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<title>24 July, 2022</title>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="covid-19-sentry">Covid-19 Sentry</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-preprints">From Preprints</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-pubmed">From PubMed</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-patent-search">From Patent Search</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>Infection Prevention and Control in Residential Aged Care Facilities In and Out of Recent Pandemics: A Scoping Review Protocol</strong> -
<div>
Abstract Background The longstanding problem of infection prevention and control (IPC) in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) has been highlighted and seriously exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 among aged care residents is increased by age, comorbidities and the congregate living arrangements, which often also function as healthcare settings. Implementation of IPC practices are intended to protect residents and staff from infectious disease risks, but can also impact on other dimensions of wellbeing and safety. Objectives To identify evidence of effective IPC strategies in RACFs and their impacts on resident or staff safety or wellbeing, during both ‘business as usual’ and infectious disease outbreaks. Methods We will search relevant databases for original research articles, published in 2000 or later, that examine (1) IPC measures and/or (2) infectious disease outbreaks in (3) in residential aged care settings, whilst (4) considering resident and/or staff wellbeing and/or safety. Following Preferred Reporting of Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-SCR) and consultation with a university librarian, we have devised a search strategy for review of relevant key articles. One author customised the search strategy for each database (CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane, MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science) and reviewed each term before inclusion. After deletion of duplicates, 2-4 reviewers will screen references by title and abstract, then review full texts of selected articles. Items included will be charted with respect to publication details and quality assessment performed. Results will be grouped according to thematic contributions. Results Systematic searches began at the end of 2021 and data extraction will progress in early 2022, followed by data analyses and writing. Anticipated conclusions Implementation of IPC practices in RACFs must balance effectiveness, feasibility, and wellbeing and safety of residents and staff. This review will summarise, and identify gaps in, evidence for how best to protect residents and staff from infection in long term aged care settings. Support Partial financial support for this project has been provided by the Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Sydney.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/5trhk/" target="_blank">Infection Prevention and Control in Residential Aged Care Facilities In and Out of Recent Pandemics: A Scoping Review Protocol</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Exploring psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 mandates in children with and without autism spectrum disorder</strong> -
<div>
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are particularly at risk for adverse psychosocial consequences as a result of unexpected challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. These children experience a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety, difficulties with cognitive flexibility, and a reduction in support services during the pandemic. Higher executive function (EF) has been previously found to be protective against negative mental health outcomes. Here we probed the psychosocial impacts of pandemic responses in children with ASD by relating pre-pandemic (EF) measures with mental health outcomes measured several months into the pandemic. We found that pre-existing inhibition and shift difficulties measured by the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function predicted higher risk of anxiety symptoms, with shift difficulties also predicting elevated depressive symptoms during the pandemic. These findings are critical for promoting community recovery and maximizing clinical preparedness to support children at increased risk for adverse psychosocial outcomes.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/rc8y9/" target="_blank">Exploring psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 mandates in children with and without autism spectrum disorder</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Pin-pointing the key hubs in the IFN-gamma pathway responding to SARS-CoV-2 infection</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Interferon gamma may be a potential adjuvant immunotherapy for COVID-19 patients. In this work, we assessed gene expression profiles associated with the IFN-gamma pathway in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Employing a case-control study from SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative patients, we identified IFN-gamma-associated pathways to be enriched in positive patients. Bioinformatics analyses showed upregulation of MAP2K6, CBL, RUNX3, STAT1 and JAK2 in COVID-19 positive vs. negative patients. A positive correlation was observed between STAT1/JAK2, which varied alongside the patient9s viral load. Expression of MX1, MX2, ISG15 and OAS1 (4 well-known IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs)) displayed upregulation in COVID-19 positive vs. negative patients. Integrative analyses showcased higher levels of ISGs which were associated with increased viral load and STAT1/JAK2 expression. Confirmation of ISGs up-regulation was performed in vitro using the A549 lung cell line treated with Poly(I:C), a synthetic analog of viral double-stranded RNA; and in different pulmonary human cell lines and ferret tracheal biopsies infected with SARS-CoV-2. A pre-clinical murine model of coronavirus infection confirmed findings displaying increased ISGs in the liver and lungs from infected mice. Altogether, these results demonstrate the role of IFN-gamma and ISGs in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, highlighting alternative druggable targets that can boost the host response.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.22.22277931v1" target="_blank">Pin-pointing the key hubs in the IFN-gamma pathway responding to SARS-CoV-2 infection</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Cervical cancer screening improvements with self- sampling during the COVID-19 pandemic</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
<i>Background</i>&lt;br /&gt;At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic cervical screening in the capital region of Sweden was cancelled for several months. A series of measures to preserve and improve the cervical screening under the circumstances were instituted, including a switch to screening with HPV self-sampling to enable screening in compliance with social distancing recommendations.&lt;br /&gt;<i>Methods</i>&lt;br /&gt;We describe the major changes implemented, which were i) nationwide implementation of HPV screening ii) switch to primary self-sampling instead of clinician sampling iii) implementation of HPV screening in all screening ages and iv) combined HPV vaccination and HPV screening in the cervical screening program.&lt;br /&gt;<i>Results</i>&lt;br /&gt;A temporary government regulation allowed primary self-sampling with HPV screening in all ages. In the Stockholm region, 330,000 self-sampling kits were sent to the home address of screening-eligible women, instead of an invitation to clinician sampling. A dramatic increase in population test coverage was seen (from 75% to 85% in just one year). In addition, a national campaign for faster elimination of cervical cancer with concomitant screening and vaccination for women in ages 23- 28 was launched.&lt;br /&gt;<i>Conclusions</i>&lt;br /&gt;The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated major changes in the cervical cancer preventive strategies, where it can already be concluded that the strategy with organised primary self-sampling for HPV has resulted in a major improvement of population test-coverage.&lt;br /&gt;Funding&lt;br /&gt;Funded by the Swedish Association 44 of Local Authorities and Regions, the Swedish Cancer Society, the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program, the Swedish government and the Stockholm county.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.19.22277806v1" target="_blank">Cervical cancer screening improvements with self- sampling during the COVID-19 pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Lost in pandemic time: A phenomenological analysis of temporal disorientation during the Covid-19 crisis</strong> -
<div>
People have experienced many forms of temporal disorientation during the Covid-19 crisis. For this study, we collected a rich corpus of reports on the multifaceted experiences of disorientation during the pandemic. In this paper, we study the resulting corpus using a descriptive approach. We identify six emerging themes: temporal rift; temporal vertigo; impoverished time; tunnel vision; spatial and social scaffolding of time; suspended time. We offer a phenomenological analysis of each of the themes. Based on the phenomenological analysis, we draw a key distinction between episodic and existential forms of temporal disorientation, and we argue that the Covid-19 crisis is best conceptualised as a period of suspended time.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/px7st/" target="_blank">Lost in pandemic time: A phenomenological analysis of temporal disorientation during the Covid-19 crisis</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Bereavement during lockdown: The potential impact of COVID-19 restrictions on grief and post-traumatic stress disorder in a Turkish population</strong> -
<div>
The current study examined whether perceived disruption to bereavement via suppression of sociocultural death rite traditions could be linked to core bereavement and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in Turkish individuals who lost their close relatives to COVID-19. The sample included patients who consulted the clinic, presenting with self-reported bereavement issues related to coping, sleep, and eating, as well as individuals who sought general grief counselling. Participants (n=52) completed a Demographic Information and Bereavement Experience (DIBEF) form with items probing participants’ demographics, experience of attending rituals, and receiving social support. The final item inquired the rating of perceived disruption to bereavement due to COVID-19 restrictions (perceived disruption score-PDS). The Core Bereavement Items (CBI) scale and the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) were also used to measure symptomology. The results revealed that 92.3% of the participants did not receive condolence visitors, 98.1% did not get to say goodbye, and 78.8% were unable to practice their religious duties. Regression analysis suggested that PDS was a significant predictor of the CBI scores while it was not associated with PCL-C scores. The potential role of perceived disruption to bereavement in aggravating the grief response is discussed regarding the dual process model of coping with bereavement. Health authorities should thus introduce additional support mechanisms such as technology-based grief counselling, tailored to cultural values and individual needs. Relevant bodies should also ensure the accessibility of virtual platforms through which individuals could connect with others and participate in rituals during future pandemics or other humanitarian crises.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/69g5n/" target="_blank">Bereavement during lockdown: The potential impact of COVID-19 restrictions on grief and post-traumatic stress disorder in a Turkish population</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Specific pandemic-related worries predict higher attention-related errors and negative affect independent of trait anxiety</strong> -
<div>
