian aid and workers,' he said. Dr Tedros also called for the release of remaining hostages and for 'all sides to protect healthcare, in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law.”    Turning to Sudan, Dr Tedros said, 'the situation is continuing to deteriorate after nine months of conflict' as 'increasing violence, mass displacement, spread of diseases such as cholera, insecurity and looting are undermining the work of WHO and our partners to save lives.” 'Sudan is suffering from an outbreak of cholera, with around 9,000 cases and 245 deaths', he added. He expressed concern about 'reports of increased sexual and gender-based violence, as well as reports of family separation and child recruitment.' 'An estimated 3.5 million children under-five - one in 7,' he said, 'are acutely malnourished, and more than 100 thousand are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, requiring hospitalization.'     Turning to the situation in Ethiopia, Dr Tedros expressed concern about 'the worsening health crisis in parts of the country,' particularly the north-western region of Amhara, which 'has been badly affected by conflict since April 2023.' Restrictions on movement are impeding the provision of humanitarian assistance. Fighting is affecting access to health facilities, either through damage or destruction, roadblocks and other obstacles. According to a multiagency report, 61 health facilities have been fully damaged, and 39 partially damaged as a result of the recent conflict in Amhara', he said. 'Conflict, drought and displacement,' he added, “are driving widespread hunger and disease outbreaks, including media reports of near-famine conditions in Tigray and Amhara.'     On COVID-19, he said that although it is 'no longer a global health emergency, the virus is still circulating, changing, and still killing.' Data from various sources indicate increasing transmission during December, fuelled by the JN.1 variant, which is now the most commonly reported variant globally, he noted. 'Almost 10,000 deaths from COVID-19 were reported to WHO in December, and there was a 42 percent increase in hospitalizations and a 62 percent increase in ICU admissions, compared with November', Dr Tedros said.     'Certainly, we are seeing an increase in respiratory infections across the globe due to influenza, to COVID, to adenovirus, to rhinovirus to bacteria like mycoplasma pneumonia that are causing pneumonias particular among children, also we have RSV causing disease in children, for her part, Dr Van Kerkhove, who is the WHO’s Director for Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, said. 'So, this year, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, we are seeing cocirculation of many different types of pathogens and this is causing a significant increased burden in hospitalizations, not just for COVID, for flu, but for these other pathogens as well.' (Source: africanews)

Globalization

(Monday), Jan 15, 2024  Disease X. Health leaders are meeting.     The WHO’s shortlist of priority diseases:     Covid-19: Responsible for the last global pandemic, it is spread by a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.     Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever is spread by ticks.     Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease: There are five strains of Ebola, as well as Marburg, which is a strikingly similar virus. Ebola kills about 50% of those infected.     Lassa fever is less deadly than other viruses on the World Health Organisation (WHO) list, and 80% of those infected have no symptoms. However, the disease can be severe for those who do experience symptoms.     Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) - Both are variants of coronavirus. MERS is transmitted to humans from camels, SARS is thought to have originated in bats.     Nipah and henipa viral diseases: Nipah spreads to humans from animals such as pigs and bats. The first recorded outbreak was in Malaysia.     Rift Valley fever: virus, which can be spread by mosquitos, currently primarily impacts animals, especially livestock.     Zika is transmitted by mosquitos. There was a major outbreak of Zika in Brazil in 2015.     Disease X: An unknown, hypothetical disease.     A new version of the list is expected later this year. At an annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos in the Swiss Alps, on Wednesday, attendees will be discussing a host of subjects, from artificial intelligence to climate change. One particularly hot topic at this year’s Davos meeting is global health, ways to prepare for ‘Disease X’ – a term coined by the  WHO in 2018 to describe the unknown, hypothetical pathogen that could cause the next pandemic. Then, the WHO updated its list of priority diseases that could cause future pandemics. The WHO believes Disease X is likely to emerge in tropical, low or middle-income countries - especially those already impacted by climate change. Warming climates could create the perfect conditions for mosquito-borne viruses to spread, and the destruction of habitats means that humans and animals may come into closer contact. 'There are an estimated 1.67 million unidentified viruses worldwide - and more than 800,000 of these unknown viruses could potentially infect humans'. Røttingen, a Norwegian scientist and special advisor to the WHO, told that zoonotic viruses - which jump from animals to humans - represent ‘probably the greatest risk’ to global public health. Right-wing social media commentators have frequently spreading conspiracies about the purpose of the Davos meeting and have been critical of Disease X. In 2020, the theme of the World Economic Forum was ‘The Great Reset’ – a term now used by online groups to refer to a conspiracy theory that a secret elite plan to take away personal freedoms and impose authoritarian rule. Conspiracy theorists believe that political and business leaders meet at Davos to enact these plans. Much of the backlash to the Disease X term has come from far-right groups who also opposed Covid-19 lockdowns and vaccinations. Crowley, a former Republican politician and Fox News contributor, tweeted that Disease X would be a new way for ‘unelected globalists’ to ‘destroy more freedoms’. Prominent conspiracy theorist and podcast host Jones claimed in a recent video that Disease X is ‘laboratory-made’ and part of a plan by the UN, the World Economic Forum and Gates. (Source: metro *)
* United Kingdom

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Europe

Germany
12/31/2023  Krisenmodus, the state of German foreign policy. "In 2024, Germany's foreign policy will work in crisis mode'. 'Berlin must find ways to deal with two wars, an increasingly aggressive China, and a world order in transition'. The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas - which is classified as a terrorist organization by Germany, the European Union, the US and other governments - is only the latest major crisis, albeit currently the most dramatic. The conflict could spread, with potentially devastating consequences. Germany is involved in discussions about how the Middle East should look after the end of the war. Like the EU and the US government, Germany remains committed to the idea of a two-state solution - a Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state. In an exclusive interview with DW in November, Foreign Minister Baerbock lamented the violence carried out by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank against Palestinians. "The Israeli prime minister must condemn this settler violence, it must be prosecuted, and this is also in the interests of Israel's security,' she said. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has challenged German and European diplomats. Germany, along with other Western countries, has provided extensive military assistance, but still, almost two years later, Ukraine has made little progress in recapturing Russian-occupied territories. The willingness to provide military assistance to Ukraine is now eroding even in the United States, by far its most important ally. Kiesewetter, a Bundestag member with the center-right opposition Christian Democrats (CDU), believes that all talk of negotiating a solution is dangerous and that a military victory in Ukraine is possible. 'It is the West that has hampered the liberation campaign because too little has been supplied too late," he recently wrote. The strategy, he said, must be: 'Supply everything [in arms] as quickly as possible.' As the West grows weary of war, politicians are now under pressure to think about ending the war at the negotiating table. Political scientist Varwick from the University of Halle believes this is inevitable anyway. "After a cease-fire, I think come difficult diplomatic negotiations over territorial changes in Ukraine, and over Ukraine's neutrality - all of which should be on the table," Varwick told. Much has changed in relations between China and Germany since Angela Merkel was chancellor from 2005 to 2021. In contrast to Merkel's 'delicate handling of the Chinese government' in the interest of trade policy, the strategy paper issued this summer by the current governing center-left coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) called China a "partner, competitor and systemic rival" for Germany and the EU. But recently, Berlin has increasingly emphasized the rivalry. The German government is concerned about China's saber-rattling toward Taiwan, which China regards as a secessionist province, and about China's close relationship with Russia despite its war on Ukraine. Yet China has been Germany's most important trading partner since 2016. This is why the German government's China strategy does not focus on disentangling the two economies, as this would cause too much damage in Germany, but rather on efforts to reduce its one-sided economic dependencies on China. The limits of a foreign policy based on values, as advocated by Baerbock, are particularly evident in the case of China. In April, the then-Chinese Foreign Minister Qin responded to Baerbock's plea for greater respect of human rights: 'What China needs least of all is a schoolmaster from the West." 'In a world in which the liberal West is coming under pressure, enemies are easy to make if you constantly insist on values,' wrote journalist Freidel on November 30. "That doesn't mean that values are dispensable. It just means that they shouldn't be constantly bandied about." Freidel said Germany should 'rather formulate interests." Hoff of the German Council on Foreign Relations, takes a more positive view of the German government's foreign policy. "If we completely ignore values, as we did with Russia, then this will have catastrophic consequences, and we are seeing this in Ukraine,' he told. The war in Ukraine has taught the German government a lesson: In the global search for allies willing to support sanctions against Russia, numerous developing and emerging countries have turned their backs - intent on continuing trade with Moscow. Countries that are normally aligned with the West, such as India and Brazil, "are finding new leeway in this changing world order by exercising their freedom not to take sides," said Hoff. Germany, Europe's strongest and the world's fourth-largest economy, is expected to play a more active role on the global stage, not least by the US and the EU. This does not seem to be very popular with most Germans, according to a survey conducted by the nonprofit Körber Foundation in September. Germany should be more restrained when it comes to international crises, 54% of respondents said. Only 38% wanted to see greater involvement - the lowest figure since the surveys began in 2017, when it stood at 52%. A whopping 71% of respondents were against Germany taking a leading military role in Europe. Germans want one thing above all else: Respite from the turbulence of world politics. (dw)

European Council
December 31, 2023  Bulgaria, Romania, both EU members since 2007, get official green light for partial entry into Schengen area, which comprises 27 countries and grants free movement to more than 400 million EU citizens. EU member countries reached agreement yesterday on removing air and maritime internal border controls with Bulgaria and Romania as of March 31. “A further decision should be taken by the Council to establish a date for the lifting of checks at internal land borders,” the Council of the EU said. Austria had opposed the inclusion of Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen zone due to concerns over illegal immigration. But in mid-December, Austrian Interior Minister Karner announced a softening of Vienna’s stance, offering passport-free travel by plane from those countries in exchange for tighter border security measures. The Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU hammered out the final agreement late yesterday, just before the government in Madrid passes the baton to Belgium. “A decision by the Council on this matter is expected to be taken within a reasonable time frame,” the European Commission said in a statement. (Source: politico)

Russia
31-Dec-2023  What will happen in Ukraine in 2024? Israel's war with Hamas has captured the attention of the world's media over the past two months, but in Ukraine a near two-year long conflict is continuing with no end in sight. Russia labeled it a special operation aimed at ridding Nazism from Ukraine and reclaiming land it lost following the disbandment of the Soviet Union. It was expected that Ukraine would be quickly overwhelmed by the firepower of Russia's military, but with help from Western countries, Ukraine has showed resolve. Ukraine has received huge financial backing from the West, particularly from the United States. After weathering Russia's early attack, support from Western allies in the form of military and financial aid saw Ukraine fight back. The U.S. has pledged €43.9 billion ($55.9 billion) to Ukraine between February 2022 and October 2023. Ukraine had also received €5.6 billion ($7.1 billion) from the EU over the same time period. But that level of support is putting pressure on the purse strings of Western countries. There are fears if aid dries up, Ukraine will fold to the military might of Russia. Now, with a third year of fighting fast approaching, Russia and Ukraine's conflict has ground to a standstill, but looks set to continue well into 2024 and beyond. As it stands, Russia currently occupies roughly 15 percent of Ukraine's territory, having formally annexed four regions: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk in September 2022. Ukraine's counter-offensive has stalled and Russia has struggled to make any further advancements. For Ukraine's soldiers on the frontline, there is little sign of an end to the fighting, with the conflict set to continue for many months and even years to come. "Russia wins by not losing," Shea, a former NATO official and now professor of strategy and security at the University of Exeter, said. He believes Russia is committed to a lengthy battle that could go on for years. "Putin is clearly in for the long haul. He made that clear during his press conference. He said that the initial Russian war aims, which is to demilitarize the Nazi for Ukraine have not changed. So that suggests that Putin is not prepared at this stage, at least, to go for a more limited victory in terms of simply hanging onto the 17 percent of Ukraine that Russia has occupied and annexed. He wants the whole lot, including the downfall of the Zelenskyy regime." "The problem, of course, is that we now have this potential Ukraine fatigue from both America and the EU simultaneously," says Shea. "Hungary has blocked €50bn ($55bn; £43bn) in EU aid for Ukraine. America could say, 'look the EU is doing less' and (if they reduce aid), the EU could say 'America isn't in the fight anymore, why should we care about this more than them?'" Earlier this week, the White House approved another tranche of US military aid to Ukraine worth some $250m. Zelenskyy has ruled out talks with Moscow until it withdraws from territories it has occupied since February 2022. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov restated Russia's complaint that Ukraine was unwilling to hold peace talks to end the 22-month-old conflict in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a 'special military operation'. "His representatives think only in categories of war and resort to totally aggressive rhetoric. There is no consideration of holding peace talks... Draw your own conclusions," Lavrov told Tass. Finances could play a key role in Russia's military ambitions in Ukraine in 2024, too, Shea explained. "Russia, believe it or not, is now spending as a proportion of its GDP more on defense than the Soviet Union did. Soviet Union 14 percent, Russia now 20 percent." All of this defense spending over the long run is going to cause a lot of inflation, reduce Russian living standards, he added. (Source: cgtn *)
* China Global Television Network

Sunday, 31 Dec 2023  Fighting between Russia and Ukraine has intensified over the past week amid speculations that the war has reached a stalemate. Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out a “terrorist attack” yesterday on civilians in the city of Belgorod, including using controversial cluster munitions in strikes that killed at least 22 people and wounded dozens more. In an emergency meeting at the UN Security Council, demanded by Russia, envoy Nebenzya claimed Kyiv targeted a sports centre, an ice rink and a university. “[It was a] deliberate, indiscriminate attack against a civilian target,” Nebenzya said yesterday. Moscow said the attack would “not go unpunished”. At least 40 people were killed on Friday in one of Russia’s biggest attacks on Ukraine since its invasion nearly two years ago. Nebenzya defended the attacks saying Moscow had targeted only military infrastructure and that Ukraine’s air defence systems were responsible for civilian casualties. While support for Ukraine remains robust among Western countries, further military assistance has met growing pushback by conservative political forces in the US and Europe. The United States, Ukraine’s biggest single-country donor, has sent more than $40bn in aid since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. But right-wing congressional Republicans have expressed increasing scepticism towards approving more funds for Ukraine. Congress could continue to hold up the money. The impasse over US aid to Kyiv is mirrored in the European Union, where Hungary is blocking a 50 billion euro ($55bn) aid package. The bloc is due to revisit the issue in January. Difficulties in securing the funds in Washington and Brussels have raised concerns in Kyiv that Western backers are experiencing “fatigue” with the drawn-out battle, as fighting on the front line becomes bogged down. Zelenskyy has noted that Kyiv’s “foreign policy will be active' with many international activities in January. In a new wave of drone and missile attacks in days, Russia says it has targeted Ukrainian military sites in the capital Kyiv and Kharkiv, in retaliation for a deadly attack a day earlier on the city of Belgorod. Today the Russian defence ministry said it had struck “decision-making centres and military installations” in the northeastern city of Kharkhiv, after Kyiv said that residential buildings, a hotel and cafes had been hit. Russia launched ‘most massive attack’ since start of Ukraine war. In the first wave of overnight attacks, at least six missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s National Police said today. Most drones were aimed at Ukraine’s first line of defence as well as at civilian, military and infrastructure in the Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhia regions, the Ukrainian Air Force said, adding that it destroyed 21 out of 49 attack drones. Closer to midnight, as part of a wider bombardment of Ukraine that also targeted Kyiv, several waves of Russian drones hit residential buildings in Kharkiv’s centre, spouting fires, Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv said. In his New Year’s Eve address today, President Putin said Russia would “never back down' praising his country’s military personnel. “We have repeatedly proved that we are able to solve the most difficult tasks and will never retreat, because there is no force that can separate us,” Putin said. “To all those who are on duty, on the front line of the fight for truth and justice," Putin said, “you are our heroes. Our hearts are with you. We are proud of you, we admire your courage.” (Source: aljazeera)
Photo: A view shows the Kharkiv Palace Hotel heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike.

2023. dec. 31.  Russia pounded Kharkiv in the hours leading into New Year's Eve, hitting residential buildings, hotels and medical facilities, Ukrainian officials said. Russia said the attacks were retaliation for Ukraine’s 'indiscriminate" attack on Belgorod. Video. (Source: reuters): http://tinyurl.com/5btckbtk
Note: 323 733 views between 31 December 2023 - 7 January 2024

Ukraine
Sunday, December 31, 2023  On Friday, Russia launched its biggest air assault since February 2022. Ukrainian officials said Russia killed at least 41 civilians, wounded at least 160, and left an unknown number buried in the rubble across Ukraine in a barrage that included 158 missile and drone attacks. The United Nations Security Council met Friday at the request of Ukraine and three dozen other U.N. member states. Security Council members condemned Russia's barrage. The Ukrainian news outlet RBC-Ukraine quoted unnamed sources as saying Ukrainian forces hit military targets in Belgorod in retaliation to the Friday's massive Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities. Russia's Defense Ministry said at least 21 people, including three children, were killed and at least 110 injured in yesterday's Ukrainian strikes on Belgorod. Russia requested a meeting yesterday of the U.N. Security Council on what it called Ukraine's indiscriminate attacks on Belgorod and alleged Ukraine had used cluster bombs. Yesterday, Russia said it downed 32 Ukrainian drones. In Moscow, officials said air defenses shot down drones over Moscow, Bryansk, Oryol and Kursk regions. The Defense Ministry reported a number of casualties, including a child. Russian missile and drone strikes continued yesterday. Ukraine reported shooting down Iranian-made Shahed drones in the Kherson, Khmelnytskyi and Mykolaiv regions. Ukraine was also fighting back a Russian drone attack yesterday in Kyiv. Missiles hit in Kharkiv and in the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv regions, killing three people. Two Russian missiles hit central Kharkiv yesterday, injuring at least 21 people, Ukrainian officials said, in the latest in a recent series of back-and-forth air assaults. Russia's attacks on Kharkiv came after Ukrainian airstrikes earlier yesterday hit the Russian city of Belgorod, which sits just over the border with Ukraine. The Kharkiv Palace hotel was damaged by a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv. Looking ahead to 2024, President Zelenskyy said in his daily address yesterday that Ukraine is "preparing to produce more weapons next year.' The British Defense Ministry said yesterday in its daily intelligence update on Ukraine that the daily number of Russian casualties in Ukraine, dead and wounded, has risen by almost 300% per day, compared with last year. The increase in the number of casualties was reported to the British ministry by Ukraine. On the last day of the year, Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 21 of 49 Russian drones. (Source: voanews *)
* Voice of America

Asia

China
31/12/2023  China’s 'reunification' with Taiwan is inevitable, President Xi said in his New Year’s address today, striking a stronger tone than he did last year with less than two weeks to go before the Chinese-claimed island elects a new leader. “The reunification of the motherland is a historical inevitability,' Xi said, though the official English translation of his remarks published by the Xinhua news agency used a more simple phrase: “China will surely be reunified'. China has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Chinese control, though Xi made no mention of military threats in his speech carried on state television. “Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,' he added. The official English translation wrote “all Chinese' rather than “compatriots'. Last year, Xi said only that people on either side of the strait are 'members of one and the same family' and that he hoped people on both sides will work together to “jointly foster lasting prosperity of the Chinese nation'. The defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao’s communists who founded the People’s Republic of China. The Republic of China remains Taiwan’s formal name. The Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections are happening at a time of fraught relations between Beijing and Taipei. China has been ramping up military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims over democratically governed Taiwan. Current Vice President Lai, the presidential candidate for Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Party (DPP) leading in opinion polls by varying margins says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future, as does Lai’s main opponent in the election, Hou, from Taiwan’s largest opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT). The KMT traditionally favours close ties with China but strongly denies being pro-Beijing. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Lai had “exposed his true face as a stubborn ‘worker for Taiwan independence’ and destroyer of peace across the Taiwan Strait' saying he is a dangerous separatist. 'His words were full of confrontational thinking,' spokesperson Chen said. Hou has also denounced Lai as an independence supporter. Since 2016 - when President Tsai took office - the DPP-led government has promoted separatism and is the 'criminal mastermind' in obstructing exchanges across the strait and 'damaging the interests of Taiwan’s people', Chen said. Lai said yesterday that the Republic of China and People’s Republic of China “are not subordinate to each other”, wording he and Tsai have used previously which has also riled Beijing. Tsai and Lai have repeatedly offered talks with China, but have been rebuffed. (Source: france24)

Gaza
31 December, 2023  Following Hamas' surprise October incursion, Israel launched a full-scale attack in Gaza, displacing nearly all its 2.3 million residents and killing at least 21,672 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Gaza, with more than 56,000 injured and thousands more feared dead under the rubble. The conflict has sparked concerns it could spread across the region, potentially involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen that have exchanged fire with Israel and its U.S. ally, or targeted merchant shipping. Israel cited progress in destroying Hamas infrastructure, including a tunnel complex in the basement of one of the houses of the Hamas leader for Gaza, Sinwar, in Gaza City. Troops also raided the Hamas military intelligence headquarters and an Islamic Jihad command centre in Khan Younis, and destroyed targets including a weapons foundry. Hamas and Islamic Jihad issued statements saying their fighters destroyed and damaged several Israeli tanks and troop carriers in attacks across Gaza yesterday. They also said they fired mortars against Israeli forces in Khan Younis and Al-Bureij as well as in northern Gaza. Israel says 172 of its military personnel have been killed in the Gaza fighting. Hamas media reported yesterday that Maali, a senior member of the group's armed wing, was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza. It said Maali, originally from the West Bank, was freed during a 2011 prisoner swap and expelled to Gaza. The reports did not specify when he was killed. Residents and medics said yesterday's fighting was focused in al-Bureij, Nuseirat, Maghazi and Khan Younis in central and southern Gaza. Israeli military forces pressed ahead with an offensive that the prime minister reiterated will last "for many more months.' "The war is at its height," Netanyahu told yesterday. He added the Philadelphi Corridor buffer zone that runs along Gaza's border with Egypt must be in Israeli hands. "It must be shut," Netanyahu said. "It is clear that any other arrangement would not ensure the demilitarisation that we seek." Such a move by Israel would be a de facto reversal of its 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, placing the enclave under exclusive Israeli control after years being run by Hamas. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas but its targeting and killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza is increasingly being described as a genocide. (Source: newarab *)
* English version of a London-based pan-Arab news outlet owned by a Qatari media company.

