As the omicron coronavirus variant spreads in southern Africa and pops up in countries all around the world, scientists are anxiously watching a battle play out that could determine the future of the pandemic. Can the latest competitor to the world-dominating delta overthrow it?
Some scientists, poring over data from South Africa and the United Kingdom, suggest omicron could emerge the victor.
“It’s still early days, but increasingly, data is starting to trickle in, suggesting that omicron is likely to outcompete delta in many, if not all, places,” said Dr. Jacob Lemieux, who monitors variants for a research collaboration led by Harvard Medical School.
But others said Monday it’s too soon to know how likely it is that omicron will spread more efficiently than delta, or, if it does, how fast it might take over.
“Especially here in the US, where we’re seeing significant surges in delta, whether omicron’s going to replace it I think we’ll know in about two weeks,” said Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Many critical questions about omicron remain unanswered, including whether the virus causes milder or more severe illness and how much it might evade immunity from past COVID-19 illness or vaccines.
On the issue of spread, scientists point to what’s happening in South Africa, where omicron was first detected. omicron’s speed in infecting people and achieving near dominance in South Africa has health experts worried that the country is at the start of a new wave that may come to overwhelm hospitals.
The new variant rapidly moved South Africa from a period of low transmission, averaging less than 200 new cases per day in mid-November, to more than 16,000 per day over the weekend. omicron accounts for more than 90 percent of the new cases in Gauteng province, the epicenter of the new wave, according to experts. The new variant is rapidly spreading and achieving dominance in South Africa’s eight other provinces.
“The virus is spreading extraordinarily fast, very rapidly,” said Willem Hanekom, director of the Africa Health Research Institute. “If you look at the slopes of this wave that we’re in at the moment, it’s a much steeper slope than the first three waves that South Africa experienced. This indicates that it’s spreading fast and it may therefore be a very transmissible virus.”
But Hanekom, who is also co-chair the South African COVID-19 Variants Research Consortium, said South Africa had such low numbers of delta cases when omicron emerged, “I don’t think we can say” it out-competed delta.
Scientists say it’s unclear whether omicron will behave the same way in other countries as it has in South Africa. Lemieux said there are already some hints about how it may behave; in places like the United Kingdom, which does a lot of genomic sequencing, he said, “we’re seeing what appears to be a signal of exponential increase of omicron over delta.”
In the United States, as in the rest of the world, “there’s still a lot of uncertainty,” he said. “But when you put the early data together, you start to see a consistent picture emerge: that omicron is already here, and based on what we’ve observed in South Africa, it’s likely to become the dominant strain in the coming weeks and months and will likely cause a surge in case numbers.”
What that could mean for public health remains to be seen. Hanekom said early data from South Africa shows that reinfection rates are much higher with omicron than previous variants, suggesting the virus is escaping immunity somewhat. It also shows the virus seems to be infecting younger people, mostly those who are unvaccinated, and most cases in hospitals have been relatively mild.
But Binnicker said things could play out differently in other parts of the world or in different groups of patients. “It’ll be really interesting to see what happens when more infections potentially occur in older adults or those with underlying health conditions,” he said. “What’s the outcome in those patients?”
As the world waits for answers, scientists suggest people do all they can to protect themselves.
“We want to make sure that people have as much immunity from vaccination as possible. So if people are not vaccinated they should get vaccinated,” Lemieux said. “If people are eligible for boosters, they should get boosters, and then do all the other things that we know are effective for reducing transmission — masking and social distancing and avoiding large indoor gatherings, particularly without masks.”
Omicron v. delta: Battle of coronavirus mutants is critical
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Omicron v. delta: Battle of coronavirus mutants is critical
Taliban leader bans windows overlooking women’s areas
- “Seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards or collecting water from wells can lead to obscene acts,” according to decree posted by Taliban spokesman
KABUL: The Taliban’s supreme leader has issued an order banning the construction of windows in residential buildings that overlook areas used by Afghan women and saying that existing ones should be blocked.
According to a statement released late Saturday by the Taliban government spokesman, new buildings should not have windows through which it is possible to see “the courtyard, kitchen, neighbor’s well and other places usually used by women.”
“Seeing women working in kitchens, in courtyards or collecting water from wells can lead to obscene acts,” according to the decree posted by government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on social media platform X.
Municipal authorities and other relevant departments would have to monitor construction sites to ensure it is not possible to see into neighbors’ homes.