Recent surveys have revealed a rise in anxiety levels, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on cognitive-emotional models of anxiety, we predict this increase may be underpinned by pandemic-related worry (PRW), characterised by repetitive negative thinking about pandemic-specific outcomes. We also predicted that PRW would occupy limited capacity cognitive resources required for attentional control, needed for the regulation of worry. We developed a novel instrument to measure the contents of PRW, and to explore its independent relationship with cognitive functioning and negative affect. A five-factor model of PRW was identified in Study 1 (N = 255) and validated in Study 2 (N = 382). In Study 2, regression analyses revealed that worries about the declining quality of life and the probability of COVID-19 infection were the strongest predictors of attention and memory-related errors. We also found that attention-related errors partially mediated the positive relationship between PRW and negative affect. Importantly, all analyses remained significant when controlling for recalled pre-pandemic trait anxiety and worry, suggesting that the relationships reflected elevated anxiety even in those with low levels of trait anxiety. The findings suggest that to support psychological wellbeing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, support should target specific PRWs.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/h4bca/" target="_blank">Specific pandemic-related worries predict higher attention-related errors and negative affect independent of trait anxiety</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against mortality and risk of death from other causes after COVID-19 vaccination, the Netherlands, January 2021- January 2022</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: We aimed to estimate vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 mortality, and to explore whether an increased risk in non-COVID-19 mortality exists in the weeks following a COVID-19 vaccine dose. Methods: National registries of causes of death, COVID-19 vaccination and long-term care reimbursements were linked by a unique identifier using data from 1 January 2021 to 31 January 2022. We used Cox regression with calendar time as underlying time scale to, firstly, estimate VE against COVID-19 mortality after primary and first booster vaccination, per month since vaccination and, secondly, estimate risk of non-COVID-19 mortality in the 8 weeks following a first, second or booster dose, adjusting for birth year, sex and country of origin. Results: VE against COVID-19 mortality was &gt;90% for all age groups two months after completion of the primary series. VE gradually decreased thereafter, to around 80% at 7-8 months post-primary series for most groups, and around 60% for elderly receiving a high level of long-term care and for people aged 90+ years. The risk of non-COVID-19 mortality was lower or similar in the 8 weeks following a first booster dose compared to no vaccination, first or second dose, respectively, for all age and long-term care groups. Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccination greatly reduced the risk of COVID-19 mortality and no increased risk of death from other causes was seen at the population level.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.21.22277831v1" target="_blank">COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against mortality and risk of death from other causes after COVID-19 vaccination, the Netherlands, January 2021- January 2022</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Learning from pre-pandemic data to forecast viral antibody escape</strong> -
<div>
From early detection of variants of concern to vaccine and therapeutic design, pandemic preparedness depends on identifying viral mutations that escape the response of the host immune system. While experimental scans are useful for quantifying escape potential, they remain laborious and impractical for exploring the combinatorial space of mutations. Here we introduce a biologically grounded model to quantify the viral escape potential of mutations at scale. Our method - EVEscape - brings together fitness predictions from evolutionary models, structure-based features that assess antibody binding potential, and distances between mutated and wild-type residues. Unlike other models that predict variants of concern based on newly observed variants, EVEscape has no reliance on recent community prevalence, and is applicable before surveillance sequencing or experimental scans are broadly available. We validate EVEscape predictions against experimental data on H1N1, HIV and SARS-CoV-2, including data on immune escape. For SARS-CoV-2, we show that EVEscape anticipates mutation frequency, strain prevalence, and escape mutations. Drawing from GISAID, we provide continually updated escape predictions for all current strains of SARS-CoV-2.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.21.501023v1" target="_blank">Learning from pre-pandemic data to forecast viral antibody escape</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>A linear DNA vaccine candidate encoding the SARS-CoV-2 Receptor Binding Domain elicits protective immunity in domestic cats</strong> -
<div>
Since its first detection in China in late 2019, SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic agent of COVID-19 pandemic, has infected a wide range of animal species, especially mammals, all over the world. Indeed, as reported by the American Veterinary Medical Association, besides human-to-human transmission, human-to-animal transmission has been observed in some wild animals and pets, especially in cats. With animal models as an invaluable tool in the study of infectious diseases combined with the fact that the intermediate animal source of SARS-CoV-2 is still unknown, researchers have demonstrated that cats are permissive to COVID-19 and are susceptible to airborne infections. Given the high transmissibility potential of SARS-CoV-2 to different host species and the close contact between humans and animals, it is crucial to find mechanisms to prevent the transmission chain and reduce the risk of spillover to susceptible species. Here, we show results from a randomized Phase I/II clinical study conducted in domestic cats to assess safety and immunogenicity of a linear DNA (linDNA) vaccine encoding the RBD domain of SARS-CoV-2. No significant adverse events occurred and both RBD-specific binding/neutralizing antibodies and T cells were detected. These findings demonstrate the safety and immunogenicity of a genetic vaccine against COVID-19 administered to cats and strongly support the development of vaccines for preventing viral spread in susceptible species, especially those in close contact with humans.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.20.500860v1" target="_blank">A linear DNA vaccine candidate encoding the SARS-CoV-2 Receptor Binding Domain elicits protective immunity in domestic cats</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Durability of the Neutralizing Antibody Response to mRNA Booster Vaccination Against SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/5 Variants</strong> -
<div>
The recent emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 BA.4/5 and BA.2.12.1 variants has led to rising COVID-19 case numbers and concerns over the continued efficacy of mRNA booster vaccination. Here we examine the durability of neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses against these SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants in a cohort of health care workers 1-40 weeks after mRNA booster dose administration. Neutralizing antibody titers fell by ~1.5-fold 4-6 months and by ~2.5-fold 7-9 months after booster dose, with average nAb titers falling by 11-15% every 30 days, far more stable than two dose induced immunity. Notably, nAb titers from booster recipients against SARS-CoV-2 BA.1, BA.2.12.1, and BA.4/5 variants were ~4.7-, 7.6-, and 13.4-fold lower than against the ancestral D614G spike. However, the rate of waning of booster dose immunity was comparable across variants. Importantly, individuals reporting prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 exhibited significantly higher nAb titers compared to those without breakthrough infection. Collectively, these results highlight the broad and stable neutralizing antibody response induced by mRNA booster dose administration, implicating a significant role of virus evolution to evade nAb specificity, versus waning humoral immunity, in increasing rates of breakthrough infection.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.21.501010v1" target="_blank">Durability of the Neutralizing Antibody Response to mRNA Booster Vaccination Against SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/5 Variants</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Estimating the time-varying reproduction number for COVID-19 in South Africa during the first four waves using multiple measures of incidence for public and private sectors across four waves</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Objectives We aimed to quantify transmission trends in South Africa during the first four waves of the COVID-19 pandemic using estimates of the time-varying reproduction number (R) and to compare the robustness of R estimates based on three different data sources and using data from public and private sector service providers. Methods We estimated R from March 2020 through April 2022, nationally and by province, based on time series of rt-PCR-confirmed cases, hospitalizations, and hospital-associated deaths, using a method which models daily incidence as a weighted sum of past incidence. We also estimated R separately using public and private sector data. Results Nationally, the maximum case-based R following the introduction of lockdown measures was 1.55 (CI: 1.43-1.66), 1.56 (CI: 1.47-1.64), 1.46 (CI: 1.38-1.53) and 3.33 (CI: 2.84-3.97) during the first (Wuhan-Hu), second (Beta), third (Delta), and fourth (Omicron) waves respectively. Estimates based on the three data sources (cases, hospitalisations, deaths) were generally similar during the first three waves but cases-based estimates were higher during the fourth wave. Public and private sector R estimates were generally similar except during the initial lockdowns and in case-based estimates during the fourth wave. Discussion Agreement between R estimates using different data sources during the first three waves suggests data from any of these sources could be used in early stages of a future pandemic. High R estimates for Omicron relative to earlier waves is interesting given a high level of exposure pre-Omicron. The agreement between public and private sector R estimates highlights the fact that clients of the public and private sectors did not experience two separate epidemics, except perhaps to a limited extent during the strictest lockdowns during the first wave.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.22.22277932v1" target="_blank">Estimating the time-varying reproduction number for COVID-19 in South Africa during the first four waves using multiple measures of incidence for public and private sectors across four waves</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Years of Life Lost in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic, March 2020 to October 2021</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background Given a downward age shift in COVID-19-involved deaths observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, we sought to estimate years of life lost (YLL) associated with leading causes of US death during the first 20 months of the pandemic. Findings Despite 4796 fewer COVID-19 deaths in Jan-Oct 2021 than in Mar-Dec 2020, the number of YLL due to COVID-19 increased by 1,159,761, from 4,474,186 to 5,633,947 (a 25.9% increase). YLL per COVID-19 death increased from 12.8 in 2020 to 16.3 in 2021, a 27.7% increase. YLL per death did not change by more than 2.3% for any other cause. Interpretation Increased YLL per COVID-19 death in 2021 result from younger-age COVID-19 mortality, contributing to a marked increase in YLL from this preventable cause of death at a later stage of the pandemic despite advancements in vaccines in treatments.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.22.22277899v1" target="_blank">Years of Life Lost in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic, March 2020 to October 2021</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Early COVID-19 Pandemic Response in Western Visayas, Philippines</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The COVID-19 pandemic has burdened the public health system in the Philippines since January 2020. In Western Visayas (Region 6), Philippines, issues have been raised on the limitations of the government’s response on testing, contact tracing, and augmentation of healthcare facilities. Using data from the Western Visayas - Regional Epidemiologic Surveillance Unit (WV - RESU) from March 20 – June 20, 2020, the following observations were made: 1) Of the 6 provinces, Iloilo had the highest % tests done per capita which may be linked to the presence of the only regional COVID-19 testing facility in the province at that time, 2) There were delays in the overall processing times for specimens from Antique and Negros Occidental which may be linked to transport logistics and/or laboratory processing, 3) Contact tracing and testing were de-linked – tracing was adequate (3,420/3,503, 97.63%), but less than 50% of these (1,668/3,420) were tested, 4) Hospital and quarantine facility capacities were still adequate, but their utilization rates needed to be monitored continuously for further augmentation, if needed. This data shows the challenges of establishing a pandemic response in one of the regions in the Philippines.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.21.22277909v1" target="_blank">Early COVID-19 Pandemic Response in Western Visayas, Philippines</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Active safety surveillance of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in children aged 5-15 years in Australia</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
