Coronavirus risks and safety concerns

The number of sailors who deserted the Navy more than doubled from 2019 to 2021, while desertions in other military branches dropped or stayed flat, pointing to a potential Navy-wide mental health crisis amid a spate of recent suicides, according to experts and federal statistics obtained by NBC News. Among a fleet of more than 342,000 active sailors, there were 157 new Navy deserters in 2021, compared with 63 in 2019 and 98 in 2020, Navy data shows. The total number of deserters who were still at large in 2021 grew to 166 from 119 in 2019. Most of them were 25 and younger. “That’s staggering,” said Benjamin Gold, a defense attorney for U.S. service members. In the wake of several suicides among sailors assigned to the warship the USS George Washington , the new desertion figures highlight the lack of options for sailors when they’re desperate to leave the military but are bound to multiyear contracts that many of them signed just out of high school. Military law … [Read more...] about Navy desertions have more than doubled amid suicide concerns, as sailors feel trapped by contracts

Kim Jong Un's decision not to inoculate North Korea's public for more than two years has resulted in 25 million people becoming the first to face down a potentially devastating COVID outbreak without vaccines. This week, as Pyongyang acknowledged over 1.7 million suspected COVID cases suffering from "fever," the WHO warned "unchecked transmission" in the country could spawn new variants, which risk spilling over into its densely populated neighbors, in particular China. North Korea was among the first nations to impose lockdowns and border restrictions in January 2020. It maintained a widely-doubted claim of zero COVID cases until acknowledging its first cluster of the BA.2 strain on May 12. The cases are believed to be linked to a military parade held in late April. The state-owned Korean Central News Agency has quoted the nation's leader warning of a "great upheaval." But without effective vaccines, the health crisis, which KCNA said had led to 62 deaths as of Tuesday, … [Read more...] about North Korea’s Kim Jong Un begins ultimate no-vaccination experiment

The story so far: After reportedly remaining “COVID-free” since the start of the global pandemic, North Korea last week confirmed its first case. On May 12, the North Korean administration said the highly transmissible Omicron variant was detected in the country as thousands reported ill due to a fast-spreading fever. In an immediate response to what North Korea termed was the “state’s most serious emergency”, its leader Kim Jong Un imposed a nationwide lockdown. Also Read North Korea reports six deaths after admitting COVID-19 outbreak Five days since its first public admission, the country has reported around 15 lakh suspected COVID-19 cases, while at least 56 people have died. Saying that the outbreak has pushed North Korea into “great turmoil”, Mr. Kim Jong Un has called for an all-out battle to overcome the virus. On May 16, Mr. Kim ordered the immediate deployment of the military to stabilise the supply of COVID-19 medicines in the capital, Pyongyang. A … [Read more...] about Explained | Why North Korea’s COVID-19 outbreak is cause for worry

Popular Covid expert Jonathan Van-Tam missed the ceremony to mark his own knighthood - due to catching the very disease that catapulted him to popularity. Sir Jonathan was awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours list for his services to public health after leading dozens of No10 press conferences. The former deputy chief medical officer for England became a cult figure for his creative analogies about the Covid pandemic - often involving football. He was supposed to receive his knighthood from the Duke of Cambridge at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, but could not attend due to getting Covid-19 . Sir Jonathan will instead collect his gong at a later date. A spokesperson for the University of Nottingham said that Prof Sir Jonathan was isolating at home and is "almost completely recovered". Sir JVT became a cult figure for his creative analogies about the Covid pandemic - often involving football ( Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images) … [Read more...] about Covid supremo Jonathan Van-Tam misses his own knighthood ceremony – due to Covid

This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Every Monday, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here. Question of the Week Caitlin Flanagan’s masterful “ Chasing Joan Didion ” has me thinking about travel. What have you learned while away from home? Paint a picture of where you went and share your insights. Conversations of Note Top of the mind: the mass shooting Saturday in Buffalo, New York, in which a white-supremacist terrorist killed 10 people. My colleague Graeme Wood, an expert on murderous extremists , read the killer’s apparent manifesto and grappled with whether it ought to be shared or suppressed. The Los Angeles Times editorial board argued that “Americans have ignored the insidious creep of white supremacy into the public discourse to the point that it has become normalized.” … [Read more...] about Tucker Carlson Deserves Blame—But Not for Buffalo

