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<title>21 June, 2023</title>
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<title>Covid-19 Sentry</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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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>Comparison of the Effectiveness in Nasopharyngeal, Throat, Saliva, and Nasal Swab Sample Media of Detection SARS-Cov-2 using RT-PCR</strong> -
<div>
To evaluate effectivity results among Nasopharyngeal, Throat, Saliva, and Nasal Swab Sample Media for Detection of SARS-Cov-2 virus using RT-PCR. SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus microorganism found in humans. A known viral infection causes the covid-19 disease to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Covid-19 has confused the public because of the different places where the samples were taken. Sampling was taken from the Nasopharynx, Throat, Saliva, and nasal Swab. This study used mini-review journals from several leading search engine journals such as PubMed, Elsevier, Jama Network, BMJ, Cochrane, Wiley, medRXiv, Lancet, and others, as well as from government websites such as WHO selected between 2020 and 2021 in the English language. Each sampling place has its advantages and disadvantages. Any place that is used as the gold standard is the nasal swab and nasopharyngeal. This paper attempts to compare the efficacy of four sample media to find the best method for detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is hoped that repeating this paper can make us aware of every method that we can use to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus and reduce the spread of this virus, which is increasingly widespread.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/pfrt4/" target="_blank">Comparison of the Effectiveness in Nasopharyngeal, Throat, Saliva, and Nasal Swab Sample Media of Detection SARS-Cov-2 using RT-PCR</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>The prevalence of post COVID-19 condition (PCC) and a simple risk scoring tool for PCC screening on Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands: a retrospective cohort study.</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Aim: To assess the prevalence of post COVID-19 condition (PCC) on Bonaire and develop a practical risk scoring tool for PCC screening, using easily obtainable characteristics. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 cases were randomly sampled from Bonaire their case-registry and telephone interviewed between 15-November-2021 and 4-December-2021. PCC patients had a PCR-positive SARS-CoV-2 test (1-March-2020 and 1-October-2021) and self-attributed at least one symptom lasting over four weeks to their infection. Multivariate logistic regression was used to derive a risk formula to develop a practical risk scoring tool. Results: Out of 414 cases, 160 (39%) were PCC patients. Fifty-three patients were unrecovered (median illness duration 250 days (IQR 34)). Of recovered patients, 35% experienced symptoms for at least 3 months after disease onset. PCC prevalence was highest among females (38%), 40-59 year-olds (40%), morbidly obese (31%) and hospitalized patients (80%). A PCC risk scoring tool using age, sex, presence of comorbidities, and acute phase hospitalization or GP visit had an area-under-the-curve (AUC) of 0.68 (95%CI 0.63-0.74). Adding smoking, alcohol use, BMI, education level, and number of acute phase symptoms increased the AUC to 0.79 (95%CI 0.74- 0.83). Subgroup analyses of non-hospitalized patients (n=362) resulted in similar AUCs. Conclusion: Thee estimated prevalence of PCC on Bonaire was 39%. Moreover, easily obtainable patient characteristics can be used to build a risk scoring tool for PCC with acceptable discriminatory power. After external validation, this tool could aid the development of healthcare interventions in low resource settings to identify patients at risk for PCC.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.20.23291646v1" target="_blank">The prevalence of post COVID-19 condition (PCC) and a simple risk scoring tool for PCC screening on Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands: a retrospective cohort study.</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Association of Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir treatment and COVID-19 neutralizing antibody titers in a longitudinal healthcare worker cohort</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (NMV/r) is used for the treatment of COVID-19 infection. However, rebound COVID-19 infections can occur after taking NMV/r. We examined neutralizing antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein before and after infection in people who did and did not take NMV/r to determine if NMV/r impedes the humoral immune response.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.19.23291620v1" target="_blank">Association of Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir treatment and COVID-19 neutralizing antibody titers in a longitudinal healthcare worker cohort</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Effectiveness of a COVID-19 contact tracing app in a simulation model with indirect and informal contact tracing</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
During the COVID-19 pandemic, contact tracing was used to identify individuals who had been in contact with a confirmed case so that these contacted individuals could be tested and quarantined to prevent further spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Many countries developed mobile apps to find these contacted individuals faster. We evaluate the epidemiological effectiveness of the Dutch app CoronaMelder, where we measure effectiveness as the reduction of the reproduction number R. To this end, we use a simulation model of SARS-CoV-2 spread and contact tracing, informed by data collected during the study period (December 2020 - March 2021) in the Netherlands. We show that the tracing app caused a clear but small reduction of the reproduction number, and the magnitude of the effect was found to be robust in sensitivity analyses. The app could have been more effective if more people had used it, and if time intervals between symptom onset and reporting of contacts would have been shorter. The model used is novel as it accounts for the clustered nature of social networks and as it accounts for cases informally alerting their contacts directly after symptom onset, without involvement of health authorities or a tracing app.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.15.23291010v1" target="_blank">Effectiveness of a COVID-19 contact tracing app in a simulation model with indirect and informal contact tracing</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>High rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant Ugandan women and association with stunting in infancy</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: SARS-CoV-2 has been well studied in resource-rich areas but many questions remain about effects of infection in African populations, particularly in vulnerable groups such as pregnant women. Methods: We describe SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin (Ig) G and IgM antibody responses and clinical outcomes in mother-infant dyads enrolled in malaria chemoprevention trials in Uganda. Results: From December 2020 to February 2022, among 400 unvaccinated pregnant women, serologic assessments revealed that 128 (32%) were seronegative for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM at enrollment and delivery, 80 (20%) were infected either prior to or early in pregnancy, and 192 (48%) were infected or re-infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy. We observed preferential binding of plasma IgG to Wuhan-Hu-1-like antigens in individuals seroconverting up to early 2021, and to Delta variant antigens in a subset of individuals in mid-2021. Breadth of IgG binding to all variants improved over time. No participants experienced severe respiratory illness during the study. SARS-CoV-2 infection in early pregnancy was associated with lower median length-for-age Z-score at age 3 months compared with no infection or late pregnancy infection (-1.54 versus -0.37 and -0.51, p=0.009). Conclusion: Pregnant Ugandan women experienced high levels of SARS-CoV-2 infection without severe respiratory illness. Variant-specific serology testing demonstrated evidence of antibody affinity maturation at the population level. Early gestational SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with shorter stature in early infancy.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.16.23291450v1" target="_blank">High rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant Ugandan women and association with stunting in infancy</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Vaccines at Velocity: Evaluating Potential Lives Saved by Earlier Vaccination in the COVID-19 Pandemic</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Fast development of COVID-19 vaccines likely averted millions of deaths. We estimate how many more lives could have been saved if safe and effective vaccines were available earlier in the pandemic, in particular, before the epidemic waves in winter of 2020. We fit an epidemiological model informed by retrospective data and simulate counterfactual vaccination scenarios for the United Kingdom and the United States in which vaccines are available between 30 and 90 days earlier. We find that up to 1 July 2021 reductions in mortality range from 10,000 to 48,000 in the UK and 53,000 to 130,000 in the US, depending on when vaccinations start. This corresponds to a maximum of 7.1 and 4 deaths averted per 10,000 people in the UK and US respectively. We find that our model is sensitive to uncertain vaccine parameters and benefits depend on the time horizon of the analysis. However, the large average reductions we estimate suggests that it is highly cost-effective to make large investments in strategies to expedite vaccine availability.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.16.23291442v1" target="_blank">Vaccines at Velocity: Evaluating Potential Lives Saved by Earlier Vaccination in the COVID-19 Pandemic</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Comparison of control and transmission of COVID-19 across epidemic waves in Hong Kong: an observational study</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Hong Kong contained COVID-19 for two years, but experienced a large epidemic of Omicron BA.2 in early 2022 and endemic transmission of Omicron subvariants thereafter. Methods: We examined the use and impact of pandemic controls in Hong Kong by analysing data on more than 1.7 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and characterizing non-pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical interventions implemented from January 2020 through to 30 December 2022. We estimated the daily effective reproductive number (Rt) to track changes in transmissibility and effectiveness of community-based measures against infection over time. We examined the temporal changes of pharmaceutical interventions, mortality rate and case-fatality risks (CFRs), particularly among older adults. Findings: Hong Kong experienced four local epidemic waves predominated by the ancestral strain in 2020 and early 2021 and prevented multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants from spreading in the community before 2022. Strict travel-related, case-based, and community-based measures were increasingly tightened in Hong Kong over the first two years of the pandemic. However, even very stringent measures were unable to contain the spread of Omicron BA.2 in Hong Kong. Despite high overall vaccination uptake (&gt;70% with at least two doses), high mortality was observed during the Omicron BA.2 wave due to lower vaccine coverage (42%) among adults ≥65 years of age. Increases in antiviral usage and vaccination uptake over time through 2022 was associated with decreased case fatality risks. Interpretation: Integrated strict measures were able to reduce importation risks and interrupt local transmission to contain COVID-19 transmission and disease burden while awaiting vaccine development and rollout. Increasing coverage of pharmaceutical interventions among high-risk groups reduced infection-related mortality and mitigated the adverse health impact of the pandemic.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.20.23291593v1" target="_blank">Comparison of control and transmission of COVID-19 across epidemic waves in Hong Kong: an observational study</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Inpatient Antibacterial Drug Prescribing for Patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Hong Kong experienced four epidemic waves caused by the ancestral strain of SARS-CoV-2 in 2020-2021 and a large Omicron wave in 2022. Few studies have assessed antibacterial drug prescribing for COVID-19 inpatients throughout the pandemic. Objectives: To describe inpatient antibacterial drug prescribing for COVID-19 patients throughout the pandemic and to determine factors associated with their prescription. Methods: This cohort study used electronic health records of COVID-19 cases admitted to public hospitals in Hong Kong from 21 January 2020 to 30 September 2022. We assessed the prevalence and rates of inpatient antibacterial drug use, using days of therapy/1000 patient days (DOT/1000PD), and examined the association of baseline factors and disease severity with receipt of an inpatient antibacterial drug prescription. Results: Among 65,810 inpatients, 54.0% were prescribed antibacterial drugs at a rate of 550.5 DOT/1000PD. Antibacterial use was lowest during wave 4 (28.0%; 246.9 DOT/1000PD), peaked in early wave 5 (64.6%; 661.2 DOT/1000PD), and then modestly declined in late wave 5 (43.2%; 464.1 DOT/1000PD) starting on 23 May 2022. Older age, increased disease severity, and residing in an elderly care home were strongly associated with increased odds of prescription, while receiving ≥ 2 doses of COVID-19 vaccines and pre-admission use of coronavirus antivirals were associated with lower odds. Conclusions: The rate of inpatient antibacterial prescribing initially declined during the pandemic, but increased during the Omicron wave when hospital capacity was overwhelmed. Despite the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and antiviral drugs, antibacterial drug use among COVID-19 inpatients remained high into late 2022.