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☆ CIA future will be defined by US technology race with China, director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The seal of the Central Intelligence Agency is shown at the entrance of the CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia, U.S., September 24, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s future will be defined by America's ongoing technology race with China, agency director William Burns said on Wednesday during a Senate hearing. Burns’ remarks followed the release of the Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, which pointed to China as the biggest national security threat facing America. “It's also the main determinant of our future as an intelligence service as well.”The CIA director was speaking during Congress’s so-called Worldwide Threats hearing, also featuring other heads of the U.S. intelligence community, including National Security Agency Director Gen. Paul Nakasone, National Intelligence Director Avril Haines, Defense Intelligence Agency director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray. Gen. Nakasone, the NSA director, testified China's cyber operations have grown more aggressive recently.

☆ US set to lift COVID-19 testing requirements for travelers from China - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to end on Friday mandatory COVID-19 tests for travelers from China, joining other countries in dropping the requirements, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters. The source told Reuters the United States would continue to monitor cases in China and around the world. The United States in early January joined India, Canada, Italy, Japan and other countries in taking new measures after Beijing's decision to lift stringent zero-COVID policies. The United States in December expanded its voluntary genomic sequencing program at airports, adding Seattle and Los Angeles. TGS will continue to monitor flights from the China and regional transportation hubs, as well as flights from more than 30 other countries, the source said.

☆ Genetics study lays bare Ice Age drama for humans in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Tom Bjoerklund/Handout via REUTERSMarch 1 (Reuters) - Europe was no balmy paradise during the Ice Age, with the vast glaciers that blanketed large parts of the continent rendering wide swathes inhospitable for humans. While some populations hunkered down and survived in relatively warmer parts of Europe, including France, Spain and Portugal, others died out on the Italian peninsula, the study showed. "It refreshes our knowledge of how human beings survived the Ice Age," added paleogeneticist and study co-author He Yu of Peking University in China. Homo sapiens arose roughly 300,000 years ago in Africa, then spread worldwide, reaching Europe at least 45,000 years ago. The only people who survived this harshest period in Europe were hunter-gatherers who had found refuge in portions of France and the Iberian peninsula, the study found.

HONG KONG, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The world should "calm down" about the possibility of new COVID-19 variants circulating in China, leading Chinese scientist George Gao said. "The world should completely calm down from the fear that there are new variants or special variants circulating (in China)," Gao, professor at the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Reuters. The variants causing infections in China were the same Omicron sub-variants - BA.5.2 and BF.7 - seen elsewhere in the world, he said by email. Gao said China was continuing widespread viral genomic sequencing, and would identify any new variants if they emerged. A total of 13 cases of variants were found, including 1 case of XBB.1, 5 cases of BQ.1.1, 1 case of BQ.1.1.17, 4 cases of BQ.1.2 and 2 cases of BQ.1.8.

HONG KONG, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The world should "calm down" about the possibility of new COVID-19 variants circulating in China, leading Chinese scientist George Gao said. "The world should completely calm down from the fear that there are new variants or special variants circulating [in China]," Gao, professor at the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Reuters. The variants causing infections in China were the same Omicron sub-variants - BA.5.2 and BF.7 - seen elsewhere in the world, he said by email. Gao said China was continuing widespread viral genomic sequencing, and would identify any new variants if they emerged. The authors said there were some limitations to the study, including China's decision to end large-scale mandatory testing.

☆ These innovation stocks owned by Cathie Wood have double-digit upside, according to analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Cathie Wood just scored her best month ever as her innovation stocks staged a big comeback, and some of her darlings still have double-digit upside ahead, according to Wall Street analysts. Wood's flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) jumped 27.8% in January alone, notching its strongest month since its inception in 2014 . We looked at companies with at least five analysts covering them, and these names below all have more than 10% upside in the next 12 months, according to FactSet. Wall Street analysts are most bullish on Ginkgo Bioworks , seeing the stock rally more than 140% in the next 12 months. Other biotech names in the space that analysts love are Verve Therapeutics , CRISPR Therapeutics , Beam Therapeutics and Twist Bioscience.

☆ Depression treatments haven't changed much in decades. Here are the promising new drugs that could be more precise, work faster, and help more people.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Advances in depression treatment have been rare over the past few decades. But treatments for mental-health illnesses, like depression, haven't changed much over the past few decades. Insider put together a roundup of the most promising depression treatments today, both those that have won approval and those that are in the later stages of the research process. Unlike most depression treatments on the market, Auvelity is rapid-acting, which means it offers faster relief for patients. MDD is also known as clinical depression and is defined by persistent depressive symptoms.