AusVaxSafety (the Australian active safety surveillance system) used SMS/email delivered surveys to actively solicit the short-term (within first 3 days after vaccination) adverse event profile of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in children (aged 5-15 years) by age, dose, brand and pre-existing comorbidity. 392,268 survey responses for children aged 5-15 who received a COVID-19 vaccine between July 2021 and May 2022 (211,994 following BNT162b2 10mcg in children aged 5-11 years, 173,329 following BNT162b2 30mcg and 6,945 following mRNA-1273 100mcg in adolescents aged 12-15 years) were analysed. Adverse event rates were higher following dose 2 and 3 compared to dose 1 after all vaccines and highest following dose 2 of mRNA-1273 in 12-15 years. Fever was low in the youngest children (5 years old, any dose; 1,090/26,181 (4%)). Medical review rates remained low (0.3% overall) and impact on daily activities was also low (7% overall). No self-reported cases of myocarditis or pericarditis were identified. Ongoing active safety surveillance of lower dose mRNA vaccines in children under 5 years old is required to better understand safety as the vaccines roll out into this population age-group.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.07.19.22277827v1" target="_blank">Active safety surveillance of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in children aged 5-15 years in Australia</a>
</div></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Puerto Rico COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Study</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Other: Educational intervention<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   University of Puerto Rico;   National Institutes of Health (NIH);   National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Bank of Human Leukocytes From COVID-19 Convalescent Donors With an Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Cellular Immunity</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Other: Generation of a biobank allowing the cryopreservation of leucocytes from COVID19 convalescent donors<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Central Hospital, Nancy, France<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Beta-glucans for Hospitalised Patients With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: MC 3x3;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Concentra Educacion e Investigación Biomédica;   Wohlstand Pharmaceutical<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Randomised, Multi-centre, Double-blind, Phase 3 Study to Observe the Effectiveness, Safety and Tolerability of Molnupiravir Compared to Placebo Administered Orally to High-risk Adult Outpatients With Mild COVID-19 Receiving Local Standard of Care in South Africa</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Molnupiravir 200 mg<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   University of Witwatersrand, South Africa;   Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">**NanoMn®_COVID-19 A Prospective, Multicenter, Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Parallel-group, Double-blind Trial to Evaluate the Clinical Efficacy of NanoManganese® on Top of Standard of Care, in Adult Patients With Moderate to Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)** - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pandemic<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Placebo;   Drug: Experimental drug<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Medesis Pharma SA<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) as a Booster</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell);   Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant COVID-19 Variant Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) as a Booster</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 variant Vaccine (Sf9 Cell);   Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated;   Biological: mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna);   Biological: Viral Vector COVID-19 vaccine (AstraZeneca)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Developing an Integrative, Recovery-Based, Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome (PACS) Psychotherapeutic Intervention</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Behavioral: PACS Coping and Recovery (PACS-CR) Intervention<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   VA Office of Research and Development<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Mineralocorticoid Use in COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   ARDS<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Fludrocortisone Acetate 0.1 MG<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Ain Shams University<br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>An Observer-blind, Cohort Randomized, Exploratory Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant Covid-19 Vaccine, mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine and Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Trimeric S-protein Subunit Vaccine as 4th Dose in Individuals Primed/ Boosted With Various Regimens</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: AstraZeneca/Fiocruz;   Biological: Pfizer/Wyeth;   Biological: Clover SCB-2019<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   D’Or Institute for Research and Education;   Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation;   University of Oxford<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Xanthohumol as an Adjuvant Therapy in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Respiratory Infection<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Xanthohumol - prenylated chalcone extracted from female inflorescences of hop cones (Humulus lupus). Hop-RXn™, BioActive-Tech Ltd, Lublin, Poland; http://xanthohumol.com.pl/<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Medical University of Lublin<br/><b>Suspended</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Clinical Trial of Immuno-bridging Between Different Manufacture Scales of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell)</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (Sf9 cell)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Dose Escalation Phase 1 Study Evaluating the Safety and Pharmacokinetics of an Inhaled COVID-19 Inhibitor Delcetravir in Healthy Subjects</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Combination Product: Delcetravir dry powder inhaler<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Esfam Biotech Pty Ltd<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Physiotherapy for Persistent COVID-19 Disease Using Aerobic Exercise</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   Genetic Predisposition to Disease<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Device: Experimental;   Genetic: Control<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Universidad Francisco de Vitoria;   Universidad Rey Juan Carlos<br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Passive Antibodies Against COVID-19 With EVUSHELD in Vaccine Non-responsive CLL</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia;   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: EVUSHELD<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre;   AstraZeneca<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-CoV-2 triggers pericyte-mediated cerebral capillary constriction</strong> - The SARS-CoV-2 receptor, ACE2, is found on pericytes, contractile cells enwrapping capillaries that regulate brain, heart and kidney blood flow. ACE2 converts vasoconstricting angiotensin II into vasodilating angiotensin-(1-7). In brain slices from hamster, which has an ACE2 sequence similar to human ACE2, angiotensin II evoked a small pericyte-mediated capillary constriction via AT1 receptors, but evoked a large constriction when the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD, original Wuhan…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Parthenolide reveals an allosteric mode to inhibit the deISGylation activity of SARS-CoV‑2 papain-like protease</strong> - The coronavirus papain-like protease (PLpro) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for viral polypeptide cleavage and the deISGylation of interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15), which enable it to participate in virus replication and host innate immune pathways. Therefore, PLpro is considered an attractive antiviral drug target. Here, we show that parthenolide, a germacrane sesquiterpene lactone, has SARS-CoV-2 PLpro inhibitory activity. Parthenolide…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>PTP1B inhibitors protect against acute lung injury and regulate CXCR4 signaling in neutrophils</strong> - Acute lung injury (ALI) can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a lethal condition with limited treatment options and currently a common global cause of death due to COVID-19. ARDS secondary to transfusion-related ALI (TRALI) has been recapitulated preclinically by anti-MHC-I antibody administration to LPS-primed mice. In this model, we demonstrate that inhibitors of PTP1B, a protein tyrosine phosphatase that regulates signaling pathways of fundamental importance to homeostasis and…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Secondary metabolites of <em>Livistona decipiens</em> as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2</strong> - In late December 2019, a pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan, China and spread all over the globe. One of the promising therapeutic techniques of viral infection is to search for enzyme inhibitors among natural phytochemicals using molecular docking to obtain leads with the least side effects. The COVID-19 virus main protease (M^(pro)) is considered as an attractive target due to its pivotal role in controlling viral transcription and replication. Metabolic profiling of…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Endothelial Cells as a Key Cell Type for Innate Immunity: A Focused Review on RIG-I Signaling Pathway</strong> - The vascular endothelium consists of a highly heterogeneous monolayer of endothelial cells (ECs) which are the primary target for bacterial and viral infections due to EC’s constant and close contact with the bloodstream. Emerging evidence has shown that ECs are a key cell type for innate immunity. Like macrophages, ECs serve as sentinels when sensing invading pathogens or microbial infection caused by viruses and bacteria. It remains elusive how ECs senses danger signals, transduce the signal…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Application of green synthesised copper iodide particles on cotton fabric-protective face mask material against COVID-19 pandemic</strong> - Microorganisms cause variety of diseases that constitutes a severe threat to mankind. Due to the upsurge of many infectious diseases, there is a high requirement and demand for the development of safety products finished with antimicrobial properties. The study involves the antimicrobial activity of natural cotton coated with copper iodide capped with Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. flower extract (CuI-FE) which is rich in anthocyanin, cyanidin-3-sophoroside by ultrasonication method. The coated and…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The trispecific DARPin ensovibep inhibits diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants</strong> - The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants with potential resistance to existing drugs emphasizes the need for new therapeutic modalities with broad variant activity. Here we show that ensovibep, a trispecific DARPin (designed ankyrin repeat protein) clinical candidate, can engage the three units of the spike protein trimer of SARS-CoV-2 and inhibit ACE2 binding with high potency, as revealed by cryo-electron microscopy analysis. The cooperative…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Detection of neutralizing antibodies against multiple SARS-CoV-2 strains in dried blood spots using cell-free PCR</strong> - An easily implementable serological assay to accurately detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) neutralizing antibodies is urgently needed to better track herd immunity, vaccine efficacy and vaccination rates. Herein, we report the Split-Oligonucleotide Neighboring Inhibition Assay (SONIA) which uses real-time qPCR to measure the ability of neutralizing antibodies to block binding between DNA-barcoded viral spike protein subunit 1 and the human angiotensin-converting…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SARS-CoV-2 spike protein inhibits megalin-mediated albumin endocytosis in proximal tubule epithelial cells</strong> - Patients with COVID-19 have high prevalence of albuminuria which is used as a marker of progression of renal disease and is associated with severe COVID-19. We hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S protein) could modulate albumin handling in proximal tubule epithelial cells (PTECs) and, consequently contribute to the albuminuria observed in patients with COVID-19. In this context, the possible effect of S protein on albumin endocytosis in PTECs was investigated. Two PTEC lines were used:…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A new circular RNA-encoded protein BIRC6-236aa inhibits transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV)-induced mitochondrial dysfunction</strong> - Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), a member of the coronavirus family, is the pathogen responsible for transmissible gastroenteritis, which results in mitochondrial dysfunction in host cells. Previously, we identified 123 differentially-expressed (DE) circular RNAs (circRNAs) from the TGEV-infected porcine intestinal epithelial cell line jejunum 2 (IPEC-J2). Previous bioinformatics analysis suggested that, of these, circBIRC6 had the potential to regulate mitochondrial function….