Syria
Sunday - 31 December 2023  Israel is now seeking to weaken Iranian supply lines. Military developments are now escalating in Syria. Iran is stepping up its efforts to transfer weaponry. It is sending arms through Damascus Airport, which indicates an urgent and ongoing need for supplying its proxies, as using other routes could take longer. Damascus Airport is going in and out of service. The Israelis continue to target Damascus Airport to disrupt the supply of arms, and they will continue to escalate their targeting of influential Iranian leaders, constantly seeking bigger and more important targets, as seen in the attack on Mousavi in Damascus, as well as targeting Hezbollah's arms depots. All of that tells us Israel’s escalation cannot be separated from the war in Gaza. Israel’s escalating attacks on Syrian territory are not an extension of its consistent attacks, rather, they are part of the Israelis’ preparations for a new war on Lebanon, which could either be launched during its war on Gaza or immediately afterward. The name of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps official whom Israel recently assassinated in Syria, Mousavi, is the obvious headline of the story. The Iranians say he was tasked with managing IRGC supply lines. Israel's targeting of Mousavi, who has played prominent roles in Syria, is essentially aimed at disrupting Iranian supply lines sending equipment from Tehran to Lebanon, and thus to Hezbollah, and before it, other militias in Damascus and its surroundings. It is preparing to target Hezbollah, as well as other Iranian militias, to weaken them before the war in Lebanon breaks out. The pretexts are already available to the Israelis, who demand that Hezbollah militia men stay away from the Israeli border, as stipulated by UN Resolution 1701, and claim that they will ensure this happens either through negotiations or war. 'Israel’s motives are clear and easy to understand. The longer wars last, whether they are in Gaza or if one breaks out on the Lebanese borders, the better Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s chances of remaining in power. Netanyahu was dead politically, and he was awaiting imprisonment, the final nail in the coffin. However, the repercussions of the October 7th operation carried out by Hamas and the factions allied to it have extended his political life. He is now trying to emerge from this crisis as a national hero, after having been a corrupt politician'. Thus, we see tense and contradictory statements coming out of Iran as Israel escalates. Hezbollah, especially Nasrallah, remains silent. He has not said a word because he knows what is coming and that if a war erupts, it will be different from those that preceded it. If this war is waged, it would be a war of survival for both Netanyahu and Nasrallah. Netanyahu wants to escape his inevitable fate of imprisonment, and Nasrallah is trying to preserve what remains of Iran's prestige and its influence in Syria. (Source: aawsat *)
* Asharq Al-Awsat - Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London.

Red Sea
Sunday, December 31, 2023  Attacks on shipping vessels claimed by the Houthi rebels have increased since Israel declared war on militant group Hamas on Oct. 7. Yesterday, the U.S. shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles that were fired by Houthi rebels toward he Maersk Hangzhao container ship on the Red Sea, CENTCOM said today. The Maersk Hangzhao said they were struck by a missile earlier yesterday, according to CENTCOM. Early today morning U.S. helicopters from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier and the Gravely responded to the distress call issued by the container ship Maersk Hangzhao - the second distress call the ship issued in less than 24 hours due to "being under attack by four Iranian-backed Houthi small boats." The boats, which originated from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, fired at the Maersk Hangzhao and attempted to board the vessel after getting within 20 meters of the container ship. A contract-embarked security team on the ship returned fire, the central command said. Following the another attack on the merchant ship as tensions continue to rise in the region, the U.S. Navy helicopters were starting to give out warnings to the attackers, when the Houthi-controlled small boat crews opened fire on the helicopters with crew-served weapons and small arms. "The U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense," CENTCOM said. The United States sunk three of the four small boats and killed the crews, CENTCOM said. The fourth boat fled the area. No U.S. forces were injured and there was no damage to U.S. equipment. "This is the 23rd illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping since Nov. 19," CENTCOM said.
(Source: thestate *)
* The State - American daily newspaper published in Columbia, South Carolina.

North America

United States
December 31, 2023  Republicans have a great chance to retake the Senate in 2024. There are 34 Senate races in 2024. Democrats and Democratic-aligned independents occupy 23 of the seats, eight of which are rated competitive or vulnerable by Inside Elections, a nonpartisan publication that analyzes House and Senate races. Republicans are only defending 11 seats, all of them in states won by Trump in 2020. Of those, only the Texas seat held by Sen. Cruz is rated competitive. “The Senate majority is firmly in play, and Republicans have a great opportunity to win control of the Senate,” said Gonzales, editor and publisher of Inside Elections. “But we’ve seen Republicans throw away opportunities before.'    In Arizona, former local TV news anchor Lake, a Republican is still contesting the results of her 2022 loss for governor.    In Ohio, Democratic Sen. Brown is defending the seat he has held since 2007. Ohio passed an Amendment for Abortion Rights on November 7, 2023. The amendment will take effect in 30 days, per Ohio law. Upon its enactment, it would prohibit limits on abortion before fetal viability. Any prohibitions on abortion after fetal viability – generally accepted as between 22-24 weeks gestation but would be determined by an individual’s doctor – would not apply should the pregnant person’s health or life be at risk. Gov. DeWine – who signed the six-week abortion ban into law – has long opposed abortion access. Secretary of State LaRose, who is also running for U.S. Senate, was among the most vocal opponents of the abortion amendment, even before it was placed on the ballot.    In West Virginia, a state that Trump won by almost 39 percentage points in 2020, when last month centrist Democratic Sen. Manchin decided not to run for re-election, Democrats’ hopes of keeping their 51-49 Senate majority took a hit. Trump has endorsed Republican Gov. Justice in West Virginia’s Republican primary. Justice is dominating polling against Republican Rep. Mooney. The winner of the GOP primary is expected to cruise to victory in the November general election. With West Virginia seen as off the table, the battle for the Senate is centered on Montana, where Democratic Sen. Tester is running for a fourth term, and Ohio.    Trump won Montana by 16 percentage points and Ohio by 8 percentage points in 2020. "Those races might not even matter. If Republicans successfully defend all their current seats and win Manchin’s seat in West Virginia, as expected, and if the party’s nominee also wins the White House, Republicans will control the Senate in 2024, thanks to the new vice president’s tiebreaking vote, without picking up any other seats". (Source: wsj)

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Orbán Viktor nemzetközi sajtótájékoztatója

Budapest, 2023. XII. 21.

/video/

(Forrás: infostart):

http://tinyurl.com/yc6s8k78

Kulcsszavak:

alkotmány    Argentína    Atlanti Óceán    Bulgária    Csehország    Dubaj   Első világháború    Egyesült Államok    Európa    Európai Bizottság    Európai Bíróság    Európai Parlament    Európai Tanács    Európai Unió    Felvidék    Finland    Franciaország    Horvátország    Izrael    Kárpátalja    kommunista    Krím    Lengyelország    Magyarország    Második világháború    NATO    Németország    Parlament    Románia    Russia    Schengeni övezet    Sweden    Szerbia    Szlovákia    Szovjetunió    Turkey    Ukrajna    ünnep    Visegrádi országok    video

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Európa    Europe

Magyarország
2023. december 21. A légúti figyelőszolgálatban résztvevő orvosok jelentései alapján végzett becslés szerint az 50. naptári héten - 2023. december 11 – 17. között - az országban 40 200-an fordultak orvoshoz influenzaszerű és 295 600-an akut légúti fertőzés tüneteivel. Légúti minta 327 betegtől érkezett a Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központ (NNGYK) Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumába. A sentinel orvosok által beküldött 273 minta közül négy betegnél az influenza A(H1pdm09), tíz betegnél az influenza A(H3), egy betegnél az influenza B, egy betegnél a human metapneumovírus, három betegnél az RSV, 117 betegnél a SARS-CoV-2 vírus kóroki szerepét igazolták. Az influenza pozitivitási arány 5,5%, a SARS-CoV-2 pozitivitási arány 42,9% volt. A sentinel kórházak által beküldött 20 minta közül egy betegnél influenza A(H1pdm09), kilenc betegnél SARS-CoV-2 vírust azonosítottak. A hagyományos diagnosztikus célú vizsgálat keretében érkezett 34 légúti minta közül négy volt influenza A(H1pdm09), egy volt influenza A(H3), és nyolc volt SARS-CoV-2 vírus pozitív. A légúti figyelőszolgálat keretében kijelölt 24 kórház adatai alapján az 50. héten 339 beteget vettek fel kórházba súlyos, akut légúti fertőzés (SARI) miatt, közülük 46-an részesültek intenzív/szubintenzív ellátásban.    A COVID-19, az influenzavírushoz hasonlóan egy szezonális légúti vírus, amely ellen továbbra is a védőoltás adja a leghatékonyabb védelmet. Ettől a héttől kezdve a dominánsan keringő omikron vírusvariáns elleni Moderna (Spikevax XBB 1.5) védőoltás is elérhető a kórházi oltópontokon. Időpontfoglalás az Elektronikus Egészségügyi Szolgáltatási Tér (EESZT) időpontfoglaló felületén lehetséges - időpontokról és helyszínekről azon az oldalon, illetve az oltópontokat működtető kórházak weboldalán tájékozódhatnak. A védőoltás alapimmunizálásra és emlékeztető oltásként is alkalmazható. Az oltás beadásáról az oltóorvos dönt. Hasonlóan az influenza elleni védőoltáshoz, a COVID-19 elleni védőoltás is szezonálisan ajánlott, elsősorban azok számára, akik a súlyos betegség szempontjából magas kockázatú csoportokba tartoznak, mint pl. a szív-, érrendszeri, krónikus tüdő-, máj- és vese-betegségben szenvedők, csökkent immunitással rendelkező személyek. Egy évadban egyetlen oltással biztosítható az egyéni védelem a súlyos, szövődményes megbetegedés megelőzésére.    A SARS-CoV-2 örökítőanyag-terhelés 10 vizsgálati helyszínen magas, 12 helyen emelkedett. Az elmúlt hetekben tapasztalt emelkedés után országos átlagban a helyszínek kétharmadát a SARS-CoV-2 örökítőanyag-sűrűség stagnálása jellemzi, emelkedő tendenciát egyedül Zalaegerszegen mértek. Csökkenést a Budapesti Központi Szennyvíztisztító Telep ellátási területén, valamint Egerben, Miskolcon, Szekszárdon, Tatabányán és Veszprémben tapasztalni. A szennyvíz minták vizsgálata alapján, az Influenza A vírus örökítőanyag terhelés hosszabb idősort tekintve emelkedik.    Az NNGYK felállította az integrált felügyeleti rendszerét a légúti megbetegedések követésére, az Országos Mentőszolgálat támogatásával a sürgősségi ellátás adatait a szennyvíz alapú vizsgálataival összevetve követi az influenza és a COVID-19 esetében a vírus terhelést a szennyvízben és a sürgősségi ellátási igényt az Országos Mentőszolgálat oldaláról. Elsődleges elemzéseik alapján megállapítható, hogy az influenza szennyvízben mért vírusterhelés emelkedését 2 héttel követi a sürgősségi ellátási igény növekedése, míg a koronavírus (SARS-CoV-2) örökítőanyag emelkedését 1 héttel követi a mentőszolgálat hívásszámának növekedése. (Forrás: 'nnk' *)
* Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ

2023/12  Covid-19 elleni védőoltással kapcsolatos megfontolások. Elérhető Magyarországon is a COVID-19 elleni frissített, egykomponensű védőoltás, elsősorban azok számára, akik a súlyos lefolyású COVID-19 szempontjából magas kockázatúak - 60 éven felüliek, krónikus betegek, egészségügyi dolgozók, várandósok. A minimális várakozási idő legyen 3 hónap, a COVID-19 védőoltás a fertőzést követő 2-3 hónapon belül ugyanis nem sok előnnyel jár; a megbetegedést/előző oltást követő 3 hónapon belül az antitestgyártás a maximumon zajlik, azt ebben az időszakban nem lehet mennyiségében tovább fokozni. Minél tovább várunk, annál több védelmet nyerünk a vakcinából. A maximális várakozási idő ne legyen több, mint 8-12 hónap. Egy tanulmány szerint a 8 hónapos várakozás 11-szeresére növelte a semlegesítő antitestek mennyiségét, a fertőzést követő 3 hónapos várakozáshoz viszonyítva (Otter et al., 2022). Másik tanulmány szerint a 12 hónapos időköz javította a védőoltás eredményességét a kórházi kezeléssel szemben. (Surie, 2022). De a várakozás szerencsejáték. Lehet, hogy jobb a járványhullám előtt oltani, mint túl sokáig várni, és végül elkapni a COVID-ot, különösen a magas kockázatú emberek esetében. Vizsgálatok készültek az influenza elleni védőoltás és a COVID-19 elleni vakcina együttes alkalmazásának biztonságosságáról és hatékonyságáról. Egy kutatásban mintegy 454 000 ember kapott influenza- és COVID-19 védőoltást. Az oltást követő nemkívánt események aránya azonos volt a két csoportban, vagy csak egy kicsit volt magasabb azok körében, akiket egy időben oltottak be a két betegség ellen. Konkrét biztonsági aggályokat nem állapítottak meg, tehát a két oltás együttes beadása lehetséges, e két vakcinát ugyanazon orvosi konzultáció alkalmával is megkaphatja. Javasoljuk, hogy a két oltást különböző karban kapja meg. (Forrás: semmelweis *)
* SOTE Epidemiológiai és Surveillance Központ

United Kingdom
25 Dec 2023  Earlier this month the World Health Organisation (WHO) advised that all health facilities bring in masking rules, and that respirators and other personal protective equipment for health workers caring for suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients also be introduced. Bosses at the Royal College of Nursing have written to health officials across the UK demanding that they fall in line with WHO rules and make everyone 'mask up.' “Although evidence suggests that the global public health risks from the new variant are low, WHO has warned that onset of winter could increase the burden of respiratory infections in the Northern hemisphere. This comes when there are already unsustainable pressures on the health service, a spokesman at the Royal College of Nursing said. (Source: dailystar)

23 Dec 2023  The JN.1 Coronavirus strain of Covid has been sweeping the world for the last month, becoming the dominant strain in many countries. World Health Organisation officials have published a new document about it. “In recent weeks, JN.1 continues to be reported in multiple countries, and its prevalence has been rapidly increasing globally and now represents the vast majority of BA.2.86 descendent lineages reported to GISAID. Due to its rapidly increasing spread, WHO is classifying JN.1 as a separate variant of interest (VOI) from the parent lineage BA.2.86.” It adds: “It is estimated that JN.1 has increased immune evasion relative to its parent BA.2.86.1 lineage that had a similar immune evasion as EG.5 the current most prevalent variant globally.    The UK had actually seen a huge rise in positive cases at the start of December. In the seven days up to and including December 13 period saw 7,164 actual cases in England, which was up 36% on the previous seven days. The figure has been slowly rising all month, with around 166 weekly deaths reported as well. That figure is up 4.4% on the previous week, with a shocking rise of 22.3% in hospital admission also reported. That figure now stands at 3,203 people in hospital across England. (Source: dailystar)

Asia

China
December 26, 2023  AstraZeneca is one of the biggest drugmakers in China, the world's second-largest pharmaceuticals market. According to media reports in June, it had drafted plans to spin off its business in the region. AstraZeneca signed three licensing deals with Chinese companies, CEO Soriot said earlier this year. In August it announced a contract manufacturing deal with CanSino Biologics for its messenger RNA technology vaccine program. Last month, AstraZeneca agreed to a licensing deal for an experimental anti-obesity pill from China's Eccogene. AstraZeneca said today it will buy Gracell Biotechnologies for up to $1.2 billion as the Anglo-Swedish pharma company boosts its presence in China and furthers its cell therapy ambitions. Gracell's CAR-T cell therapy works by extracting disease-fighting white blood cells known as T-cells from a patient, re-engineered to attack cancer and infused back into the body. H.C. Wainwright analyst Bodnar said this could be AstraZeneca's way of getting more into cell therapy as it is not as heavily involved in the space like Novartis and Gilead. (Source: reuters)

Australia

2023. dec. 21.  JN.1 is the fastest-growing, highly infectious and immune evasive coronavirus variant to emerge in the past two years. The strain emerged in August from the ultra-mutated BA.2.86, or Pirola variant. A hallmark mutation that produced JN.1 has resulted in greater transmissibility and immune evasiveness, University of Tokyo scientists reported earlier in December. It is accelerating a year-end Covid-19 wave. The World Health Organisation (WHO) designated it a variant of interest on Dec 19 due to its rapid growth and potential to add to the respiratory virus burden in the Northern Hemisphere. The latest booster formulation should provide good protection against it, according to the organisation. In the United States, it accounted for up to 29 per cent of the strains in circulation as of Dec 8 – and Covid-19 hospitalisations are rising quickly, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said. It warned that low vaccination rates for Covid-19 and other respiratory bugs could lead to more severe disease and strain on the health system for the rest of winter.  Is JN.1, the strain driving an explosive winter surge, selectively targeting peoples’ intestinal tracts? Does Covid-19 prefer the gut now? It is just one of the many debates swirling around JN.1.Yet there is no question that the coronavirus has changed its requirements for entering cells, said Sydney virologist Associate Professor Turville. “Its mode of entry has diverged significantly from what we saw in 2020,” said Turville, whose University of New South Wales lab has been tracking viral entry pathways since the start of the pandemic. Even if disease patterns are not substantially altered by JN.1, the virus is definitely taking a new pathway into cells, according to Assoc Prof Turville. While past versions have preferentially latched on to a cleaved version of the ACE-2 cell-surface protein, the new variant represents the coronavirus’s strongest predilection yet for an uncleaved version of the cellular doorway. The coronavirus has long shown that it is adept at infecting the gut. The evidence is extremely limited and theoretical, and there is no data suggesting that more people are experiencing severe digestive illnesses from Covid-19. The trend away from lower lung infections has been observed since Omicron supplanted the Delta variant in late 2021. This may be consistent with more efficient infection of particular tissues, including the gut. Detections in wastewater have uniformly and exponentially increased in multiple countries, including Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The wastewater findings could reflect high circulation in communities, rather than more frequent or more intense gut infections that result in greater or prolonged shedding of the coronavirus in stool. Diarrhoea was not more frequently reported by Covid-19 sufferers as of November in the Netherlands, which has tracked symptom data since 2020. “People are detecting it in wastewater at as high a rate as they were detecting omicron when it first emerged,” said Dr Subbarao, director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza in Melbourne, who chairs the agency’s technical advisory group on Covid-19 vaccine composition, also a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Melbourne’s Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity. “But so far, we’re not seeing a parallel or concomitant increase in hospitalisation. “Whether it’s become more gut-associated, for instance, we don’t know,” she said. Assoc Prof Turville’s research provides a plausible explanation for the change and why JN.1 might prefer the GI tract, said Mr Hisner, an Indiana school teacher whose self-taught genomic sleuthing has identified important changes in the pandemic virus’ evolution. Still, “it’s not clear”, Mr Hisner said. “We don’t really have any direct evidence.” Inherent changes in the virus are difficult to disentangle from the important role vaccinations and prior infections have played in priming the immune system to recognise and attack the virus before it reaches the lungs, he said. (Source: straitstimes)

North America

United States
Dec 29, 2023  The JN.1 variant becomes the dominant strain spreading throughout the country. The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) has recorded a 10.4 percent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations across America in the week leading up to December 16. There has been an increase of 3.4 percent in deaths related to coronavirus in the same period. Medical professionals and the CDC have consistently advocated for mask wearing, including outside of doctor's office or hospital. Currently, no state in the country has a mandatory mask policy for any indoor and outdoor setting. Hospitals in California, Massachusetts, New York, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin have brought back divisive rules meaning masks are mandatory for selected people in medical settings.    Hospitals in California are asking patients, workers and visitors to mask up. In Santa Clara County, masks have been required since April 4, 2023. Marin County hospitals have had a mask mandate in place since November 1 of this year. Officials in Yolo County said in a news release that, due to "a rise in respiratory virus activity in the community," individuals should consider wearing masks "in crowded, indoor spaces." In San Francisco, masks are required in hospital settings for all workers in medical fields and in prisons.    The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, said that it would require masks wearing for patients and staff on December 18. The hospital added that the policy would be in place for the foreseeable future. This week, Mass General Brigham, the largest health system in Massachusetts, said that effective January 2, masks will be essential for healthcare staff directly engaging with patients in clinical-care settings until respiratory illnesses fall below a certain percentage. Patients and visitors are also strongly encouraged to wear masks, which will be provided by the hospital, and staff in hallways and common areas are exempt. Mass General Brigham said that its policy is determined by the percentage of patients with respiratory illness symptoms presenting at emergency departments or outpatient clinics. The mandatory masking rule is activated when this percentage surpasses 2.85 percent for two consecutive weeks and will be lifted once the rate falls below the same percentage for a week.    In New York, NYC Health + Hospitals has said there would now be a mask policy in place at all of its facilities.    Staff at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington D.C. are currently required to wear a mask while at work.    University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics are also asking that people wear masks in its medical buildings, including University Hospital, American Family Children's Hospital and East Madison Hospital. (Source: newsweek)

December 28, 2023 The Program for International Assessment (PSA) recently released its 2022 assessment of the math and reading skills of students from over 200 countries. This is the first assessment since 2018 and it provides more evidence that schoolchildren were damaged by the COVID hysteria. American students’ math scores were lower than 27 of the 38 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The average math scores of students in all OECD countries declined by 17 points. American students’ reading scores “only” declined by one point since 2017 – as compared to an 18-point average decline amongst all OECD countries. However, the National Assessment of Education Progress national report card recently reported a historic decline in reading among 18 years old. While the drastic reductions in reading and math across the globe can be attributed to the COVID panic, Americans’ scores have been declining for years. The lockdowns are a symptom of the problems with the American education system. The real problem is that progressives have seized control over government schools. These progressives are more concerned with indoctrinating children than providing them with a quality education. Progressives seek to control education because they understand that those who are indoctrinated as children will likely support progressivism as adults. It is no coincidence that progressive control of education and the decline of quality of the nation’s schools coincide with increased federal control. Progressive federal bureaucrats used the promise of funding to entice states and local governments to surrender control of schools to federal educators. Wokeness* is just the latest iteration of the progressivism that has been undermining America’s free-market economy, constitutional government, and all sources of authority - including parents and churches - outside of the federal government for over a century. Ironically, the lockdowns may have set back the woke progressives by giving parents an opportunity to see how wokeness had infiltrated their children’s education. The backlash against woke education has led to parents showing up at school board meetings and/or running for school boards themselves to fight the woke agenda. The combination of lockdowns and wokeness are also causing many parents to explore alternatives to government schools, including homeschooling. RonPaulCurriculum.com homeschooling curriculum provides students with a well-rounded education that includes rigorous programs in history, mathematics, and the physical and natural sciences and instruction in personal finance. It provides students the opportunity to create and run their own businesses. Students can develop superior communication skills via intensive writing and public speaking courses. The government and history sections of the curriculum emphasize free-market economics, libertarian political theory, and the history of liberty. A well-rounded education introduces children to the history and ideas of liberty without sacrificing education for indoctrination. (Source: eurasiareview)
* -" What is 'woke'?
  - A one sided bias argument that does not stand up especially outside the USA".

