LONDON: There is a lower risk of hospitalization for people with the omicron coronavirus variant compared to Delta, but the higher transmissibility of omicron could still lead to significant numbers needing hospital treatment, the UK government said.
Analysis of preliminary data by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed an individual with omicron was estimated to be between 31 percent and 45 percent less likely to attend hospital compared to someone with Delta, and 50 to 70 percent less likely to be admitted.
UKHSA Chief Executive Jenny Harries said on Thursday it was “an encouraging early signal that people who contract the omicron variant may be at a relatively lower risk of hospitalization than those who contract other variants.”
“However, it should be noted both that this is early data and more research is required to confirm these findings,” she said.
The numbers came as Britain reported a record 119,789 new daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday as the new variant swept the country.
The UKHSA’s analysis is highly uncertain because of the small numbers of omicron cases currently in hospital, inability to effectively measure all previous infections and the limited spread of omicron into older age groups, it said.
Still, the findings add to early evidence about the severity of disease that the new variant, first identified in southern Africa and Hong Kong, can cause and are consistent with encouraging signs from studies from Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh on Wednesday.
Transmissiblity, severity of disease and whether omicron evades vaccines are the three big questions public health authorities and virologists are trying to answer as governments assess whether they need to take unpopular, economically damaging steps to tame the latest wave of infections.
Omicron may appear milder because people are vaccinated, or have some natural protection from prior infection. It is also possible that the virus has changed in a way that produces milder symptoms. Younger people — a large share of omicron cases — are also less likely to suffer severe illness.
The agency said evidence showed protection against symptomatic disease waned after the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and then improved after the booster.
But the data suggested the extra protection started to wane more rapidly against omicron than Delta, being about 15-25 percent lower from 10 weeks after the booster dose, it said.
As of Monday, 132 people confirmed with omicron had been treated in hospital. Over 40 percent of hospital admissions were in London.
Of those patients admitted to hospital, 17 had received a booster vaccine, 74 people had two doses and 27 people were not vaccinated.
The vaccination status was unknown for six people, while eight had received a single dose and 14 people were reported to have died within 28 days of an omicron diagnosis, ranging in age from 52-96 years old.
The number of people becoming infected with omicron after having previously contracted COVID-19 has increased sharply.
Some 9.5 percent of people with omicron have had COVID-19 before, which the UKHSA said was likely to be a substantial underestimate, as many prior infections will have been asymptomatic and not picked up by the analysis.
Omicron cases at much lower risk of hospital admission, UK says
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Omicron cases at much lower risk of hospital admission, UK says
- Britain reported a record 119,789 new daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday
Indonesia joins BRICS, vows to strengthen Global South cooperation
- BRICS now accounts for about 48% of world’s population, over 37% of global economy
- Jakarta wants to attract more foreign investment, find alternatives to West-led order, expert says
JAKARTA: Indonesia announced on Tuesday its acceptance into the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, vowing to strengthen cooperation with countries of the Global South.
Initially comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the group expanded last year with the accession of Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the UAE.
Morphing into the most powerful geopolitical forum outside of the Western world, BRICS now accounts for about 48 percent of the world’s population and more than 37 percent of the global economy.
Rolliansyah Soemirat, spokesperson for Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Indonesia is committed to contributing to the agendas discussed by BRICS, which include economic resilience, tech cooperation and public health.
“BRICS is an important platform for Indonesia to strengthen South-South cooperation and to ensure that the voices and aspirations of Global South countries will be represented in the global decision-making process,” Soemirat said.
Indonesia’s accession had been approved by BRICS leaders in August 2023, but the world’s fourth-most populous country opted to formally join the bloc after the formation of the newly elected government following last year’s elections. Its accession was welcomed by the government of Brazil, which holds the group’s rotating presidency in 2025.
“As the largest economy and most populous nation in Southeast Asia, Indonesia shares with other BRICS members the support for the reform of the global governance institutions and contributes significantly to the deepening of Global South cooperation,” Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Brazil holds the BRICS presidency this year under the theme “Enhancing Global South Cooperation for a More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance” and will host the annual leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro in July.
Indonesia’s interest in joining BRICS is likely a part of the government’s drive to attract more foreign investment, said Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma, researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.