In the event that such windows exist, owners would be encouraged to build a wall or obstruct the view “to avoid nuisances caused to neighbors,” the decree states.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, women have been progressively erased from public spaces, prompting the United Nations to denounce the “gender apartheid” the administration has established.
Taliban authorities have banned post-primary education for girls and women, restricted employment and blocked access to parks and other public places.
A recent law even prohibits women from singing or reciting poetry in public under the Taliban government’s ultra-strict application of Islamic law. It also encourages them to “veil” their voices and bodies outside the home.
Some local radio and television stations have also stopped broadcasting female voices.
Azerbaijan’s president says crashed jetliner was shot down by Russia unintentionally
- Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials
BAKU: Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and criticized Moscow for trying to “hush up” the issue for days.
“We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (...) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he told Azerbaijani state television.
Aliyev said that the airliner, which crashed Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare.” Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.
“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he said.
The crash killed 38 of 67 people on board. The Kremlin said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the plane attempted to land, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan made three demands to Russia in connection with the crash.
“First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers and crew members,” he said.
Aliyev noted that the first demand was “already fulfilled” when Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to him on Saturday. Putin called the crash a “tragic incident” though stopped short of acknowledging Moscow’s responsibility.
He said that an investigation into the crash was ongoing, and that “the final version (of events) will be known after the black boxes are opened.”
He noted that Azerbaijan was always “in favor of a group of international experts” investigating the crash, and had “categorically refused” Russia’s suggestion that the Interstate Aviation Committee, which oversees civil aviation in the Commonwealth of Independent States, investigate it.
“It is no secret that this organization consists mostly of Russian officials and is headed by Russian citizens. The factors of objectivity could not be fully ensured here,” Aliyev said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media on Sunday that Putin had spoken to Aliyev over the phone again, but did not provide details of the conversation.
The Kremlin also said a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was underway at the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers (miles) across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.
The crash is the second deadly civil aviation accident linked to fighting in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people aboard, as it flew over the area in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.
Russia has denied responsibility, but a Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian man for their role in downing the plane with an air defense system brought into Ukraine from a Russian military base.
Bangladesh imports fertilizers from Saudi Arabia to boost food security
- Saudi Arabia supplies about one-third of country’s DAP fertilizer demand
- The Kingdom is Dhaka’s ‘preferred country’ partner for fertilizer imports
Dhaka: Bangladesh has secured a two-year deal to import 400,000 tons of fertilizer from Saudi Arabia, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation said on Sunday as the South Asian country seeks to boost its food security.
Bangladeshi officials have been working to increase food production as the country faces rising food demand amid decreasing farming land due to rapid urbanization and a growing population.
The BADC signed the new agreement with Saudi state-owned company Ma’aden in Riyadh on Dec. 15, following years-long cooperation between them.
“Good quality fertilizer plays a vital role in ensuring food security for our 175 million people. This fertilizer helps us increase productivity by many folds,” BADC general manager Ahmed Hassan Al-Mahmud told Arab News.
Under the latest deal, Ma’aden will supply 400,000 tonnes of diammonium phosphate fertilizer every year until 2026 and provide training for Bangladeshi farmers.
“The Saudi state-owned fertilizer company offered to provide training for our farmers, for the purpose of knowledge transfer on optimizing the use of the DAP fertilizers,” Al-Mahmud said, adding that Ma’aden has also offered to build fertilizer warehouses in Bangladesh.
The Saudi imports will contribute to about one-third of Bangladesh’s annual DAP fertilizer needs, which stands at about 1.3 million tonnes, he added.
Bangladesh also stands to benefit more from the latest agreement, as the fertilizers cost $2 less per tonne compared to the average market price.
“It will save us a significant amount of money,” Al-Mahmud said. “Saudi Arabia has been our trusted supplier for a long time, and we can purchase it at a reasonable rate compared with other sources.”
While the South Asian nation also imports from China and Morocco, Al-Mahmud said that the Kingdom was a “dependable and reliable source.”
He added: “We have been importing fertilizer from the Kingdom for more than 15 years. It takes only around 2 weeks to import fertilizer from the Kingdom, while from Morocco it takes more than 6 weeks. From that perspective also, Saudi Arabia is our preferred country for importing fertilizer.”