Dec 25, 2023  The World Health Organization (WHO) classified JN.1 as a "variant of interest.” The Omicron subvariant at present accounts for 44 percent of Covid cases in the US, with its rate of transmission having doubled only in two weeks as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. Covid hospitalisations were up 10.4 per cent last week from the previous week. As per recent evidence, the strain does not possess a greater threat to public health than other variants that are circulating. Compared with this time in 2022, the number of deaths are much lower. However, Malvestutto, associate professor of infectious diseases at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told that people should be alert this Christmas, because for a lot of people it is very serious, and people can die. This variant possesses over three dozen mutations in its spike protein in comparison with XBB.1.5, the variant that dominated most of this year. Covid vaccines, however, will increase protection against JN.1 just like it does for the other variants 'it is believed'. Across all variants, Covid symptoms are mostly similar. They include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and Diarrhoea. (Source: hindustantimes

2023/12/24  “Building social connections in our life has to be a vital priority.” The U.S. Surgeon General's advisory report found that loneliness increases the risk of premature death by 26% and isolation by 29%. Murthy said in terms of your lifespan, continuing to live in loneliness is equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Feeling lonely also increases a person’s risk of heart disease by 29% and the risk of stroke by 32%, according to the American Heart Association. Loneliness has worsened in recent years. One in 2 adults in the U.S. are living with measurable levels of loneliness - it's a broader swath of the population than the number of people with diabetes, Murthy said. Loneliness occurs when the connections a person needs in life are greater than the connections they have. Loneliness is detrimental to mental and physical health, experts say, leading to an increased risk of heart disease, dementia, stroke and premature death. Nobel argues in his book, “Project Unlonely: Healing our Crisis of Disconnection,” there are three types of loneliness: psychological, social and existential. Some may experience psychological loneliness when they don’t feel like they have anyone to confide in or trust. Societal loneliness is feeling systemically excluded because of a characteristic, including gender, race, or disability. Existential, or spiritual, loneliness comes from feeling disconnected from oneself. “People can have all of these loneliness types at the same time,” said Nobel, who is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Loneliness is experienced throughout a person's lifespan, he said, and it can spiral as a result of trauma, illness and the effects of aging. Spiraling is a downward cascade of negative thoughts that feed into loneliness, making the condition worse and eroding a person's self-esteem. Loneliness can also be exacerbated by technology taking the place of human interaction, which helps explain why young people report the highest rates of loneliness. A Harvard survey conducted in 2020 found that 61% of adults from 18 to 25 reported feeling serious loneliness, compared to 39% across the general population. Modern conveniences have also caused loneliness to expand dramatically across the population, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Harvard study found that 43% of young adults reported increases in loneliness since the outbreak of the pandemic. About half reported that no one in the past few weeks had “taken more than just a few minutes” to ask how they were doing in a way that made them feel like the person “genuinely cared.” People are also more likely to change jobs or move around the country due to the rise in remote work, which can disrupt meaningful connections. Social media has accelerated loneliness as research shows feeling lonely is more common among heavy users of these sites. Although "likes" and "followers" may make a person feel good at the moment, they don't foster genuine connectedness with other people. Other populations that report a high prevalence of loneliness and isolation include people with poor physical and mental health, disabilities, financial insecurity, those who live alone, single parents and older populations. “This is why it’s so complicated when you try to address loneliness as a population health topic because it’s so varied based on the circumstances individuals have to navigate,” Nobel said. As the American population becomes older and sicker with chronic diseases, the loneliness numbers have increased, Nobel said. Data from the University of Michigan's National Poll on Healthy Aging showed loneliness among 50- to 80-year-olds had increased from 27% in October 2018 to 56% in June 2020, at the height of pandemic-era restrictions. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a boom in delivery services and Zoom meetings, which sustained society, schools and workplaces after restrictions on social distancing lifted. As a result, there are fewer opportunities for Americans to interact in person and build social connections. Self-reported feelings of loneliness decreased to 34% in January 2023, and although the problem is not “as severe as it was during the pandemic, it remains elevated compared to before the pandemic,” said Kobayashi, John G. Searle assistant professor of epidemiology and global public health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Loneliness can impact health, it can harm a person's mental and physical health, making it a lethal combination. Researchers are still learning why loneliness causes negative health outcomes, but they have a few working hypotheses. Experts say recognition and awareness are important first steps to escaping loneliness. Loneliness could trigger stress hormones, Kobayashi said, which causes inflammation and dysregulates bodily functions. Feeling lonely could also cause people to adopt unhealthy lifestyle behaviors like poor diet, smoking and substance use. Lonely people may also be less motivated to seek preventive care, adhere to medication and practice self-care, Nobel said. Murthy suggests taking 15 minutes a day to reach out to someone you care about, look for ways to serve others and make the time count by giving other people your full attention and putting devices away. Tackling the nation's loneliness epidemic will require that all sectors of society work together with a common goal, Murthy said. “We need to be connected," he said. "That’s what strengthening the social fabric in our lives and communities is all about." Beyond the health sector, the U.S. Surgeon General said public health leaders can also take a critical look at the infrastructure in local communities and digital environments to spread awareness and help build cultures of connection. (Source: usatoday)

Thu, Dec 21, 2023  Covid-19 cases are surging in the US as winter sets in. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri have all seen a 17.2% positivity rate in the week ending December 9. This is a slight increase from the previous two weeks' rate of 16.7%. In the past week, two states - Mississippi and Kentucky - have seen a 100% increase in deaths. As of December 14, Mississippi reported a 133% week-on-week increase in provisional deaths against the previous week and Kentucky reported a 108% rise, according to CDC data. Percentage of deaths related to Covid in Mississippi that week were 5.6% and 7.1% in Kentucky. While these rates are smaller compared to the peaks of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, they're still expected to rise further during the winter. In Wyoming, Covid-19 hospitalisations have shot up by 36.2%, the highest rate in the country. In the week leading up to December 9, 64 coronavirus cases required hospital treatment. Hospital admissions have also risen in Kansas, with a reported increase of 29.6%. The CDC found that 276 people were hospitalised there with the virus in the week leading up to December 9. Oklahoma and Arkansas have seen a jump in cases needing inpatient treatment by 29.6% and 27.6% respectively. Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico have all seen a decrease in positive coronavirus tests ranging from 0.2% to 2.4%. Slight increases of around 0.5% have been recorded in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The Midwest and Northeastern states are reporting a higher case rate, with Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Colorado all recording a positive rate case of 10.4%. This is a decrease of 1.2% compared to the previous week. New Mexico has seen the biggest decrease in hospitalisations across all 50 states, down by 28% on the previous week. Arizona's hospitals are also less strained, with admissions down by 16.6%. A study from 2020 found that the Covid-19 virus could stay active for longer in cold, dry conditions. (Source: the-express *)
* Daily Express US

.December 7 - 9:

Európa    Europe

Magyarország
(2023) december 08.  Az elmúlt hónapokban valószínűleg mindenkinek akad olyan ismerőse, aki covidos lett vagy legalábbis olyan tüneteket produkált. Az oltásokról viszont semmit sem tudunk. Ennek a kiderítése még virológusnak és háziorvosnak is feladta a leckét. A vakcinainfo.gov.hu 2022 szeptemberében volt utoljára frissítve. Ha oltást szeretnénk, a nyilvántartásba vételkor hibaüzenetet ír ki a rendszer. A Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központ ('NNK') honlapján - ha elég szemfülesek vagyunk - a légúti fertőzésekről szóló heti tájékoztatóra kattintva találunk covidra vonatkozó információkat, rögtön az influenza tájékoztató alatt. A legfrissebb a 48. hétről szóló. Eszerint nagyon is jelen van a koronavírus az országban, sőt a legtöbb területen terjedést mutat. Az oltásról viszont az 'NNK' honlapján sem találni semmit. Másik egészségügyi regisztrációs rendszer az Elektronikus Egészségügyi Szolgáltatási Tér, vagyis az eeszt.gov.hu. Rögtön a főoldalon és a menüben is ott a COVID oltás időpontfoglalás gomb. A vakcinainfo.hu-val ellentétben itt valóban lehet időpontot foglalni, de csak a helyszínválasztásnál derül ki, hogy nem oltathatjuk be magunkat bárhol. Budapesten négy helyen - a VIII., IX., XI. és XIII. kerületben, - míg vidéken csak megyeszékhelyen, ott is egy helyen. (Van, akinek engedi a rendszer, hogy foglaljon időpontot, és van, akinek az írja, hogy nem jogosult oltásra). A honlap főoldalán ez szerepel: „Tájékoztatjuk, hogy a Comirnaty (Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vakcina), a Spikevax (Moderna COVID-19 Vakcina), a Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vakcina) és a Jcovden (Janssen COVID-19 Vakcina) Covid-19 elleni oltóanyagok beszerzése az Emberi Erőforrás Fejlesztési Operatív Program, EFOP-6.1.1-21 azonosítószámú felhívása keretében történt, amely forrását az Európai Regionális Fejlesztési Alap biztosítja és a finanszírozás a Covid19-világjárványra adott uniós válasz részeként történik.” Nem derül ki, hogy az oltóanyagokból lehet-e választani. Azt sem tudtuk meg, hogy kiknek érdemes beadatniuk az emlékeztető oltást és mik közül választhatunk. Kemenesi virológus, aki leszögezte, hogy ő kutató, és ilyen kérdésekkel nem foglalkozik, az utóbbi időben annyi kérdést kapott, hogy elkezdett utánanézni. Hosszú ideig nem tudott rájönni, mi a helyzet az oltásokkal, mígnem megtalált az NNK oldalán egy háromoldalas PDF-et, "Felnőttkori oltások ütemezésének ajánlása 2023" címmel. Az első oldalon bonyolult táblázat, amelyben mindenféle betegség helyet kap, a covid az utolsó helyen, a veszettség alatt szerepel. Mellé annyit írtak, hogy: „2 adag (i.m.) legkorábban 6 hónap múlva emlékeztető oltás, rizikócsoportba tartozók oltási gyakorlata eltérő”. A szöveg sárga színkóddal van jelölve, melynek jelentése lejjebb derül ki: „a rizikócsoportok számára javasolt.”  A harmadik oldal legvégén van szó arról, hogy kinek is ajánlják az oltást: „Az immunizáció SARS-CoV2 fertőzésen átesettek számára is javasolt, a fertőzés után legkorábban 6 hónappal. Az alapoltási sor súlyosan immunsérültek számára eltérő, mRNS alapú oltás választandó és plusz egy dózis szükséges 28 nappal a 2. oltást követően. Az alapoltott pácienseknek 12 éves kor felett emlékeztető oltás javasolt, legkorábban 6 hónappal az alapoltási sor befejezése, illetve igazoltan átvészelt COVID után. További emlékeztető oltás 65 évesnél idősebbeknek és/ vagy rizikóbetegségben szenvedőknek (várandósok, "családtervezők', keringési, légzési betegségben szenvedők, diabetes, súlyos obezitás, immunsérülést okozó kezelés esetén, csontvelő transzplantáció után, szerv transzplantáció előtt és után) az őszi-téli szezonban javasolt. Rizikó állapotú betegek családtagjait a fészekvédelem érdekében szükséges oltani, emlékeztető oltásban részesíteni.” Eszerint a 65 év felettieket és a rizikóbetegségben szenvedőket évente kellene oltani. 'Sehol sincs kommunikálva az, hogy évente meg kell újítani a covid oltást, sem a lakosság, sem a háziorvosok felé, holott ez a Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központ feladata lenne” - mondja Kemenesi. Szerinte a szakirodalom és a tapasztalatok sem támasztják alá azt az elméletet, hogy a fiatalabbaknak is szükségük lenne újabb emlékeztető oltásokra, kivéve, ha van olyan családtagjuk, aki a kockázati csoportba tartozik. 'Úgy kellene a covid oltásról gondolkodni, mint az influenza elleni oltásról, amit folyamatosan reklámoznak a kockázati csoportoknak” - vélekedik. Arról sincs sehol tájékoztatás, hogy milyen vakcinák közül lehet most Magyarországon választani, és egyáltalán mennyi van belőlük. Ma viszont megjelent egy hír a Népszavában arról, hogy a magyar kormány vásárolt 700-800 ezer adag Moderna vakcinát, ami egyelőre még nem elérhető a lakosság számára. Azonban ez is csak úgy derült ki, hogy a lap rákérdezett a Magyar Egészségügyi Menedzsment Társaság tanácskozásán, Takács egészségügyért felelős államtitkárnál. Takács itt azt is említette, hogy az oltást azoknak a csoportoknak ajánlják, akiknek az influenza elleni oltást is. 'Azt is lehet sejteni, hogy Pfizerből van az országban'. Koronczi, osztopáni háziorvos is csak a sajtóból értesül arról, hogy mi a helyzet a járvánnyal és az oltásokkal. „Egy járványnál alapvető a köztájékoztatás, járványok mindig vannak, de a covid még mindig egy különösen veszélyes járvány a szövődmények miatt. Ennek ellenére levették a műsorról, nem tud senki semmit róla” - mondja Koronczi. „Nincsenek tudatában a páciensek annak, hogy ez a vírus veszélyes. Mindenki influenza elleni oltásért jön, pedig szerintem annál fontosabb lenne a covid oltás. Szükség lenne egy újabb oltási kampányra” - mondja a háziorvos. Hozzáteszi: háziorvosoknál ne keressünk covid vakcinákat, mert nincsenek. "Az oltások típusával és tájékoztatás hiányával kapcsolatos kérdésekben kerestük az illetékes Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központot, de kérdéseinkre nem kaptunk választ'. "Frissítés: Cikkünk megjelenése után egy olvasónk megírta nekünk, hogy a Kútvölgyi kórház rendelőjében is lehet covid oltást kapni kedd délelőttönként. Ő is véletlen tudta meg'. (Forrás: 444)

2023.12.08.  Mintegy 700-800 ezer adag, már az új omikron variánsokra frissített Moderna oltóanyagot vásárolt az Orbán-kormány – közölte Takács egészségügyért felelős államtitkár a Magyar Egészségügyi Menedzsment Társaság tanácskozásán tegnap. A Moderna gyártója adta a legkedvezőbb árat, a Pfizer nem is adott ajánlatot. Hozzátette: az oltóanyag a közbeszerzési eljárás befejeződésével válik elérhetővé a lakosság számára; elsősorban azoknak ajánlják, akik a térítésmentes influenza-elleni oltásokra jogosultak. Magyarországon térítésmentes az influenza oltóanyag a 60 éven felülieknek, a krónikus légzőszervi, szív-, érrendszeri, illetve anyagcsere-betegségben, veleszületett vagy szerzett immunhiányban szenvedőknek. Szintén térítésmentesen kérhetik az influenza-elleni vakcinát a várandós vagy a gyermekvállalást tervező nők, a tartós ápolási, illetve egyéb gondozó intézményben élők. A védőoltás javasolt az egészségügyben, illetve a szociális intézményekben dolgozóknak is. Korábban a Pfizer oltóanyaga volt leginkább elérhető az mRNS vakcinák közül. Pintér belügyminiszter is beszélt az Országgyűlés népjóléti bizottságának november végi meghallgatásán az új oltási programról, amikor a testület alelnöke, Komáromi kérdésére azt közölte: Moderna oltóanyaggal frissíthetik a közeljövőben a lakosság védelmét, mivel annak ár-érték aránya tűnik a legjobbnak, és a hatásossága is kiemelkedő. A Pfizer és a BioNTech pert indított a magyar állam ellen, mivel Magyarország 2022 novemberében az ukrajnai konfliktusra hivatkozva visszautasította a 2021-ben EU-s keretszerződésben megrendelt hárommillió COVID-19 vakcina átvételét és kifizetését. "A Pfizer lapunk érdeklődésére azt írta: „Magyarország kötelező erejű megrendelést adott le arra, hogy megvásárolja a jogvita tárgyát képező vakcinákat, és a meghatározott szállítási ütemtervről is megállapodás született. Magyarország azonban megtagadta a 2022-ben leszállítandó vakcinák átvételét és kifizetését.” 'A vitás ügyben az oltóanyagok összértéke 60 millió euro volt. Az oltóanyag miatt Budapest és Brüsszel is konfrontálódott. A kormány szerint az Európai Bizottság feleslegesen nagy mennyiségben rendelte meg és kényszerítette a tagállamokra az oltóanyagokat. A brüsszeli testület szóvivője cáfolta ezt, azt állította: 'Az Európai Bizottság nem vásárolt Covid–19 elleni oltóanyagot, hanem a tagállamokkal folytatott konzultációk alapján keretszerződéseket írt alá vakcinák beszerzéséről a gyógyszercégekkel.' (Forrás: nepszava)

2023. december 07.  Tájékoztató a légúti fertőzésekről. A 48. naptári héten, 2023. november 27 – december 3. között, figyelőszolgálatban résztvevő orvosok jelentései alapján végzett becslés szerint az országban 28 900-an fordultak orvoshoz influenzaszerű és 249 700-en akut légúti fertőzés tüneteivel. Légúti minta 310 betegtől érkezett a Nemzeti Népegészségügyi és Gyógyszerészeti Központ (NNGYK) Nemzeti Influenza Referencia Laboratóriumába. A sentinel orvosok által beküldött 263 minta közül egy betegnél influenza A(NT), két betegnél influenza A(H3), két betegnél a human metapneumovírus, 85 betegnél a SARS-CoV-2 vírus kóroki szerepét igazolták. Az influenza pozitivitási arány 1,1%, a SARS-CoV-2 pozitivitási arány 32,3% volt. A sentinel kórházak által beküldött 12 minta közül négy betegnél SARS-CoV-2 vírust azonosítottak. A hagyományos diagnosztikus célú vizsgálat keretében érkezett 35 légúti minta közül egy influenza B, hat SARS-CoV-2 vírus pozitív volt. A 48. héten, a légúti figyelőszolgálat keretében kijelölt 24 kórház adatai alapján, 266 beteget vettek fel kórházba súlyos, akut légúti fertőzés (SARI) miatt, közülük 28-an részesültek intenzív/szubintenzív ellátásban. Több hétig tartó pangás után ismét nő a szennyvízben mért SARS-CoV-2 örökítőanyag országos átlagsűrűsége. Az irányzat emelkedő 14 helyszínen (a mintavételi helyek többségénél): Békéscsabán, Budapest mindhárom szennyvíztisztítójának ellátási területén, Budapest nagyvárosi vonzáskörzetének településein, Debrecenben, Egerben, Győrben, Miskolcon, Nyíregyházán, Pécsett, Salgótarjánban, Szekszárdon és Tatabányán. 8 településen pangás a jellemző. A SARS-CoV-2 örökítőanyag sűrűsége 12 helyszínen magas, 10 helyszínen pedig emelkedett fokozatba sorolható. A 48. heti szennyvíz minták Influenza A vírus örökítőanyag vizsgálata alapján az országos átlagsűrűség egyértelműen emelkedik. Az NNGYK által, az Országos Mentőszolgálat támogatásával felállított integrált felügyeleti rendszer elsődleges elemzése alapján megállapítható, hogy az influenza szennyvízben mért vírusterhelés emelkedését 2 héttel követi a sürgősségi ellátási igény növekedése, míg a koronavírus (SARS-CoV-2) örökítőanyag emelkedését 1 héttel követi a mentőszolgálat hívásszámának növekedése. (Forrás: 'nnk' *)
* Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ

United Kingdom
7 Dec 2023  Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced the UK COVID-19 inquiry on the second day of questioning to examine the response to the coronavirus disease. Johnson, 59, was forced from office last year after public anger erupted over revelations about a series of COVID-19 lockdown-breaching parties called 'Partygate'. The United Kingdom went on to have one of Europe’s longest and strictest lockdowns as well as one of the continent’s highest COVID-19 death tolls with the virus recorded as a cause of death for more than 232,000 people – one of the worst official per capita tolls among Western nations. “I continue to regret very much what happened,' Johnson said today when asked about the scandal before branding 'dramatic representations' of it 'a travesty of the truth'. 'The version of events that has entered the popular consciousness about what is supposed to have happened in Downing Street is a million miles from the reality of what actually happened,' he insisted. Johnson has faced a barrage of criticism from former aides for alleged indecisiveness and lack of scientific understanding as well as for a Downing Street culture that facilitated Partygate. His aides and officials 'thought they were working very, very hard – which they were – and I certainly thought that what we were doing was … within the rules,' Johnson said. Police last year fined the former leader and his then-finance minister and current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as well as dozens of staff for flouting the COVID restrictions they set by attending boozy gatherings in Downing Street. A parliamentary inquiry concluded Johnson had repeatedly misled parliament over the parties, and he resigned as a lawmaker shortly before its findings were published this year. He pushed back on claims of 'indifference' towards those with COVID-19, recalling his own hospitalisation with the virus. “When I went into intensive care, I saw around me a lot of people who were not actually elderly. In fact, they were middle-aged men, and they were quite like me – and some of us were going to make it and some of us weren’t,” he said. “What I’m trying to tell you in a nutshell – and the NHS, thank God, did an amazing job and helped me survive – but I knew from that experience what appalling a disease this is. I had absolutely no personal doubt about that from March onwards. To say that I didn’t care about the suffering that was being inflicted on the country is simply not right.' Johnson’s pushback came as the lawyer for the inquiry, created to learn lessons from the country’s response to the health emergency, grilled his contentious decision-making as the virus repeatedly re-emerged in 2020. The ex-leader defended his choice to delay a national lockdown during a second wave of COVID-19 and his internal use of the phrase “let it rip” to refer to a possible so-called herd immunity strategy. Johnson claimed 'plenty of people' were using the phrase to describe the potential strategy of shielding the vulnerable and allowing the rest of the population to acquire immunity. He also disputed suggestions that offering financial inducements for people to eat out after the first lockdown was lifted – Sunak’s signature policy – had caused a rise in infections. Sunak will face the inquiry on Monday, December 11. (Source: aljazeera)