“The move is to do with seeking opportunities to expand sources of investment from a group of countries that do not force Indonesia to choose sides or leave traditional partnerships with the West,” Kharisma told Arab News.
“However, this outcome is not guaranteed,” he said. “The investment patterns of BRICS countries have not shown a clear tendency to prioritize or politically favor fellow members. There is no assurance that Indonesia’s investments will increase significantly.”
Joining BRICS may also be a way for Indonesia to showcase the look of a “new global order,” Kharisma added.
“Symbolically, it is a signal from a country like Indonesia, which has benefitted from the West-led order all this time but wants to integrate even more (into) the global order, that it is seeking ‘alternatives’ should the West-led orders become … less friendly to developing countries.”
Ukraine says conducting combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region
- Russia’s army said over the weekend that Kyiv was mounting a “counter-attack” in the region
- Ukraine’s forces have held onto a swathe of territory since a shock incursion last August
KYIV: Ukraine said Tuesday its forces struck a Russian military “command post” in Russia’s Kursk region during “combat operations,” while backtracking on a claim it had launched a fresh offensive in the border area.
Russia’s army said over the weekend that Kyiv was mounting a “counter-attack” in the region, where Ukraine’s forces have held onto a swathe of territory since a shock incursion last August.
In an English-language statement, Kyiv’s army said it had launched a “high precision” strike near the village of Belaya — south-east of Kyiv-controlled territory — without saying if it had used Western long-range weapons.
An original version of the statement, published by the Ukrainian General Staff on its Telegram account, said Ukraine had launched “new offensive operations” in the Kursk region.
The post was then edited and the reference to a “new offensive” removed.
“This strike is an integral part of the combat operations of units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, which conduct combat operations” in the Kursk region, the updated statement said.
Pro-Kremlin military bloggers have reported a powerful new Ukrainian offensive, but Kyiv had not commented on those reports, only saying in regular daily briefings that fighting in the region was ongoing.
President Volodymyr Zelensky had on Monday also alluded to fighting in the Kursk region in his evening address, stating that Kyiv was “maintaining a buffer zone on Russian territory” and “actively destroying Russian military potential there.”
It is not clear if Ukraine had advanced much in the region, but the assault would come nearly three years into Moscow’s invasion and two weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump will return to the White House.
Trump has vowed to begin talks to end the Ukraine war and Kyiv’s hold in Kursk could influence any negotiations.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Ukraine’s “position in Kursk” would “factor in any negotiation that may come about in the coming year.”
Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into the western border region in August 2024, before Russia repelled some attacks, including with the help of North Korean soldiers sent by Pyongyang.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, French far-right leader known for fiery rhetoric against immigration, dies at 96
- A polarizing figure in French politics, Le Pen was convicted numerous times of antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence
- Le Pen routinely countered that he was simply a patriot protecting the identity of “eternal France”
PARIS: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right National Front who was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation, died Tuesday. He was 96.
A polarizing figure in French politics, Le Pen was convicted numerous times of antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence. His statements — including Holocaust denial, racist denunciations of Muslims and immigrants and his 1987 proposal to forcibly isolate people with AIDS in special facilities — shocked his critics and strained his political alliances.
Le Pen routinely countered that he was simply a patriot protecting the identity of “eternal France.”
Le Pen, who once reached the second round of the 2002 presidential election, was eventually estranged from his daughter, Marine Le Pen, who renamed his National Front party, kicked him out and transformed it into one of France’s most powerful political forces while distancing herself from her father’s extremist image.
Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally as the party is now known, confirmed Le Pen’s death in a post on social media platform X. Bardella’s unusually warm tribute highlighted Le Pen’s polemical past, including his ties to the Algerian war, describing him as a “tribune of the people” who “always served France” and expressing condolences to his family, including Marine.
The post appeared to blur the distance the rebranded party had sought to establish between its firebrand founder and its more polished, modern direction under Marine Le Pen.
French President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, expressed “his condolences to (Le Pen's) family and friends,” in an uncharacteristically short statement issued by the presidential palace.
“A historic figure of the far right, he played a role in the public life of our country for almost 70 years, which is now a matter for history to judge,” the statement read.