Jeju Air flight crashes in South Korea, killing nearly all 181 aboard
- All but 2 of the 181 people on board died in the accident, authorities confirmed
- The crash on Sunday is the deadliest aviation disaster ever on Korean soil
SEOUL: A passenger plane carrying 181 people belly-landed and crashed at an airport in southwestern South Korea on Sunday morning, killing all but 2 aboard the flight, officials said.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216 had taken off from Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew on board. It was landing at Muan International Airport, about 290 km south of Seoul, when it crashed at around 9 a.m.
Footage broadcast by local media showed the Boeing 737-800 skidding across the airstrip, apparently with its landing gear still closed, and colliding head-on with the airport’s concrete fence before bursting into flames. Only the aircraft’s tail was recognizable after the explosion.
“After the plane hit the fence, passengers were flung out of the aircraft. There is almost no possibility of survival,” the National Fire Agency said during a briefing held for the victims’ families.
The accident has killed 179 people aboard the flight, the fire agency said. Emergency workers rescued two crew members, who health officials said are conscious and not in life-threatening condition.
Ju Jong-wan, senior official at the Ministry of Land, Traffic and Infrastructure, said the control tower had issued a bird strike warning that was followed by the pilots declaring a mayday shortly afterward, before the aircraft made its ill-fated attempt to belly land at the airport.
“Bird strike and landing gear malfunction are being suggested as possible causes of the accident, but we will need to do a thorough investigation to determine the true cause,” Ju told a press briefing, adding that the ministry is analyzing both black boxes from the crashed airliner.
One of the rescued crew members told fire authorities that a bird strike occurred a few minutes before the plane crashed, causing the engine to smoke up and explode.
A passenger texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing, the News1 agency reported. The person’s final message was: “Should I say my last words?”
The crash is the deadliest aviation accident ever on South Korean soil, more than two decades after an Air China crash that killed 129 people in 2002. It is also the worst aviation accident involving a South Korean airline since a 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam that killed more than 200 people.
The accident appears to have been the first fatal one for Jeju Air, a low-cost South Korean carrier established in 2005 that flies to dozens of Asian countries.
“We sincerely apologize to all those suffering because of the accident at Muan International Airport,” said Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae. “I relay my deepest condolences to the victims who have passed away and to the bereaved families … We will cooperate with the government to determine the cause.”
Boeing, the aircraft’s manufacturer, said in a statement that it is in contact with Jeju Air and is “ready to support them.”
While the US aviation giant has had a turbulent time in recent years, including two 737 Max crashes, analysts have said that the Boeing 737-800 had a strong safety record.
Mikheil Kavelashvili sworn in as Georgia’s president amid political crisis
- Current President Salome Zurabishvili has refused to step down when her term ends and demanded new elections
- Parliament, controlled by the governing Georgian Dream party, is shortly expected to inaugurate Mikheil Kavelashvili
TBILISI: At least 2,000 pro-EU protesters gathered in Tbilisi on Sunday as Mikheil Kavelashvili, a hardline critic of the West, took the oath of office as Georgia’s president
Kavelashvili’s inauguration has sparked a political crisis in the South Caucasus country, whose government has frozen European Union application talks, provoking major protests.
Georgia’s pro-EU president Salome Zurabishvili declared she was the country’s “only legitimate president”, refusing to step down as her term ended Sunday with the inauguration of a disputed successor but saying she would vacate the presidential palace.
“I remain the only legitimate president,” she told thousands of pro-EU demonstrators. “I will leave the presidential palace and stand with you, carrying with me the legitimacy, the flag and your trust.”
Months of political crisis are poised to enter an unpredictable phase, and it is unclear what will happen if Zurabishvili does not leave the presidential palace.
Parliament, controlled by the governing Georgian Dream party, is shortly expected to inaugurate its loyalist Mikheil Kavelashvili, a far-right former footballer.
An AFP reporter in Tbilisi saw a growing crowd of protesters outside the presidential palace, with many bringing EU flags and chanting “Georgia!”
Many held on to the railings of the presidential palace, which was decorated with a large Georgian and EU flag.
Zurabishvili and protesters have accused Georgian Dream of rigging the October parliamentary election, demanding a fresh vote.
They say this makes Kavelashvili’s inauguration illegitimate.
Zurabishvili had said she would spend the night in the palace, calling on protesters to come in the morning.
Her term is due to end with the inauguration of a successor.
Georgia has been gripped by protests throughout 2024, with Georgian Dream’s opponents accusing it of steering Tbilisi toward Moscow rather than toward the Caucasus country’s longstanding goal of joining the EU.
