S African study finds ‘positive story’ on Omicron severity
Research suggests the new coronavirus variant is milder than other strains, top South African scientist says.
A new South African study, along with data on hospitalisations and deaths in the country’s fourth wave of COVID infections, suggest that the risk of severe disease is lower with Omicron than with previous variants, a top scientist has said.
“Compellingly, together our data really suggest a positive story of a reduced severity of Omicron compared to other variants,” said Professor Cheryl Cohen of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), one of the authors of the new study, during a news conference on Tuesday.
The crisis unfolding in America’s Christmas tree capital
Their bright green coloring had drained away after a day of triple digit temperatures. And over the next two days, as temperatures climbed as high as 115F, Ryerson watched the young trees, many just over a foot tall, turn brown and die.
“It just kind of breaks your heart that you go out there and one day they’re nice fresh-looking trees, and the next day, they’re wilted and turning colors,” said Ryerson, who co-owns U Cut Christmas Tree Farm with his sister. “And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Is the Kremlin preparing Russian society for war?
Stepping onto a podium in heavy boots and military fatigues at a ceremony outside Moscow, six teenagers accept awards for an increasingly important discipline in Russia: patriotism.
For days, students from around the country have competed in activities such as map-reading, shooting and history quizzes. The contest was funded in part by the Kremlin, which has been making “military patriotic” education a priority.
“Parents and children understand that this aggressive shell around us, it is tightening, it is hardening,” says Svyatoslav Omelchenko, a special forces veteran of the KGB who founded Vympel, the group running the event. “We are doing all we can to make sure that children are aware of that and to get them ready to go to serve.”
Africa sees hike in detentions, arrests of journalists
Press freedom in Africa has suffered in 2021 due to growing authoritarianism and insecurity, especially in East Africa — the region most hostile to journalists on the continent.
Journalists in many parts of Africa are working in increasingly difficult and dangerous circumstances.
Political instability, such as the 2021 coups in Sudan, Mali, Guinea and Chad, has lead to widespread crackdowns on media workers.
Journalists are also being targeted by both governments and armed groups seeking to control the flow of information in regions wracked by violence and conflict, such as Cameroon, the Sahel, Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia.
Police: Arson suspect blocked victims’ escape, fixed fire hydrant
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
December 22, 2021 at 18:15 JST
A man believed to have set a deadly fire at a clinic here blocked people who were desperately fleeing the flames and apparently tampered with firefighting equipment beforehand, investigative sources said.
Morio Tanimoto, 61, the prime suspect in the arson attack that killed 25 people, remains in critical condition at a hospital here.
He may have been injured in the fire because he did not immediately flee from the burning building but instead stayed there to thwart the escape attempts of others, according to the sources.
Alleged 'koala massacre' prompts hundreds of animal cruelty charges
Updated 0548 GMT (1348 HKT) December 22, 2021
Australian authorities on Wednesday charged a landowner and two companies with more than 250 counts of animal cruelty over the deaths of dozens of koalas during a clearance operation last year.
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