</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Discovery of potent benzoxaborole inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 main and dengue virus proteases</strong> - The RNA viruses SARS-CoV-2 and dengue pose a major threat to human health worldwide and their proteases (M^(pro); NS2B/NS3) are considered as promising targets for drug development. We present the synthesis and biological evaluation of novel benzoxaborole inhibitors of these two proteases. The most active compound achieves single-digit micromolar activity against SARS-CoV-2 M^(pro) in a biochemical assay. The most active substance against dengue NS2B/NS3 protease has submicromolar activity in…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 Potentiates SARS-CoV-2 Infection by Antagonizing Type I Interferon Induction and Its Down-Stream Signaling Pathway</strong> - The innate interferon (IFN) response constitutes the first line of host defense against viral infections. It has been shown that IFN-I/III treatment could effectively contain severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replication in vitro. However, how SARS-CoV-2 survives through the innate antiviral mechanism remains to be explored. Our study uncovered that human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), identified as a primary receptor for SARS-CoV-2 entry, can disturb the…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Retinol Derivative Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Infection by Interrupting Spike-Mediated Cellular Entry</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiological agent of the global pandemic and life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although vaccines and therapeutic antibodies are available, their efficacy is continuously undermined by rapidly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. Here, we found that all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), a vitamin A (retinol) derivative, showed potent antiviral activity against all SARS-CoV-2 variants in both human cell lines and human…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>New Perspectives on Antimicrobial Agents: Molnupiravir and Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir for Treatment of COVID-19</strong> - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged to cause pandemic respiratory disease in the past 2 years, leading to significant worldwide morbidity and mortality. At the beginning of the pandemic, only nonspecific treatments were available, but recently two oral antivirals have received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Molnupiravir targets the viral polymerase…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Species-Specific Molecular Barriers to SARS-CoV-2 Replication in Bat Cells</strong> - Bats are natural reservoirs of numerous coronaviruses, including the potential ancestor of SARS-CoV-2. Knowledge concerning the interaction between coronaviruses and bat cells is sparse. We investigated the ability of primary cells from Rhinolophus and Myotis species, as well as of established and novel cell lines from Myotis myotis, Eptesicus serotinus, Tadarida brasiliensis, and Nyctalus noctula, to support SARS-CoV-2 replication. None of these cells were permissive to infection, not even the…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Liz Cheney’s Revenge on Donald Trump—and Her Own Party</strong> - The season finale of the January 6th committee showed Republicans wallowing in the former President’s dishonor. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/liz-cheneys-revenge-on-donald-trump-and-her-own-party">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Harvesting Wheat in Drought-Parched Kansas</strong> - A global grain shortage has put extra pressure on American farmers. Can they navigate extreme weather and skyrocketing inflation when the world needs them most? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/harvesting-wheat-in-drought-parched-kansas">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Abortion Surge Engulfing Clinics in Pennsylvania</strong> - Patients are travelling to the state from Ohio, Kentucky, and even Louisiana, but how long will that option last? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-abortion-surge-engulfing-clinics-in-pennsylvania">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How the Federalist Society Won</strong> - The conservative legal movement was pivotal in getting Roe v. Wade overturned. But does it have any control over what happens next? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-education/how-the-federalist-society-won">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Much Damage Are the January 6th Hearings Doing to Trump?</strong> - Even as Republican support for another Trump Presidential bid appears to be slipping, he can’t be counted out. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/how-much-damage-are-the-january-6th-hearings-doing-to-trump">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>What keeping secrets does to you</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="An illustration shows people hiding behind walls, peering around them furtively." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TRvvCL2PiHCwtGJ3C6Sqk8CUPTU=/342x0:5675x4000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71167380/GettyImages_1346327931.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Getty Images/iStockphoto
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
We can keep a secret — but should we?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="atnZre">
I have secrets. So do you. So does everyone else. This is one of the many things human beings do — we hide stuff from other people.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7x2XQE">
But why do we do this? Are we afraid of intimacy? Are we ashamed of our past? And perhaps more importantly, what does all that secrecy cost us?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="svUITW">
These are questions a new book tries to answer. It’s called <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/646505/the-secret-life-of-secrets-by-michael-slepian/"><em>The Secret Life of Secrets</em></a> and the author is Michael Slepian, a psychologist at Columbia University. He’s spent a decade studying secrets and has a lot to say about what they are and what motivates them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x9Wt7Z">
I invited Slepian on <a href="https://tools.applemediaservices.com/podcast/1081584611?country=us"><em>Vox Conversations</em></a> to talk about what distinguishes a secret from a lie, what kinds of secrets are most common, and why he thinks that, ultimately, we should find ways to let our secrets go.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="koqrjf">
Below is an excerpt of our conversation, edited for length and clarity. As always, there’s much more in the full podcast, so listen and follow <em>Vox Conversations</em> on <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vox-conversations/id1215557536">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/search/vox%20conversations">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6NOJ6IkTb2GWMj1RpmtnxP">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/show/vox-conversations">Stitcher</a>, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
</p>
<div id="CVFUnN">
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hRzbMQ">
</p>
<h4 id="w6qMA1">
Sean Illing
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fxI8HD">
Your book opens with you recounting how a 10-megaton secret was dropped into your lap that sort of exploded your life.
</p>
<h4 id="meGX6m">
Michael Slepian
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="W2VGZP">
I was doing studies [on secrets] and I was presenting those studies, as I learned this major family secret. In fact, I was on interview at Columbia for the position I have now. I’m showing people this brand new research on secrecy, and that’s my entire day. And at the end of this day, I’m still with these folks, we’re having dinner, we get drinks afterward.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tQwXwW">
And then at some point around midnight, I get this call from my dad. And I’m like, “Why is he calling me at midnight?” And then he calls me a second time, and I’m like, “Oh no, something terrible has happened.”<em> </em>And I assume someone died or something tragic. I call him back. And he says, “Michael, I have to tell you something. I think you should sit down for this.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mVaTSw">
And then he tells me that he’s not biologically able to have children. He’s telling me that he’s not my biological father.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oM0ft2">
And as you can imagine, that’s totally surprising and shocking. But the first thing I thought to myself was, “This is okay.” I thought, “I don’t choose my friends based off genetics. What does it matter if my parents aren’t genetically related to me?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Zon13I">
But it was the secret keeping that really shocked me.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5ncHHI">
It turned out that everyone in my family, apart from my younger brother and myself, knew this secret the whole time.
</p>
<h4 id="BjhW59">
Sean Illing
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3vs3F5">
A lot of academics who study whatever it is that they study, it can feel very abstract. And then suddenly, boom, you’re hit with this secret that is kind of at the core of your identity and your life.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kECIVt">
Did that concretize anything for you in any particular way? Did it change how you thought about secrets in general, having collided with one that gigantic in your own life?
</p>
<h4 id="ya0TjQ">
Michael Slepian
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Re3avU">
What was so relevant to what I was understanding about secrecy, the science [of it], was, I asked my parents, “What was it like to keep the secret?” And they told me it wasn’t something that was difficult to hold back in conversations because it’s really easy to not let that long, complicated story just spill out of your mouth.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TiJ6BA">
Once in a while their mind would return to this. And they said that’s when it became a problem — that it wasn’t hiding it in conversation that was difficult. It was having to return to their decision over and over and start wondering, “Did we make the right decision?” And as we got older, they started becoming less sure.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iyQRDT">
And that matched exactly what I was finding in my research at the time, that the hard part of having a secret doesn’t seem [to be] those moments when we’re in conversation. That turns out to be the easy part. It’s having to live with the secret alone, and being unsure whether you’re doing the right thing.
</p>
<h4 id="iOl8W8">
Sean Illing
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YRE0hp">
What are the most common secrets people keep? You have some interesting charts in the book about this, but I want the audience to have a sense of what you discovered here.
</p>
<h4 id="H60AuX">
Michael Slepian
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1LR6ax">
Some of the most common secrets include romantic desire, issues around money and finances, sex, which will come as no surprise. Family secrets are quite common, secret ambitions, being unhappy with something, whether it’s your social life, your physical appearance, your romantic life, issues around mental health, violating another person’s trust.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="79liFE">
I could keep going.