Africa

Mali
December 7, 2023  Dengue fever is on the rise in Mali, posing a new threat to the West African nation struggling with extremist attacks and political turbulence, facing the threat of terrorists linked to al-Qaida and the isis terrorist group. A new epidemic of dengue fever risks worsening the humanitarian situation especially among the large population of displaced people. Dengue is a viral infection spread by mosquitoes that mostly causes flu-like illness. In severe cases, it can cause joint pain, swollen glands, bleeding, and death. Elsewhere, the WHO has reported record cases of dengue this year in Bangladesh and the Americas, which have seen more than 300,000 cases and 4 million infections respectively. Mali’s government has not officially released any figures on the disease to the public, nor has it announced whether it has requested aid from the WHO. The director general of health and public hygiene, Dr. Traore, told yesterday that his department had counted 21 deaths and 600 cases of the disease as of Monday, December 4. “Dengue fever is also present in Burkina Faso and Senegal, and we need to raise public awareness,” Dr. Traore said. The virus typically emerges in more tropical environments but was first detected in comparatively arid Mali in 2008. Reports of the virus reemerged in 2017 and 2019. There is little long-term data on its prevalence. In August, the government of Chad reported the country’s first-ever outbreak of dengue, with dozens of confirmed cases in the nation that, like Mali, is located in the vast Sahel region south of the Sahara desert. (Source: ntd *)
* New Tang Dynasty Television / Fálun Gong (New York City)

Africa
December 7, 2023  A trial of an experimental HIV vaccine in Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa has been stopped early after preliminary data suggested it would not be effective in preventing infection, according to the trial's chief investigator Kaleebu. He told today the programme's independent data and safety monitoring committee had "recommended that even if we continue we will not be able to show that the vaccine can be effective". The trial for the vaccine, part of a wider initiative called PrEPVacc, began in December 2020 with the enrolment of 1,512 healthy adults aged 18-40 and was due to end in 2024. Led by African researchers with support from various European institutions like Imperial College London, the trial was testing two different combinations of experimental HIV vaccines. It was also testing a new form of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a drug that reduces the risk of getting HIV, to see if it was as effective as existing drugs. That part of the trial is ongoing. Participants were mostly drawn from populations at high risk of infection like sex workers, gay men and 'fishermen'. 39 million are living with HIV, the majority of them in Africa. The news is the latest blow to efforts to find an effective vaccine against a virus that has so far claimed about 40 million lives globally. Experts say an HIV vaccine would be an important tool in ending AIDS as a public health threat. There are drugs that can reduce the risk of getting HIV and treatments that can control the virus and prevent people from developing AIDS, the deadly immune condition resulting from untreated HIV. The vaccine trial programme said the failed trial, which was the only remaining active HIV vaccine efficacy trial in the world, underscored "how challenging it is to develop an effective HIV vaccine". Researchers in South Africa terminated another trial in 2020 after tests of a vaccine in more than 5,000 people failed to show benefits. (Source: reuters)

Asia

China
December 9, 2023  More than 900 pigs are set to be culled in Hong Kong after authorities detected the presence of the deadly African swine fever (ASF) in animals at a licensed farm in the New Territories district. Authorities at the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said 19 of 30 pigs tested at the farm had swine fever and that transportation of pigs from the farm had been immediately suspended. The culling will start early next week, the agency said. "AFCD staff has arranged to inspect the other eight pig farms within three kilometers of the index farm and will collect samples for ASF testing," the AFCD said. Hong Kong culled 5,600 pigs last month at a farm near the mainland China border. The outbreak also spread to other Asian countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, North Korea and South Korea, as well as Hong Kong. Last year, Vietnam successfully produced the first vaccine against African swine fever. It was co-developed by Vietnamese companies and researchers from the United States and two million doses were shipped to the Philippines in October. An outbreak in 2018-19 rocked the $250 billion global pork market and about half the domestic pig population died in China, the world's biggest producer. It caused China losses estimated at more than $100 billion. If it is detected in the United States, approximately 76 million domestic pigs will be susceptible to this disease, according to the Dept. of Agriculture. Nearly 34,000 pigs in Italy were culled to counter the spread in September. The disease also swept to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Romania and Serbia. There have also been multiple reports of ASF cases in wild boar in these countries, according to the European Food Safety Authority. The disease can be fatal for pigs as soon as a week after infection. It is not harmful to humans and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans, according to the Dept. of Agriculture. 'Pork cooked thoroughly is safe for consumption. Members of the public do not need to be concerned.' (Source: foxnews)
Note: This is how the article ends: 'The first human case of the swine flu strain H1N2 was detected in the United Kingdom, late last month. One case was detected in Michigan over the summer after a person came into contact with an infected pig at an agricultural fair, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). An H1N1 influenza outbreak in 2009 caused at least 18,500 laboratory-confirmed human deaths'. 

North America

United States
December 9, 2023  A report from U.S. Surgeon General Murthy declared an "epidemic of loneliness and isolation," a problem that was worsened by the Covid-19 global pandemic and the extensive lockdowns that had many confined to their homes. While plenty have long since returned from remote work and school, the impact of that isolation lingers, and in 2023, awareness around the issue had a new sense of urgency. Murthy is saying that loneliness should be considered a national health emergency at the rates we're seeing now. In the report released in May, he noted that half of Americans are dealing with loneliness, and the problem is costing the country billions annually. Murthy said he's spreading awareness about the threat of loneliness because of its associated health risks, "including cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety and even premature death". The surgeon general's report found that people were becoming more isolated in the past few decades, but the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem. In 2020, Americans spent about two minutes a day interacting with friends in person, down from 60 minutes almost two decades earlier. Young people aged 15 to 24 were hit particularly hard, reducing their in-person social interactions by 70 percent in 2020 compared to the two previous decades. Almost a quarter of adults worldwide reported feeling very or fairly lonely, per an October Meta-Gallup survey, conducted in 142 countries. The survey found that young adults had the highest rates of loneliness, with 27% of young people ages 19 to 29 reporting feeling very or fairly lonely. Older adults, aged 65 and older, had the lowest rate at only 17%. The global survey was "a really good reminder that loneliness is not just a problem of aging - it’s a problem that can affect everyone at any age," Maese, a senior research consultant with Gallup, told. The United Kingdom has had a "Minister of Loneliness" since 2018. New York City recently appointed sex expert Dr. Westheimer as an honorary ambassador to loneliness, a role the first of its kind in the nation. The World Health Organization is also stepping in to address the crisis. In November, the organization launched a new Commission on Social Connection to ensure that loneliness is "recognized and resourced as a global public health priority." African Union Youth Envoy Mpemba and the U.S. Surgeon General co-chair the commission. They plan to spend the next three years addressing the "pressing health threat" of loneliness worldwide by prioritizing social connection and accelerating "the scaling up of solutions in countries of all incomes." In the meantime, lonely people are looking for their own solutions. With the advent of more personalized artificial intelligence chatbots this year, some people have turned to AI companionship to fill the void. Apps like Replika and the AI girlfriend app Eva AI are only a couple of the AI resources that have been spawned. 'The apps are a welcome balm to escalating instances of isolation'. For some critics, the trend is alarming and, they say, could further exacerbate the core problems causing a lack of social connection. (Source: theweek *)
* US

December 09, 2023  Doctors near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have noticed a surge in patients coming into hospitals with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV,) a common virus with cold-like symptoms. Cases in Allegheny County represent about 20% of state cases for the most currently available data. In Pennsylvania, reported RSV cases jumped nearly 28% when comparing the week ending Dec. 2 to the week prior.  RSV is among a handful of respiratory viruses to tick up in the winter months. Last year saw what experts called a "tripledemic," as COVID-19, influenza and RSV surged together, leading to a rise in hospitalizations around the nation. Though in many people RSV presents (and clears) as would a cold, it's of particular concern for high-risk groups, including those over the age of 60 with chronic conditions, such as emphysema, and babies. RSV can be dangerous in infants who are still developing their strength and their immune systems, and is the leading cause of hospitalization in babies aged 1 and younger. RSV symptoms - runny nose, fever, cough, sore throat - can be mild and often resemble a cold. "Our AHN outpatient pediatric offices have seen an increase in cases of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza, which tracks with what we're seeing nationally, and we anticipate these numbers will continue to rise this month as we gather and travel for the holidays," said Dr. Aracri, chair of AHN Pediatric Institute and a pediatrician. UPMC Children's Hospital also said that it had been seeing an increase in RSV and other respiratory illnesses over the past month, and that numbers were similar to pre-pandemic years. Last respiratory season, RSV and flu ticked up earlier in the respiratory season than usual, said Dr. Aracri. This year is more on par with pre-pandemic years, he agreed, indicating that trends are matching the seasonal fluctuation of winter viruses of years past. "It's back to a pattern we recognize and that pediatricians are prepared for," he said. Dr. Aracri outlined four main causes for concern in babies: rapid breathing, nostril flaring, belly breathing and a condition called retraction. Rapid breathing in infants is considered breathing in and out more than 60 times a minute, said Dr. Aracri. Belly breathing can look like a child's belly sticking out or heaving at the chest. Retraction is a term for when the ribs can be seen with each attempt at an inhale. All represent signs that the child is working harder than normal to get air. Dr. Aracri said if the child is coughing but still able to feed, they are probably OK. "Pretty much every kid will get RSV this year," he said. "It's usually the kids under six months that end up getting hospitalized." Preventative treatments now exist for RSV. In July, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Beyfortus to passively immunize babies against the virus. That means babies are given the antibodies directly; it is not a vaccine, which would prompt the body to generate its own antibodies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in late October that there was a limited supply of the drug, which has led to a national shortage. Dr. Aracri said the treatment has not been available, but that AHN is offering the RSV vaccine Abrysvo to pregnant women at 32 to 36 weeks gestation, providing protection to babies in utero. It was FDA-approved in August and shown in clinical trials to reduce the risk of lower-respiratory tract disease by 91.9% three months after birth compared to placebo. The risk of hypertensive disease preeclampsia increased by 0.4%. Dr. Aracri said he expects that the respiratory virus peak is approaching, as it typically does around January or February. Families should stay up to date with vaccination, wash hands frequently and stay home when sick, he said. Parents can treat mild symptoms in kids with over-the-counter pain relievers, lukewarm baths and baby nasal aspirators. Emergency room care should be sought if a fever exceeds 104 degrees, 100.4 degrees* in babies 3 three months and younger, or if they are experiencing persistent vomiting and/or diarrhea. Yet another RSV vaccine, Arexvy, was approved by the FDA in May, for those 60 and older. A CDC study showed it reduced the risk of severe lower-respiratory disease by 94.1%. One recent CDC report found that, for people 60 and up who were hospitalized with RSV, COVID or flu between 2022 and 2023, those with RSV were more likely to require supplemental oxygen and to be admitted to intensive care units. They also typically had existing chronic medical conditions. RSV causes between 6,000 and 10,000 deaths every year in those over the age of 65, according to a CDC report, compared to about 12,000 for the flu, according to Statista. Dr. Walker, associate chief medical officer of St. Clair Health, said physicians there are beginning to see more adults presenting to emergency rooms and being hospitalized with RSV, adding many of them have chronic ailments, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A potential issue is the possibility that RSV progresses into a more dangerous, lower-respiratory condition. "What tends to start as a common cold can develop into wheezing, shortness of breath or pneumonia," said Dr. Walker. She encouraged adults to watch for a sudden drop in their health after feeling signs of improvement from a mild infection. That can be a sign of a secondary bacterial infection, as the lungs weather inflammation from previous illness. If you're saying to yourself, "I felt like I was on the mend, and now I'm having fevers and my cough is worse," it might be time to seek help, she said. "I would like to encourage people to stay home when they're not feeling well," said Dr. Walker. "You should be resting and listening to your body, but you also don't want to put others at risk." (Source: macon  / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
* Note: 104 degrees (Fahrenheit), 100.4 degrees (Fahrenheit) = 40°C, 38°C

Fri, Dec 8, 2023  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Cohen released a video on December 6 - Americans are urged to be careful this year as the highly-mutated “Pirola” Covid variant spreads alongside other respiratory viruses in the US. Cohen said that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases are “elevated” this season, with Covid and pneumonia cases especially on the rise. There has been a 1.2 percent increase in Covid test positivity in the most recent week, and a 10 percent increase in hospital admissions. The CDC recommends that people take additional precautions to protect themselves against viruses, like getting the Covid vaccine, the flu vaccine, and the RSV vaccine for those over the age of 60. Cohen said other layers of protection include washing your hands, improving ventilation, and wearing a mask. In May, the CDC advised healthcare facilities to take a risk-based approach to universal masking. Masking recommendations eased up over the summer, but the CDC seems to be tightening guidance on mask wearing this winter as viruses spread. Masking up is recommended for those who are sick and want to take precautions amid rising respiratory illnesses this winter. The CDC recommends mask wearing for those exposed to illness and who want to take precautions. The CDC’s mask wearing guidance on their Use and Care of Masks page states: “People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a high-quality mask or respirator when indoors in public.” (Source: the-express)

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Europe

Hungary
December 1, 2023  'The oligarchization of the economy, in my opinion, is much broader than most Hungarians realise." Hungary is not following a state capitalism model. It is not the state itself that owns most strategic assets, but businessmen close to the party in power, Fidesz. This is closer to the Putin playbook, creating a class of oligarchs that controls the commanding heights of the economy (banks, telecom interests, utilities, highway concessions, waste management, etc.) right down to an enormous network of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Public assets, such as universities, have been rolled into foundations which are controlled, once again, by parties close to and dependent on Fidesz, for the very long-term. From the perspective of Fidesz: Should Fidesz lose power, under the oligarch model, presumably most oligarchs would remain loyal to Fidesz and could continue to provide a significant economic hinterland to Fidesz, from campaign financing to jobs and contracts to loyalists. These companies could withhold service and create disruption in the economy, bringing into question the economic competence of a successor government, thereby exercising a profoundly anti-democratic effect. What happens if an oligarch goes rogue? In 2015 Orbán decided to permit direct enrichment of oligarchs, rather than just filling Fidesz coffers. Simicska switched his allegiance to Jobbik, a far right political party at the time, which frontally attacked Fidesz ('We work, you steal!' was their main slogan). A resolution was reached in 2017, a few months before elections, when a buyout of Simicska’s assets by former gas equipment service man, Mészáros, being Orbán’s strawman, was arranged, including the purchase of construction company Közgép, and key media assets, for HUF 45 billion (over $300 million). An example of potentially losing oligarch assets via succession was the death of world-famous movie mogul Vajna. Normally, a simple estate procedure takes a year or more in Hungary. Vajna’s casinos were transferred to an investor group close to Garancsi, another businessman close to Fidesz, with unusual speed. Interests close to the government are negotiating for the purchase of Budapest Airport, a strategic asset worth a few billion euros. Rumour has it that French Vinci will co-invest and manage the asset. Interests close to the government have recently purchased a majority interest in Auchan, a supermarket chain, and at least one other international supermarket chain is bracing for an 'irresistible offer'. The creation of Magyar Bank Holding (MBH) from the merger of three nationalised banks (Budapest Bank, Takarékbank, and MKB Bank) to create an oligarch super-bank, offers the potential of accelerating this process of oligarchization, providing cheap and easy financing for oligarchs to buy and leverage assets. 4iG, a technology holding firm close to Fidesz, recently raised over EUR 400 million from MKB, with a state guarantee to boot, to buy Vodafone Hungary. So where does this all lead? Productivity growth of Hungarian companies (0.8% per year) is less than half of the European average (2%) over the past decade. Many SME owners are not willing to grow their businesses beyond a certain point for fear of becoming a target for oligarchs. "There comes a point when confidence of investors, domestic and foreign, may diminish or evaporate', Nemethy, "the CEO and founder of Euro-Phoenix Financial Advisors Ltd and a former official at the World Bank' wrote. (Source: intellinews)

Germany
2023. dec. 1.  A report conducted by the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) before the October attack found that since 2017, between 700 and 1,000 cases of Islamaphobic crimes have been reported to the police, with many others believed to go unreported. It also found that one in two people in the country agree with anti-Muslim statements. Germany has 5.5 million Muslim citizens – one of the biggest communities in Europe. Muslims in Germany feel increasingly alienated by the public discourse after Hamas-Israel conflict. In the second half of October, the number of anti-Muslim incidents has increased to three a day on average, including ten attacks on mosques, with a high number of undetected cases, according to CLAIM, a government-supported non-profit. Representatives of the Muslim community in Germany are concerned about increased marginalisation and a rise in Islamophobic incidents amidst a heated debate around anti-Semitism. 'The blanket suspicion towards Muslims, the de-facto marginalisation of Muslim interests and the voice of Muslims has created a serious [crisis of confidence] that we will have to deal with for years,' Mazyek, chair of the General Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD), told on 27 November. He described an atmosphere of intimidation, with a spike in attacks on women wearing a hijab and Muslim students being singled out and challenged on their views by teachers. Last week, at the most recent Islam Conference (DIK), a forum initiated by the Interior Ministry to bring Muslim communities, the state, and civil society together, the theme was switched from Islamaphobia to anti-Semitism while the country’s largest Muslim organisation, ZMD, was not invited for unspecified reasons. Interior Minister Faeser mostly called out Muslim anti-Semitism in her speech and left shortly after – due to what a ministry spokesperson called time pressures. Still, Muslims in Germany, including their religious leaders, face pressure from civil society to address anti-Semitism coming from within their ranks. “In this situation, Islamic organisations should primarily address Muslims and, in my view, very little is coming from them. […] Public statements are nice but they don’t achieve anything,” Schuster, the president of the General Council of German Jews, told. 'Currently, Islamist anti-Semitism is evident in Germany and puts Jews in danger. However, we should not believe that right-wing anti-Semitism has suddenly disappeared,' Schuster said. 'In parallel with a surge in anti-Semitic incidents, Muslims in Germany have also seen a surge in hatred directed at them. It’s important to distinguish between private Muslim citizens and Islamic organisations,' Kaddor, a leading Green MP and influential advocate for Muslim causes told. Media and political leaders have highlighted recent anti-Semitic incidents, including crowds that appeared to be celebrating the Hamas attack in migrant-dominated quarters of Berlin, and caliphate flags shown at pro-Palestinian protests.  A public debate shaped in part by Germany’s historical guilt for the Holocaust has left little room to embrace Palestinian grief too, some observers say. The German government insisted on 27 November that it continues to back the two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but stated that Israel’s protection was more pressing. (Source: euractiv)

Russia
Dec 1 2023  Four blasts rocked the ten-mile tunnel in the Severomuyskiy mountains as a train passed through last night. A source claimed Ukraine's SBU intelligence service was behind the attack in Russia's far east. 'There was an explosion on the Baikal-Amur mainline, in the Severomuyskiy tunnel. Currently, this route, which Russia uses for military supplies, is paralysed,' a Kyiv security source told. The tunnel attack could hamper trade with China. A 41-wagon goods train - including three tankers filled with aviation fuel - was reportedly blown up yesterday. And it will also limit the movement of Russian troops and military supplies from eastern Russia, where many of Putin’s conscripts hail from. Russian media reported a fire in the Severomuyskiy tunnel, but did not elaborate on what had caused it. They said specialist fire trains raced to the scene and no one had been hurt. 'The railway workers are unsuccessfully trying to minimise the consequences of the SBU special operation,' the source in Kyiv claimed. The blasts came only hours after a Ukrainian cyber attack saw a message from President Zelensky broadcast on TVs across occupied Crimea. Together with his spy chief Lt Gen Budanov, they declared: 'Crimea is ours.' The pair vowed to expel Russian forces and return annexed Crimea to Ukraine. 'The daring hack also saw the message 'Putin is a d***head' displayed on Crimean TVs'. Budanov's wife, along with intelligence officials, were poisoned with arsenic and mercury this week. Budanov and his senior officers are responsible for an increasing amount of daring attacks on Putin's home turf and have also taken responsibility for targeting key Russian war officials and Kremlin propagandists. Meanwhile, the Russian ruler revealed his dream as he demanded women serve Russia by having eight or more kids. "Large families must become the norm," Putin said in a TV address. “Thank God many of our people have a tradition of a strong multi-generational family, raising four, five and more children. “Let us remember how in Russian families many of our grandmothers and great grandmothers had seven, eight, or even more children. “Let's preserve and revive these wonderful traditions. “Having many children, a large family, should become a norm, a way of life for all the peoples of Russia," Putin said. The leader is now scrambling to reverse a plummeting birth rate and mass exodus - even plotting to trade prison sentences for pregnancies and limiting access to abortions. (Source: the-sun *)
* The U.S.Sun