LONDON/GENEVA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Governments may have to reserve drugs and vaccines for the World Health Organization to distribute in poorer countries to avoid a repeat of the "catastrophic failure" during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an early draft of a global pandemic agreement. The agreement, which is commonly known as the pandemic treaty, has been drawn up by WHO member states and will now go through a lengthy negotiating process before being finalised. Talks on the draft treaty will begin on Feb. 27 and are set to continue to 2024. However, there will be "heat and opposition" in the negotiations ahead, particularly around the intellectual property provisions, said James Love, director of the NGO Knowledge Ecology International. The draft also calls for a new WHO Global Pandemic Supply Chain and Logistics Network to ensure better and fairer distribution of counter-measures, as well as a global compensation scheme for vaccine injuries.

☆ Factbox: Countries mandate COVID tests for China travellers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

SWEDENSweden will require travellers from China to show they have tested negative for COVID before they can enter the country, the government said. FRANCEFrance will require travellers from China to provide a negative COVID test result less than 48 hours before departure. INDIAThe country has mandated a COVID-19 negative test report for travellers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. CANADAAir travellers to Canada from China must test negative for COVID-19 no more than two days before departure, Ottawa said. SPAINSpain will require a negative COVID-19 test or a full course of vaccination against the disease upon arrival for travellers from China.

☆ Countries ponder wider wastewater testing amid hope airports offer China COVID clues
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - An international meeting this week will discuss setting up a global system of wastewater monitoring for COVID-19, including at airports, after several countries said they would start tests on flights coming from China. Countries including the United States and Australia have moved to set up wastewater testing on flights and in airports amid a surge of cases in China. It is also becoming more important as routine testing has waned - the World Health Organization says testing for COVID-19 has declined by 90% in recent months. There are hopes that establishing a more formal wastewater surveillance network worldwide could provide information not only on COVID-19, but also on other emerging disease threats. However, there are technical and logistical challenges ahead, Gawlik said, including how to handle samples and how to interpret and use the information gathered.

South Korea on Tuesday hit back at claims that its Covid rules for Chinese travelers are "discriminatory," saying more than half of its imported cases are coming from China. Citing South Korea's proximity to China, Choi said a surge in infections in China could put South Korea at risk. But South Korea and Japan — two top destinations for Chinese travelers — said they are not increasing flights in response to China's border reopening. China's embassies in South Korea and Japan announced Tuesday that they would stop issuing visas to "Korean nationals" and "Japanese citizens." Choi said South Korea's new Covid travel restrictions are "only temporary" and were made to "place the highest priority on the health and safety of people residing in South Korea."

☆ WHO backs mask-wearing on long flights given rapid US spread of Omicron variant
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Countries should consider recommending passengers wear masks on long haul flights to counter the latest Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 given its rapid spread in the United States, World Health Organisation officials said on Tuesday. In Europe, the XBB.1.5 subvariant is being detected in small but growing numbers, WHO/Europe officials said in a press briefing. That did not mean the agency recommends the testing of passengers coming from the United States at this stage, she added. XBB.1.5 is yet another descendant of Omicron, the most contagious variant of the virus causing COVID-19 that is now globally dominant. It is an offshoot of XBB, first detected in October, which is itself a recombinant of two other Omicron sub-variants.

☆ British scientists plan to expand genomic sequencing from COVID to flu
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEXU Science Communication/via REUTERSLONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Genomic sequencing allowed the world to track new coronavirus variants throughout the pandemic. Now British researchers plan to use it to better understand a host of other respiratory pathogens, from influenza to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The work will begin later this year by using leftover material from swabs taken for COVID-19 diagnostic purposes, sequencing SARS-CoV-2, influenza, RSV and other common respiratory viruses in a combined process. While some of the viruses targeted typically cause mild, cold-like symptoms, others can cause serious illness, particularly in vulnerable populations. The five-year initiative aims to begin work from spring this year and is funded by Wellcome.

☆ XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant is the most transmissible version of Covid yet, WHO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant that's currently dominating the U.S. is the most contagious version of Covid-19 yet, but it doesn't appear to make people sicker, according to the World Health Organization. "It is the most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet," Van Kerkhove told reporters during a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday. It has been detected in 29 countries so far but it could be even more widespread, Van Kerkhove said. The WHO's advisory group that tracks Covid variants is conducting a risk assessment on XBB.1.5 that it will publish in the coming days, she said. "The more this virus circulates the more opportunities it will have to change," Van Kerkhove said.