</p>
<h4 id="zwTeJJ">
Sean Illing
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0E8SRc">
Can friendships, relationships, romantic relationships survive <em>without</em> secrets?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z7YPUQ">
It seems to me that I’m not sure they could. Maybe that says something terrible about me. Do you think our relationships could remain intact if we were totally transparent about everything all the time?
</p>
<h4 id="ISy8UN">
Michael Slepian
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hFmUrK">
I think it would lead to some bumpiness.
</p>
<h4 id="0TEeHm">
Sean Illing
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BYXYpw">
That’s one way to put it.
</p>
<h4 id="ziioU3">
Michael Slepian
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DJk1ti">
I think we hold secrets back for the right reasons sometimes. White lies are one example.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q0qghq">
Your friend asks you, how do they look? And you’re like just arriving at the party and it’s too late to change or to do anything about it. You say the nice thing. People will agree saying something kind and nice is better than being brutally honest. There’s no need to needlessly hurt someone’s feelings when there’s nothing that can be done about it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PWlb1N">
Another example is sometimes it’s just too soon to reveal something, but like a week later, it’s better to reveal it then. And so, maybe it’s something you could only keep temporarily secret.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ASj6il">
Maybe it’s you’re protecting [someone’s] feelings, [like] if someone just says something nasty about your partner. There’s not a lot of good reason to pass that on if it’s just going to make them feel bad, and that’s the only consequence.
</p>
<h4 id="XqZSWu">
Sean Illing
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QMGwn9">
Okay, so obviously one of the big lies in the chart is infidelity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cp94Yk">
In terms of the trade-offs, it’s hard for me to imagine a more weighty one, right? If you’re someone who has been unfaithful in your relationship, and let’s say you have a family, you have children, the cost of telling that truth or revealing that secret could be the destruction of your family and lifelong trauma for your children. But the price of keeping that secret might be psychologically catastrophic as well.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Qq2lj7">
I’m not asking you to tell people what they should do or what they shouldn’t do, but maybe I’m asking you what that decision calculus should look like.
</p>
<h4 id="m5LXUf">
Michael Slepian
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mMVcZ8">
The thing to consider first is, what is the reason you want to tell the person? Is it that you just can’t think about this thing in your head anymore, and you want to get it off your chest and just get it out in the open and not have to deal with it as a secret anymore?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zed8fm">
If that’s the reason you want to reveal the secret, if it’s just to make yourself feel better, the risk, of course, is that it makes you feel better, now it’s off your chest, but it could make your partner feel a whole lot worse.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vFPnEn">
And so the question is, when is that the right thing to do?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n9NZWz">
Other things to think about are, is this a one-time issue? If this is a one-time issue and it’s not going to come up again, there are folks who would advise you to say, yeah, don’t reveal it because this is not some larger problem.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UF21ZV">
If it’s a repeat problem, if this is something that’s continuously happening, I would say it’s a much bigger deal to be holding this issue back.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HBnfcJ">
And the final consideration is, would your partner want to know this? And that’s a hard question to know the answer to. But I can tell you about a study where I asked a couple of hundred people about this situation.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="o4ZNj2">
Imagine your partner, one time, totally regrettable mistake. They were out of town. They were drunk. They would never do this again. Would you want to know?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="s7xmvq">
And about 75 percent of people said yes, which really surprised me, actually.
</p>
<h4 id="muB2g2">
Sean Illing
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rCpoh6">
I was surprised by that too. And you know what? The more I thought about it, the less surprising it was.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nVzImA">
But I really do wonder if the difference between theory and practice is really significant here. A lot of people think they would want to know that, but if they really learned it and there was no going back, that it blew up their life, I wonder how many people in retrospect would say, “You know what? Maybe it was better, maybe ignorance was bliss in this case.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="W17qpj">
I don’t know, but boy, that’s a big number. I thought it would be closer to half.
</p>
<h4 id="WzPQmx">
Michael Slepian
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7pJV1Y">
Yeah, so did I, and so maybe I should have run this study again where after people give their answer, I just ask a follow-up, which is, “Are you sure?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="93Ae5b">
But besides sort of wondering whether we’ve got the percentage correct or not, another way of thinking about this is, one in four people said very decisively that they wouldn’t want to know. I mean, that sounds like a big number to me, too.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pTqZUI">
And so, the best thing you can do when you’re grappling with these complexities, with this decision that is such a significant decision with such huge ramifications, there is no reason you should be figuring this out on your own. It’s way too complicated to figure out on your own.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="110AQG">
So the best thing you can do is find someone that you know can keep this secret safe, that you trust, and see what they think and start considering these different options and scenarios.
</p>
<h4 id="f96o6N">
Sean Illing
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SsO0IW">
We’ve been talking a lot about the person or the people maybe affected by your secret or involved in your secret. But I’m interested in what it’s doing to the secret holder.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nQzptk">
And in the book you talk about shame and isolation and feelings of phoniness or inauthenticity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1xHncu">
What would you say is the primary or the hidden cost of keeping secrets for the person keeping the secret?
</p>
<h4 id="A0gIZn">
Michael Slepian
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HTgx1b">
So we see shame, isolation, uncertainty, inauthenticity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6Oa8UQ">
Of all of those, the one that seems to be the most harmful is shame. And the reason for that is shame is this global negative evaluation of yourself. And if you feel worthless, powerless, small, it’s really hard to change that. It’s really hard to just not feel ashamed and just to sort of ignore that.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vOz0WH">
But there is a way forward if that’s something that is holding you back, which is that if shame is a negative evaluation of the self, if you can just redirect that negative evaluation to the behavior in question, that’s what we call guilt. And so rather than thinking of yourself as a bad person, you can say, “I did something bad<em>.” </em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YXs9Ag">
And what’s so helpful about reframing it in that manner is: You don’t have to do that thing again next time. You can act differently next time. People change, you can learn from your past, you can draw a lesson, you can do something going forward differently.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qUqnTu">
And that shifts the negative evaluation from your whole self to something you did in the past.
</p>
<h4 id="brc6j7">
Sean Illing
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2L94Hr">
I love your emphasis on the time secrets steal from us. Like the time we spend thinking about our secrets, worrying about our secrets, revisiting them in our mind.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5kvynr">
That leads to insecurity and that wastes an enormous amount of precious attention and presence in your life. It’s almost never worth that. Maybe sometimes it is, but I feel justified in saying it’s almost never really, truly worth it.
</p>
<h4 id="SuvD71">
Michael Slepian
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WW2StZ">
An easy way out of the negative cycles of thinking is just bringing another person in. It’s so easy to get caught up in rumination and rehashing the past. And just getting another perspective into it. Just having someone else in that conversation can help you out of this negative thought loop for sure.
</p>
<h4 id="HspgEO">
Sean Illing
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6TQr55">
I did take some comfort in the fact that you found that secrets tend to impact all of us in very similar ways, right? No matter where we’re from, whether the South or the North or America or somewhere else.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="llBrFH">
Which if nothing else says, this is just a human thing, it’s a universal human thing.
</p>
<h4 id="rBJVFE">
Michael Slepian
</h4>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="phxRSG">
Yeah, we see that the secrets that people keep, the kinds of secrets that people keep and how they affect us leading to experiences of shame, guilt, isolation, inauthenticity. These are experiences that I’ve seen all across the world. We surveyed people all over the world and see if they keep the same kind of secrets and they affect us in similar ways.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gxybl7">
And so if you’re struggling with a secret, that’s something to remember. We all keep the same secrets. We all have the same experiences with them.
</p></li>
<li><strong>Sri Lanka’s new president is already cracking down on protests</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Ranil Wickremesinghe Was Elected As The New President Of Sri Lanka" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gLgAmUbdkNm2ZjRm_prGBvHofns=/102x0:2587x1864/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71166396/1242017326.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected as the new President of Sri Lanka addresses the media during his visit to the Gangaramaya Buddhist temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka on July 20, 2022. | Pradeep Dambarage/NurPhoto via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
President Wickremesinghe is an ally of the president who protesters just forced out.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Mr9j8e">
Ranil Wickremesinghe is the interim president of Sri Lanka per a parliamentary vote, after an unprecedented popular protest brought down former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration. But while naming an interim president may<strong> </strong>help the country manage some of its staggering debt, it’s unlikely to bring about the kinds of change protestors demand.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x2vlQ6">
Gotabaya appointed Wickremesinghe prime minister in May after his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned from the post during the protests. Now, Wickremesinghe — who served as prime minister five previous times and was also finance minister during his most recent term — will serve as president until the country holds a popular vote in 2024.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Px9RtH">
Wickremesinghe’s closeness with the Rajapaksa clan — Gotabaya and Mahinda, who was president from 2005 to 2015; their brother Basil, the former finance minister; their brother Chamal, <a href="https://www.defence.lk/Profile/state_minister_of_defence">who has held multiple posts</a>; and Mahinda’s son Namal, who served as sports minister under Gotabaya — has made him unpopular with protesters.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zMa7Nc">
That’s with good reason; on Friday, just two days after Wickremesinghe secured the presidency, police and security forces conducted a violent, pre-dawn raid on the main protest encampment in Galle Face, as <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/07/sri-lanka-shameful-brutal-assault-on-peaceful-protestors-must-immediately-stop/">Amnesty International</a> reported.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Aq0fZ7">
According to the report, the police, special forces, and military staged “a massive joint operation” on the GotaGoGama camp at the Presidential Secretariat <strong>— </strong>the office of the President of Sri Lanka. Protesters have been staying in tents there since April and were due to vacate parts of the encampment Friday; however, around 1:00 am local time, security forces descended on the camp with no warning, after having blocked off the encampment’s egresses.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sLTEE5">
“There were about 200-300 demonstrators at that time, I would say,” one eyewitness told Amnesty. “Suddenly [the forces] came out from [behind] the barricades and totally destroyed and broke down the tents. There were enough police and military to swamp the area. The police and especially the army beat up peaceful protesters.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="t2aX2Q">
Amnesty reported at least 50 injured and nine arrested, although activist and attorney Swasthika Arulingam, who’s been involved in the protests in Colombo since March, told Vox that only eight were arrested, all of whom had been bailed out as of noon Eastern time Saturday.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="joVNhD">
“We need to reorganize the struggle,” Arulingam told Vox. “People are shaken.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="14p4bw">
Though protesters achieved the unthinkable — getting the Rajapaksas out of leadership despite nearly two decades in power — concerns remain about Wickremesinghe’s ties to the previous administration.