Russia
01/12/2023  President Putin issued a decree today that would boost troop numbers 15 percent. 'The increase in the full-time strength of the army is due to growing threats to our country linked with the special military operation and the continuing expansion of NATO," the army said, adding that some 170,000 soldiers would join the force as a response to the "aggressive activity of the NATO bloc'. Russia said today its troops were advancing in every section of the Ukrainian front. The front lines have barely shifted in 2023 but fighting has remained intense. In recent days, improving weather conditions - following powerful storms across southern Ukraine and Russia earlier this week - have enabled Russia's forces to intensify their assaults and use drones again, Ukrainian officials said. The latest major flashpoint is the nearly encircled industrial town of Avdiivka. Part of the Donetsk region, the city - which was once home to around 30,000 people - has been on the front line since 2014. In a briefing with Russia's top military brass, Shoigu said his men were "effectively and firmly inflicting fire damage on the Ukrainian armed forces, significantly reducing their combat capabilities'. His ministry announced on November 29 it had taken control of Khromove, a small village on the outskirts of Bakhmut in eastern Donetsk region. Other territorial gains have proved elusive. Russian forces launched more than two dozen Iranian-designed attack drones and two missiles on the south and east of the country overnight, Ukraine said. The air force said it downed 18 of the drones and one missile over southern regions. Ukraine also said today it had orchestrated attacks on a Russian railway line in Siberia. 'Another fuel train has exploded on the Baikal-Amur railway,' a source in Ukrainian law enforcement agencies told, referring to the SBU security services. Moscow confirmed that earlier this week a train crew had spotted smoke in a fuel tank and called firefighters to the scene. Russia's defence ministry said it had destroyed a Ukrainian naval drone off the western coast of Crimea. (Source: france24)

December 1, 2023  Russian investigators said today a dual Russian-Italian national had been detained for planting bombs on railway tracks as part of a sabotage campaign orchestrated by Ukrainian military intelligence. After his arrest, the man, born in 1988 and a resident of Ryazan, confessed to planting home-made bombs that derailed a freight train in central Russia on Nov. 11. Investigators accuse him of launching a drone attack against a military airfield in the Ryazan region in July and derailing a freight train using an explosive device last month. "During questioning, the detainee confessed and said that in February 2023 he was recruited by an employee of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine,' the Investigative Committee said. The detained man admitted undergoing 'sabotage training in Latvia with the direct participation of the Latvian special services,' the Committee said. A freight train was derailed on Nov. 11 near the town of Rybnoe, about 177 km south-east of Moscow. (Source: reuters)

Ukraine
2023. dec. 1.  President Zelenskyy called for faster construction of fortifications in key sectors under pressure from Russian forces, particularly in eastern Ukraine, the focal point of Moscow’s advances. 'In all major sectors where reinforcement is needed, there should be a boost and an acceleration in the construction of structures,' Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on 30 November. 'This of course means the greatest attention to the Avdiivka, Maryinka and other sectors in Donetsk region. In Kharkiv region, this means the Kupiansk sector and the Kupiansk-Lyman line.' Zelenskyy issued his appeal after touring Ukrainian positions in the northeast, one of several areas where Russian forces have been trying to make recent headway and recapture areas taken back by Ukrainian troops a year ago. Russia has boosted attacks in several areas. These include Kupiansk near Kharkiv, retaken by Ukraine in a drive through the northeast a year ago. Ukrainian troops have made only incremental gains in the east and south. Russian forces have focused attention since mid-October on the devastated town of Avdiivka, known for its vast coking plant and its position as a gateway to the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk, 20 km to the east. 'The plant is under our control. The enemy is suffering significant losses there,' military spokesperson Shtupun told, noting Russian artillery and air attacks inside and around the town. Russian forces have also been pressing near contested villages surrounding the equally shattered town of Bakhmut, captured by Russian forces in May after months of fighting.  Russia’s Defence Ministry on November 29 announced the capture of village Khromove. Unofficial Ukrainian accounts dispute that claim. Ukrainian military analyst Hrabskyi said the Russians sought to capitalise on their capture of Bakhmut to advance on at least three cities to the west. “It is crucial for the enemy to develop things in tactical terms with an eye to possibly advancing on Kostyantynivka, as well as Sloviansk and Kramatorsk,” Hrabskyi told. (Source: euractiv)

Asia

China
Dec 01, 2023  China is set to impose export controls on certain graphite products, potentially having a significant impact in the United States on both electric vehicle manufacturing and some military applications. In 2018, the U.S. Government underscored the criticality of graphite by including it on a list of 35 essential minerals, highlighting its vulnerability to supply chain disruptions and its importance in manufacturing processes crucial to the economy or national security. The restrictions, set to take effect from December 1, were announced on October 20 by China's General Administration of Customs and Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). Analysts Benson and Denamiel, writing for the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), highlighted the particular significance of these restrictions: "While the August controls were aimed at the chips sector, China's graphite controls have more bite in electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing since the material is used as a key input for anodes, the negatively charged portion of the EV battery." In 2022, China was the top graphite-producing country in the world, as it produced an estimated 850,000 metric tons of graphite, a crystalline form of carbon. Shu, a spokeswoman for the MOFCOM, said that such export controls are an international norm and, to date, the ministry hasn't received any exemption applications from companies. The latest decision comes after China announced further export control restrictions on rare earths last month without naming the minerals covered by the restrictions. China's top spy agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), framed the context of these controls in broader terms in a WeChat post: "Just as human life is inseparable from vitamins, critical minerals are also called the 'vitamins' of strategic industries and are related to national development and national security". The MSS further criticized Western nations for their approach to securing critical minerals: "Some Western countries seek their own selfish interests and have established various 'small circles' such as the International Alliance on Energy and Critical Minerals, the Mineral Security Partnership, and the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance, and built 'small courtyards and high walls' to obtain critical mineral resources by any means, seriously hindering the process of globalization." The United States is heavily involved in the three critical mineral alliances mentioned. (Source: newsweek)

Gaza
1 December 2023  Explosions have been heard and smoke was seen rising in several parts of Gaza, after combat in the region resumed. Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Younis were among the places hit. A pause in fighting between Hamas and Israel lasted seven days, during which time 110 hostages held by Hamas and 240 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel were released. (Source: bbc)

1 Dec (2023)  Restart in hostilities. Deadline to extend ceasefire has passed. Israel says it has resumed fighting with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Hamas did not agree to release further hostages, which violated the terms of the truce. Hamas believes that Israel violated the truce agreement by not allowing fuel into the north of the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, Hamas was unwilling to release Israeli men held in Gaza on the same terms as the women and child hostages. In Gaza, 137 people who were kidnapped in the Hamas attacks on 7 October remain hostage – 20 women and 117 men, including Israeli military personnel. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says 32 people have been killed in three hours. It says more than 14,800 people have been killed, including about 6,000 children, since Israel began its campaign against Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli military appears to have dropped leaflets warning residents of Khan Younis in southern Gaza to head further south for their safety in nearby Rafah - close to the Egyptian border. This evening, a source close to the ceasefire talks in Qatar says negotiations about hostages have collapsed. Another truce does not, at the moment, seem likely. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says Israel has blocked humanitarian aid from reaching the Gaza Strip "until further notice". The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says 178 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, since the end of the truce this morning. "Most of whom are children and women,' the ministry says in a statement. It adds that there were also 589 injuries recorded during the day. Today the World Health Organization (WHO) was hoping to coordinate emergency medical teams to support Gaza’s few hospitals which are still functioning, but it says this is now unlikely. In al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, which the WHO visited during the week-long truce, the team reported patients with 'the most horrific injuries' lying on floors 'running with blood', while the bodies of those who had been killed were lined up in the car park outside. Fighting, and the scarcity of water, electricity and fuel, has collapsed Gaza’s healthcare system. Israel said its warplanes attacked 200 targets throughout Gaza today. Late in the evening, reports from Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, spoke of some of the heaviest bombardment yet. (Source: bbc)

Israel
1 December 2023   Israel this morning relaunched its brutal offensive with full force, firing a barrage of missiles and sending warplanes screaming over Gaza as a week-long ceasefire expired today. According to a WSJ report, Israel has already started the preparation for targeted killings abroad. The Israeli officials told WSJ: 'The question now for Israeli leaders isn't about whether to try to kill Hamas leaders elsewhere in the world, but where - and how.' In November, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a press conference: 'I have instructed the Mossad to act against the heads of Hamas wherever they are'. During the same conference Israel Minister of Defence Gallant said the Hamas leaders were 'marked for death.' Hamas group's members are known to hide across the Middle East. Hamas terror chief Haniyeh was spotted cheering for joy from the safety of his Qatar office during the October 7 terror attacks. Former Mossad director Halevy reportedly described the plan as 'far-fetched'. 'Pursuing Hamas on a worldwide scale and trying to systematically remove all its leaders from this world is a desire to exact revenge, not a desire to achieve a strategic aim,' he said. Le Figaro reported that Qatar received assurances from Israel that Mossad will not eliminate terrorists on their soil. Despite the fresh violence, Qatari and Egyptian mediators are still negotiating a new extension of the seven-day truce. (Source: dailymail)
Some comments:
- "Extra judicial killings are murder."
- "Excellent, start in London."
- "Eliminate the threats for the future generations".

Taiwan
Dec 1, 2023  Beijing has sponsored cut-price trips to China for hundreds of Taiwanese politicians ahead of key elections on the island, according to Taiwan sources and documents, unnerving officials with a broad campaign that one called "election interference". President Tsai and other Taiwan officials have warned that China might try to sway voters toward candidates seeking closer ties with Beijing in the elections, which could define the island's relations with China. Beijing, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own and has ramped up military and political pressure to force the island to accept its sovereignty, frames the Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections as a choice between "peace and war', calling the ruling party dangerous separatists and urging Taiwanese to make the 'right choice'. Taiwanese law forbids election campaigns from receiving money from "external hostile forces", including China. Beijing was targeting politicians crucial to the island's administrative systems who play key roles in shaping public opinion. Taiwan's Mainland minister, Chiu said it was 'self-evident" Beijing was trying to sway Taiwan elections through means including free trips for politicians. 'They have already made it clear that a so-called 'right choice' has to be made, meaning choosing candidates that the Chinese Communist Party prefers,' he told. Across Taiwan security agencies are looking into more than 400 visits to China in the past month, most led by local opinion leaders such as borough chiefs and village heads. People taking these trips typically pay their own airfare, but other expenses are offered by Chinese authorities. The agencies believe the trips, with discounted accommodations, transportation and meals, were subsidised by units under China's Taiwan Affairs Office. More than 20 borough chiefs from a district of the capital Taipei joined a China-sponsored trip to Shanghai with their families in September, while more than 10 people from an association for local politicians in neighbouring New Taipei City joined a trip this week, according to two security reports. "Certain borough chiefs have become the window of contacts in Taiwan for some Chinese units." In the investigation in the southern city of Kaohsiung, prosecutors said they believed the five trips from there were fully funded by China's Taiwan Affairs Office. So far this year, more than 1,000 borough chiefs or village heads joined such trips, more than last time, the official said, adding China was targeting electoral districts where support was strong for candidates campaigning for closer China ties. Building criminal cases against trip-takers is challenging, security officials said, because it can be hard to establish a money trail to Chinese state agencies behind the tours, which often come much below the going market rate, and to establish what was said during meetings with Chinese officials. Taiwan suspended group tours to China via travel agencies after the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are no restrictions on individuals visiting. (Source: indiatoday)

South America

Venezuela
Fri, December 1, 2023  A century-old territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana is threatening to escalate into a shooting war. Venezuelans going to the polls Sunday will be asked to answer in a five-part referendum an unusually provocative question: Should their government be given a blank check to invade neighboring Guyana, and wrest away three-quarters of its oil-rich territory? Venezuela claims ownership of about 61,600 square miles of Guyana, tracing its possession to the time both countries were European colonies. Although Venezuela has unceasingly contested an 1899 ruling made by international arbitrators that established the current borders between the two countries, it had allowed the issue to remain on the back burner for decades. The new area would be called Guayana Esequiba, a new Venezuelan state encompassing 74% of English-speaking Guyana’s current landmass. The resolution to put the question to Venezuelan voters was approved in September by the Maduro-controlled National Assembly, which said it is intended to “allow the Venezuelan people to express their views on a significant territorial dispute.” The regime has already launched an aggressive propaganda campaign over the news outlets it controls, with TV and radio stations every few minutes broadcasting jingles promoting one constant message: “The Essequibo is ours.” An overwhelming yes vote is expected, given that even Maduro’s opponents have either refrained from criticizing the referendum or have actually supported it. A yes vote on the referendum may provoke public demand that Maduro act to take over the disputed territory. Many Guyanese see the threat as real and fear the loss of their citizenship. The Essequibo area has more than 230,000 resident, a third of Guyanese population. Experts say an armed conflict with Guyana would lead to greater international isolation for Maduro, given that Guyana is a member of CARICOM, the 15-member Caribbean trade bloc whose support has been essential for Caracas in international forums such as the U.N. and the Organization of American States. In a press release last month the group said Venezuelan threats to stop Guyana from developing Essequibo’s natural resources is “contrary to international law.” Is meant Maduro‘s gambit to force Guyana to the negotiating table and give Venezuela a piece of the Essequibo? This week Brazil - a close ally of both nations that shares its border with both - sent top foreign advisor Amorin to mediate while announcing that it was increasing its military presence along its northern border amid fears that the long-standing dispute could turn into a war. Brazil cannot afford to allow that to happen, especially the forced aspect. Some of the country’s neighbors base their own borders on the same 1899 arbitration decision. Brazil has a border with every South American country with the exception of Chile and Ecuador, and some of those countries are not happy with their borders with Brazil. The border dispute is currently before the United Nations’ International Court of Justice. Guyana has asked the court to rule the 1899 decision valid and binding. In November, Guyana again went before the court, this time asking it to halt parts of Venezuela’s five-part referendum. The country hopes to have a decision from the court on Friday about the referendum. (Source: yahoo)

Globalization

December 1, 2023  Competing visions summed up the most divisive issue facing world leaders at this year's U.N. climate summit in Dubai, in the oil-producing United Arab Emirates. U.N. Secretary General Guterres urged world leaders at the COP28 climate summit to plan for a future without fossil fuels, saying there was no other way to curb global warming. Speaking a day after COP28 president al-Jaber proposed embracing the continued use of fossil fuels, Guterres said: "We cannot save a burning planet with a fire hose of fossil fuels." "The 1.5-degree limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels. Not reduce. Not abate," he said. "Unless we rapidly repair and restore nature's economy, based on harmony and balance, which is our ultimate sustainer, our own economy and survivability will be imperilled," said King Charles III of Britain, who has spent most of his adult life campaigning on the environment. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to admonish wealthy countries for their role in releasing the most climate-warming emissions since the Industrial Revolution. "Over the past century, a small section of humanity has indiscriminately exploited nature. However, entire humanity is paying the price for this, especially people living in the global south,' Modi said. Heine, a former Marshall Islands president, whose country faces inundation from climate-driven sea level rise, resigned from the main COP28 advisory board today in objection to the UAE's support of continued use of fossil fuels. The United Nations today published its first draft for what could serve as a template for a final agreement from the COP28 summit, which ends Dec. 12. The draft's central problem is of whether, and to what extent, fossil fuels should play a role in the future. One of the options involves including commitments to phase down or phase out the use of fossil fuels, to quit coal energy and to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. Also on the table for discussion is whether to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, which totaled some $7 trillion last year, and whether to include provisions for carbon capture and removal technology. The summit also clinched an early victory by adopting a new fund to help poor nations cope with climate disasters. Delegations and technical committees set to work today on the mammoth task of assessing their progress in meeting global climate targets, specifically the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to within 2 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial temperatures. Scientists say that a global temperature rise beyond this threshold will unleash catastrophic and irreversible impacts worldwide. (Source: reuters)

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Europe

Bulgaria
30 November 2023  In Bulgaria local elections were held on 29 October. The investigative journalism site Bivol revealed suspicious links between the elected centrist mayor of Varna, Kotsev, and some offshore transactions. Bivol's journalists claim that Kotsev was investigated by prosecutors before being granted the protection of mayoral candidate status. Kotsev was one of the few mayors from the pro-European PP-DB coalition to outperform the ruling GERB in major cities. (Source: voxeurop)

Romania
30 November 2023  Prelude to electoral 2024. With European and local elections dominating the agenda across the region, the media have already stepped up their efforts to expose the misuse of public resources, corruption and manipulation. For example, to interview Romanian President Iohannis, whose ten-year term ends in November 2024, the daily Libertatea sent one of its reporters to Cabo Verde, where Iohannis and his entourage, including his wife, had stopped on a tour designed to 'put Romania back on the African radar.' After examining one of the president's rented business jets and researching the presidential travel policies of other European countries, the investigative journalists from Recorder concluded that 'Romania turns out to be the only country in the EU where the president travels with private planes and then keeps the costs secret.' (Source: voxeurop)

The Netherlands
2023. nov. 30.  A week after Dutch leader Wilders sparked a political earthquake in the Netherlands and further afield with a stunning election victory, his task of building a coalition has become even more difficult. Wilders needs the backing of 76 MPs in the 150-seat parliament for a working majority. His Party for Freedom has 37 seats and his preferred coalition is with the BBB farmers party (seven seats), the all-new pro-reform New Social Party (20 seats) and the current ruling party, the centre-right VVD (24 seats). Wilders suffered a setback to his goal of forming a governing coalition yesterday. The VVD has already ruled out participation, saying it would support a centre-right coalition from the opposition benches. Wilders’ anti-Islam, anti-immigrant, and anti-EU manifesto also calls for a halt in weapons supplies to Ukraine. A key potential partner, the Dutch New Social Contract (NSC) and its list leader Omtzigt said on November 29, it did not see a way of working with the PVV unless it clarified the 'extreme parts' of its manifesto, which 'contains views which in our judgement go against the constitution… here we draw a hard line,” said a letter from Omtzigt to the scout charged with overseeing the negotiations. The manifesto calls for a ban on mosques, headscarves and the Koran, as well as a referendum on a Nexit - the Netherlands leaving the European Union. “All in all, the NSC faction does not now see any basis to start talks with the PVV about a majority or a minority government.' Wilders moderated his tone during the election campaign and has stressed since election night that he wants to be prime minister “for all Dutch” regardless of race or religion. “We notice that Mr Wilders has said he wants to put the relevant parts of his manifesto ‘in the freezer’. What is the status of the PVV manifesto now?” asked the NSC. (Source: euractiv)

European Parliament
2023. nov. 30.  Just a few months before the EU elections, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) remains the main political power in the EU, set to win 175 seats, three fewer than they currently hold, according to a new projection about EU Parliament’s seats by Europe Elects seen before its publication later today. The socialist S&D would remain at 141. The polls suggest that liberal Renew group, which currently holds 101 seats and is expected to decline to 89. Based on the projected numbers, a pro-EU grand coalition between the EPP, S&D and the Liberals seems to be a likely scenario. Just after summer, tensions between the EU centre-right and centre-left escalated following public disagreements on several policy files, such as a vote on the EU Nature Restoration Law and the Air Pollution Directive. The two parties exchanged harsh accusations regarding their stance toward EU-driven green policies in general and that the EPP eyed a coalition with far-right forces. Since late September, things seem to have calmed down - EPP boss Bakolas ruled out any collaboration between the EPP and the ECR or ID. “I think the EPP, the Socialists, ALDE [liberals], and the Greens are political elements within the EU that have guaranteed our Union is moving forward in the right direction,' Bakolas said. The Greens are collapsing electorally, set to decline from 72 to 52 seats. European far-right political forces have reached a record high: if EU elections were to be held today, anti-EU far-right political parties, which have united under the umbrella of the “Identity and Democracy” (ID) group in the EU Parliament, would win 87 out of 705 seats ( they currently hold 60 seats). According to the survey, ID’s significant electoral boost is expected to take over the conservative European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR) and become the fourth largest power in the EU House. The most recent gains for the ID group were partially driven by the victory of Wilders’ PVV in the Dutch elections last week, according to Europe Elects. ID consists of parties such as Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN), which leads polls in France; Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which ranks second in the German election, as well as Salvini’s Lega, which already is a coalition partner in Italy. A similar situation exists for Austria’s FPÖ, which steadily tops the polls in Vienna. Following the Dutch elections, Le Pen spoke out at EU institutions, saying they need a complete overhaul, clarifying that Europe should not fall apart and France should keep the Euro currency. “In total, about 23% of the seats would go to the two groups of the radical right in the EU Parliament, as per the current projection", Europe Elects commented. This does not include right parties that are not affiliated with the two groups, like the Hungarian Fidesz, which sits with the ideologically diverse Non-Inscrits (NI) in the EU Parliament. According to Europe Elects, far-right political forces in Europe have gradually changed their rhetoric, and instead of pushing for an exit from the EU, they now prioritise the need to change the EU in their public speeches. This element could help them break the tradition and mobilise voters ahead of the elections. (Source: euractiv)

2023. nov. 30.  'Pfizergate' affair lead EU lawmaker Rivasi, the Green MEP who pushed for the SMS exchanges between the European Commission President and Pfizer CEO to be made public, died on 29 November at the age of 70 of a heart attack while on her way to the European Parliament in Brussels. (Source: euractiv)