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.19.23291622v1" target="_blank">Inpatient Antibacterial Drug Prescribing for Patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Explanations for higher-than-expected mortality from April 2021: a scoping review protocol</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Objective: The objective of this scoping review is to identify the explanations that have been proposed for higher-than-expected mortality following the first pandemic year, and any evidence to support or refute these explanations. Introduction: Mortality rates have remained high compared to previous years, beyond the peak waves of Covid-19 mortality. Several explanations have been suggested for this. Identifying potential hypotheses and empirical studies investigating these is the first step before any further analytical work to investigate these trends can be undertaken. Inclusion criteria: The scoping review will include papers proposing or investigating hypotheses for raised all cause or cause specific mortality, or reduced life expectancy, from April 2021 onwards compared to pre-pandemic levels. It will include papers on mortality in the whole population or any specific sub-populations, in high income countries only, but exclude studies of mortality or survival following a healthcare intervention. Methods: A systematic search will be undertaken on Medline, Embase and Google Scholar for relevant articles published from 2021 onwards in English, with a similar search for grey literature on relevant government websites. Two reviewers will screen titles and abstracts, then full text articles with disagreements resolved by discussion or involvement of a third reviewer. Data extracted from selected articles will include the setting, population, hypothesis/es proposed, study type and findings if relevant. Included papers will be tabulated against the proposed hypotheses with any empirical evidence and hypotheses summarised narratively.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.20.23291333v1" target="_blank">Explanations for higher-than-expected mortality from April 2021: a scoping review protocol</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Covid-19 Excess Mortality in China: A Regional Comparison</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Estimates of Covid-19 excess mortality are often considered to reflect the true death toll of the pandemic. As such, information on excess mortality is urgently needed to better understand the impact of the pandemic and prepare for future crises. This study estimated Covid-19 excess mortality at the provincial, regional, and national levels in China and investigated its associated regional disparities. The analyses were based on population and death rates data published by the national and provincial bureaus of statistics in China. The results suggest that excess deaths in China were over 1 million during each year of the pandemic, totaling to over 4 million by the end of 2022, at an excess death rate of 15.4%. This rate was likely comparable to that of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), but lower than the US rate. Striking disparities were discovered among the 31 provinces with excess death rates ranging from negative rates in two eastern provinces to over 30% in three inland provinces. Rates in western China were over twice as high as those in eastern China. Variations with each individual regions were the largest in the central region and the smallest in the Northeast, which was the hardest hit with excess death rate of over 23%. The regional disparities in excess mortality rates seem to reflect pre-existing regional inequalities in socio-economic development in China. Such findings suggest that China has far to go to mitigate regional inequalities, achieve sustainability, and prepare for the next major crises.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.15.23291443v1" target="_blank">Covid-19 Excess Mortality in China: A Regional Comparison</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Experimental Device to Evaluate Aerosol Dispersion in Venues</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The COVID-19 pandemic has focused attention to the importance of understanding and mitigating the airborne transmission of pathogens in indoor environments. This study investigated the aerosol distribution in different indoor venues with varying ventilation concepts, including displacement, mixed, and natural ventilation. A measurement system was developed to investigate venue-specific aerosol distribution patterns using a sodium chloride solution as a tracer. To analyse the spatial dispersion of aerosols, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted in addition to experimental investigations. The investigations indicated the lowest aerosol load for the venue with displacement ventilation and the highest for the natural ventilated venue. The measurement system developed in this study provides a useful tool for assessing the effectiveness of ventilation measures in reducing airborne transmission of pathogens in indoor environments. It also proved its wide range of applications, as it can be used in various sized and shaped indoor environments, with or without an audience.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.13.23291335v1" target="_blank">Experimental Device to Evaluate Aerosol Dispersion in Venues</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Crykey: Comprehensive Identification of SARS-CoV-2 Cryptic Mutations in Wastewater</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
We present Crykey, a computational tool for identifying SARS-CoV-2 cryptic mutations from wastewater. While previous exist for identifying cryptic mutations in specific regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, there is a need for computational tools capable of tracking cryptic mutations across the entire genome and at scale. Crykey fills this gap and leverages the co-occurrence of single nucleotide variants on the same read combined with variant frequency information. We evaluated Crykey on SARS-CoV-2 sequences from 3175 wastewater samples and more than 14000 clinical samples. Our results are threefold, we show: 1) Crykey can accurately identify cryptic lineages that are rare or missing in existing databases ; 2) the emergence of cryptic lineage can be related to increased transmission rates in the communities, and 3) some cryptic lineages in wastewater mirror intra-host low frequency co-occurring variants in individuals. In summary, Crykey facilitates rapid and comprehensive identification of SARS-CoV-2 cryptic mutations in wastewater samples.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.16.23291524v1" target="_blank">Crykey: Comprehensive Identification of SARS-CoV-2 Cryptic Mutations in Wastewater</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>AI-MET: A Deep Learning-based Clinical Decision Support System for Distinguishing Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children from Endemic Typhus</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The COVID-19 pandemic brought several diagnostic challenges, including the post-infectious sequelae multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Some of the clinical features of this syndrome can be found in other pathologies such as Kawasaki disease, toxic shock syndrome, and endemic typhus. Endemic typhus, or murine typhus, is an acute infection treated much differently than MIS-C, so early detection is crucial to a favorable prognosis for patients with these disorders. Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) are computer systems designed to support the decision-making of medical teams about their patients and intended to improve uprising clinical challenges in healthcare. In this article, we present a CDSS to distinguish between MIS-C and typhus that includes a scoring system that allows the timely distinction of both pathologies only using clinical and laboratory features typically available within the first six hours of presentation to the Emergency Department (ED). The proposed approach was trained and tested on datasets of 87 typhus patients and 133 MIS-C patients. A comparison was made against five well-known statistical and machine-learning models. A second dataset with 111 MIS-C patients was used to verify the AI-MET effectiveness and robustness. The performance assessment for AI-MET and the five statistical and machine learning models was done by computing Sensitivity, Specificity, Accuracy, and Precision. The AI-MET system scores 100 percent in the five metrics used on the training and testing dataset and 99 percent on the validation dataset.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.15.23291453v1" target="_blank">AI-MET: A Deep Learning-based Clinical Decision Support System for Distinguishing Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children from Endemic Typhus</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Real-world Effectiveness of BNT162b2 in Children and Adolescents in Preventing Infection and Severe Diseases with SARS-CoV-2 During the Delta and Omicron Periods: Findings from Trial Emulation Using an EHR-based Cohort</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
BACKGROUND The current understanding of the long-term effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine for a range of outcomes across diverse U.S. pediatric populations is limited. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of BNT162b2 against various strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus using data from a national collaboration of pediatric health systems (PEDSnet). METHODS We emulated three target trials to assess the real-world effectiveness of BNT162b2: adolescents aged 12 to 20 years during the Delta variant period (Target trial 1), children aged 5 to 11 years (Target trial 2) and adolescents aged 12 to 20 years during the Omicron variant period (Target trial 3). The outcomes included documented infection, COVID-19 illness severity, admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), and two cardiac-related outcomes, myocarditis and pericarditis. In the U.S., immunization records are often captured and stored across multiple disconnected sources, resulting in incomplete vaccination records in patients9 electronic health records (EHR). We implemented a novel trial emulation pipeline accounting for possible misclassification bias in vaccine documentation in EHRs. The effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine was estimated from the Poisson regression model with confounders balanced via propensity score stratification. RESULTS During the Delta period, the BNT162b2 vaccine demonstrated an overall effectiveness 98.4% (95% CI, 98.1 to 98.7) against documented infection among adolescents, with no significant waning after receipt of the first dose. During the Omicron period, the overall effectiveness was estimated to be 74.3% (95% CI, 72.2 to 76.2) in preventing documented infection among children, which was higher against moderate or severe COVID-19 (75.5%; 95% CI, 69.0 to 81.0) and ICU admission with COVID-19 (84.9%; 95% CI, 64.8 to 93.5). In the adolescent population, the overall effectiveness against documented Omicron infection was 85.5% (95% CI, 83.8 to 87.1), with effectiveness of 84.8% (95% CI, 77.3 to 89.9) against moderate or severe COVID-19, and 91.5% (95% CI, 69.5 to 97.6) against ICU admission with COVID-19. The effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine against the Omicron variant declined after 4 months following the first dose and then stabilized with higher levels of uncertainty. Across all three cohorts, the risk of cardiac outcomes was approximately 65% to 85% lower in the vaccinated group than that of the unvaccinated group accounting for possible misclassification bias. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests BNT162b2 was effective among children and adolescents in Delta and Omicron periods for a range of COVID-19-related outcomes and is associated with a lower risk for cardiac complications. Waning effectiveness over time suggests that revaccination may be needed in the future.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.16.23291515v1" target="_blank">Real-world Effectiveness of BNT162b2 in Children and Adolescents in Preventing Infection and Severe Diseases with SARS-CoV-2 During the Delta and Omicron Periods: Findings from Trial Emulation Using an EHR-based Cohort</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG profile of protein subunit, adenovector and mRNA vaccines</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Different vaccine platforms were developed in 2019 and 2020 to provide immunization for protection against the SARS-CoV-2-caused disease COVID-19. The majority of vaccinated individuals will develop antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. The isotype (subclass) and Fc-glycosylation of IgG antibodies determine their affinity for secondary effector functions. For protein subunit vaccines in COVID-19, the IgG profile of the subclass and glycosylation are unknown. Therefore, we measured the IgG subclass and N-297 Fc glycosylation by ELISA and LC-MS/MS of anti-spike IgG from individuals vaccinated with the Taiwanese protein subunit vaccine Medigen, the mRNA vaccines (BNT, Moderna), and the adenovector Astrazeneca. Samples were taken after the first and second doses. For all vaccine types, the main IgG response was dominated by IgG1 and IgG3 as subclasses. For glycosylation, mRNA vaccines presented with an afucosylation after the first dose and a constant significant higher galactosylation and sialylation than non-mRNA vaccines.