</p>
<h3 id="A9EkI6">
Financial stability requires political stability
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KvIh1J">
Wickremesinghe is a longtime political actor who’s held many positions in Sri Lanka’s government. Although he is the head of the United National Party (UNP), the Rajapaksas’ Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) backed him in the parliamentary election to secure his position as the interim president of Sri Lanka. <s> </s><s></s>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Uuduyn">
Wickremesinghe’s main priority as president is — or should be — helping the country refinance its massive, unsustainable debt and secure loans from the International Monetary Fund, as well as implementing crucial economic reforms to ensure that the economy remains stable in the decades to come. “These are reforms Sri Lanka has been talking about for decades, has been unable to execute, but will have to be now implemented,” Constantino Xavier, a fellow with the Foreign Policy and Security at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress in New Delhi and a nonresident fellow with the India Project at the Brookings Institution told Brookings podcast <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/20220722_TheCurrent_Xavier_transcript.pdf">The Current</a> on Friday. “Reforms in terms of the labor sector, in terms of the public sector companies that still have monopolies in various sectors, from the energy [to] the port sector in Sri Lanka.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1jWaHB">
Wickremesinghe, Xavier said, is “the only individual that has emerged as satisfying different actors” including the IMF and Sri Lanka’s Western creditors who are critical to helping Sri Lanka refinance its debt. “Ranil Wickremesinghe is generally seen as a technocrat that is quite popular in particular with the Western countries that play an influential role here,” Xavier said, although he acknowledged that Wickremesinghe is deeply<strong> </strong>unpopular with protesters.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9pHlXT">
Despite his unpopularity, though, Sri Lanka needs a measure of political stability to continue negotiations with the IMF, the previous session of which concluded in late June, while Gotabaya was still in charge. “I think getting a president in place means you restart the process right away; I think that will be top of the list,” Tamanna Salikuddin, director of South Asia programs at the US Institute of Peace, told Vox in an interview last week.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gX8mX0">
On Monday, before he was elected interim president and just after he declared a state of emergency, Wickremesinghe announced that IMF talks were near their conclusion and that “discussions for assistance with foreign countries were also progressing,” <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sri-lanka-president-wickremesinghe-declares-emergency-2022-07-18/">Reuters reported last week</a>, quoting a press release from Wickremesinghe’s office.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LPQa2e">
The protest movement started over disastrous financial policy under the Rajapaksas, built on the back of their rapacious consolidation of power and dismantling of democratic institutions, as Xavier explained on Friday’s podcast. “They have centralized power politically that has come with some benefits: obviously, that the country has been led with a strong, for some people, authoritarian streak and very decisive governance, but at the same time also the weakening of critical institution like the Central Bank of Sri Lanka,” he told The Current host Adrianna Pitta. “So therefore when you are progressively over 10, 20 years weakening those governance structures, and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka I mentioned […] because it is really the heart of the financial crisis of the country that has taken on loans without much scrutiny on the sustainability of refinancing mechanisms.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OB7TEO">
Though tackling the approximately $51 billion in debt that Sri Lanka owes is the first priority for its government, looking forward it’s not clear how Sri Lanka can build a sustainable economy when its tourism industry is decimated due to Covid 19, and its agriculture sector due to failed policies.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pfjhe4">
“There’s been one body blow after another,” Salikuddin said, referring not only to Covid-19, but also a 2019 series of bombings at churches celebrating Easter and Russia’s war on Ukraine. “Now, with the collapse, you have countries all over the world issuing safety travel notices, so I don’t see tourism coming back any time, at the same rates that they’re hoping for.”
</p>
<h3 id="ae8i2B">
Will the Rajapaksas face justice?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2GTHMO">
Despite the turmoil Sri Lankans have endured under Gotabaya and his family— chiefly the lack of medicine, basic food supplies, and fuel as well as a disastrous ban on importing chemical fertilizers, which decimated Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector — the Rajapaksas and their cronies might never be held to account.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sfEgpH">
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/22/gotabaya-rajapaksa-former-sri-lanka-president-must-face-war-crimes-investigation/">They have thus far evaded culpability for alleged human rights abuses</a> during the end of the 30-year-long civil war between ethnic Tamil militants fighting for a homeland in the north of Sri Lanka, and the country’s Sinhalese majority. Mahinda was president in 2009 when the war ended, and Gotabaya was his defense minister; during his time<strong> </strong>in that role, in the final months of the war, according to a UN panel report, the Sri Lankan military<strong> </strong>was alleged to have committed atrocities including sexual violence, forced disappearances and killing of Tamil civilians, claims that the Sri Lankan government denied at the time.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wSqeJj">
“I think it’s really interesting to think how the Rajapaksas came to power,” Salikuddin told Vox. “They crushed — with a lot of allegations of human rights violations and war crimes — crushed the Tamils, and that led them to power on this Sinhalese nationalism, Buddhist nationalism wave. So they could tell the majority Buddhist nationalists, ‘Look, we ended this 30-year civil war. We won.’ And the Sinhalese, Buddhist nationalists were ok looking the other way.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Lvv3Lu">
However, for Tamil and other sidelined minorities, “I think the wounds are still existent,” Salikuddin told Vox. “There’s never been any truth and reconciliation, there’s never been any [addressing] of all the missing persons, or of the war crimes of the Rajapaksas.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZIOVEO">
As of now, Gotabaya is in Singapore, <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ex-sri-lankan-leader-rajapaksa-was-granted-short-term-visit-pass-ica">but only on a temporary basis</a>. Thus far, he hasn’t asked for or been granted asylum, the Straits Times reports; thus it’s unclear how long he plans to stay.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xwFzZ6">
Mahinda and his son Namal, the former sports minister whom <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-11/sri-lanka-s-fallen-dynasty-is-already-planning-its-next-comeback#xj4y7vzkg">Bloomberg</a> reports is being groomed for a future in political leadership, will not leave Sri Lanka, an unnamed aide told <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/14/ex-leader-mahinda-rajapaksa-will-not-flee-sri-lanka-top-aide">Al Jazeera</a> last week. Meanwhile Basil, the former finance minister and the brother of Mahinda and Gotabaya, was reportedly turned back at the airport by officials, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-12/airport-staff-block-ex-fm-basil-rajapaksa-from-leaving-sri-lanka#xj4y7vzkg">according to Bloomberg</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="o66QL0">
In the immediate term, though the protests have been significant, sustained, and have brought about some victories, “much of what we’ve seen in terms of the protests in Colombo and international media is actually a very urban progressive elite that is on the streets, that is asking for a fundamental reset of the country,” Xavier said, adding that “the majority of the Sri Lankan electorate, I would risk, is still behind the Rajapaksas. This is the conservative, rural, southern vote of the majority ethnic group called the Sinhala group. So therefore, no solution in Sri Lanka can happen without that popular support, particularly when the very painful reforms period will begin in a few months.”
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Furthermore, the fact that crackdowns have already begun two days into Wickremesinghe’s tenure, despite the fact that the protests have been largely peaceful, doesn’t bode well for the future. When asked if she thought the Rajapaksa dynasty would face justice for the downfall of the Sri Lankan economy, Arulingam said, “Not anytime soon.”
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<strong>Correction, 8:20 pm: </strong>Ranil Wickremesinghe is the head of the United National Party, not the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. A previous version of this article misstated his political affiliation.
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<li><strong>Why the WHO finally declared monkeypox a global public health emergency</strong> -
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4XEV7VWhIGUTDBvtwmNL6WyT7EI=/232x0:3368x2352/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71165643/GettyImages_1205434458.0.jpg"/>
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World Health Organization leadership, including Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, center, attend a press conference at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in March 2020. | Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
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A “public health emergency of international concern” is the organization’s loudest alarm bell. Here’s what it can accomplish.
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On Saturday, July 23, World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26o1BMmj6as">declared</a> the spread of monkeypox to be a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), the organization’s loudest alarm bell signifying an emerging outbreak.