Europol
30 Nov 2023  Between 13 and 18 November 2023, law enforcement authorities across Europe joined forces to target firearms trafficking, drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and high-risk criminal networks during coordinated EMPACT Joint Action Days South East Europe. The intelligence-led approach saw police, customs, immigration agencies and border control agencies join forces. Spain coordinated the operational activities, while Europol coordinated the exchange of operational information between the parties involved. Police, gendarmerie, border guards, customs authorities and national units involved in combating organised crime across Europe cooperated, intensified checks at the EU’s external borders and special operations in the countries involved in these days. The operation was coordinated from an international coordination centre set up in Skopje, North Macedonia, where officers representing these authorities were present to facilitate international cooperation and respond to operational needs on the ground. The intelligence-led approach and cross-border operational coordination involved joint efforts by 22 488 officers from the participating authorities. Europol coordinated the exchange of operational information and supported the operational coordination. Europol also deployed experts on the ground to provide real-time analytical support to field operatives. The Netherlands deployed two teams with special scanning equipment to border crossing points in Greece and Montenegro. Frontex deployed experts and equipment to the external borders. Officers checked '288 774 entities' - 215 273 persons, 67 277 vehicles and 5 225 postal packages/parcels were checked - leading to the detection of 2 229 illegal entries. 2 229 illegal entries were detected and 566 arrests (218 related to migrant smuggling, 186 related to drug trafficking, 69 related to firearms trafficking, 89 related to other crimes). 114 forged documents were identified. Seizures included 310 weapons (84 automatic weapons, 65 pistols, 59 rifles, 22 grenade launchers, 16 revolvers, 7 carbine, 6 shotguns, 4 converted weapons, 2 air guns, other, 42 other); 20 206 pieces of ammunition; almost a tonne of drugs including 626 kg of cocaine, almost 300 kg cannabis, heroin and marijuana plants. The information exchange led to the opening of 121 new cases against criminal networks. Cyber patrolling was set up during the operational phase, between 13 and 18 November 2023. It focused on monitoring and investigative activities on different websites, forums and marketplaces on the clear and dark web as well as on messaging applications and social media networks. The operational activities were aimed at detecting the illicit trafficking of firearms and collecting further information on the identified targets. The online investigations also focused on re-enactment activities that could assist the operational actions on the ground. These investigations were conducted in native languages by officers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine. The officers carried out these activities in a synchronised manner. Investigators identified 120 targets (accounts and/or individuals) related to the trafficking of firearms, 94 of which were on a messaging application, 11 on marketplaces and 10 on other clear websites and 5 on the dark web. Overall participants in all joint action days: 26 countries across Europe, supported by Europol, Eurojust, Frontex, INTERPOL and a number of international structures. EU Member States: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden; Non-EU countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine and United Kingdom. EU agencies: Europol, Eurojust and Frontex. International and institutional partners: EUBAM, IPA/2019 (EU co-funded projects: “EU Support to Strengthen the Fight against Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking in Human Beings in the Western Balkans” and “Countering serious crime in the Western Balkans), INTERPOL, PCC SEE (Police Cooperation Convention for Southeast Europe Secretariat), SEESAC (South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons), SELEC (Southeast European Law Enforcement Center), UNDP and UNODC. (Source: europol)

European Union
30.11.2023  Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare. The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is the world’s most successful disarmament treaty that has eradicated an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. "In July this year, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) verified the destruction of the world’s last declared chemical weapons stock". Despite the progress made, the re-emergence of chemical weapons remains one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. The use of chemical weapons is a violation of international law, which can amount to the most serious of international crimes - war crimes and crimes against humanity. The European Union supports national and international efforts towards full accountability for those responsible, regardless of their position. The EU continues its active participation in the Partnership Against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons. No one should use chemical weapons, anywhere, at any time or under any circumstances. Every year, on 30 November, the European Union commemorates those who have died and suffered as a result of the use of chemical weapons, and pledges to continue to fight against impunity. In Syria, the EU has imposed restrictive measures on an entity and persons responsible for development and use of chemical weapons, in particular for the attacks that took place in August 2013 in Ghouta - in which the Syrian regime killed more than 1,400 people - March 2017 in Ltamenah and 2018 in Douma. They have caused thousands of victims, including children. The EU has imposed restrictive measures on persons and entities in Russia linked to the Salisbury attack in 2018 and the poisoning of Mr Navalny in 2020. Chemical weapons have also been used in Russia, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Iraq. (Source: eeas)

Kosovo
November 30, 2023  Kosovo's police engaged in clashes with veterans of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who were protesting outside a hotel in Pristina where the president of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, Trendafilova, was lodged. Members of Kosovo’s leftist Social Democratic Party (PSD) attempted to access Sirius hotel in Pristina where Trendafilova was meeting with NGO representatives. The Kosovo Specialist Chambers & Specialist Prosecutor’s Office was set up in 2015 in The Hague to probe and prosecute war crimes committed by former KLA members who fought for independence from Serbia, during the conflict in 1998-99. The institution is working under Kosovo's jurisdiction. The protest saw KLA veterans expressing their opposition to the war crime court. Protesters voiced concerns about the lack of transparency within the court, highlighting its closed trial sessions and the absence of information regarding the sources of evidence. Key figures such as Kosovo's former president Thaci, ex-parliament speaker Veseli, and former MP Selimi, who were all leaders of the KLA, are presently facing trial in The Hague. Activating smoke bombs and launching pyrotechnic devices, the veterans clashed with the police, resulting in the use of tear gas by the police. The clash also led to the detention of several activists from the PSD, heightening the tensions on the streets of Pristina. As the situation escalated, journalists covering the protest were caught in the crossfire. The Kosovo police's use of tear gas created breathing problems for some reporters on the scene. The Association of Journalists of Kosovo expressed deep concern over the police actions, condemning the use of force against journalists and calling for respect for their professional duties. (Source: intellinews)

Moldova
30 November 2023  Moldova held local elections on 5 November, with the liberal PAS securing the majority of mayoralties (32.51%). A few days before the elections, however, Moldova's Commission for Emergency Situations barred the candidates of the "Chance" party from running, accusing the party of being financed with Russian money by fugitive MP Șor. The investigative newspaper Ziarul de Gardă – which recently accused Chicu, leader of the centrist PDCM, of sexist and hate speech after he called the paper's reporters "mediatic escorts' belonging to a 'mediatic brothel' – conducted impromptu interviews with voters from Orhei, a town that has traditionally voted for the Chance party. Ziarul de Gardă wanted to find out who would get the support of the people by removing their favourite from the race. However, the people of Orhei confessed that they had been manipulated. “It was a gathering, they gave us small papers. We have agents who inform us,' an elderly lady said. The winning candidate in Orhei was Cociu, who was supported by the leader of the "Chance" party, Lungu. (Source: voxeurop)

Russia
30 November (2023)  In a report, "The Russian Understanding of Soldier Morale: Essentials of Key Ideas from the 1990s to 2022", Gustafsson Kurki, senior researcher in FOI’s Defence Analysis Division looks into how Russian military analysts themselves reason about, and use, the concept of soldier morale. He created a model to explain the Russian view, analysing multiple Russian texts on the topic. Their concept of soldier morale revolves heavily around religious spirituality, which is used to legitimise the armed forces and Putin’s power. Associating morale with the Orthodox Church is desired. The model consists of three parts: Russian spirituality, emotionality-based communality and coercion. In the military-analytical texts, the Russian view of spirituality is strongly linked to religiosity and churchliness. Russian spirituality corresponds to the concept of duchovnost, which is a far more important quality in Russian soldiers than the possession of high-tech weapons, according to some Russian military analysts. When they write about duchovnost, they are more often referring to a Christian belief in God, Gustafsson Kurki says. “The texts refer to religion as the highest value that motivates soldiers to fight, and that spirituality and soldier morale are two sides of the same coin". “They are trying to legitimise the armed forces and Putin’s power by associating the Orthodox Church with themselves. Almost every Russian thinks duchovnost is important. By connecting it to the armed forces, it becomes more difficult for any critics to speak out. The second part of the model deals with emotionality-based communality. In military-analytical texts, soldier morale is not considered an individual matter, but as something possessed by a military collective – that is, companies, battalions, or the entire army. The collective is emphasised over the individual. This is also expressed in how coercive power and the military order are seen, which is as a sacred instruction that must be fulfilled at all costs. Soldiers who receive orders must show a willingness to sacrifice and blindly obey the order, while officers are described as emanating willpower and initiative in a completely different way,” says Gustafsson Kurki. Third, and the aspect of Russian thinking about soldier morale that most overlaps with Western thinking is coercive power. All military organisations are based on the state’s monopoly on violence and, by extension, its coercive power. Individuals may be ordered to do things that sometimes involve killing, or that result in their own deaths. “Basically, it is the same phenomenon that exists in all defence and armed forces. What distinguishes the Russian view of soldier morale from the Western one is the explicit role of spirituality, belief in God and religion.” The texts studied by Pär Gustafsson Kurki are philosophically oriented and half of the texts come from the Ministry of Defence’s own scientific journal. “The writers often have military ranks, so what is expressed comes from the military establishment, from people loyal to the regime.” Gustafsson Kurki conducted a short empirical study for the report to see if the alleged significance of duchovnost had practical implications. The Russian Armed Forces has invested in chaplains to some degree, but their number is modest in relation to the need, according him. “They still make a big deal out of the investments and bang the drum in the media, so it has more of an ideological point than a clear role in military efficiency. One sign of this is that Russia has previously managed to fight wars and achieve political goals without an elaborate system of chaplains, for example in the Second Chechen War.” In practice, factors such as discipline, functioning logistics and access to supplies and ammunition have been more important for Russia’s military success than the alleged importance of spirituality, Gustafsson Kurki says. He believes that by emphasising duchovnost, there is a risk that the Russians will be deluded about their own capabilities. 'They risk falling for their own propaganda. A contributing factor in their continued fight in Ukraine may be that they believe they have a spiritual quality that makes them destined to win, despite already shooting off much of their best materiel in the war.” 'If you wanted to reform how morale is viewed, you would also need to reform the rest of society. This is quite unlikely to happen, since the current regime is so invested in maintaining power. This model will probably be relevant for a long time to come.” (Source: foi *)
* the Swedish Defence Research Agency

Serbia
30 November 2023  A round of elections is fast approaching in Serbia this December. The upcoming vote is both local and parliamentary. The elections will also gauge Serbia's opinion of the current leadership led by President Vučić. After CRTA opinion polls institute claimed that for the first time more citizens gave Vucić a negative rating than a positive one, the Danas newspaper spoke to political analyst Mladenović. He explained that Vučić's electoral support is likely to decline due to a normal phenomenon that occurs after times of crisis. 'Speaking to the same newspaper, actress Bojković, who joined the ProGlas petition (signed by over 140,000 citizens) to encourage people to vote, fears that Serbia could face civil war if people don't vote in large numbers'. (Source: voxeurop)

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Asia

China
Thursday, November 30, 2023  China‘s high-altitude balloon program is linked to the military’s hypersonic missile program and a new command for both systems is prepared to conduct 'merciless' attacks in a future conflict with the United States, according to a Chinese defense research report by a group of researchers at the National University of Defense Technology. It states that the military set up a new command for both hypersonic missiles and the high-altitude balloons - like the suspected surveillance balloon shot down in February off the South Carolina coast by an Air Force jet fighter after traversing much of the continental U.S. 'Hypersonic weapons can attack rocket launch sites, [destroying] the enemy’s ability to fire anti-satellite missiles on our civilian satellite networks,' the report said. 'These attacks must be precise, overwhelming and merciless. This could change the pace of battles and bring a major impact to how a war would end.' The report, “Near Space Operations Command,” made public during a Beijing conference on command and control in October, said the new operations command will direct hypersonic missiles against heavily protected targets, including communications equipment and hubs in the heartland of an adversary. The same command also operates “a large number” of spy balloons, solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles and other support equipment, the report said. China‘s high-altitude balloons are under the control of the People’s Liberation Army, according to defense officials and likely operated by the Strategic Support Force, a separate military branch in charge of military spying, cyberattacks, and electronic and psychological warfare. The balloons and autonomous systems operate at low speeds and can stay at high altitudes for weeks or months and provide surveillance and communications relay points. China is a world leader in hypersonic missiles, which can be armed with either nuclear or conventional warheads, according to a recent annual report by the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The China defense report describes hypersonic missiles as effective weapons that can strike targets minutes after launch and can maneuver to avoid anti-missile defenses. Its first operational hypersonic is the DF-17 missile topped with a hypersonic glide vehicle. The DF-41 has a hypersonic last stage that traveled nearly 25,000 miles in space before hitting a surface target in a 2021 test. China also is developing the Starry Sky-2, a hypersonic missile with warheads capable of penetrating current missile defenses. Beijing military planners could also use the new missiles to target civilian infrastructure such as launch pads for SpaceX rockets in the United States, the China defense technology report said. However, the missiles can pose challenges for political and international relations, the Chinese authors acknowledged. The near space combat force is in the early stages of rapid development, but it contains units that are not fully operational and lack standardized combat operations, the report said. “It is necessary to adjust the hierarchy of command and control powers, selection of command methods, implementation of executive orders and support for command communication.” The authors recommend that commanders acquire a deeper understanding of world affairs, national policies and strategic guidelines. During a conflict, senior PLA leaders should be able to delegate some authority to near space commanders that would improve decision-making and action time. 'The command headquarters and control stations of the near-space force will be the key targets of enemy reconnaissance and strikes,' the report said. 'The competition around the destruction and anti-destruction of these targets will be extremely intense.' According to the report, the near space command would take full control of hypersonic weapons from other PLA branches, such as the Rocket Force, in conducting rapid strikes on strategic enemy targets. The report, posted on the Chinese research database CNKI.net, was first disclosed by the South China Morning Post. A review of the database reveals that China has published hundreds of reports on near space, including its use for weapons. Beijing analysts define the near space domain as the zone 12 miles to 62 miles above the Earth’s surface, below what is officially and legally considered outer space. The air in that middle zone is considered too thin for aircraft and too dense to support orbiting satellites. 'Near space' is a new zone of conflict that will determine the outcome of future wars, according to Chinese strategists, but the legality of the concept is not sharply contested. 'Near space has become a new battleground in modern warfare,' the Liberation Army Daily, a state-run newspaper affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army, wrote in a recent editorial. Listner, founder and principal of Space Law and Policy Solutions, said China stepped up promoting its narrative of near space during the spy balloon incident, which sent bilateral relations with Washington plummeting. “Legally, there is no such creature as ‘near-space,’” he said, calling the Chinese argument “very dangerous.” “The stratospheric region above a sovereign nation is still sovereign airspace. But it appears the PRC is initiating a lawfare operation to create a legal ambiguity to justify not only balloon flights, but hypersonic weapons as well,' he said. Garretson, a space expert with the American Foreign Policy Council, said China is seeking to redefine near space, a concept that in the past was used to describe sovereign airspace where flight by propeller and fixed-wing aircraft was difficult. Previously, the domain was still considered sovereign territory and not unrestricted space that any nation could enter. “It has been a common legal understanding that until you are in outer space, you are in sovereign airspace,” Mr. Garretson said. “This is yet another example of China‘s all-domain press to redefine rules and definitions to their advantage - a way to condition the world to their relentless and imperial encroachment, and to justify acts of aggression such as their balloon incursion of multiple nations’ sovereign airspace,' he said. A report by the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific Command’s joint operational law team argues that Beijing has been promoting the term “near space” in multiple publications in a bid to 'foment a gray zone in which to execute unlawful surveillance under a false veneer of legitimacy.' Gray zone is a military term used to describe low-level warfare. “There is no ‘near space’ in international law – only airspace and outer space, and [high-altitude balloons] fly in airspace,” the U.S. legal analysis said. The latest Chinese report on the new near space command, however, suggests the spy balloon program, which so far has been detected operating over 40 nations, is gathering information for use by hypersonic missiles, which travel at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound and can maneuver while skimming just below outer space. People’s Liberation Army surveillance balloons traveling in the stratosphere can gather valuable intelligence on wind, temperature and other conditions that would aid hypersonic missile attacks. (Source: washingtontimes)

Gaza
(30 November 2023)  Satellite images show almost 98,000 buildings may be damaged in Gaza, reveal the extent of destruction across the north of the Strip, before the start of the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The satellite images were taken last Thursday, 23 November, just before the suspension of hostilities came into force, following weeks of Israeli air strikes and on-the-ground fighting. A whole series of craters are visible in what was once a residential area. Some of the buildings on the beach front, which boasted Gaza's first five-star hotel, the Al-Mashtal, as well as huts and restaurants, appear to have been partially destroyed. (Source: bbc)
Note: Maps (Source: bbc): https://tinyurl.com/y2t4t2p5

29 Nov (2023)  Who are the armed militant groups in Gaza? Living and operating amongst Gaza’s 2.3 million people are thought to be up to 11 different armed factions, mostly Islamist, ranging from the largest and most powerful, Hamas, down to small, armed gangs. When Hamas launched its cross-border raid into southern Israel on 7 October, its uniformed gunmen were accompanied by others from those gangs and even unaffiliated individuals. Hence the recent delays in releases. Hamas needs to bring the remaining Israeli hostages under its control so it can bargain for further extensions in the temporary truce. The main groups are as follows:    Hamas. Founded in 1987 and ruling Gaza since 2007, it had an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 fighters in its armed wing - the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades. It's funded and supported by Iran. Hamas’s charter remains dedicated to the destruction of the state of Israel.    Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Founded in 1981 by Palestinian students living in Egypt. A close ally of Iran. Vows to destroy Israel. Believed to have between 1,000 and 8,000 fighters under the brand "Al-Quds Brigades".     Al-Nasser Salah Al-Deen Brigades. Third largest faction, an ally of Hamas and PIJ. Contributes to the Gaza police force. Reported to have participated in joint attacks with Hamas including the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Shalit in 2006.     Mujahideen Brigades. The armed wing of the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement. Operates in both Gaza and West Bank. Also reported to have ties to Iran. In 2023 its spokesman warned that the issues of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and confrontations over Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque were "a ticking time bomb'. (Source: bbc)

November 30, 2023  Israel and Hamas struck a last-minute agreement on Thursday (Nov 30) to extend their ceasefire for a seventh day. The truce was due to expire at 0500 GMT. It has allowed much needed humanitarian aid into Gaza after much of the coastal territory of 2.3 million people was reduced to wasteland by seven weeks of Israeli bombardment in retaliation for a deadly rampage by Hamas militants on Oct 7. Israel has sworn to annihilate Hamas, which rules Gaza, in response to the Oct 7 rampage by the militant group, when Israel says gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages. Palestinian health authorities deemed reliable by the UN say more than 15,000 Gazans have been confirmed killed, around 40 per cent of them children. A further 6,500 are missing, many feared still buried under rubble. Israel, which has demanded Hamas release at least 10 hostages per day to keep the ceasefire going, said it received a list at the last minute of those who would go free on Thursday, allowing it to call off plans to resume fighting at dawn. Hamas, which freed 16 hostages on Wednesday while Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners, also said the truce would continue for a seventh day. So far militants have released 97 hostages during the truce: 70 Israeli women and children, each freed in return for three Palestinian women and teenage detainees, plus 27 foreign hostages freed under parallel agreements with their governments. With fewer Israeli women and children left in captivity, extending the truce could require setting new terms for the release of Israeli men, including soldiers. Hamas had earlier said Israel had refused its offer to hand over seven women and children plus the bodies of three others. It said on Wednesday the youngest hostage, 10-month-old Bibas, had been killed along with his four-year-old brother and their mother in Israeli bombardment, a claim Israel said it was checking. The conditions of the ceasefire, including the halt of hostilities and the entry of humanitarian aid, remain the same, according to Qatar which has been a key mediator between the warring sides, along with Egypt and the US. Israel rejects a permanent ceasefire as benefitting Hamas, a position backed by Washington. Once the truce is over, Israel is expected to extend its ground campaign into the south. Two-thirds of Gazans are homeless, most of them sheltering in the south after Israel ordered the complete evacuation of the northern half of the tiny coastal strip. UN Secretary-General Guterres said on Wednesday the Gaza Strip was in the midst of an "epic humanitarian catastrophe", and he and others called for a full ceasefire to replace the temporary truce. Shortly after the agreement a deadly shooting in Jerusalem was a potent reminder of the potential for violence to spread. Israeli police said two Palestinian attackers opened fire at a bus stop during morning rush hour at the entrance to Jerusalem, killing at least three people. "Two terrorists arrived at the scene in a vehicle armed with firearms, these terrorists opened fire towards civilians at the bus station and were subsequently neutralised by security forces and a nearby civilian," the police said. Jordan will host a conference attended by the main UN, regional and international relief agencies on Thursday to coordinate aid to Gaza. (Source: asiaone)

Israel
Nov. 30, 2023  Failure of analysis and imagination. Israeli officials obtained Hamas’s battle plan for the Oct. 7 attack more than a year before it happened, documents, emails and interviews show. The approximately 40-page document, which Israeli authorities code-named 'Jericho Wall,' outlined, point by point, exactly the kind of devastating invasion that led to the deaths of about 1,200 people. It was among several versions of attack plans collected over the years. A 2016 Defense Ministry memorandum says: 'Hamas intends to move the next confrontation into Israeli territory.' Such an attack would most likely involve hostage-taking and 'occupying an Israeli community (and perhaps even a number of communities),' the memo reads. In September 2016, the defense minister’s office compiled a top-secret memorandum based on a much earlier iteration of a Hamas attack plan. The memorandum, which was signed by the defense minister at the time, Lieberman, said that an invasion and hostage-taking would 'lead to severe damage to the consciousness and morale of the citizens of Israel.' The memo said Hamas had purchased sophisticated weapons, GPS jammers and drones. It also said Hamas had increased its fighting force to 27,000 people - having added 6,000 to its ranks in a two-year period. Hamas had hoped to reach 40,000 by 2020, the memo determined. Hamas followed the 'Jericho Wal' blueprint with shocking precision. The document - which begins with a quote from the Quran: 'Surprise them through the gate. If you do, you will certainly prevail' - detailed barrage of rockets at the outset of the attack, to distract Israeli soldiers and send them hurrying into bunkers, drones to knock out the security cameras and automated machine guns along the border, and gunmen to pour into Israel en masse in paragliders, on motorcycles and on foot - all of which happened. Hamas fighters would break through 60 points in the wall, storming across the border into Israel. The plan also included details about the location and size of Israeli military forces, communication hubs and other sensitive information. One of the most important objectives outlined in the document was to overrun the Israeli military base in Re’im, which is home to the Gaza division responsible for protecting the region. Hamas carried out that objective Oct. 7, rampaging through Re’im and overrunning parts of the base. The translated document did not set a date for the attack, but described a methodical assault designed to overwhelm the fortifications around the Gaza Strip, take over Israeli cities and storm key military bases, including a division headquarters. All militaries write plans that they never use, and Israeli officials assessed that, even if Hamas invaded, it might muster a force of a few dozen, not the hundreds who ultimately attacked. The document circulated widely among Israeli military and intelligence leaders, but Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out. That belief was so ingrained in the Israeli government, officials said, that they disregarded growing evidence to the contrary. Last year, shortly after the document was obtained, officials in the Israeli military’s Gaza division said Hamas’ intentions were unclear. 'It is not yet possible to determine whether the plan has been fully accepted and how it will be manifested,' read a military assessment. The military’s Gaza division drafted its own intelligence assessment of this latest invasion plan. Hamas had 'decided to plan a new raid, unprecedented in its scope,' analysts wrote in the assessment. It said that Hamas intended to carry out a deception operation followed by a 'large-scale maneuver' with the aim of overwhelming the division. The Gaza division referred to the plan as a “compass.' In other words, the division determined that Hamas knew where it wanted to go but had not arrived there yet. On July 6, three months before the attacks, a veteran analyst with Unit 8200, Israel’s signals intelligence agency, warned that Hamas had conducted an intense, daylong training exercise that appeared similar to what was outlined in the blueprint. “I utterly refute that the scenario is imaginary,” the analyst wrote in the email exchanges. The Hamas training exercise, she said, fully matched 'the content of Jericho Wall.” But a colonel in the Gaza division brushed off her concerns, according to encrypted emails viewed. The colonel applauded the analysis but said the exercise was part of a 'totally imaginative' scenario, not an indication of Hamas’ ability to pull it off.' 'In short, let’s wait patiently,' the colonel wrote. The back-and-forth continued, with some colleagues supporting the analyst’s original conclusion. “It is a plan designed to start a war,” she added. The veteran Unit 8200 analyst wrote to a group of other intelligence experts that dozens of Hamas commandos had recently conducted training exercises, with senior Hamas commanders observing. The training included a dry run of shooting down Israeli aircraft and taking over a kibbutz and a military training base, killing all the cadets. During the exercise, Hamas fighters used the same phrase from the Quran that appeared at the top of the Jericho Wall attack plan, she wrote in the email exchanges viewed. The analyst warned that the drill closely followed the Jericho Wall plan, and that Hamas was building the capacity to carry it out. While ominous, none of the emails predicted that war was imminent. Nor did the analyst challenge the conventional wisdom among Israeli intelligence officials that Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, was not interested in war with Israel. But she correctly assessed that Hamas’ capabilities had drastically improved - the gap between the possible and the aspirational had narrowed significantly. The Israeli military was unprepared as terrorists streamed out of the Gaza Strip. The Jericho Wall document lays bare a yearslong cascade of missteps that culminated in what officials now regard as the worst Israeli intelligence failure since the surprise attack that led to the Arab-Israeli war of 1973. Israeli security officials have already acknowledged that they failed to protect the country. Israel had also misread Hamas’ actions - the group had negotiated for permits to allow Palestinians to work in Israel, which Israeli officials took as a sign that Hamas was not looking for a war. The government is expected to assemble a commission to study the events leading up to the attacks. (Source: seattletimes)