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.16.23291455v1" target="_blank">Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG profile of protein subunit, adenovector and mRNA vaccines</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>Probiotic and Colchicine in COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Colchicine 0.5 MG;   Dietary Supplement: Probiotic Formula;   Other: Standard protocol<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>Community-engaged Optimization of COVID-19 Rapid Evaluation And TEsting Experiences</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   COVID-19 Pandemic<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: COVID-19 walk-up, on-site testing strategy;   Behavioral: Community Health Worker (CHW) leading testing navigation and general preventive care reminders;   Behavioral: No-cost self-testing kit vending machines<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   University of California, San Diego;   San Ysidro Health Center<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>Influence of Manual Diaphragm Release on Pulmonary Functions in Women With COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pneumonia<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: manual therapy;   Other: breathing exercise and prone position alone<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Cairo 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>ACTIV-6: COVID-19 Study of Repurposed Medications - Arm F (Montelukast)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: Placebo;   Drug: Montelukast<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Susanna Naggie, MD;   National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS);   Vanderbilt University Medical Center<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>ACTIV-6: COVID-19 Study of Repurposed Medications - Arm D (Ivermectin 600)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Ivermectin;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Susanna Naggie, MD;   National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS);   Vanderbilt University Medical Center<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>ACTIV-6: COVID-19 Study of Repurposed Medications - Arm E (Fluvoxamine 100)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Fluvoxamine;   Other: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Susanna Naggie, MD;   National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS);   Vanderbilt University Medical Center<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>Study Evaluating SHEN26 Capsule in Patients With Mild to Moderate COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: SHEN26 capsule;   Drug: SHEN26 placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Shenzhen Kexing Pharmaceutical 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>A Clinical Trial of Recombinant COVID-19 Bivalent (XBB+Prototype) Protein Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) in Booster Vaccination</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 Bivalent (XBB+Prototype) Protein Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) (WSK-V101C);   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 vaccine(Sf9 Cell) (WSK-V101)<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 Phase Ⅲ Clinical Trial of Recombinant COVID-19 Trivalent (XBB+BA.5+Delta) Protein Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) in Booster Vaccination</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: High dose of Recombinant COVID-19 Trivalent (XBB+BA.5+Delta) Protein Vaccine (Sf9 Cell);   Biological: Low dose of Recombinant COVID-19 Trivalent (XBB+BA.5+Delta) Protein Vaccine (Sf9 Cell);   Biological: control group;   Biological: Placebo group<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>Impact Of Sensory Re-Education Paradigm On Sensation And Quality Of Life In Patients Post-Covid 19 Polyneuropathy</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: sensory re-education training;   Other: traditional treatment<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Cairo University<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 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma (CCP) Transfusion to Prevent COVID-19 in Adult Recipients Following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: COVID Convalescent Plasma<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Institute of Hematology &amp; Blood Diseases Hospital<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>A Study to Investigate the Safety, Immunogenicity of a Bivalent mRNA Vaccine RQ3025 as a Booster Dose in Healthy Adults</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: RQ3013;   Biological: RQ3025<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Affiliated Hospital of Yunnan University;   Yunnan University;   Kunming Medical University<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>Cupping Therapy on Immune System in Post Covid -19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid-19 Patients<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Combination Product: Cupping therapy with convential medical treatment;   Drug: Convential medical treatment<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Cairo 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>To Evaluate the Immunogenicity and Safety of Sequential Booster Immunization of Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Vaccine (CHO Cells) for SARS-CoV-2</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: Recombinant Novel Coronavirus vaccine (CHO Cells)<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biologic Pharmacy Co., Ltd.<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>LIAISON NES Flu A/B &amp; COVID-19 Clinical Agreement</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Influenza A;   Influenza Type B;   Coronavirus Disease 2019<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Diagnostic Test: LIAISON NES FLU A/B &amp; COVID-19<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   DiaSorin Molecular LLC<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>Preventing Occludin Tight-Junction Disruption via Inhibition of microRNA-193b-5p Attenuates Viral Load and Influenza-induced Lung Injury</strong> - Virus-induced lung injury is associated with loss of pulmonary epithelial-endothelial tight junction integrity. While the alveolar-capillary membrane may be an indirect target of injury; viruses may interact directly and/or indirectly with miRs to augment their replication potential and evade the host antiviral defense system. Here we expose how the influenza virus (H1N1) capitalizes on host-derived interferon-induced, microRNA (miR)-193b-5p to target occludin and compromise antiviral defenses….</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 impact of COVID-19 on the intention of third-child in China: an empirical analysis based on survey data</strong> - BACKGROUND: Against the grim background of declining intention to have children, the ravages of COVID-19 have pushed China and the world into a more complex social environment. To adapt to the new situation, the Chinese government implemented the three-child policy in 2021.</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>Activity of nsp14 Exonuclease from SARS-CoV-2 towards RNAs with Modified 3’-Termini</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the urgent need for new treatments for coronavirus infections. Nucleoside analogs were successfully used to inhibit replication of some viruses through the incorporation into the growing DNA or RNA chain. However, the replicative machinery of coronaviruses contains nsp14, a non-structural protein with a 3’→5’-exonuclease activity that removes misincorporated and modified nucleotides from the 3’ end of the growing RNA chain. Here, we studied the efficiency 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>Effective inhibition of HCoV-OC43 and SARS-CoV-2 by phytochemicals in vitro and in vivo</strong> - Several coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43) can cause respiratory infections in humans. To address the need for reliable anti-coronavirus therapeutics, we screened 16 active phytochemicals selected from medicinal plants used in traditional applications for respiratory-related illnesses. An initial screen was completed using HCoV-OC43. The phytochemicals lycorine (LYC), capsaicin (CAP), rottlerin (RTL),…</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>Generation of host-directed and virus-specific antivirals using targeted protein degradation promoted by small molecules and viral RNA mimics</strong> - Targeted protein degradation (TPD), as exemplified by proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC), is an emerging drug discovery platform. PROTAC molecules, which typically contain a target protein ligand linked to an E3 ligase ligand, recruit a target protein to the E3 ligase to induce its ubiquitination and degradation. Here, we applied PROTAC approaches to develop broad-spectrum antivirals targeting key host factors for many viruses and virus-specific antivirals targeting unique viral proteins….</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 broad-spectrum macrocyclic peptide inhibitor of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein</strong> - The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had great societal and health consequences. Despite the availability of vaccines, infection rates remain high due to immune evasive Omicron sublineages. Broad-spectrum antivirals are needed to safeguard against emerging variants and future pandemics. We used messenger RNA (mRNA) display under a reprogrammed genetic code to find a spike-targeting macrocyclic peptide that inhibits SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) Wuhan strain infection…</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>Specific nasopharyngeal Corynebacterium strains serve as gatekeepers against SARS-CoV-2 infection</strong> - The SARS-CoV-2 virus is still causing a worldwide problem. The virus settles primarily on the nasal mucosa, and the infection and its course depend on individual susceptibility. Our aim was to investigate the nasopharynx composition’s role in the individual susceptibility. During the first phase of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, nasopharyngeal microbiome samples of close contact unvaccinated patients were investigated by 16S rRNA analysis and by culturing. The whole genome of cultured Corynebacteria was…</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>Research progress on pharmacological effects and mechanisms of cepharanthine and its derivatives</strong> - Cepharanthine (CEP) is a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid compound found in plants of the Stephania genus, which has biological functions such as regulating autophagy, inhibiting inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. It is often used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, viral infections, cancer, and immune disorders and has great clinical translational value. However, there is no detailed research on its specific mechanism and dosage and administration methods, especially clinical…</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 mutation in the coronavirus nsp13-helicase impairs enzymatic activity and confers partial remdesivir resistance</strong> - Coronaviruses (CoVs) encode nonstructural proteins 1-16 (nsps 1-16) which form replicase complexes that mediate viral RNA synthesis. Remdesivir (RDV) is an adenosine nucleoside analog antiviral that inhibits CoV RNA synthesis. RDV resistance mutations have been reported only in the nonstructural protein 12 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (nsp12-RdRp). We here show that a substitution mutation in the nsp13-helicase (nsp13-HEL A335V) of the betacoronavirus murine hepatitis virus (MHV) that was…</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>Efficacy and safety of MAS825 (anti-IL-1ꞵ/IL-18) in COVID-19 patients with pneumonia and impaired respiratory function</strong> - MAS825, a bispecific IL-1⍰/IL-18 monoclonal antibody, could improve clinical outcomes in COVID19 pneumonia by reducing inflammasome-mediated inflammation. Hospitalized nonventilated patients with COVID-19 pneumonia (n=138) were randomized (1:1) to receive MAS825 (10 mg/kg single i.v.) or placebo in addition to standard of care (SoC). The primary endpoint was the composite Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score on Day 15 or on day of discharge (whichever was earlier)…</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>Targeting the cGAS-STING pathway as an inflammatory crossroad in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)</strong> - Context and objective: The emerging pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has imposed significant mortality and morbidity on the world. An appropriate immune response is necessary to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 spread throughout the body.Results: During the early stages of infection, the pathway of stimulators of interferon genes (STING), known as the cGAS-STING pathway, has a significant role in the induction of 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>Losartan in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in North America: An individual participant data meta-analysis</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: In this IPD meta-analysis of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, we found no convincing evidence for the benefit of losartan versus control treatment, but a higher rate of hypotension adverse events with losartan.</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>2’,3’ cyclic-nucleotide 3’-phosphodiesterase (CNP) inhibits SARS-CoV-2 virion assembly by blocking infection-induced mitochondria depolarization</strong> - The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over 6.5 million lives worldwide and continues to have lasting impacts on the world’s healthcare and economic systems. Several approved and emergency authorized therapeutics that inhibit early stages of the virus replication cycle have been developed however, effective late-stage therapeutical targets have yet to be identified. To that end, our lab identified 2’,3’ cyclic-nucleotide 3’-phosphodiesterase (CNP) as a late-stage inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 replication….</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 evolutionarily conserved strategy for ribosome binding and inhibition by β-coronavirus non-structural protein 1</strong> - An important pathogenicity factor of SARS-CoV-2 and related coronaviruses is Nsp1, which suppresses host gene expression and stunts antiviral signaling. SARS-CoV-2 Nsp1 binds the ribosome to inhibit translation through mRNA displacement and induces degradation of host mRNAs through an unknown mechanism. Here we show that Nsp1-dependent host shutoff is conserved in diverse coronaviruses, but only Nsp1 from β-CoV inhibits translation through ribosome binding. The C-terminal domain of all β-CoV…</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>Green and rapid and instrumental one-pot method for the synthesis of imidazolines having potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 main protease activity</strong> - The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for ongoing epidemics in humans and some other mammals and has been declared a public health emergency of international concern. In this project, several small non-peptide molecules were synthesized to inhibit the major proteinase (M^(pro)) of SARS-CoV-2 using rational strategies of drug design and medicinal chemistry. M^(pro) is a key enzyme of coronaviruses and plays an essential role in mediating viral replication…</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>What Justice John Paul Stevens’s Papers Reveal About Affirmative Action</strong> - Twenty years ago, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote, in a draft opinion, that white applicants could not be favored over Asian Americans. Why did she delete those lines—and why did Justice Clarence Thomas adopt them in his own opinion? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/what-justice-john-paul-stevenss-papers-reveal-about-affirmative-action">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Trump Compares with Presidents Who Burned Their Papers</strong> - The Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore sees historic parallels—as well as willful and unprecedented behavior by the freshly indicted ex-President. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-trump-compares-with-presidents-who-burned-their-papers">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Can Joe Biden Do About Benjamin Netanyahu?</strong> - The President is clearly displeased by the Prime Minister’s anti-democratic turn but seems wary of testing his influence. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/what-can-joe-biden-do-about-benjamin-netanyahu">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why Isn’t Joe Biden Getting More Credit for a Big Drop in Inflation?</strong> - Throughout the past year, the rate at which prices are rising has fallen dramatically, but public perceptions are lagging, perhaps because many prices are still a lot higher than they were in 2020. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/why-isnt-joe-biden-getting-more-credit-for-a-big-drop-in-inflation">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Post-Racial Vision of “Across the Spider-Verse”</strong> - The movie treats its fantastical multiethnic team of superheroes and their forays into cultural determinism with Obama-like breeziness and tact. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-post-racial-vision-of-across-the-spider-verse">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>The Fifth Circuit comes for the First Amendment right to protest</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A photo shows police arresting protesters. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/s8bwz39I0zSdNfriIOa7aSZAsPE=/422x0:2882x1845/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72388071/545754492.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Baton Rogue police arrest protesters on July 9, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling was shot by a police officer in front of the Triple S Food Mart in Baton Rouge on July 5th, leading the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation. | Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A rogue federal court has spent years harassing a prominent civil rights advocate.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2M80AC">