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Since early May, more than <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/monkeypox?facet=none&amp;hideControls=false&amp;Metric=Confirmed+cases&amp;Frequency=Cumulative&amp;Shown+by=Date+of+confirmation&amp;country=~OWID_WRL">15,000 cases of monkeypox</a> have been identified across more than 60 countries. Disease caused by the monkeypox virus typically involves a few days of fever and lymph node swelling <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/index.html">followed by a rash,</a> which can leave scars. Most cases in the current outbreak have resolved without hospitalization or the need for medication. As of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/who-reports-two-new-monkeypox-deaths-2022-07-07/">July 7,</a> there have been three deaths, all of them in Africa.
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When the WHO first convened a committee in <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/who-declines-to-label-monkeypox-a-global-emergency">late June</a> to determine whether monkeypox was a PHEIC. As cases have continued to rise worldwide, the committee reconvened on July 21 — and this time, the outcome was different.
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“We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little and which meets the criteria in international health regulations,” Tedros said when announcing the emergency.
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Tedros made the declaration despite the the WHO’s <a href="https://www.who.int/groups/monkeypox-ihr-emergency-committee">emergency committee for monkeypox</a>, which did not come to an unanimous consensus on whether to declare an emergency. “There are uncertainties on all sides,” said Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, explaining Tedros’s reasoning in deciding to declare a PHEIC. “He sees a window of opportunity to to bring this disease under control,” said Ryan. The committee offers a recommendation, but ultimately it was Tedros’s decision.
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The last time the WHO declared an international emergency was in <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/covid-19-public-health-emergency-of-international-concern-(pheic)-global-research-and-innovation-forum">early 2020</a>, for Covid-19. While the disease caused by the currently spreading monkeypox virus is much less severe than Covid-19 and spreads far less easily, there are good reasons for the WHO to declare an emergency.
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For starters, said Ana B. Amaya, an expert in global health governance at Pace University in New York, this monkeypox outbreak is just very different from past outbreaks of the disease. The vast majority of the latest cases have been identified among gay and bisexual men, and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/18/health/monkeypox-lgbtq-safety/index.html">sexual contact with multiple sexual partners</a> has emerged as an important risk factor. Scientists are now trying to determine if the virus spreads through sexual fluids like semen and vaginal fluid in addition to the ways it’s already known to spread: via skin-to-skin contact and, to a lesser degree, by respiratory transmission.
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Prior to the current outbreak, monkeypox often spread <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4880088/">throughout households</a> via close contact and, possibly, shared items like utensils and linens. In the past few weeks, <a href="https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2022/07/20/seven-month-old-baby-contracts-monkey-pox-in-madrid/">isolated</a> <a href="https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.29.2200552">reports</a> of infections in children, who are thought to be at <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/monkeypox">higher risk for severe outcomes</a> of monkeypox infection, reinforce the worry that without containment, outbreaks often spread beyond the populations where they start.
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The prospect that the virus might be spreading in ways not seen before raises the concern that it will surprise us in other ways — for example, by causing severe disease if it reaches certain populations it has not yet reached, like large groups of immunocompromised people, said Amaya. “All of that is really alarming. And that’s why it’s very important for us to have a coordinated response that starts from the WHO level,” she said in a late-June interview, before the WHO’s first meeting to discuss issuing an emergency declaration.
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But beyond that, this kind of declaration encourages countries to coordinate to stop the virus’s spread in a few different ways. Here’s how that works.
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A public health emergency is not the same thing as a pandemic
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To be resoundingly clear: The WHO did not declare monkeypox to be a new pandemic. There’s a difference between a pandemic and a PHEIC.
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A pandemic is squishily defined as “an epidemic occurring over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries, and usually affecting a large number of people,” according to <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;id=vEZmAwAAQBAJ&amp;oi=fnd&amp;pg=PP1&amp;dq=A+dictionary+of+epidemiology&amp;ots=ej5LgDPB1f&amp;sig=VZXfw0O8m-1CfAD4gJMeyEuoCiQ#v=onepage&amp;q=A%20dictionary%20of%20epidemiology&amp;f=false"><em>A Dictionary of Epidemiology</em></a>. Public health experts use the phrase “pandemic” to emphasize the global reach of an outbreak. They seem to agree that <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/3/9/21163412/who-coronavirus-covid19-pandemic-world-health-organization">calling something a pandemic means it demands a coordinated international response</a> — and potentially, that it’s too big to contain.
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On the other hand, a PHEIC is a more carefully defined term. It describes a situation that has not necessarily grown out of control, but has the potential to do so.
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According to the WHO’s International Health Regulations, an outbreak <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/emergencies-international-health-regulations-and-emergency-committees">qualifies</a> as a PHEIC if 1) it’s unusual or unexpected, 2) has potential for international spread, and 3) requires an immediate international response.
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The WHO has only declared <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7798963/">six PHEICs</a> to date, including Ebola, Zika, and Covid-19.
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The monkeypox outbreak easily meets the first two criteria for an emergency: the virus’s spread outside West and Central Africa and among sexual networks are both unusual patterns, and the virus has already spread internationally, with cases now present in about 60 countries. And given that spread, containing monkeypox will clearly require an international response.
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Why did the WHO wait to declare an emergency?
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Some experts think this outbreak easily met the PHEIC criteria when the WHO first addressed the question about a month ago. Why didn’t it declare an emergency then?
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“It’s possible the panel decided to take a cautious approach to avoid causing alarm,” said Amaya, who told me that in her view, the emergency threshold had already been met in June. Arguably, it was a missed opportunity: Declaring the emergency earlier could have facilitated more containment efforts early on.
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Andrew Pekosz, a Johns Hopkins virologist specializing in emerging pathogens, said that when public health authorities make emergency declarations, they sometimes prioritize disease severity over case numbers. With monkeypox causing so few deaths, declaring the outbreak a global emergency in June may have felt a little over-the-top, even if thousands of people had already been infected. He thinks that’s a mistake.
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“The more we allow a virus to replicate,” Pekosz said, “the more likely that these viruses are going to become better at infecting us,” much as they have with Covid-19. (Although monkeypox virus is less prone to mutation than SARS-CoV-2, it nevertheless can and does <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01907-y">accumulate mutations</a> over time.) An earlier declaration might have unlocked more resources — including vaccines — for the low-income countries that need them most, while the global case count was a third as high as it is right now, he said.
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Declaring an emergency signals an outbreak’s seriousness and the WHO’s intention to disseminate expert knowledge
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In the US, declaring a state of emergency <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/3/13/21178414/trump-coronavirus-national-emergency-state-funding">mobilizes funds</a> to support states’ responses to a disaster like a hurricane, or a public health crisis. That’s not the case with WHO PHEIC declarations, which do not unlock access to funding, explained <a href="https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/people/heymann.david">David Heymann</a>, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who previously headed WHO’s emergencies department, in a late-June interview.
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Instead, these declarations act as a signal. They inform health departments worldwide that responding to the outbreak is urgent, and this can mobilize resources to help lower-resource countries fund their response.
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In some cases, declarations can include recommendations for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7106206/">travel restrictions</a>, as during the 2003 SARS outbreak that largely affected countries in East Asia. Although the WHO explicitly did not recommend travel restrictions early in the Covid-19 pandemic, many countries chose to independently institute such restrictions, <a href="https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/3/e004537">with varying effects</a>. In declaring the monkeypox emergency, Tedros said, “the risk of interference with international traffic remains low for the moment.”
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Amaya said declaring an outbreak an emergency also signals that the WHO plans to be a source of clinical and scientific guidelines aimed at helping public health workers worldwide achieve disease control. That guidance isn’t always perfect — the organization faced vociferous criticism for its <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00925-7#:~:text=Early%20in%20the%20pandemic%2C%20the,happen%20in%20the%20next%20pandemic.">sluggishness at acknowledging SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted by aerosol particles</a> that can remain suspended in the air for hours — but it is nevertheless authoritative on a global scale.
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Ideally, that effort draws on the deep knowledge about monkeypox that resides in the nations that have been contending with the virus for decades, she said. “It is an endemic disease in several African countries, and so part of this is we should be learning from our partners in those African countries,” said Amaya.
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The emergency ought to get countries to share vaccines. But it’s not guaranteed.
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Vaccination plays a key role in controlling monkeypox transmission during an outbreak, and crucially, these vaccines already exist.
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The Covid-19 pandemic taught the world some painful lessons about the importance of global coordination to ensuring fast and equitable vaccine distribution. The PHEIC alarm bell hopefully will spur action so the same mistakes are not repeated.
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A major reason global health experts have been anxious over the timeliness of a WHO emergency declaration for monkeypox is the declaration’s potential to get vaccines to the most vulnerable groups quickly.
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<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/clinicians/smallpox-vaccine.html">Vaccines do exist</a> to prevent monkeypox, and while many countries have a quantity of these vaccines on hand as part of their national stockpiles, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/15/health/monkeypox-vaccine-supply.html">US demand has greatly outpaced supply</a>, and the global supply of vaccines <a href="https://www.nouvelle-aquitaine.ars.sante.fr/communique-de-presse-variole-du-singe-monkeypox-mise-en-oeuvre-de-la-vaccination-du-12072022">is</a> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/monkeypox-vaccination-resources/monkeypox-waiting-for-your-vaccination">relatively</a> <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON392">small</a>.