Red Sea
Thursday 30/11/2023  The Carney destroyer, a US Navy warship in the Red Sea shot down an Iran-produced drone launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. “Although its intentions are not known, the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) was heading toward the warship,” the US Central Command, part of the US Department of Defence, said yesterday, adding that at the time the Carney was escorting two ships, one of which was carrying military equipment 'to the region'. An Israeli container shipping line said on Sunday, November 26, it expected longer sailing times for its vessels. Insurance industry sources said they expected war risk premiums to rise in the area, especially for Israel-linked shipping. (Source: thearabweekly)

Taiwan
November 30, 2023  At the meeting between the U.S. and Chinese presidents in California this month, the Chinese leader was telling his U.S. counterpart that reunification was "unstoppable." Self-ruled Taiwan is holding its presidential election in January, and this is under scrutiny including by policymakers in Beijing and Washington, as it could determine Taipei's ties with an increasingly bellicose Beijing. China is not likely to consider a major invasion of Taiwan for now grappling with domestic economic, financial and political challenges, the island's president Tsai said yesterday, although Beijing is attempting to sway the outcome in its favor. "I think the Chinese leadership at this juncture is overwhelmed by its internal challenges," Tsai told the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York. Tsai is not able to run in the upcoming election, as she will have completed the maximum of two terms in office. Asked if the United States' attempt to boost its chip manufacturing capabilities could make Washington's ties with Taipei less valuable in the long run, Tsai added that the island's current semiconductor industry cannot be replaced by anywhere else. (Source: voanews)

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North America

United States
Wed November 1, 2023  'There’s a smarter way to eliminate Hamas'. Israel’s strategy for defeating Hamas - destroying its military and political capabilities to the point where the terrorist group can never again launch major attacks against Israeli civilians - is unlikely to work. Indeed, Israel is likely already producing more terrorists than it’s killing. Although the principle - of separating the terror group from the broader population - is simple, it is incredibly difficult to achieve in practice. 'Right now, we are witnessing not the separation of Hamas and the local population, but the growing integration of the two, with likely growing recruitment for Hamas'. To defeat terrorist groups, it is crucial to engage in long campaigns of selective pressure, over years, not simply a month (or two, or three) of heavy ground operations, and to combine military operations with political solutions from early on. The only way to create lasting damage to terrorists is to combine, typically in a long campaign of years, sustained selective attacks against identified terrorists with political operations that drive wedges between the terrorists and the local populations from which they come. Israel needs a new strategic conception for defeating Hamas. The only viable way to separate Hamas from the local population is politically. Israel doesn’t appear to have a political plan for the period after eliminating Hamas. Since 2006, Hamas has been the only government in Gaza. Israel claims it does not want to govern Gaza, but Gaza will need to be governed, and Israel has yet to explain what a post-Hamas Gaza will look like. What will prevent Hamas 2.0 from filling the power vacuum? Given the absence of serious political alternatives to Hamas, why should Palestinians abandon Hamas? There is an alternative: now, not later, start the political process toward a pathway to a Palestinian state, and create a viable political alternative for Palestinians to Hamas. It must be the Palestinians who decide who leads Gaza. This new strategic conception is the best way to defeat Hamas, secure Israel’s population and advance America’s interests in the region. (Source: cnn)
Note: Opinion by Pape, professor of political science and director of the University of Chicago

Nov. 01, 2023  Not since the days of the Pharaoh had a Diaspora community enjoyed such proximity to political power and relative safety from age-old antisemitism than in the United States. But in the three weeks since Oct. 7, that notion of safety and security has been turned upside down. Those on the pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian sides of the current conflict in Gaza do not agree on much. While one group views the Israeli military’s actions as a legitimate act of self-defense, the other sees it as a continuation of Israel’s oppressive policies toward the Palestinian people. But if there is one issue on which both sides should, at least, theoretically agree, it’s that the targeting of Jews writ large, in the United States and elsewhere, is unacceptable and must be roundly condemned. And yet, in a terrifying and disheartening turn of events, Diaspora Jews are finding themselves under attack, and at times, even blamed for the violence and harassment perpetrated against them. Since Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists crossed the border from Gaza into Israel and massacred more than 1,400 Israelis, there has been a dramatic and terrifying increase in antisemitism - and the silence from those criticizing Israel and “contextualizing” Hamas’ actions has been deafening. It has, for American Jews, become a disturbing and yet all too familiar reminder of the very real threats facing Diaspora Jews and the indifference of progressive allies toward antisemitism. American Jews are rightfully afraid, not just because Jews have become a target, but because it seems no one has our back. It follows a growing surge in antisemitic incidents well before Oct. 7. According to an April report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), there were more antisemitic incidents in 2022 than in any year since the ADL began compiling the data in 1979. In Arizona, a college professor was killed by a former student because he thought the man was Jewish. In February, two people were shot outside synagogues in Los Angeles by the same assailant. It’s the more low-profile incidents that are creating much fear - the harassment of Jews and vandalism of Jewish community centers and temples. More than two-thirds of Jewish Americans report seeing antisemitic speech online and one in four have been targeted in an antisemitic incident. 80 percent also believe that antisemitism has gotten worse over the past five years. Since Oct. 7. - according to data compiled by the ADL - there was an astounding 388 percent increase in harassment, vandalism, and violence against Jews in the 16 days after the Hamas massacre, compared to the same period in 2022. That’s 312 recorded antisemitic incidents versus 64 a year ago. It is happening after the worst Jewish massacre since the Holocaust. Rather than building sympathy for Jews, Oct. 7 has bred even greater hatred. Since Oct. 7 antisemitism has been a largely left-wing phenomenon. Posters depicting Israelis kidnapped by Hamas and held as hostages in Gaza are now regularly torn down by pro-Palestinian activists, decrying them as “propaganda.” As Mintz, one of the Israeli artists responsible for the fliers, depressingly put it, “By accident, this campaign did more than bring an awareness of the kidnapped people. It brought awareness of how hated we are as a community.” On college campuses, Jews are increasingly under siege. At Columbia University, an Israeli student was attacked by a woman when he confronted her about tearing down posters of kidnapped Israelis. At Cooper Union in Manhattan, Jewish students, fearing for their lives, barricaded themselves in a school library after pro-Palestinian demonstrators began banging on the doors and chanting “Free Palestine.” On Monday, October 30, Jewish students at Cornell University were advised to stay away from the campus’s kosher dining room because of statements on a local message board threatening to harm Jewish students. At Tulane University, several Jewish students were assaulted after attempting to stop pro-Palestinian protesters from setting an Israeli flag on fire. Posters distributed around the New York University campus of people kidnapped by Hamas are vandalized and covered with pro-Palestinian graffiti. It’s increasingly difficult to keep track of all the pro-Hamas and antisemitic statements of college professors. A professor at the University of California called on her Twitter followers to identify “Zionist journalists” and, in a post decorated with dripping blood and a knife, warned that “they can fear their bosses, but they should fear us more.' An art professor in Chicago called Israelis 'pig, savages, very, very bad people' and said, 'May they all rot in hell.' (She apologized in a later post.) More than a hundred Columbia professors recently signed an open letter about the crisis that never mentions Hamas or terrorism and refers to the events of Oct. 7 as a “military action.” A Cornell professor described the massacre - which included the decapitation of children and setting people on fire while still alive - as 'exhilarating' and 'energizing' (he also apologized). A Yale University Associate Professor called Oct. 7 “an extraordinary day.” At George Washington University in Washington, D.C., pro-Palestinian demonstrators projected messages on a campus building that called for Palestine to be “free from the river to the sea,' a now popular chant on college campuses, which is euphemistically a call for eradicating a Jewish state and its residents. In Los Angeles, a man was arrested after breaking into a Jewish family’s home, yelling “Free Palestine” and 'Kill Jews.' An assailant shoved a Jewish woman in Manhattan, screaming, 'This pig has got to go.” On Oct. 15, a man punched a woman in the face on a 7 train at Grand Central Terminal in New York. When she asked why he hit her, the man responded, 'You are Jewish.' Countless Jewish communities have reported threats against Jewish community centers and temples and antisemitic graffiti. And it’s not all coming from the pro-Palestinian left. Plenty of the anti-Jewish harassment in America of late has come from the racist right. In Parkland, Florida, a group of bicyclists shouted 'Kill the Jews' outside a synagogue during Shabbat services. In Macon, Georgia, Waco, Texas, and Traverse City, Michigan, individuals associated with the “Goyim Defense League” handed out leaflets blaming Jews for the 'killing of Christ,' mass immigration, “every single aspect of the LGBTQ+ agenda” and even COVID-19. In Missoula, Montana, a White Lives Matter group marched outside a local synagogue displaying antisemitic signs. In Santa Monica, a man shouted antisemitic slogans and raised his arms in a Nazi salute outside a Jewish Sunday school. While previous bouts of racist violence in America, including a recent spate of anti-Asian attacks, led to increased media and activist attention, a nearly 400 percent increase in antisemitic incidents hasn’t led to a similar groundswell of anger or mobilization. Even if one disagrees with Israel’s policies in the Middle East and even if they believe Israel is evil incarnate, that can’t justify silence or indifference when Jews in America and elsewhere are targeted. Germany saw a 240 percent rise in antisemitic incidents the week after the Hamas attack compared to the same period a year earlier. Over the weekend, in perhaps the most terrifying incident, a frenzied crowd in the Russian republic of Dagestan stormed an airport tarmac searching for Jewish passengers arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv. In Tunisia, a mob set an historic synagogue ablaze 'after false reports that Israel had bombed a hospital in Gaza, killing hundreds'. In the U.K., anti-Jewish hate crimes were up thirteenfold over last year. Among American Jews, the silence is heard. It’s hard to do justice to the intense feelings of betrayal and abandonment that many American Jews feel right now. 'Jews expect such indifference from the right but not from the same progressive allies with whom they once stood in solidarity in promoting civil rights and protesting racial and ethnic violence'. Diaspora Jews have long been told that they need to be hyper-vigilant to antisemitism. “Do you have a bag packed?” was the question many Jews asked each other in case they needed to flee quickly. But in America, that question was far less likely to be posed. (Source: thedailybeast)
Note: Opinion by Cohen

1 Nov (2023)  US President Biden has been speaking about the opening of the Rafah border crossing. "We're working non-stop to get Americans out of Gaza as soon and as safely as possible," he says. American citizens were able to exit today, he said, as part of the first group of "probably more than 1,000", adding that the process will continue over "the coming days". The opening of the crossing is the result of "intense and urgent diplomacy" with partners in the region, including Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President al-Sisi, Biden says. The president also thanks Qatar. (Source: bbc)

November 01, 2023  "I worked on the Gaza Strip back in the 1990s. The U.S. government was pouring tens of millions of tax dollars into development assistance there on engineering infrastructure, housing, and related projects. Part of reviewing that work on the ground involved tramping over much of the small territory on foot. Gaza consists of a strip of beach, back beach, and coastal plain that’s flat to slightly rolling. The territory stretches for about twenty-five miles along the eastern Mediterranean. At its widest, in the south, it’s about seven and a half miles wide; most of it is far narrower, about half of that. The Gaza tunnel system, mostly constructed over the last forty years, provides Hamas with offensive access to Israel. It also constitutes the terrorist organization’s most formidable defensive redoubt. The tunnels present by far the most difficult logistical problem for Israel in eliminating enemy targets. Open-source maps show at least eleven independent tunnel networks, some nearly adjacent to the sea. The number of independent networks, however, could far exceed that. Hamas claims that the total length of the tunnels is about three hundred miles". "The biggest problem confronting Israel in its war on Hamas is how to destroy the Gaza tunnel networks and the terrorist operations therein. Bombing works - mostly - but there’s a better way. Not only would it dramatically reduce Israeli military and Gazan civilian casualties, but it would effectively destroy the tunnel systems for the long term. That solution is to flood the tunnels with seawater from the adjacent Mediterranean. "Egypt flooded thirty-seven cross-border tunnels in southern Gaza back in 2015 in what stands as a practical proof of concept in this location. Seawater from the Mediterranean would be pumped directly into the tunnel openings through short pipelines. While there’s little hydrological head, there is also little topographical relief to deal with in laying the pipe. Large volumes of water are pumped long distances every day, and Israeli water technology is world class.' 'Rough calculations indicate that if a single pipe were used for each of eleven tunnels, with each pipe pumping at a very conservative 100 gallons per minute, it would take about seven and a half months for all eleven tunnel networks to fill'. The effect would begin as soon as water started to flow; by the time a tunnel has two or three feet of water it would be effectively unusable. (Source: realcleardefense)
Note: Opinion by Goodson, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer, in 29 years with the U.S. Agency for International Development.

South America

Mexico
1 November 2023  Migrant caravan headed north as the group traveled through the southern state of Chiapas swells by a thousand people in 24 hours to 7,000 people as Chinese influencers are showing migrants how to cross US southern border. State authorities still estimated its size at around 3,500 participants. It comes as the U.S. is seeing a big increase in arriving using a relatively new and perilous route through Panama’s Darién Gap jungle, thanks in part to social media posts and videos providing step-by-step guidance. Chinese people were the fourth-highest nationality, after Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Haitians, crossing the Darién Gap during the first nine months of this year, according to Panamanian immigration authorities. Chinese migrants using this route fly to Ecuador where they can fly into without a visa and then make their way north. Social media teaches Chinese citizens how to reach the American dream. Short video platforms and messaging apps have popularized the route across the gap and several Central American countries step by step - from China to the U.S., including tips on what to pack, where to find guides, how to survive the jungle, which hotels to stay at, how much to bribe police in different countries and what to do when encountering U.S. immigration officers. Translation apps allow migrants to navigate through Central America on their own, even if they don’t speak Spanish or English. 'Baozai,' an internet personality gained tens of thousands of followers on Douyin, Xigua Video, YouTube and Twitter by posting videos about his migration to the United States. The march is said to be the largest since June 2022. At the U.S.-Mexico border, the Border Patrol made 22,187 arrests of Chinese people for crossing the border illegally from Mexico from January through September, nearly 13 times the same period in 2022. (Source: dailymail)

Panama
November 1, 2023  The Panama Canal - an engineering marvel built by the United States, opened in 1914 and remained under its control until 2000 and which handles an estimated 5 percent of seaborne trade - has left by a drought without enough water, which is used to raise and lower ships, forcing officials to slash the number of vessels they allow through. Rainfall there has been 30 percent below average this year, causing water levels to plunge in the lakes that feed the canal and its mighty locks. The drought presents tough choices for Panama’s leaders, who must balance the water needs of the canal with those of residents, over half of whom rely on the same sources of water that feed the canal. The canal generates over 6 percent of Panama’s gross domestic product. The canal’s board recently proposed building a new reservoir in the Indio River to bolster the water supply and increase traffic through the canal. Building the reservoir is expected to cost nearly $900 million. Before the water problems, as many as 38 ships a day moved through the canal. The canal authority in July cut the average to 32 vessels, and later announced that the number would drop to 31 on Nov. 1. Further reductions could come if water levels remain lowSome shipping experts say vessels may soon have to avoid the canal altogether if the problem gets worse. The canal authority is also limiting how far a ship’s hull can go below the water, which significantly reduces the weight it can carry. Without a new water source, the canal could lose significant amounts of business. Other ocean routes are, of course, longer and more expensive, but they are less likely to have unpredictable delays. One alternative is to transport goods between Asia and United States through the Suez Canal to the East Coast and Gulf Coast. Another is to ship goods from Asia to the West Coast ports - and then transport them overland by train or truck. Two of the driest El Niño periods of the last 140 years had occurred in the last quarter-century, and the current one could be the third. Protracted disruptions at the canal could stoke interest in building land routes in Mexico, Colombia and other countries that have coastlines on both oceans. (Source: dnyuz)

United Nations

01.11.2023  US double standards in enforcing the UN Security Council Arms Embargo. Statements from the US Central Command and the US Department of Justice about the transfer of more than a million ammunition shells, allegedly intended for the Yemeni Houthis, to the armed forces of Ukraine on October 2, 2023 once again calls into question Washington’s commitment to implementing the sanctions regimes of the UN Security Council. In March 2023, the US Department of Justice announced in the District of Columbia the filing of a forfeiture action against more than a million 7.62x54 calibre rounds, 24,000 thousand 12.7x99 calibre rounds, about 7,000 proximity fuses for anti-tank grenades (AG) and 2,000 anti-tank grenades, seized in transit from Iran to Yemen. In July 2023, the US government received ownership of the specified ammunition. Reportedly, the supplier was Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the intended recipient was the Houthi militia groups in Yemen, which is considered by Washington to be a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216, on the basis of which a targeted arms embargo was introduced against sanctioned Yemeni individuals. The Security Council calls on states, particularly those neighbouring Yemen, to inspect all cargo destined for the southern Arabian country if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the cargo contains prohibited items. However, such inspections are limited to the territory of the states themselves, including seaports and airports. Within the framework of the arms embargo established by the UN Security Council against Yemen, there is no special regime for inspecting ships in international waters. The resolution also contains a requirement to promptly submit to the “sanctions” Committee 2140 of the UN Security Council on Yemen (which also includes Russia and the United States) written reports outlining the details of inspection, seizure and disposal. According to information from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, no report on the interception of the Marwan 1 vessel was received by the specified subsidiary body of the UN Security Council. By decision of the UN Security Council, all states are authorized, in the event of the detection of prohibited goods, to seize them, in particular, by destroying them, rendering them unusable, placing them in a warehouse or transferring them to a state that is not the state of origin or destination, for the purpose of disposal. 'However, instead of implementing this fundamental provision of Resolution 2216, the United States perniciously violated it by transferring a large batch of ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces'. Another violation of the UN Security Council sanctions regarding Yemen may occur if Washington decides to transfer to the Ukrainian military weapons and ammunition allegedly intercepted on their way to Yemen in 2021-2023. These included: 9,000 automatic rifles, 284 machine guns, approximately 194 grenade launchers, more than 70 anti-tank guided missiles and more than 700,000 cartridges. In July 2023, the US Department of Justice announced it was filing a forfeiture complaint. Thus, according to information from the US Department of Justice, on December 20, 2021, about 15,000 Type 56-1 assault rifles (Chinese replicas of the AKS-47) and 220,000 7.62x54 calibre cartridges were seized on the Al-Ghazal ship. On May 6, 2021, 2,500 Type 56-1 assault rifles, 35 AKS-74U assault rifles, 194 Iranian-made RPG-7 missile launchers, 19 Chinese-made Type 80 machine guns, 164 Iranian-made RKM machine guns, 100 Chinese-made 85 sniper rifles, 52 Iranian-made AM-50 anti-tank rifles and 50 anti-tank guided missiles were intercepted. On January 6, 2023, about 2,000 Type 56-1 and 200 AKS-20U assault rifles were seized. On January 15, 2023, US Central Command forces together with the French military intercepted 3,000 Type 56-1 assault rifles, 1,100 AKS20Us, 101 PKM model machine guns, mostly made in China, 23 Iranian-made Dehlaviya ATGMs and about 600,000 7.62x54 calibre rounds. It is obvious that in the current conditions, the United States will put pressure on the relevant UN structures so that only the American interpretation of the sanctions regime against Yemen is taken into account, which categorically excludes Washington’s responsibility for the demonstrative neglect of extremely important provisions on the need to report to the “sanctions” Committee of the UN Security Council on intercepted weapons and ammunition and their disposal. Thus, the final report of the Group of Experts of the UN Security Council 2140 Committee monitoring the implementation of the sanctions regime against Yemen was to be submitted to the Security Council no later than October 15, 2023. 'It can be expected that due to US neglect of the arms embargo, which has resulted in arms and ammunition being transferred to the Ukrainian armed forces and possibly ending up in the Middle East, the Yemeni UNSC sanctions regime (which expires on November 15, 2023), as well as the mandate of the Group of Experts (ends on December 15, 2023) will not be extended'. 'This year, the Americans and their satellites have already created a precedent when, due to their lack of willingness to compromise in the UN Security Council, the sanctions regime and the mandate of the Group of Experts regarding Mali were not extended'. (Source: valdaiclub)