For more than four years, a rogue federal appeals court has <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/4/2/23004674/black-lives-matter-first-amendment-cancel-culture-deray-mckesson-doe-protest-supreme-court">given life to a highly dubious lawsuit targeting DeRay Mckesson</a>, a prominent figure within the Black Lives Matter movement. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decisions would not only strip Mckesson of his First Amendment-protected right to organize mass protests against police violence, it threatens all Americans’ ability to organize any protest.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eSQA7B">
On Friday, the Fifth Circuit handed down its latest decision in <a href="https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/17/17-30864-CV4.pdf"><em>Doe v. Mckesson</em></a>, the case at the heart of this crusade against the First Amendment. Under the Fifth Circuit’s latest approach, a protest organizer who commits even a minor legal violation — in this case the court faulted Mckesson for leading a protest “in front of the Baton Rouge police station” and for attempting “to block a public highway” — may potentially be held liable for the illegal actions of someone else who attended the protest.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JzwusW">
In 2016, Mckesson helped organize and lead a protest near the Baton Rogue Police Department building, following the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/7/6/12105380/alton-sterling-police-shooting-baton-rouge-louisiana">fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling</a>. During that protest, an unknown individual threw a rock or similar object at the plaintiff in the <em>Mckesson </em>case, a police officer identified in court documents by the pseudonym “Officer John Doe.” Sadly, the officer was struck in the face and, according to one court, experienced “<a href="https://casetext.com/case/doe-v-mckesson-7">injuries to his teeth, jaw, brain, and head</a>, along with other compensable losses.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HaC0Av">
There is no question that whoever threw this object should be held liable for their illegal action. But even Judge Jennifer Elrod, the author of the latest <em>Mckesson</em> opinion, admits that “<a href="https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/17/17-30864-CV4.pdf">it is clear that Mckesson did not throw the heavy object that injured Doe</a>.” That should be the end of this case, as the First Amendment provides robust safeguards against holding protest leaders responsible for the actions of a single rogue protester.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FhKzCf">
Instead, Elrod devises a tortured legal theory that effectively allows Doe to sue Mckesson for the actions of the unknown assailant. In doing so, Elrod rather flagrantly disobeys at least two landmark Supreme Court decisions.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VxSQwN">
Elrod’s opinion explicitly defies the Supreme Court’s decision in <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/458/886.html"><em>NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware</em></a> (1982), which held that, barring unusual circumstances that are not present in the <em>Mckesson</em> case, “civil liability may not be imposed merely because an individual belonged to a group, some members of which committed acts of violence.” Additionally, her opinion cannot be squared with <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/395/444"><em>Brandenburg v. Ohio</em></a> (1969), which placed strict limits on the law’s power to sanction anyone whose speech might encourage others to engage in illegal activity.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<aside id="SRGu0q">
<q>The three words that must always be protected, if free speech is to survive, are “fuck the police”</q>
</aside>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="u9h3cT">
The stakes in this case, which has <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-1108_8n5a.pdf">already been heard once by the Supreme Court</a> and will most likely need to be heard by them again if the right to protest is to remain viable, are simply enormous. If protest organizers can be sanctioned for illegal actions by protest attendees, then no one in their right mind will agree to organize a protest.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ygi3KM">
Indeed, as Judge Don Willett points out in dissent, under Elrod’s decision, a protest leader could potentially be forced to pay for “<a href="https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/17/17-30864-CV4.pdf">the unlawful acts of counter-protesters and agitators</a>” who are actively opposed to the protest leader’s cause. If Elrod is right about the First Amendment, then a white supremacist who wishes to cripple the Black Lives Matter movement needs only show up at one of their protests and start throwing stones.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DB20st">
And this case is particularly important because it concerns the right to protest the police — individuals who are authorized by the government to commit violence on behalf of the state. If the right to protest means anything, it must include the right to demonstrate against government officials who wield such awesome power against ordinary citizens, including protesters themselves.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DNe22J">
The three words that must always be protected, if free speech is to survive, are “fuck the police.”
</p>
<h3 id="GCc5J8">
The First Amendment rights of protest leaders, briefly explained
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mkBCzJ">
The question of whether protest organizers and political leaders may be held liable for the actions of fellow protesters is not new, and the Supreme Court has been quite clear that the First Amendment provides robust protection to such organizers and leaders. Indeed, the <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/458/886.html">Court’s decision in <em>Claiborne</em></a> involves facts that are strikingly similar to the ones alleged by Officer Doe.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AT9E4L">
<em>Claiborne</em> concerned a boycott of white businesses led by a Mississippi chapter of the NAACP. At least according to the Mississippi Supreme Court, some individuals participating in this boycott “engaged in acts of physical force and violence against the persons and property of certain customers and prospective customers” of these white businesses.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lVhvdF">
Indeed, the leaders of this boycott did far more to encourage violence than Mckesson is now accused of doing. Charles Evers, a prominent figure within the NAACP, gave a series of speeches supporting the boycott, and he allegedly said in one of these speeches that “<a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-supreme-court/458/886.html">if we catch any of you going in any of them racist stores, we’re gonna break your damn neck</a>.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2WyQ9D">
Nevertheless, the Supreme Court held in <em>Claiborne</em> that this “emotionally charged rhetoric … did not transcend the bounds of protected speech.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="szfyi8">
More broadly, <em>Claiborne</em> emphasized that courts must exercise “extreme care” before imposing liability on a political figure of any kind. In rare cases, a protest leader may be held liable for someone else’s violent actions, but <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-supreme-court/458/886.html">one of three circumstances must exist</a>:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KKTLIg">
There are three separate theories that might justify holding Evers liable for the unlawful conduct of others. First, a finding that he authorized, directed, or ratified specific tortious activity would justify holding him responsible for the consequences of that activity. Second, a finding that his public speeches were likely to incite lawless action could justify holding him liable for unlawful conduct that in fact followed within a reasonable period. Third, the speeches might be taken as evidence that Evers gave other specific instructions to carry out violent acts or threats.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QHvZMP">
None of these circumstances are present in <em>Mckesson</em>. There is no allegation that Mckesson directed anyone to hurl a rock at a police officer, or that he endorsed the attack on Office Doe after it occurred. Indeed, there is no allegation that Mckesson encouraged violence of any kind, or even that he engaged in the kind of “emotionally charged rhetoric” that the Supreme Court held was protected in <em>Claiborne</em>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dE8Iqp">
In fact, in a <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/5977762/4-24-19-5th-Circuit-Doe-v-McKesson.pdf">previous opinion in the <em>Mckesson</em> case</a>, the Fifth Circuit admitted that Officer Doe “has not pled facts that would allow a jury to conclude that Mckesson colluded with the unknown assailant to attack Officer Doe, knew of the attack and ratified it, or agreed with other named persons that attacking the police was one of the goals of the demonstration.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Aw8A6g">
That admission is fatal to the Fifth Circuit’s argument.
</p>
<h3 id="AAcZhI">
Elrod’s opinion doesn’t just violate the First Amendment, it openly defies the Supreme Court’s decision in<em> Claiborne</em>
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NAEmlh">
Rather than obey the <em>Claiborne</em> decision, Elrod’s latest opinion in the <em>Mckesson</em> case simply pretends that <em>Claiborne </em>did not say what it actually said. After quoting the same paragraph that I quoted above, laying out the three limited circumstances when a protest leader may be held liable for the actions of a rank-and-file protester, <a href="https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/17/17-30864-CV4.pdf">Elrod writes this astonishing sentence</a>:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="E8lxhn">
Nothing in <em>Claiborne</em> suggests that the three theories identified above are the only proper bases for imposing tort liability on a protest leader.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YHxC0i">
That’s certainly a creative way to read a Supreme Court opinion that holds that even threats to break someone’s neck can be protected speech, which demands that courts apply “extreme care” before they sanction protest organizers, and which itemizes only three circumstances that “might justify” holding such an organizer liable for the actions of another. Elrod’s opinion cites no other court decision that reads <em>Claiborne</em> in such a counterintuitive way.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Oz12Cl">
Having given herself the freewheeling authority to invent new exceptions to the First Amendment, Elrod then determines that the First Amendment does not apply “where a defendant creates unreasonably dangerous conditions, and where his creation of those conditions causes a plaintiff to sustain injuries.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l5WIKl">
And what, exactly, are the “unreasonably dangerous conditions” that Mckesson allegedly created? Elrod points to allegations that Mckesson “organized the protest to begin in front of the police station, obstructing access to the building” that he did not “dissuade” a group of protesters who allegedly stole water bottles from a grocery store, and that he “led the assembled protest onto a public highway, in violation of Louisiana criminal law.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WZkIDv">
Elrod, in other words, seems to believe that it is “unreasonably dangerous” to protest government officials near the public building where those officials work. And she also appears to believe that the First Amendment begins to ebb the minute a protest leader violates a traffic law.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A black-and-white photo of the March To Montgomery, showing Martin Luther King Jr. leading a protest shutting down a street. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ciTQAaLbznJ_Jm3zgbyybTjjb_k=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24738918/491272441.jpg"/> <cite>Morton Broffman/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
A group of civil rights marchers engage in “unreasonably dangerous” activity, according to Jennifer Elrod.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mXDOsE">
Elsewhere in her opinion, Elrod also suggests that Mckesson may run afoul of <em>Claiborne</em>’s holding that a protest leader may be held liable if their “public speeches were likely to incite lawless action.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Jupe1s">
But Elrod does not point to a single statement, allegedly made by Mckesson, which might have incited someone to injure Officer Doe. Nor, for that matter, does Doe. As Judge Willett points out in dissent, “the lone ‘inciteful’ speech quoted in Doe’s complaint is something Mckesson said not to a fired-up protestor but to a mic’ed-up reporter — the day after the protest: ‘<a href="https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/17/17-30864-CV4.pdf">The police want protestors to be too afraid to protest</a>.’”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cDfcM5">
Needless to say, this anodyne statement does not even begin to approach the kind of incitement to lawlessness that is unprotected by the First Amendment.