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Countries have been scrambling to order more vaccines, and while the producer of the most popular monkeypox vaccine <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/bavarian-nordic-expects-sign-more-contracts-monkeypox-vaccine-2022-06-07/">has not disclosed</a> which countries have put down orders, the nations that have announced vaccine purchases have generally been higher-income ones, like Germany, Britain, and Canada.
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That portends a pattern of vaccine inequity that unfolded to tragic effect during the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, with <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/28/22405279/covid-19-vaccine-india-covax">poorer countries</a> struggling to <a href="https://www.vox.com/22759707/covid-19-vaccine-gap-covax-rich-poor-countries-boosters">acquire vaccines</a> and cut off from vaccine production efforts. In his announcement of the WHO’s Emergency Committee’s plan to convene in June, WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said following a more equitable blueprint for monkeypox vaccine distribution would be a key step in controlling the outbreak.
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“A ‘me first’ approach could lead to damaging consequences down the road if we do not employ a genuinely collaborative and far-thinking approach,” Kluge said. “I beseech governments to tackle monkeypox without repeating the mistakes of the pandemic — and keeping equity at the heart of all we do.”
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When the WHO declares an emergency, it also makes recommendations to affected countries, which often relate to vaccination strategies. This spurs countries to coordinate vaccine strategies to increase vaccine supply in less wealthy countries. It can also spur donors to fund vaccination efforts that prioritize equitable access to vaccines. However, the WHO’s recommendations in the face of an emergency are ultimately just recommendations.
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“There’s no way to enforce that globally,” Heymann said.
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The <a href="https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/about">ACT Accelerator</a>, a collaboration to raise funds to distribute Covid-19 tests, therapies, and vaccines to low-resource countries, was an attempt at an equitable solution in the pandemic. However, in the eyes of many, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8376241/">it did not succeed</a>. Public health experts are hopeful earlier action on monkeypox could avoid some of the ACT Accelerator’s pitfalls.
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In its announcement today, WHO representatives said it was encouraging countries with large vaccine stockpiles to share and donate vaccines to other countries who do not currently have access to vaccines.
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Countries face stricter requirements for case finding and reporting, making disease spread easier to track
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Although many countries are already reporting cases, an emergency declaration would intensify and formalize countries’ reporting requirement. “Countries should be reporting already, but this means a much more rigorous response and more surveillance,” Amaya said.
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More surveillance means new crops of cases would get detected more quickly, allowing public health authorities to intervene earlier to control chains of transmission.
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The WHO has faced criticism for being both too slow and <a href="http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1956608,00.html">too fast</a> to declare public health emergencies in the past, and for favoring political over technical criteria in making these assessments. Prior to the emergency declaration, global health experts expressed hope that this time, WHO would get their timing just right.
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Lawrence Gostin, who authored a 2020 article <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30401-1/fulltext">calling on the organization to reform its process</a> for identifying and announcing such threats, <a href="https://twitter.com/LawrenceGostin/status/1539301003232743424">tweeted</a> on June 21 that it was time for the WHO to declare monkeypox an emergency. “It’s far better to act rapidly &amp; decisively now rather than wait until monkeypox is no longer containable,” he wrote.
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On Thursday, July 21, exactly one month later, he <a href="https://twitter.com/LawrenceGostin/status/1549837301831942149">tweeted</a>, “The window for containment is rapidly closing &amp; may well already have closed.”
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Today, Ryan, the director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said he hoped the global coordination that would follow the declaration would prevent monkeypox from becoming endemic, and also prevent it from spreading beyond the community of gay and bisexual men who currently comprise the vast majority of cases.
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“We don’t wish to see this version of the disease established itself along with other diseases that have become established,” he said. Immunocompromised people, including those with untreated or advanced HIV disease and people taking chemotherapy, are at increased risk for severe outcomes or death due to monkeypox infection.
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The WHO has indicated its decision to act. Whether that will be enough to curb this outbreak before it spreads into new, increasingly vulnerable populations, we won’t know for some time.
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</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Cricket Scotland board resigns ahead of report into racism</strong> - A review was conducted after Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker, Majid Haq, told British broadcaster Sky Sports that Cricket Scotland was “institutionally racist”</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Silver, a testament to Neeraj’s grit, skill and determination</strong> - Olympic champion overcame a niggle to climb from fifth to finish second</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Neeraj Chopra makes history with javelin silver</strong> - Makes a strong comeback to become India’s first World Championships male medallist; Rohit finishes 10th; Eldhose ninth in triple jump</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A look at javelin champ Neeraj Chopra’s achievements</strong> - Before winning the silver at the Oregon World Championships, Chopra produced his personal best throw of 89.94m at the Stockholm Diamond League</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Cricket Australia inks seven-year deal with Disney Star to broadcast matches in India</strong> - Disney Star will take over from Sony, who have held the Australian rights since the 2017-18 season.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Irani sends legal notice to Congress leaders over allegations against daughter</strong> - Party claimed her daughter acquired an illegal license to run a bar in Goa</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Award for Ottappalam coop. urban bank</strong> - Kerala Bank Excellence Award for the best urban bank in the State</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>CISCE class 12 results: 18 candidates share top rank; girls outshine boys by small margin</strong> - The pass percentage in the exams stood at 99.52%.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Police hunt for Meghalaya BJP leader accused of running brothel</strong> - Bernard Marak has claimed in a video that he is in Delhi</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>CM Stalin urges PM Modi to ensure completion of medical education by Ukraine-returnee students in Indian colleges</strong> - Stalin’s letter follows a recent reply by the Union government in the Lok Sabha that no permission has been given by the NMC to transfer or accommodate any foreign medical students in any Indian medical institute or university</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Kyiv’s forces moving towards occupied Kherson - Zelensky</strong> - Kherson city has been in the hands of Russian troops since the early days of the war.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov seeks Arab world’s support</strong> - Sergei Lavrov is in Egypt as Moscow counters international anger over the war in Ukraine.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Zelensky accuses Russia of ‘barbarism’ over Odesa attack</strong> - A landmark grain deal is in doubt after missiles hit the port of Odesa in a widely condemned attack.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>France 1-0 Netherlands: Eve Perisset scores extra-time winner from the spot</strong> - France “are here to build history” after beating the Netherlands in extra time to reach the Euro 2022 semi-finals, says boss Corinne Diacre.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Dover and Eurotunnel queues: Gridlock persists for travellers to France</strong> - Travellers using both the Eurotunnel in Folkestone and ferries from Dover face lengthy delays.</p></li>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>WHO declares monkeypox an international emergency as child cases raise alarm [Updated]</strong> - The declaration comes amid new reports of cases in children. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1868796">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Keanu Reeves dropped by Comic-Con to reveal John Wick 4 sneak peek teaser</strong> - “Have you given any thought to where this ends? No one, not even you, can kill everyone.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1868957">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>NASA’s new toy may have already spotted the oldest known galaxy</strong> - Remarkably normal-looking galaxies, remarkably close to the Big Bang. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1868924">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The new MacBook Air runs so hot that it affects performance. It isn’t the first time [Updated]</strong> - Apple can (and probably should) provide more cooling for the M2 MacBook Air. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1868852">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>New trailer makes LoTR: Rings of Power finally look like a Tolkien-worthy epic</strong> - Epic prequel series premieres on Amazon Video in September—and Sauron’s presence looms. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1868888">link</a></p></li>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
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<li><strong>Why do people still have babies?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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For shits and giggles.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/cabalavatar"> /u/cabalavatar </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w6mpnc/why_do_people_still_have_babies/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w6mpnc/why_do_people_still_have_babies/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>There are two kinds of people who care a lot about their exact age.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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Small children and 39 year old’s.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Neferpizza2"> /u/Neferpizza2 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w6rccw/there_are_two_kinds_of_people_who_care_a_lot/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w6rccw/there_are_two_kinds_of_people_who_care_a_lot/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>God created the dog and said: "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.“<br/> The dog said:”That’s a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten?“<br/> So God agreed.<br/> God created the monkey and said:”Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.“<br/> The monkey said:”Tricks for twenty years? That’s a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?“<br/> And God agreed.<br/> God created the cow and said:”You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer’s family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.“<br/> The cow said:”That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I’ll give back the other forty?“<br/> And God agreed again.<br/> God created man and said:”Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I’ll give you twenty years.“<br/> But man said:”Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?“<br/>”Okay," said God, “You asked for it.”<br/> So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.<br/> Life has now been explained to you.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/cavemans45"> /u/cavemans45 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w67xxu/god_created_the_dog_and_said_sit_all_day_by_the/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w67xxu/god_created_the_dog_and_said_sit_all_day_by_the/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A man walked into a bar</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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And stayed there my entire childhood.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Grease2feminist"> /u/Grease2feminist </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w6c6xr/a_man_walked_into_a_bar/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w6c6xr/a_man_walked_into_a_bar/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>Student: I’ve been writing my exam for 2 hours but haven’t answered a single question!!!</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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Politics Teacher: Well done, that’s an A.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/ExtraSure"> /u/ExtraSure </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w6o7z6/student_ive_been_writing_my_exam_for_2_hours_but/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/w6o7z6/student_ive_been_writing_my_exam_for_2_hours_but/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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