Marine Le Pen, thousands of kilometers (miles) away in the French territory of Mayotte, was inspecting the aftermath of destructive Cyclone Chido at the time of her father’s death.
Despite his exclusion from the party in 2015, Le Pen’s divisive legacy endures, marking decades of French political history and shaping the trajectory of the far right.
His death came at a crucial time for his daughter. She now faces a potential prison term and a ban on running for political office if convicted in an embezzling trial.
As Le Pen’s health deteriorated in recent years, he was hospitalized several times, including after he suffered a stroke.
Le Pen is survived by his wife and three daughters, Marie-Caroline, Yann and Marine.
Philippines welcomes clemency for 220 Filipinos in UAE
- Recently pardoned Filipinos join another 143 given clemency on occassion of Eid Al-Adha
- Philippine government is coordinating with UAE authorities for their immediate repatriation
MANILA: The Philippines has welcomed the UAE’s decision to extend clemency to 220 Filipinos as a move strengthening bilateral relations and the government’s labor migration efforts.
Serving prison terms for various offenses, the Philippine nationals were pardoned as part of last month’s National Day celebrations — a move officially announced by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday night as “proof of the strong ties between our two countries.”
The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai were coordinating with UAE authorities to ensure the immediate repatriation of the released.
“We are deeply appreciative of the continued generosity and understanding shown by the government and people of the UAE towards Filipinos. The pardon granted reaffirms the strong and growing relationship between our two nations, built on mutual respect, cooperation, and shared values,” they said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The Philippine government regularly works to assist Filipino nationals facing legal issues, including providing legal aid, negotiating with local authorities, and securing repatriations or clemency where possible.
The 220 recently pardoned join another 143 pardoned in the UAE on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha.
The Middle East chapter of Migrante, a global alliance of overseas Filipino workers, also welcomed the development saying that it was “pleased with the decision” and that it “increases the ties” between the two countries.
“It goes without saying that every country relies on one another. Countries in the Middle East, such as the UAE, need the labor force of migrant workers from countries with a lack of jobs, like the Philippines,” Migrante Middle East told Arab News.
“This development further promotes the Labor Export Program of (Marcos’s) government.”
Nearly 1 million overseas Filipino workers live in the Gulf state — most in Dubai. They are a key source of remittances to the Philippines and contribute as well to their host country’s development.
Swedish navy recovers anchor of tanker suspected of Baltic Sea cable damage
- Sweden sent a submarine rescue vessel to assist Finland in the investigation last week.
- “The HMS Belos has located and lifted the anchor and handed it over to Finnish authorities,” Swedish navy spokesman Jimmie Adamsson told AFP
STOCKHOLM: The Swedish navy said Tuesday it had recovered from the Baltic Sea the anchor of an oil tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ and damaging four underwater telecom cables and one power cable on December 25.
Sweden sent a submarine rescue vessel to assist Finland in the investigation last week.
“The HMS Belos has located and lifted the anchor and handed it over to Finnish authorities,” Swedish navy spokesman Jimmie Adamsson told AFP.
The Eagle S, flying the Cook Islands flag, is suspected of having damaged the EstLink 2 electricity cable between Finland and Estonia in the Baltic on December 25, putting it out of action.
Finnish police said on December 29 that they had found a trail from the anchor stretching dozens of kilometers (miles) along the seabed.
The national energy agency Fingrid said it had requested that authorities seize the tanker.
Finnish authorities have banned eight crew from leaving Finnish territory. Finnish customs have said they suspect the tanker, currently located east of Helsinki, is part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” — ships that carry Russian crude oil and petroleum products that are embargoed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finnish telecom operator Elisa said Monday that two of the damaged telecom cables had been repaired. The Estlink 2 power cable has not yet been repaired.
According to operator Cinia, one of the remaining telecoms cables — running between Finland and Germany — should be fixed by January 10.
In late December, NATO announced it would strengthen its military presence in the Baltic after similar incidents there since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Energy and communications infrastructure in particular have been targeted as part of what experts and politicians call Russia’s “hybrid war” with Western countries.
The Baltic is surrounded by a number of NATO member states.
Two telecommunications cables were cut on November 17 and 18 in Swedish territorial waters.
A Chinese-flagged bulk carrier, the Yi Peng 3 is suspected of involvement.