</p>
<h3 id="ynh8jr">
The Fifth Circuit is a rogue court
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ILPPNz">
The Fifth Circuit’s decision in <em>Mckesson</em> isn’t just wrong. It is an embarrassment. But it is also <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/12/27/23496264/supreme-court-fifth-circuit-trump-court-immigration-housing-sexual-harrassment">typical of the Fifth Circuit</a>, which is dominated by Trump appointees and other judges on the far right fringe of the legal profession.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yCPBXt">
In the last few years, the Fifth Circuit <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/10/20/23414311/cfpb-unconstitutional-fifth-circuit-supreme-court-trump-community-financial">declared an entire federal agency unconstitutional</a> and stripped another of its authority to enforce <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/5/19/23130569/jarkesy-fifth-circuit-sec">federal laws protecting investors from fraud</a>. It permitted Texas Republicans to effectively <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/9/19/23361050/supreme-court-texas-twitter-facebook-youtube-social-media-fifth-circuit-netchoice-paxton">seize control of content moderation</a> at social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. It <a href="https://www.vox.com/23032702/supreme-court-remain-in-mexico-texas-biden-trump-immigration">seized control over much of the United States’ diplomatic relations</a> with the nation of Mexico. It effectively tried to <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/4/14/23683638/supreme-court-abortion-mifepristone-alliance-hippocratic-medicine-fda">ban the drug mifepristone</a>, a pill used in more than half of all US abortions, which has been legal in the United States for nearly a quarter century. And it even tried to put right-wing judges in charge of the military, handing down a decision, that, in Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s words, <a href="https://www.vox.com/22996799/supreme-court-biden-navy-seal-vaccine-austin-covid">inserted the courts “into the Navy’s chain of command</a>, overriding military commanders’ professional military judgments.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iWGsoj">
Indeed, the Fifth Circuit’s decisions are so often divorced from any recognizable legal principles that it is <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/4/14/23683638/supreme-court-abortion-mifepristone-alliance-hippocratic-medicine-fda">fairly often reversed from the left</a> by our current, very conservative Supreme Court.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="za2S6T">
Indeed, in 2020, the Supreme Court handed down a <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-1108_8n5a.pdf">brief decision in the <em>Mckesson </em>case</a> that seemed intended to quietly make this case go away. That decision, however, did not rule on whether Mckesson’s actions are protected by the First Amendment. Instead, it effectively asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to weigh in on whether Mckesson actually violated any Louisiana state laws when he organized the Baton Rogue protest — because if he did not violate any laws, then there’s no reason to determine whether the First Amendment permits him to break the law.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vJFlax">
But the Louisiana Supreme Court <a href="https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/17/17-30864-CV4.pdf">did not take this opportunity to shut this lawsuit down</a>, instead ruling that, “it could be found that Mr. Mckesson’s actions, in provoking a confrontation with Baton Rouge police officers through the commission of a crime (the blocking of a heavily traveled highway, thereby posing a hazard to public safety)” violated Louisiana law.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="565yeo">
In any event, Mckesson is not being sued for blocking a highway. He is being sued for an unknown assailant’s attack on Officer Doe. And <em>Claiborne </em>could not be clearer that the First Amendment does not allow Mckesson to be held responsible for this unknown individual’s inexcusable act of violence.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="luWHgx">
It is now, in other words, up to the Supreme Court to do what it was unwilling to do in 2020. It must hear the First Amendment dispute at the heart of <em>Mckesson</em>. And, if the right to protest means anything, it must reverse the Fifth Circuit.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OVSjYz">
</p></li>
<li><strong>Just how close are Russia and China?</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Russian President Vladimir Putin receives Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4w_5ODW40_O1mYYti_3jPUZr5n8=/0x0:3796x2847/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72387996/807521818.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping enter the hall at the Grand Kremlin Palace on July 4, 2017, in Moscow, Russia.  | Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A strategic friendship, with the US caught between.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Fbt2Hy">
Fifty years ago, President Richard Nixon traveled to China as a way to weaken the Soviet Union and keep the two countries from getting too close.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xwkILT">
Now America is grappling with a new Cold War in which Russia and China have developed an increasingly strong partnership, which has alarmed the Biden administration.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ophlx9">
The US sees itself as competing with both countries in different ways.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="O9ApX8">
Washington is backing Ukraine with massive dollars and <a href="https://www.vox.com/world-politics/2023/3/29/23652435/debate-weapons-ukraine-abrams-leopard-tanks-biden-zelenskyy">weapons</a> in the face of a destructive Russian invasion. But the foreign policy elite of Washington is perhaps even more <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2022/9/19/23320328/china-us-relations-policy-biden-trump">concerned about the rise of China</a> as a global power that can counter the US. War between the US and China is <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/2/17/23603158/balloons-ufos-biden-war-china-not-inevitable">not inevitable</a>, but tensions between the countries are so high that Moscow’s friendship with Beijing<strong> </strong>has become a new challenge for Washington.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LjmniA">
But just how tightly bound are Russia and China?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="80jGtJ">
Analysts told me that both China and Russia see themselves in an existential conflict with the United States. It’s led to a partnership with military, diplomatic, and economic dimensions. And because Russia and China are both closed and autocratic, we don’t know the full extent or how deep it extends beyond the friendship of the two leaders, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, who have <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/22/1165066688/xi-jinping-putin-talks-china-russia-ukraine">rendezvoused 40 times</a> in the past decade.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jNX736">
Patricia Kim, a researcher at the Brookings Institution, has <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/limits-of-a-no-limits-partnership-china-russia">closely tracked</a> the partnership between the two countries. “The fact that China is engaging comprehensively with Russia is what’s notable. And this has come at a big diplomatic cost for Beijing for its global image,” she told me. “It just shows how much that China values Russia as a strategic partner.”
</p>
<h3 id="CaA7NX">
Is it a “no limits” partnership? Is Russia the “junior partner” to China? Their relationship, explained.
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="klmMsl">
Three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, Putin traveled to Beijing for the Olympics. He and Xi released a joint statement publicizing a “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/world/asia/olympics-beijing-xi-putin.html">no limits</a>” friendship, which showed how close the two countries had become. When the two leaders met again this spring, that turn of phrase did not appear in their communique, and Chinese diplomats have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/05/world/europe/eu-china-embassador-russia-fu-cong.html">minimized</a> the relationship, partly in an effort to maintain its ties with Europe.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZINVAf">
Still, the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-meets-dear-friend-xi-kremlin-ukraine-war-grinds-2023-03-20/">friendship has continued</a>. “China is not going to abandon Russia,” says Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, “but that’s very different than the no-limit partnership.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d8LlPT">
In February, Secretary of State Antony Blinken <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china-swipes-hysterical-us-global-security-gathering-2023-02-18/">warned</a> China about the risks of actively arming and supporting Russia in Ukraine. China has so far denied that it has sent Russia any weapons, but Ukraine <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-it-is-finding-more-chinese-components-russian-weapons-2023-04-14/">notes</a> that Chinese components have been discovered in confiscated Russian materiel.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bnqgk7">
With Russia hit with wide-ranging international sanctions, it has turned to the world’s second-largest economy, China. “The economic relationship between the two has become definitely closer compared to before the war in Ukraine started,” says Sun.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JNiDQC">
Trade between the two countries <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/07/business/china-russia-trade-increase-intl/index.html">reached $93.8 billion for the first half of this year</a>, which is about a 40 percent rise from last year. In particular, semiconductors are a prized Chinese export, as “integrated-circuit shipments to Russia were valued at $179 million in 2022 —against just $74 million in 2021,” according to the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-microchips-migrate-from-china-to-russia-7ad9d6f4">Wall Street Journal</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EKVbT0">
The trade is lopsided. Russia made up only <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/26/china-russia-trade-expand/">2 percent</a> of China’s exports last year, but<strong> </strong>each country wants something from the other. “What China wants from Russia is energy and military technology — and something to distract America, of course,” says Ivan Kanapathy, an analyst at the CSIS think tank.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="giNFZa">
A lot of the strategic interests of China and Russia may align for now, but of course that doesn’t mean everything aligns. The limits of Chinese support for Russia’s war in Ukraine reveal one difference. Another is that Russia remains a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/03/india-russia-ties-under-scrutiny-as-moscow-moves-closer-to-china.html">close partner</a> (and seller of <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-russia-relationship-xi-putin-taiwan-ukraine#chapter-title-0-4">weapons</a>) to India, while China views India as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-02/china-threat-is-driving-the-us-india-closer-together?sref=qYiz2hd0">a rival</a>. And China and Russia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/04/us-china-relationship-xi">assert their power</a> in the world rather differently.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jTM3TE">
A narrative that has emerged in recent years is that of Russia as the junior partner to China. Trump administration officials used the junior partner framing in their speeches as a way to slight both countries, according to Kanapathy, who served on the National Security Council from 2018 to 2021. “China did not want to be looked at as the more dominant partner for its own reasons — like its claim of developing country status,” he told me. “And we knew Russia would hate the implication, mainly just out of pride. So characterizing them that way was a means to create friction in that relationship.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f5Uo3z">
In some ways, economically and in terms of its growing global isolation, Russia could be cast as a junior partner. But Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, says it’s better to think of each country as a powerful force, independently able to drive events. China finds ways to benefit from what Russia does, when it can.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5CFifO">
“Russian foreign policy is a typhoon; it’s a natural disaster. You cannot control it. You can adapt to it and then use some of the fallouts to your advantage. Like put the wind farms at the edge of this typhoon and use them to generate electricity,” he explained on the <a href="https://thechinaproject.com/2023/02/23/china-and-the-ukraine-war-one-year-after-the-invasion/"><em>Sinica Podcast</em></a>. Above all, this is about Chinese pragmatism. “There is a shared alignment of many interests, and that’s growing,” Gabuev told me.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ftf1mr">
But beyond the support each country provides to the other, there is a deeper connection between Russia and China.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y7gj3s">
The bigger issue may be that a US-dominated global economy and the military primacy of Washington as global police officer does indeed pose a bigger threat to China and Russia than has been forthrightly acknowledged.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sGNVI8">
Much of this predates the Biden administration.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mmq8Bx">
It goes back to the war on terrorism, when President George W. Bush’s approach to the world was regime change. “The United States adopts this policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it’s one that nobody really knows the limits, of a prerogative to engage in forcible regime change and militarized democracy promotion,” said Daniel Nexon, a professor at Georgetown University. Russia <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2020/09/16/russia-accuses-us-of-plotting-coup-in-belarus/?sh=7bef001520e8">accused</a> the US of plotting color revolutions in former Soviet states, which the <a href="https://www.state.gov/russias-top-five-persistent-disinformation-narratives/">US denies</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RERzGT">
Similarly, President Barack Obama’s support for the popular uprisings that overthrew autocrats in the Middle East in 2011 — and later interventions in Libya and Syria — rattled the Chinese leadership. “There is a notion that the US is just kind of hostile to their regimes,” Nexon told me. “Probably because of the sense that the United States fundamentally just doesn’t consider the regime legitimate. And it’s going to do things that are a threat to the regime.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="A7Up9j">
The US sees its role as driven by good intentions.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3kHnZo">
“One of the important things for me to do on this trip was to disabuse our Chinese hosts of the notion that we are seeking to economically contain them,” Blinken told reporters while visiting Beijing this week. “So I spent some time making sure that we were very clear about what we’re doing as well as what we’re not doing.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="m7Uxm5">
As Blinken put it, the Biden administration’s priority has been “upholding and updating” the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/22/opinion/biden-foreign-policy.html">rules-based order</a>. It’s a term they regularly use to describe the equilibrium the US seeks in the world, but many other countries — not just China and Russia — hear hypocrisy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5Nn1JU">
“It sounds really good to us and our closest allies,” Kanapathy told me. “But the closest allies are already on board, so it doesn’t matter. Everybody else in the world isn’t buying it. They see the United States as writing, bending, and choosing the rules to help itself.”