1 November 2023  Mokhiber, the director of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, announced his resignation in a letter shared publicly yesterday. As director he occasionally faced criticism from pro-Israeli groups for his social media comments. 'Once again, we are seeing a genocide unfolding before our eyes, and the organization we serve appears powerless to stop it,' he wrote in an October 28 letter to Turk, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights. "The European, ethno-nationalist, settler colonial project in Palestine has entered its final phase, toward the expedited destruction of the last remnants of indigenous Palestinian life in Palestine.' He mentioned that the United Nations had not been successful in preventing past genocides targeting the Tutsis in Rwanda, Muslims in Bosnia, the Yazidis in Iraq, and the Rohingya in Myanmar. US, UK and much of Europe were not only 'refusing to meet their treaty obligations' under the Geneva Conventions but has been ‘wholly complicit in the horrific assault’ by Israelis on Gaza, arming Israel's assault and providing political and diplomatic cover for it, it added. He outlined a 10-point plan to end the violence against Palestinians, including establishing "a single, democratic, secular state… with equal rights for Christians, Muslims, and Jews" as well as destroying Israel's arsenal of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. Mokhiber has been with the United Nations since 1992, served as a senior human rights adviser in Palestine, Afghanistan, and Sudan. A lawyer with expertise in international human rights law, he resided in Gaza during the 1990s. (Source: trtworld)

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Africa

Egypt
11/01/2023  The Rafah crossing to Egypt was opened up for the first time since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. Under a deal between Egypt, Israel and Hamas that was mediated by Qatar in coordination with the United States, hundreds of evacuees - some critically injured and people with foreign passports - have left Gaza for Egypt at the Rafah border crossing. Earlier in the day, a first group of injured Palestinians were transported into Egypt and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment with Egypt's Health Ministry putting the number at 16. Other Egyptian officials told that 76 injured people had left Gaza through the border crossing. The Egyptian border authority in Rafah said 81 seriously injured people were due to enter Egypt today. There were up to 65 ambulances equipped with full resuscitation and life support capabilities. The el-Arish hospital, in the nearby Egyptian city of el-Arish, is set to receive many of those injured. By early evening today, over 300 foreign nationals and people with dual citizenship crossed into Egypt. US President Biden said in a post on X that US citizens would be among those leaving Gaza today. Among the group were also four Italian nationals, five French nationals. German aid workers were among those who left, Foreign Ministry says. At least 500 foreign passport holders are expected to cross into Egypt today, Egyptian authorities said. (Source: dw) 

Asia

Gaza
1 Nov (2023)  Just 13 hospitals left in the Palestinian enclave remain operational, out of 35 that existed before the conflict erupted on 7 October. The rest have either been damaged by strikes or forced to close due to a lack of supplies. Hospitals are operating with less than one-third of their normal staffing levels, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza. 16 healthcare workers are estimated to have been killed while on duty and another 30 injured. Yesterday, one out of Gaza's three water supply lines from Israel was restored for the first time since being cut off last month - though the amount being received has yet to be assessed. Gaza remains under a full electricity blackout, using backup generators to get by, after Israel halted both electricity and fuel on 11 October in a bid to cut off Hamas's supplies. Humanitarian aid entering Gaza since 21 October, via the Rafah crossing with Egypt has not been allowed to include fuel for this reason. In total, 217 trucks have entered the enclave so far. Some 59 trucks carrying water, food and medicines entered Gaza yesterday - making it the largest convoy of aid to be delivered so far. Just one bakery run by the World Food Programme (WFP) and eight local Gazan ones remain operational, supplying bread to Palestinians. Hours-long queues are reported in front of them as a result, where the UN says people are exposed to airstrikes. (Source: bbc)

1 Nov (2023)  BBC World Service is launching an emergency radio service for Gaza broadcast on MW 639kHz. The emergency service called Gaza Daily will broadcast daily news to the people of Gaza, and also provide listeners with safety advice on where to access shelter, food and water supplies. Produced in Cairo and London, the service will initially run one programme a day at 1500 GMT (1700 Gaza time) from Friday 3 November. A second daily update will be broadcast at 0500 GMT (0700 Gaza time) from Friday 10 November. (Source: bbc)

1 Nov 2023  Telecom provider Paltel reported a “complete disruption” of communications and internet services in Gaza today morning. It becomes increasingly difficult to understand the situation in Gaza City and the northern part as Israeli tanks move to separate the north from the south. Israel has cut Gaza’s telecommunication and internet services for a second time despite humanitarian aid agencies warning that such blackouts severely disrupt their work in an already dire situation in the war-torn Palestinian enclave. In a statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Communications appealed to neighbouring Egypt to operate communication stations near the Gaza border and activate roaming service on Egyptian networks. Gaza’s G2 mobile network 'crushed further' by fuel shortages and damage to infrastructure. On Saturday, September 28, Musk said he would offer his Starlink satellite internet service to “internationally recognised aid organisations” in Gaza, prompting protests by Israel. 'Hamas will use it for terrorist activities,” Israel’s Communications Minister Karhi said on X, referring to the group that rules Gaza. On Monday, September 30, US Ambassador to the United Nations Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council that the United States made clear to Israel that it was concerned about a shutdown of communications in the Gaza Strip, which "imperils the lives of civilians, UN personnel and humanitarian workers and risks exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza”. (Source: aljazeera)

01/11/2023  'Pallywood': a mix of the words ‘Palestine’ and ‘Hollywood’ and is used as a derogatory term by people who believe Palestinians are using crisis actors and victimising themselves. Pro-Israeli accounts are accusing Palestinians of using crisis actors to fake their suffering in order to elicit online sympathy. One viral video was shared on X by Naftali, a former member of Israeli PM’s communications and social media team. On the left, the clip presented as filmed "today" showing a man walking through rubble, and on the other side is another video claimed to have been filmed "yesterday", where a man with a similar appearance is in the hospital with an amputated leg. The clips don't show the same person. The Cube found the original video of the man walking through rubble was published on the 26th of October 2023. The man in the viral clip is Aljafarawim who posts numerous videos of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Looking through his Instagram account, no images of him in a hospital. Videos of the man in a hospital bed show he is in an Israeli hospital, identifiable by the country's flags in the background, according to Alt News, an Indian fact-checking website. The 16-year-old teenager called Zendiq, holder of an Israeli identity card lost his leg on 24 July 2023, “during the invasion of the Nour Shams refugee camp, near Tulkarem, by Israeli occupation forces”, “rushed to an Israeli hospital where his right leg was amputated just above the knee,” the English-speaking pro-Palestinian site Palsolidarity published. He was treated in the hospital for a month and was released on 21 August 2023. (Source: euronews)

November 01, 2023  An IDF statement claimed Israeli airstrikes on the densely-populated Jabaliya refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City killed Biari, Commander of Hamas' Central Jabaliya Battalion and a large number of terrorists yesterday. "He was very important, I would say even pivotal in the planning and the execution of the October 7 attack against Israel from the northeastern parts of the Gaza Strip," IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Conricus said. He added that dozens of Hamas combatants were in the same underground tunnel complex as Biari and were also killed when it collapsed in the attack. Hamas also released a statement denying reports of Biari's killing, stating the claim was just an Israeli pretext for killing civilians. The operation also involved ground forces taking control of a compound that the IDF said was used by Hamas’s Central Jabaliya Battalion. The IDF refuted the claims of Hamas that the killed were civilians, stating it called the residents of the area "to move south for their safety" before the raids. "The strike damaged Hamas’s command and control in the area, as well as its ability to direct military activity against IDF soldiers operating throughout the Gaza Strip," the army said in a statement. Footage showed huge craters where buildings once stood. Rescue workers and bystanders were also seen digging through the wreckage, searching for survivors. The IDF later claimed two soldiers were also dead in the operations. (Source: theweek *)
* India

Iran
11/01/2023  Supreme leader Khamenei made a call for Muslim states to halt oil and food exports to Israel, amid the bombardment of Gaza. Iran has backed Islamist groups opposing Israel for years but has denied direct involvement in the Hamas terror attacks launched on southern Israel on October 7. (Source: dw) 

Israel
1 Nov (2023)  The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Hagari said joint action of their ground, sea and air forces had seen troops "break through the forward Hamas perimeter the northern Gaza Strip". He also said that, guided by "precise intelligence from the Intelligence Branch and the ISA", the IDF had used fighter jets to "eliminate" Atzar, a Hamas anti-tank commander. In a separate briefing, Israel's Brig Gen Cohen said the IDF's forces were now "deep" into the Gaza Strip - "at the gates of Gaza City", he added. (Source: bbc)

11/01/2023  The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it dispatched navy missile boats to the Red Sea today after Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen claimed they launched attacks on Israel. A video on the social media platform Telegram appearing to show missile boats patrolling near the southern Israeli port city of Eilat. The IDF said it had intercepted an "aerial threat" over the Red Sea yesterday night. Attacks launched at Israel over the Red Sea area have not hit Israeli territory or entered its airspace, either being shot down or falling short. (Source: dw)

Nov. 1, 2023  Eleven Israeli soldiers killed since expanded ground operations in Gaza: IDF. The IDF first announced that two soldiers were killed in northern Gaza Tuesday, October 31. The ages of the 11 fallen soldiers ranged between 19 and 24, Israeli officials said. Since the Hamas attack in Israel that sparked the war, more than 300 Israeli soldiers have been killed. The Hamas-backed Gaza Health Ministry claims more than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict erupted last month. (Source: nypost)

Jordan
11/01/2023  Jordan announced it has recalled its ambassador to Israel with immediate effect in protest over the war and the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza. Foreign Minister al-Safadi said in a statement that he also told Israel's ambassador to Jordan not to return to the kingdom. The Israeli ambassador had previously left Jordan two weeks ago amid protests. Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. It was the second Arab country after Egypt to establish diplomatic ties with Israel. Yesterday, US President Biden and Jordan's King Abdullah II spoke on the phone about the war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas militant group, which rules Gaza. According to a statement from the White House, the two leaders had discussed "urgent mechanisms to stem violence, calm rhetoric and reduce regional tensions." (Source: dw)

Palestine
Nov. 1, 2023  The Palestinian Authority, which was founded as a proto-state administration as a result of the 1993 Oslo peace accords, manifests itself mainly as a sprawling bureaucracy across the West Bank, where it has limited powers. In Gaza it has none, after the violent ouster there of its ruling party, Fatah, in 2007 by Hamas, its top rival. As yet, there does not seem to be any movement to drive out Fatah and the Palestinian Authority from the West Bank as well, which would create a dangerous power vacuum. But disenchantment with the authority - its weakness, inefficiency and corruption scandals - has been brewing for years. And the idea that Fatah and the authority could reestablish control in Gaza if Israel succeeds in its goal of extirpating Hamas seems ludicrous to many Palestinians, who consider Abbas, the authority’s octogenarian president, as moribund as the administration he heads. Although Palestinian Authority presidents serve a four-year term, Abbas was voted into office in 2005 and has not held an election since. Israel remains in de facto control of the West Bank and coordinates with the Palestinian Authority’s security apparatus to stop Palestinian militant attacks, either through the authority’s security personnel or through its own operations - a deeply unpopular policy that critics say reduces the authority to little more than Israel’s guard dog. A common view is that the local security forces are too cozy with their Israeli counterparts. Since Oct. 7, the Israeli government has stepped up what it calls counterterrorism operations across the occupied West Bank alongside its relentless offensive in Gaza. Israel’s military was giving settlers free rein and mounting a security dragnet that has killed scores of Palestinians in the West Bank. On Oct. 22, a pair of missiles lanced through the roof of Al Ansar Mosque, blowing up the main hall, shredding two Jenin Brigade fighters and nearly killing a third, witnesses said. The Jenin Brigade group was formed in 2021 with funding from Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad and brings together different armed factions in joint pursuit of the refugee camp’s defense. Members of the Jenin Brigade expect no mercy from the Israelis, nor any help from the official Palestinian leadership. Although the Jenin refugee camp has long been in Israel’s crosshairs, the military’s recent raids display a different level of ferocity, residents say. In the last week, restive Jenin, long a militant hotbed, has become the site of near-daily raids involving scores of Israeli soldiers, dozens of armored vehicles and even airstrikes that have killed at least a dozen people, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel says the incursions target terrorists who have attacked Israelis in the past or are planning to do so. The Jenin refugee camp, a decrepit neighborhood is running up a steep hill, whose 14,000 residents are refugees and their descendants from the 1948 “Nakba” - “catastrophe” in Arabic - referring to the mass displacement of Arabs that accompanied Israel’s independence. The camp is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the West Bank. It is steeped in the culture of resistance against Israel’s occupation. At night, residents place metal hedgehogs at the camp’s entrances to stymie armored vehicles, while keeping a close eye on anyone coming in, for fear of Israeli undercover agents. The authority’s security coordination with Israel they viewed nowadays as nothing less than treason. Almost no building is free of a martyr poster, and the cemeteries overflow with those killed in clashes with Israeli troops. Since July, a fourth graveyard has had to be opened. As Israel pursues its punishing ground offensive in Gaza and the casualties mount, the Palestinian Authority’s impotence only comes into sharper relief. On Monday, October 30, Israel deployed drones, snipers and dozens of armored vehicles, including two bulldozers that tore up streets and infrastructure near the camp, leveled the iconic arched gate over its entrance and destroyed a sculpture commemorating the 2002 Israeli incursion. Four men were killed and nine other people were wounded, Palestinian health authorities said. Late on October 31, Israeli special forces teams surged into Jenin, broke into the house of a top Fatah leader in the city and beat him and his son before taking them into custody, residents said. That was followed by yet another incursion involving bulldozers, drones, snipers, dozens of troops and airstrikes. They withdrew several hours later, leaving three Palestinians dead and a trail of bullet-scarred walls, ripped-up asphalt and destroyed cars. The weeks since Hamas's unprecedented assault on Oct. 7 have seen Israel intensify its crackdown on the occupied West Bank, with dozens of Palestinians killed and hundreds - Palestinian rights groups say more than a thousand - arrested. The United Nations says that more than 120 Palestinians, including 33 children, have been killed by Israeli security forces or settlers in the West Bank. Whereas homes in the West Bank city of Jenin have been demolished by Israeli troops, roads have been churned up by Israeli bulldozers and storefronts have been disfigured by Israeli gunfire, the offices of the Sultah, or Palestinian Authority, were attacked by Palestinians themselves during a noisy protest over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Disgusted with the authority’s inability to protect its own people or stand up to Israel, militants in the crowd aimed their bullets at the government compound after its security forces tried to break up the demonstration. Although much of their fury is directed at Israel, many in Jenin accuse the Palestinian Authority of abandoning them, saying its leaders are more concerned with their own survival and its security forces with pursuing Palestinian armed groups at Israel’s behest than they are with protecting Palestinian lives. (Source: latimes)

Qatar
1 November 2023  Iranian Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Al Thani, where he conveyed a verbal message from Iranian President Raisi on several regional and international issues, especially the developments in the Palestinian territories. He also met with Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Al Thani. The Qatari FM said he discussed with Amir-Abdollahian the escalations in Gaza and the West Bank and advancing ceasefire efforts. He wrote in a post on the "X" platform: "We stressed intensifying efforts to prevent expanding conflict that will result in serious consequences for everyone." Before leaving Doha for Ankara, Amir-Abdollahian met with the head of the Hamas politburo, Haniyeh, for the second time this month. "It was necessary to use the latest political opportunities to stop the war, and if the situation goes out of control, no party will be safe from its consequences," the top official said, according to Iranian media. He said the US was part of the war in Gaza, adding that Washington is in no position to ask others for restraint. (Source: aawsat *)
*Asharq Al Awsat, London

Turkey
November 1, 2023  Turkey was the first majority Muslim country to recognize Israel in 1949. It is also among the first to recognize the declaration of the State of Palestine. Unlike Turkey’s Western allies, Ankara does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization. In 2018, President Erdoğan described it as part of the Palestinian resistance defending “the Palestinian homeland against an occupying power.” Safeguarding the rights of Palestine and Palestinians is for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) part of its quest to defend the interests of Muslims worldwide. The party elites and its core constituency believe that the liberation of Muslims (from Western cultural and political domination) started in Turkey (thanks to Erdoğan) and can spread elsewhere. Erdoğan has promoted this rhetoric. In 2020, after converting the Hagia Sophia into a mosque, he described it as the 'harbinger of the al-Aqsa Mosque’s liberation.' It has been one of the central pillars of the AKP’s foreign policy to push for Turkey to be a peacemaker in the periphery of the international system. The Arab uprisings in 2011 were a turning point for the AKP’s leadership ambitions. Muslim Brotherhood–affiliated parties were winning elections throughout the region. Erdoğan has sought to position himself - and the Turkish government - as the leader of the Muslim world by supporting Sunni Islamists throughout the Middle East. Turkey has granted safe haven to many Islamist exiles and has generously supported their organizations operating in the country. During the failed coup attempt in 2016 or the controversial constitutional referendum in 2017, the AKP in turn welcomed support from Sunni Islamists for Erdoğan. Turkey was often seen as an equalizing force to the Arab autocrats of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, which see political Islam as a threat to their survival. Ankara’s increasingly confrontational foreign policy and expanding military footprint since 2016 have contributed to this view. Trapped in the mismatch between its stated ambitions and actual capabilities, Ankara became increasingly isolated. Since 2020, Turkey has been on a charm offensive to break nearly a decade of regional isolation. Ankara was more cautious and distanced itself from Arab Islamists to help repair its relations with regional actors, including Israel. After a decade of frosty relations, diplomatic ties with Israel were restored in 2022. Stuck between hegemonic aspirations and rapprochement efforts to break its isolation and repair its economy, Ankara lacks influence on either Israel or Hamas. In the hours after the attack, Ankara condemned the loss of civilian lives, and called on both sides for restraint. Since then, it has increasingly taken a critical stance toward Israel’s policy on Gaza. 'Ankara’s relationship with Hamas also appears to be of little value' - Qatar appears to be the decisive actor in hostage negotiations. To reinsert Ankara into a fragile regional order, Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan proposed on Oct. 17, in an interview at the pro-government daily Sabah, a “guarantor formula.” In line with the framework of a two-state solution within the 1967 borders and with a capital in Jerusalem, this formula would foresee a country from within the region, including Turkey acting as a guarantor for the future Palestinian state. Fidan also noted that “other countries could play the same role for Israel” and mentioned the importance of a “potential unified position between China and Russia, as U.N. Security Council members” in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Russia and China recently voiced support for a two-state solution, which the international community has until recently considered unrealistic. Turkey’s ruling elites believe that the West lacks strategic thinking and has increasingly become estranged from the rest of the world in the face of various issues including relations with China, migration and terror, and the shift in economic gravity from the West to the East. For Ankara, the unequivocal and unconditional support that the Biden administration gives Israel confirms this belief. Pro-government journalists expect that the conflict would lead to an increasing isolation of Israel. Since the disputed attack at the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, there have been calls on the government to ally with countries in the Global South to stop the U.S.-Israeli alliance. Bahçeli, the leader of the AKP’s junior partner, the Nationalist Movement Party, said Turkey should intervene militarily if there is no ceasefire. Those critical of Ankara’s civilizationist aspirations yet share its aspirations for a foreign policy independent from the West call for booting U.S. military members at Incirlik Air Force Base and the Kürecik Radar Station in Malatya. Both Israeli and Palestinian societies are caught by the trauma of their interconnected histories and the violence of war. The myth of an invincible Israeli military and intelligence is broken. U.S. government efforts to recalibrate the regional order by facilitating Arab-Israeli normalization are disrupted, if not totally off the table in the near term. Arab states are worried about widening regional conflict and increasing public rage against Israel’s policy toward the occupied territories. Many in the so-called Global South are disillusioned by the unequivocal support the United States and the European Union give Israel. Given the prevalence of anti-immigration, xenophobic, and Islamophobic sentiments within the Western public, the violent conflict in Gaza might risk becoming a domestic issue in the United States and Europe. According to Erdoğan, the Biden administration’s decision to send aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean hindered Turkey’s efforts to deescalate the situation. The government’s belief is that the conflict will bring the United States back to the region. The fear is that a stronger American presence will further disrupt Ankara’s efforts to prevent Kurdish autonomy under the leadership of the Democratic Union Party and the People’s Protection Units in northern Syria. 'After two decades of policy to expand Turkey’s role in the Middle East, Ankara is effectively a marginal actor.' "Its influence is limited to rhetorical outcries'. (Source: warontherocks)

Yemen
November 1, 2023  The Middle East nation lies at the southernmost point of the Arabian Peninsula. Its coastline is on the southern end of the Red Sea and represents a strategic choke point for world shipping and, crucially, Saudi oil. Yemen’s internationally recognised government is backed by the Saudi and US governments and has been in a civil war with the Houthis since 2014. Yemen’s Houthi movement, not Yemen itself, has effectively declared war against Israel. Yemen-based militants which control Yemen’s west, join the Israel-Hamas war, firing missiles on Israel, extending the conflict to the far side of the Middle East. While not the officially recognised government of Yemen, the Houthi movement controls a significant portion of the country. The Houthis are backed by Iran and are part of its 'Axis of Resistance', an informal military coalition centred on anti-Western and anti-Israel intent. Other participants include Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah; Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups; the Syrian government; militant groups in Iraq. The Houthi group is rooted in Zaydism, a sect of Shiite Islam that accounts for about 25 per cent of Yemen’s population; the rest of the country is predominately Sunni. The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), developed in the 1990s out of dissatisfaction with Yemeni government alignment with Saudi Arabia and the US. It has positioned itself as an anti-imperialist group against foreign intervention and as a force for economic development for Yemeni people. The Houthi movement says it launched ballistic and cruise missiles on southern Israel today. The Israel Defence Forces said it intercepted at least one missile originating from near the Red Sea, along with other “aerial threats”. Houthi military spokesperson Saree said it was behind two earlier incidents, a drone attack on October 18 and three cruise missiles intercepted by the US Navy on October 19. The few Houthi attacks were, for now, more about messaging than a real military threat. (Source: brisbanetimes)

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