BRUSSELS — The world economy is heading into a potentially grim period as rising costs, shortages of food and other commodities and Russia’s continuing invasion of Ukraine threaten to slow economic growth and bring about a painful global slump. Two years after the coronavirus pandemic emerged and left much of the globe in a state of paralysis, policymakers are grappling with ongoing challenges, including clogged supply chains , lockdowns in China and the prospect of an energy crisis as nations wean themselves off Russian oil and gas . Those colliding forces have some economists starting to worry about a global recession as different corners of the world find their economies battered by events. Finding ways to avoid a slowdown while continuing to exert pressure on Russia for its war in Ukraine will be the primary focus of finance ministers from the Group of 7 nations who are convening in Bonn, Germany, this week. At a news conference on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Janet L. … [Read more...] about Economic Headwinds Mount as Leaders Weigh Costs of Confronting Russia

A tenant who stabbed his landlords to death during the first national lockdown has been found guilty of double murder. Daniel Briceno Garcia who killed his landlords after becoming paranoid about Covid-19 has been convicted after an Old Bailey jury deliberated for 45 minutes. Garcia, 46, attacked Sonia Butron Calvi, 66, and Edgar Aguilera Daza, 60, at the home they shared with five others in Stockwell, south London, on April 1, 2020. Police found the couple lying in a "bloodbath" at the property, the Old Bailey was told. It was claimed Briceno Garcia had become worried about the risks of Covid and paying his rent in the pandemic. He had admitted manslaughter but denied murder, claiming he was mentally ill at the time. Jurors deliberated for just 45 minutes to find him guilty of two counts of murder on Wednesday. Prosecutor Tom Little QC had told jurors that there was no dispute the defendant stabbed the victims repeatedly with a knife in a "brutal and frenzied" attack. … [Read more...] about ‘Covid paranoid’ man who stabbed landlords to death week into lockdown guilty of murder

A video that has gone viral on social media has sparked massive outrage as it shows an Indian American boy being allegedly bullied and choked by a white student at a school in Texas. The video shows Shaan Pritmani getting assaulted and choked. He is also dragged out of the bench on which he was sitting. Supreme Court lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha uploaded the video on his Twitter handle as he wrote, “Unfortunate to see that Shaan Pritmani of Indian origin was harassed & bullied on camera at Coppell School, Dallas. Instead of the accused getting punished, Shaan got suspended for 3 days.” Have a look at the video: Here is partial footage of the incident. The incident raises concerns about the safety and well being of Indians in schools in the United States as well as the lack of proper support from school administration for situations like these. pic.twitter.com/D7ToGesUlE — North American Association of Indian Students (@NAAISORG) May 17, 2022 The incident took place in … [Read more...] about Indian-American Student Getting Bullied in Viral Video Has Angered Netizens

President Joe Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act as part of an effort to expedite the production and delivery of baby formula amid the ongoing national shortage. The White House said on Wednesday that Biden had "directed his team to do everything possible to ensure that there is enough safe infant formula in the country and available for families that need it." The Defense Production Act, which allows the federal government to take greater control over industrial production during an emergency, was invoked as part of the effort to increase supply. "The President is requiring suppliers to direct needed resources to infant formula manufacturers before any other customer who may have ordered that good," a White House fact sheet reads. "Directing firms to prioritize and allocate the production of key infant formula inputs will help increase production and speed up in supply chains." The Biden administration also launched a new initiative dubbed "Operation Fly Formula," … [Read more...] about Biden to boost baby formula supply with Defense Production Act

As India strongly objected to China’s Belt and Road Initiative at the recently concluded Second United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference in Beijing, First Secretary Priyanka Sohoni’s microphone curiously went silent for some time due to a “technical glitch” while she was raising New Delhi’s concerns regarding the controversial project. Sources in New Delhi, however, refused to accept “technical glitch” as the reason behind the mike failure at the UN meet held from October 14 to 16. UN under-secretary general Liu Zhenmin asked Sohoni to continue her speech. “We are confronting some technical problems and played the video of the next speaker. I am sorry for that,” Liu said after the mike was restored at the conference hall. Sohoni said, “We share the international community’s desire for enhancing physical connectivity and believe it should bring greater economic benefits to all in an equitable and balanced manner. There have been some references to the Belt and Road … [Read more...] about Indian Diplomat’s ‘Mic Glitch’ While Criticising China’s BRI at UN Meet Lights a Fuse in New Delhi