</p>
<h3 id="gzdv5X">
What this means for the US’s relationships around the world
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jLPP1J">
US foreign policy today is almost entirely seen through the prism of conflict with China. The rash conversations happening around how Washington should react to Beijing — its spy balloons becoming a <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2023/2/7/23588464/suspect-spy-china-balloon-sputnik-moment-space-race">Sputnik moment</a>, for example — seem to be setting up the US for a situation of war rather than rational debates on how to solve global crises. <a href="https://www.vox.com/23130583/biden-asia-china-foreign-policy">Countering China</a> cannot be the driving force of the US role in the world.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8Ui7f5">
This also ties into the broader West versus non-West question over Ukraine. Many middle powers and large countries <a href="https://www.vox.com/23156512/russia-ukraine-war-global-south-nonaligned-movement">don’t want to pick a side</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YocjEM">
Kim, of the Brookings Institution, <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/limits-of-a-no-limits-partnership-china-russia">has written</a> that US policymakers need to ruminate on “why Chinese and Russian accusations of Western hypocrisy and hegemony resonate in many parts of the world and to how they might address these grievances.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qIYKfS">
“They see each other as vital partners in essentially eroding what they see as a Western-dominated global order,” she told me. But the trust that Russia has in China could also serve as a check on its power, especially as Russia’s war on Ukraine continues. “There’s a recognition that China could potentially play a more constructive role.”
</p></li>
<li><strong>The world’s largest democracy is collapsing before our eyes</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="Biden, in the middle of a large room with tables and microphones everywhere, tilts his head down to listen to Modi, on the right, who is speaking to him." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/JQQ4J7_wBuKOnLFliydmoPrN-Ow=/297x0:4502x3154/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72387959/1441567264.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India chat ahead of a working session on food and energy security during the 2022 G20 Summit in Indonesia. | Leon Neal/Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Narendra Modi’s war on India’s democracy, explained.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kkQH6r">
This week, <a href="https://www.vox.com/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a> will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a state dinner — only the third foreign leader to receive such an honor at the Biden White House, the other two being the presidents of France and South Korea. They have a lot to talk about: A <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/10/statement-from-white-house-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-on-the-official-state-visit-of-prime-minister-narendra-modi-of-the-republic-of-india/">White House statement</a> on the meeting has a long list of discussion topics, including <a href="https://www.vox.com/climate">climate change</a> and security in the Indo-Pacific region (read: countering <a href="https://www.vox.com/china">China</a>).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dIiIZP">
But there’s a word missing from the agenda that is, arguably, the most important of all: democracy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EGtWSR">
Since Modi took office in 2014, and especially after winning reelection in 2019, he has systematically taken a hammer to the core institutions of Indian democracy. The prime minister’s government has undermined <a href="https://vaishnavmilan.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/vaishnav-referee-institutions-submission-v2.pdf">the independence of the election supervision authority</a>, manipulated <a href="https://theprint.in/opinion/reasons-ranjan-gogoi-accepting-rajya-sabha-seat/382590/">judges into ruling in his favor</a>, used law enforcement <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/express-exclusive/from-60-per-cent-in-upa-to-95-per-cent-in-nda-a-surge-in-share-of-opposition-leaders-in-cbi-net-express-investigation-8160912/">against his enemies</a>, and <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/why-is-india-falling-in-the-world-press-freedom-index/a-61697180">increased its control over the Indian press</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2SUFRr">
The prime minister’s anti-democratic behavior has accelerated over time. In the past year alone, Modi’s government has:
</p>
<ul>
<li id="UjSGV4">
<a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/3/24/23654832/rahul-gandhi-expelled-lok-sabha-narendra-modi">Expelled the leader of the opposition party, Rahul Gandhi, from parliament</a> after he was sentenced to two years of prison for allegedly defaming the prime minister with a joke.
</li>
<li id="mfxFk6">
Taken over one of the few remaining independent television stations through <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2023/2/7/23588382/gautam-adani-hindenburg-research-india-modi-short-seller">a crooked billionaire ally</a>.
</li>
<li id="wlCDop">
Created an official panel <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/10/28/in-india-govt-now-has-power-over-social-media-content-moderation">empowered to take down social media posts critical of the government</a>.
</li>
<li id="pWRnWV">
Sent tax officials to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/21/tax-raids-on-bbc-offices-in-india-deeply-worrying-says-labour">raid the BBC’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai</a>, a move widely seen as retaliation for a documentary critical of Modi.
</li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aCHVOI">
Being in power has become self-reinforcing for Modi. His Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has used its electoral dominance to silence critics and stack the electoral deck against his opponents, making the upcoming 2024 parliamentary election a significant uphill climb for other parties. That vote is shaping up to be critical for <a href="https://www.vox.com/india">India</a>’s democratic future.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="m4HVAU">
“With every major election loss, the window might be closing” for the opposition, warns Pavithra Suryanarayan, a political scientist at the London School of Economics.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EULMBf">
This assault on democracy is a deeply ideological project. The BJP is the electoral offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (<a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/05/03/706808616/the-powerful-group-shaping-the-rise-of-hindu-nationalism-in-india">RSS</a>), a radical Hindu nationalist organization to which Modi has belonged <a href="https://thewire.in/politics/narendra-modi-rss-pracharak-politician">since he was 8 years old</a>. Christophe Jaffrelot, a leading India scholar at France’s Sciences Po, told me that its ideology amounts to “an Indian version of fascism.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nGHxy4">
You would think that a pseudo-fascist assault on democracy in the world’s largest country (<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/04/19/india-worlds-most-populous-country/11695722002/">by population</a>) would merit an international outcry — certainly as much as the attention given to other prominent democratic backsliders like Hungary. But perhaps because of India’s geopolitical significance, criticism from the world’s leading democracies has been largely muted — left off the agenda as Washington and its Pacific allies court New Delhi in their effort to balance a rising China.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T8dvLS">
“There’s been a conscious policy decision to downplay Indian democratic backsliding because it’s awkward,” says Sadanand Dhume, a senior fellow at the center-right American Enterprise Institute. “We need India as a potential bulwark against China, and the Indians have been very skillful in exploiting the tendency in Washington toward tunnel vision.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="61Ukvq">
In 2005, Narendra Modi was banned from traveling to the United States on <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-narendra-modi-was-banned-from-the-u-s-1399062010">allegations of complicity in an anti-Muslim pogrom</a>. Now he’s the White House’s guest of honor — while, at his direction, a country poised to be one of the greatest powers of the 21st century slides toward tyranny.
</p>
<h3 id="NxMW4c">
The ideological roots of India’s democratic decline
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="McDQZh">
To understand the current crisis of Indian democracy, you need to understand the BJP’s roots in the RSS — an organization that, in many ways, functioned as an opposing force to Gandhi’s pro-independence Indian National Congress. Unlike the Congress, which believed in secular liberal democracy, the RSS advocated for a future Indian nation defined in purely ethno-religious terms — a “Hindu Rashtra” (Hindu nation). Its ideology, called Hindutva, held that post-colonial India should be a country ruled by and for Hindus.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r1xBAD">
In 1939, RSS leader M.S. Golwalkar published a book — titled <em>We, or our Nationhood Defined — </em>that codified this thinking in especially stark terms.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y5kiKc">
“The foreign races in Hindusthan … must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment — not even citizen’s rights,” he argued.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5rVBmH">
In another passage of <em>We</em>, a book one contemporary observer referred to as the RSS’s “<a href="https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/india-news-culture-of-intolerance-is-hurting-indias-tradition-of-debate-and-discussion/305076">Bible</a>,” Golwalkar explicitly praises the Nazi treatment of Jews as a model.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jteHdH">
“Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for Races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by,” he writes.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yvQXSW">
Such ideas were marginal in post-independence India. The country’s 1949 constitution was written on secular-egalitarian lines, <a href="https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india/">declaring</a> that “the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JZOfhd">
The RSS, meanwhile, had mostly managed to discredit its political vision. In 1948, an RSS devotee named Nathuram Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi — a killing that Godse himself credited to his Hindu nationalist ideology. The Indian government subsequently banned the RSS for a year.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A black-and-white pair of police photos, one in profile and one facing the camera, of an Indian man wearing a buttoned-up white shirt, unsmiling." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zRD6nssePq-AkMKOS31qpCZn9dY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24738424/141551763.jpg"/> <cite>Mondadori via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
The Indian nationalist activist Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wMZspy">
Even after the RSS’s return from the shadows, the Congress party and its secular ideology remained dominant. Until 1977, Congress won every Indian election; the RSS’s political arm, called the BJS, never reached 10 percent of the national popular vote.
</p>
<h3 id="TVuSWT">
The rise of the BJP, explained
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rCi4dc">
The BJP, founded in 1980 as a second attempt at an RSS electoral wing, initially found success by campaigning in the mid-to-late 1980s for the demolition of a mosque in the city of Ayodhya — one located on a site that many Hindus believed to be <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50065277">the birthplace of the Hindu holy figure Rama</a>, the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Z3r4z0">
The issue, BJP leadership believed, could be used to inflame politically useful Hindu nationalist sentiment by making it seem as if the current Indian system prioritized the interests of the Muslim minority over the Hindu majority.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3M7xRa">
This divisive campaign worked. In the 1984 election, the BJP won two seats in Parliament; in 1989, it won 85 (out of a total of 543).
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cZSkLs">
But when the BJP managed to form its first-ever coalition government, in 1998, it <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-45205033">ruled in a relatively moderate fashion</a>. This perhaps surprising result, according to Brown University’s Ashutosh Varshney, reflected what was thought at the time to be an iron law of Indian politics: that no matter which party was in power, it would have to moderate its ideological agenda.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VVRkob">
There were two reasons, according to Varshney, for this so-called “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2321023016665547?icid=int.sj-full-text.similar-articles.1">persistent centrism</a>.“
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oFCZ0o">
First, India is staggeringly diverse: It has 22 official languages, 705 officially recognized ethnic groups, six large religious minorities, and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35650616">a complex caste system that divides the population into thousands of different groups</a>. Putting together a winning coalition in such a deeply divided society seemed to necessarily require compromise.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FybbgD">
Second, the Indian political system places multiple checks on the ability of governing coalitions to make major changes. A set of institutions — the court system, independent agencies, oversight bodies, a vibrant free press — force governments to play within certain legal and normative limits. Thus, even the most hardline BJP government would find itself unable to take radical action to change the nature of the Indian state.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YrbV5i">
And make no mistake: much of the BJP leadership cadre remained dedicated to Hindutva ideals. While the RSS formally repudiated Golwalkar’s writing in 2006, this seemed more like a branding exercise than anything else. His basic idea of a Hindu Rashtra remains at the center of BJP-RSS ideology.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tXvXmR">
“The ideology has not changed,” Jaffrelot says. “They [really] believe in … the sense of superiority of the Hindu people, in this dehumanization of the other.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1cwiAe">
Narendra Modi is chief among these true believers.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BkW4aa">
In 2002, when he was serving as chief minister of the state of Gujarat, a train carrying Hindu pilgrims in Godhra, a Muslim-dominated part of the state, went up in flames, killing 59 people. The fire was blamed on Muslims, setting off mass communal rioting, primarily pogroms by Hindu mobs against the Muslim minority. (An <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/18/world/asia/fatal-02-hindu-train-fire-laid-to-accident-not-mob.html">Indian government investigation</a> later concluded that the fire had been an accident.) Human rights groups put the total death toll at <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/asa200022005en.pdf">more than 2,000</a>. The raw brutality of the assault was chilling. <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/asa200022005en.pdf">Amnesty International reports</a> that between 250 and 330 Muslim girls and women were raped and tortured during the violence; most of them were subsequently executed by the mob.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tHla7a">
Modi allegedly <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-13170914">intervened personally on the side of these anti-Muslim rioters</a>, ordering police to stand aside and allow Hindu mobs to rampage across Muslim-majority areas. Modi’s behavior was so egregious that, in 2005, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303380004579520041301275638">the US denied him an entry visa</a> on grounds of “severe violations of religious freedom.” This ban would only be <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-india-modi/lawsuit-makes-for-awkward-start-to-modis-big-u-s-visit-idUKKCN0HL1UJ20140927">lifted</a> after the BJP won India’s parliamentary election in 2014, an election where the charismatic Modi defeated an increasingly ineffectual and corrupt Congress led by dynast Rahul Gandhi.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="An Indian man yells toward the camera, both hands raised and an iron rod in one of them." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Z6M7_ar7Y-t1S-bHyZ9MedRLa6E=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24738438/52003124.jpg"/> <cite>Sebastian D’Souza/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
In this picture taken in February 2002, an Indian nationalist activist armed with a iron rod shouts slogans against Muslims during mob violence in Gujarat, India.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="empZSc">
After becoming prime minister, Modi faced a fundamental challenge: How to implement his hardline Hindutva social agenda given the constraints militating toward persistent centrism?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TpvV08">
The answer was … to eliminate those constraints. And his plan of attack would strike at the heart of Indian democracy.
</p>
<h3 id="4onZP6">
Modi has undermined Indian secularism — and its democracy
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1mcjFh">
The easiest way to understand what Modi has done to India is to see it as kind of a mutually reinforcing cycle of two different agendas.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0uEov8">
The first is using the powers of the premiership to spread Hindutva ideology and polarize the electorate along Hindu-versus-Muslim lines. The second is consolidating power in his hands and weakening countervailing authorities — including the judiciary, oversight commissions, the free press, and opposition parties.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YzhSGT">
The more the Hindu public is converted to his ideology, the more popular Modi becomes, providing him political cover to pursue attacks on judges, bureaucrats, and reporters. The more he controls India’s government and the press, the easier it is for him to spread Hindutva propaganda.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A cardboard cutout of Modi smiling and waving sits in front of rows of women in bright colors, some standing, some sitting on the ground." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/o7C0Y7JrRj9Wao7hikn3wZHnwaY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24738443/1360453419.jpg"/> <cite>Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Women from various districts with cut-outs of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally held by Modi in 2021 in Allahabad, India.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Whwrlq">
This effect of this cycle has been both the shattering of the “persistent centrism” that constrained previous leaders and, increasingly, elections taking place on a playing field tilted against the opposition.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3JDsIN">
Prior to Modi’s rise, the BJP’s electoral success was limited by an <a href="https://pavisuridotcom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/bjp_paper_latest3.pdf">elite base</a> that supported the party’s economic reforms and social agenda. Many upper-caste Indians cared deeply about blocking a long-running effort to expand India’s caste-based affirmative action program for university admissions and government jobs, seeing the BJP as a party that would <a href="https://pavisuridotcom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/bjp_paper_latest3.pdf">oppose this and other efforts to undermine the caste hierarchy</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="05ORa6">
Under Modi, the party has managed to significantly <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2321023019874890">expand its demographic base</a> among both lower-caste and poor Hindus (two groups that overlap to some degree but not fully) without losing its base. By 2019, poor Hindu voters <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2321023019874890">were as likely as rich ones to vote for the BJP</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pRfXf4">
The party’s success at selling its Hindutva narrative since Modi’s ascension is not the only part of this story, but it has been an essential one. Modi and state-level BJP leaders have relentlessly hammered Hindutva themes in their speeches and <a href="https://thewire.in/politics/price-of-the-modi-years-book-excerpt">pursued policies undermining Muslim rights</a> and inflaming Hindu anxieties about their Muslim neighbors.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="49d0aS">
“All the big achievements of the BJP thus far are ideological ones,” says Suryanarayan. “<a href="https://www.uscirf.gov/resources/factsheet-citizenship-amendment-act-india">The Citizenship Amendment Act</a>, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/8/5/20754813/india-kashmir-article-370-modi-hindu-muslim">revocation of special status to Kashmir</a>, the way in which they are very carefully transforming textbooks and textbook representations of what the founding fathers of India were about and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/06/world/asia/india-textbooks-changes.html">the role of Muslims in Indian history</a> — every one of these is clues to what commitments of the BJP are.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kFAqHh">
(The Citizenship Amendment Act creates a special pathway to citizenship for non-Muslims living in nearby countries. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir is India’s only majority-Muslim state and the subject of a territorial dispute with Pakistan; it enjoyed a special autonomous status until <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/05/world/asia/india-pakistan-kashmir-jammu.html">Modi revoked it</a> in 2019.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P3ZlP2">
In effect, the BJP has used the power of the state to convince Hindus that what unites them against Muslims is more important than what divides them among each other.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kEP7pz">
One especially egregious example is the so-called “love jihad,” a conspiracy theory that Muslim men are seeking to marry Hindu women as part of an organized plot to convert them to Islam and erode India’s Hindu majority — a pernicious myth that has led to the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/10/10/1041105988/india-muslim-hindu-interfaith-wedding-conversion">arrest</a> of Muslim men. Modi and other BJP officials have <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/05/21/is-narendra-modi-turning-bollywood-against-muslims">even promoted a film spreading this idea</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="O01Nnb">
Research suggests these anti-Muslim efforts have deeply affected public attitudes and, even more ominously, behavior. A <a href="https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/how-indias-ruling-party-erodes-democracy/">2022 paper by Varshney</a> shows a spike in lynchings of Muslims that coincides almost exactly with Modi taking power.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fNZvza">
“Lynchings cannot become widespread without an atmosphere of impunity in which those who have a mind to commit lynchings know that they are unlikely to be punished by the state,” Varshney writes.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="acsuUg">
Stoking anti-Muslim sentiment has been politically profitable. Modi’s approval ratings have been quite high in recent years, most recently clocking in <a href="https://pro.morningconsult.com/trackers/global-leader-approval">around 75 percent</a> — a level of support that experts say is bound up with his ability to use the politics of fear to consolidate support among Hindus.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7iuWZG">
“In different sectors of society, in all kinds of provinces across the country, [Muslims’] image has been so badly portrayed. That is the main impact [the BJP] has made,” Jaffrelot says. “They have demolished something that will be very difficult to rebuild, and that is secularism.”
</p>
<h3 id="emy7wq">
Modi’s multi-pronged attack on Indian democracy, explained
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V5SZSQ">
There’s no doubt that Modi’s agenda is illiberal, in the sense that it involves asserting the legal and social dominance of the Hindu at the expense of Muslims and other minorities. Modi insists that he is merely acting on behalf of the majority — that he and his government are honoring India’s historic status as “<a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-mother-of-democracy-home-to-idea-of-elected-leaders-much-before-rest-of-world-pm-modi/article66675267.ece#:~:text=The%20Prime%20Minister%20had%20earlier,'%20and%20'Kratos'%20to%20mean">the mother of democracy</a>.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nlFqfd">
His long record of anti-democratic policy says otherwise.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wN5Izv">
Some of Modi’s tactics involve clever legislation. Take campaign finance: <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/11/25/electoral-bonds-safeguards-of-indian-democracy-are-crumbling-pub-80428">Under Modi</a>, Parliament set up a new system that allows for unlimited donations through the <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/11/25/electoral-bonds-safeguards-of-indian-democracy-are-crumbling-pub-80428">purchasing of electoral bonds</a> — a system that all but announces to wealthy donors that the government knows which party you gave money to.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2f8RGE">
Another tactic has been the manipulation of appointment powers. Modi has <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-attack-on-the-last-bastion-the-judiciary/article66259735.ece">seized control</a> over the judicial “collegium” system of appointments, simply refusing to appoint judges he doesn’t approve of. Similarly, Modi has <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/up-front/story/20200210-the-war-on-information-1641561-2020-01-31">refused to appoint commissioners</a> to the Central Information Commission, which handles freedom of information requests from the public, grinding its work to a halt.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JlhtkZ">
A third set of tactics has been outright intimidation and abuse of legal powers. India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the country’s FBI equivalent, has a longstanding problem of being unduly influenced by political considerations — a problem that has gotten far worse since 2014. Under <a href="https://www.outlookindia.com/national/-washing-machine-why-opposition-leaders-are-taking-digs-at-bjp-and-cbi-news-224578">the prior Congress government</a>, 60 percent of CBI investigations into politicians targeted opposition leaders. Under Modi, that figure has jumped to 95 percent.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ptX1VB">
The recent state-level conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his subsequent <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/3/24/23654832/rahul-gandhi-expelled-lok-sabha-narendra-modi">expulsion from Parliament</a> speak to the way that both law enforcement and the legal system have been politicized across the board.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gxi5yW">
Tax enforcement plays a similar role. When a leader of the independent Election Commission voted to penalize Modi for hate speech on the campaign trail in 2019, he swiftly came under tax investigations — as did <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/not-just-lavasas-wife-his-sister-and-son-too-are-under-tax-dept-scanner-6026058/">his sister, wife, and son</a>. This year, the tax police raided the BBC’s India offices after the broadcaster had released a documentary on Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0s1qHo">
The BBC raid speaks to yet another area of democratic backsliding: a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/12/opinion/modi-bbc-documentary-india.html">clampdown on the independent press</a> and freedom of speech more broadly through new rules, like the creation of an agency empowered to take down social media posts, and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/04/03/1167041720/india-press-freedom-journalists-modi-bbc-documentary">harassment of journalists and human rights organizations</a>. But it has also happened more subtly, through <a href="https://rsf.org/en/media-ownership-monitor-who-owns-media-india">consolidation of media ownership</a> in the hands of ultra-rich moguls friendly to Modi and the BJP like Gautam Adani and <a href="https://qz.com/india/2141950/mukesh-ambanis-firm-is-helping-modis-bjp-win-polls-in-india">Mukesh Ambani</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AFNZ1I">
The weaker checks on Modi’s authority get, the more he is empowered to infuse the Indian state with Hindu nationalist ideals — and the harder it will be for the divided Indian opposition to unseat the BJP through electoral means.
</p>
<h3 id="Q4e7mS">
Can Indian democracy be saved?
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vTenfa">
This is not the first time India’s democracy has been in crisis.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LN2GkB">
In June 1975, in the midst of an episode of civil unrest, Congress Prime Minister Indira Gandhi — a charismatic populist not entirely dissimilar from Modi — announced the beginning of a so-called “Emergency,” which in effect suspended basic rights and freedoms.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EbsJha">
For nearly two years, the Indian state was a functional autocracy. News outlets were placed under <a href="https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/crawling-through-the-emergency/294674">a strict censorship regime</a>; police rounded up Gandhi’s political opponents, <a href="https://theprint.in/india/how-rss-fought-indira-gandhis-emergency-as-the-foreign-media-saw-it/448135/">including RSS leaders</a>, and imprisoned them.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qZiK2w">
In March 1977, the Emergency suddenly ended. Indira Gandhi announced new elections, <a href="https://charansingh.org/sites/default/files/1977%20Myron%20Weiner.%20The%201977%20Parliamentary%20Elections%20in%20India.pdf">which Congress lost</a>. She left power voluntarily (only to return after the next round of elections), and Indian democracy moved away from a system dominated by the Congress party to a healthier multi-party system.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sQ69qM">
Does this provide reason for optimism that Modi might fall in a similarly surprising fashion? The experts I spoke with were skeptical.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aqBjSV">
While the Emergency was a blatant suspension of democracy in response to immediate events, Modi’s power grabs have involved a more subtle and durable corruption of institutions unfolding over the course of years.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PSfGTX">
“The way that they control information … the way they can amass funding — part of that, of course, is by changing funding laws — is pretty impressive,” says Milan Vaishnav, the director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WoHUVi">
However grim an unfavorable comparison to the Emergency might make the situation appear, it is also important to note that Indian democracy is not dead yet. There are upcoming scheduled elections in 2024, and there is a chance — unlikely, but a real one — that Modi may go the way of <a href="https://www.vox.com/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2022/10/31/23432788/brazil-election-lula-wins-bolsonaro-speech-no-concession">Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZPC9ml">
That the BJP can still lose elections has been demonstrated by recent state-level defeats, like in the fiercely contested <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/5/4/22412743/india-west-bengal-results-2021-bjp-modi-tmc-banerjee">2021 West Bengal election</a>. India’s federal system means that state governments have a reasonable amount of power.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wHbb01">
And even at the national level, opposition parties still retain some capacity to get their message out.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Isb2DT">
Between September 2022 and January 2023, Rahul Gandhi embarked on a pilgrimage — called the Bharat Jodo (“Unite India”) Yatra — across 2,200 miles of Indian territory. The demonstration, which evoked <a href="https://www.outlookindia.com/national/with-start-of-congress-bharat-jodo-yatra-here-is-a-look-at-some-key-yatras-undertaken-by-politicians-in-india-news-221953">a tradition of political yatras in India</a>, was designed as an explicit act of protest against Modi’s politics of division. It seems to have done real work in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/27/rahul-gandhis-yatra-how-a-2200-mile-march-revitalised-indias-ailing-opposition">rehabilitating Gandhi</a> and Congress in general.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A long stream of people passes by a row of huge cutouts of political leaders, with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra’s cutouts facing the camera, in a large open area surrounded by trees." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yvrkx80eJbtorZR6sJywUbksbuY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24738449/1482607220.jpg"/> <cite>Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Supporters walk next to giant cutouts of Indian National Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Vadra as they arrive to attend an election rally on April 16, 2023, in Kolar, India.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tpoEBE">
“He acquired charisma because of his lifestyle [on the march] and the way he related to people. … In a society where the stigma of caste is so strong, he had no problem shaking hands with any of the people passing by,” says Jaffrelot.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0WA8oy">
For all of these reasons, the 2024 national elections are shaping up to be absolutely critical for India’s future — not that you can tell from the US government’s public response.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Eha36O">
In October 2021, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/14/statement-by-president-joseph-r-biden-jr-on-the-united-states-election-to-the-human-rights-council-hrc/">President Biden declared that</a> “defending human rights and demonstrating that democracies deliver for their people” is “at the center of my administration’s foreign policy.” This has not been the case when it comes to its India policy, which has focused overwhelmingly on courting the Modi government as an ally against China rather than challenging its anti-democratic practices.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="h5Amd1">
“I don’t detect any willingness, any serious efforts, on the part of this administration to hold India to a higher democratic standard,” Vaishnav says.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uQeSUX">
A White House spokesperson suggested to me that this is something that top American officials bring up in high-level meetings, presumably privately. “In these engagements we address policy differences constructively and in an atmosphere of mutual respect,” the spokesperson said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3wVGbw">
One should hope so. A slide toward Hindu nationalist authoritarianism in India doesn’t serve America’s interests, especially given the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/8/8/20791518/india-pakistan-kashmir-article-370-explained">ever-present risk of conflict with nuclear-armed Pakistan</a>. And the contradiction between the administration’s soaring rhetoric about democracy and its relative quiet about the world’s most important instance of democratic backsliding is glaring.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8SNeMT">
There are some <a href="https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/62-special-issue/the-challenge-of-indias-democratic-backsliding/">actions the administration could take</a> that could matter at the margins — at the very least, by suggesting during the upcoming state dinner and future engagements that there might be some cost if Modi takes things too far.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="k8rh7g">
But at the same time, the United States’s ability to change the course of Indian domestic politics should not be overstated. What happens in India will ultimately be determined by what Indians decide to do in 2024 and beyond — choices that, given India’s size and rising influence, will have profound consequences for the future of democracy around the world.
</p></li>
</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>The Ashes 2023 | Australia, England docked 2 WTC points each, fined 40% of their match fee for maintaining slow over-rate in first Test</strong> - Andy Pycroft of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanctions after the teams were ruled to be two overs short of their targets after time allowances were taken into consideration</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>N’Golo Kante joins Benzema at Al-Ittihad as Saudi clubs continue transfer spree</strong> - Kante, a 2018 World Cup winner and mainstay at Chelsea, is the latest global football star to join a Saudi Arabian club</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>India beat Bangladesh by 31 runs to win Women’s Emerging Asia Cup</strong> - Spin duo of Shreyanka Patil and Mannat Kashyap starred with the ball after a sedate batting effort to guide the India U-23 team to the Women’s Emerging Asia Cup T20 title</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>H.S. Prannoy, Kashyap sail into pre-quarters of Taipei Open</strong> - H.S. Prannoy hardly broke a sweat as he took just 26 minutes to dispatch local shuttler Lin Yu-hsien in the opening round</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>Combining with Satwik a defining moment in career, says Chirag Shetty</strong> - Chirag and Satwik are now ranked World No.3 and the former believed it would be a great boost as they prepare for bigger challenges.</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>CET gets U.S. patent for study on hip implant</strong> - Researchers sought patent for the design and surface modifications suggested on the femoral head of hip implants to reduce wear</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>Coast Guard observes Yoga Day</strong> - Coast Guard Air Enclave-Kochi also organises yoga session in collaboration with The Art of Living</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>Villagers conduct football tournament to raise ₹4 lakh for medical treatment of Nilgiris woman suffering from renal failure</strong> - With the help of a youth forum, local residents organised a football tournament in Kambatty village near Kotagiri and raised ₹4 lakh to fund the treatment for a kidney patient</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>Madras High Court leaves it to HR&amp;CE Department to decide on performing daily puja at the sealed Droupadi Amman temple</strong> - Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu grant liberty to a litigant to approach the HR&amp;CE officials, if advised to do so, and make it clear that her representation must be considered on its own merits</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>HITES named consultant for organ transplant institute in Kozhikode</strong> - Global tender to finalise architectural consultant expected soon</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</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>Ukraine war: Zelensky admits slow progress but says offensive is not a movie</strong> - Speaking to the BBC, Ukraine’s leader stresses that the counter-offensive is not a Hollywood movie.</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: Push to rebuild economy starts with UK’s $3bn</strong> - The World Bank says many years of financial support are needed as London hosts a major conference.</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>Migrant crisis: Tunisian fisherman finds dead bodies in his net</strong> - Many migrants leave from Tunisia by boat to reach Europe, but the consequences can be tragic.</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>Paris 2024 Olympics: French police raid organisers’ headquarters</strong> - French officials say the searches are part of two earlier preliminary corruption investigations.</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>Russia renews drone and missile attacks on Ukraine</strong> - A wave of air attacks is reported on Kyiv and other cities - but no-one is injured, officials say.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Drones take to the waves: Saildrones are getting data where people can’t</strong> - They can monitor the Antarctic year round and sail straight into hurricanes. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1947948">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Doctor who sold bogus COVID vaccination waiver to dog loses medical license</strong> - Owner of a black Labrador named Charlie said the pup had “irrational fear of needles.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1949075">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Google’s $200 metal Pixel Watch band is very premium, very expensive</strong> - Google chips away at the Pixel Watch’s lack of band styles. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1948872">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Purely AI-generated songs declared ineligible for Grammy Awards</strong> - “A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any categories.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1948932">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>EU wants “readily removable” batteries in devices soon—but what does that mean?</strong> - Should you have to melt glue? Which tools do you need? What about pricing? - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1948877">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Reddit is killing third-party applications (and itself). Read more in the comments.</strong> - submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/JokeSentinel"> /u/JokeSentinel </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://i.redd.it/1j5nee06kx5b1.png">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1490rmv/reddit_is_killing_thirdparty_applications_and/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>My wife kept blaming me for our lack of children in our sexless marriage. I finally told her to put a sock in it.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Should’ve specified which sock.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Anyway, she’s due in January.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/KairuSmairukon"> /u/KairuSmairukon </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/14etbha/my_wife_kept_blaming_me_for_our_lack_of_children/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/14etbha/my_wife_kept_blaming_me_for_our_lack_of_children/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Submarine ride to visit the wreck of the Titanic, $250,000.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Permanently join the wreck of the Titanic, priceless!
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Riverrat423"> /u/Riverrat423 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/14esysd/submarine_ride_to_visit_the_wreck_of_the_titanic/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/14esysd/submarine_ride_to_visit_the_wreck_of_the_titanic/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A gorilla walks into a bar in Manhattan</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The bartender gives the gorilla a craft beer menu (without the fucking QR codes). The gorilla points at a particular summer ale, with hints of lemon. The bartender nods, and tells him what a great choice that is.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
A few minutes later, the bartender serves the gorilla this tasty craft brew, and says, “That will be $16”.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The gorilla, not being a small tipper, hands over a $20, and indicates to the bartender by hand signals to keep the change.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The bartender acknowledges the tip, and says, “You know - we don’t have many gorillas ordering drinks here.”
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Finally, the gorilla speaks up and says, “That’s not a big surprise, with these fricking prices.”
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/edfitz83"> /u/edfitz83 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/14er20j/a_gorilla_walks_into_a_bar_in_manhattan/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/14er20j/a_gorilla_walks_into_a_bar_in_manhattan/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What do you use when you haven’t got a condom?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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A fake name.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Snowchugger"> /u/Snowchugger </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/14ezfi6/what_do_you_use_when_you_havent_got_a_condom/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/14ezfi6/what_do_you_use_when_you_havent_got_a_condom/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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