☆ Most EU countries back COVID pre-departure testing for flights from China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Most European Union countries favour introducing pre-departure COVID testing for travellers from China, the European Commission said on Tuesday, as Beijing plans to lift travel restrictions on its citizens despite a wave of COVID infections. The common EU approach emerged after a meeting on Tuesday of the Health Security Committee, an EU advisory body of national health experts from the EU-s 27 countries and chaired by the Commission. "The overwhelming majority of countries are in favour of pre-departure testing," a Commission spokesman said. The spokesman said all EU countries agreed they needed a coordinated approach to the changing situation in China and to deal with implications of increased travel from China to Europe after China lifts its stringent pandemic polices on Jan 8th. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said last week it did not currently recommend measures on travellers from China.

☆ EU to discuss coordinated response to China COVID situation on Wed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Jan 2 (Reuters) - European Union government health officials will hold talks on Wednesday on a coordinated response to the surge in COVID-19 infections in China, the Swedish EU presidency said on Monday, after December talks concluded with no decisions on the matter. At a similar meeting on Dec. 29, held online among over 100 representatives from EU governments, EU health agencies and the World Health Organisation, Italy urged the rest of the EU to follow its lead and test travellers from China for COVID, with Beijing poised to lift travel restrictions on Jan. 8. "There is a scheduled Integrated Political Crisis Response meeting on Wednesday, January 4, for an update of the COVID-19 situation in China and to discuss possible EU measures to be taken in a coordinated way," a spokeswoman for the Swedish presidency of the EU said. Kyriakides said the bloc should be "very vigilant" as reliable epidemiological and testing data for China were scarce, advising EU health ministers to assess their current practices on genomic sequencing of the coronavirus "as an immediate step". The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said last week it did not currently recommend measures on travellers from China.

☆ Australia to require negative COVID tests for travellers from China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Australia said on Sunday that travellers from China will have to provide negative COVID-19 test results from Jan. 5, joining a growing number of nations that have implemented similar restrictions as cases surge in China. Citing a lack of epidemiological information and genomic sequencing data from China, Australian health minister Mark Butler said the government has decided out of an abundance of caution to require visitors to present a negative test taken within 48 hours of their departure. "I want to stress that the government welcomes the resumption of travel between Australia and China... I also want to stress that this is a temporary measure, reflecting the lack of comprehensive information right now about the situation in China," said Butler. read moreReporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Wuhan resident Xie Zhicong said he and everyone in his family, aside from his grandmother, had been infected. Xie, a 25-year-old salesman, said it was difficult to see a doctor when he went to a hospital for an examination last week. The hospital that Xie visited did not respond to requests for comment on his claims. People who have recovered, Xie said, are looking ahead to life after three years of “zero-Covid” restrictions. Though China is experiencing a massive outbreak much as it did at the start of the pandemic, once it’s over the virus won’t have many places left to go, Sridhar said.

☆ Risk of a dangerous new Covid variant in China is ‘quite low,’ U.S. health expert says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | Evelyn Cheng Is A Senior Correspondent With Cnbc. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, pointed out there were likely billions of omicron infections worldwide this year, but no new Covid variant has emerged, only subvariants of omicron. “That’s why I would put the risk as quite low that there is a dangerous new variant in China,” he said. The U.S., Japan and a few other countries this week subsequently announced new Covid testing requirements for travelers from China. China’s National Health Commission said Sunday it would stop releasing daily information on Covid infections and deaths. Covid testing is no longer mandatory in China.

☆ EU urges more checks for COVID variants given surge in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The commissioner's letter, dated Dec. 29, followed an online meeting of over 100 representatives from EU members, EU health agencies and the World Health Organisation to discuss how to deal with the outbreak in China. Italy has urged the rest of the European Union to follow its lead and test travellers from China, but most EU members have said they saw no need to do so. Kyriakides said some EU members had proposed measures such as the random testing of travellers. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says it does not currently recommend measures on travellers from China. It said the variants circulating in China were already in the European Union, EU citizens had relatively high vaccination levels and the potential imported infections were low compared to the number of daily infections in the EU, with health care systems currently coping.

The United States this week also expanded its voluntary genomic sequencing program at airports, adding Seattle and Los Angeles to the program. "Previous COVID-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," she wrote. French researchers reported in July that airplane wastewater tests showed requiring negative COVID tests before international flights does not protect countries from the spread of new variants. They found the Omicron variant in wastewater from two commercial airplanes that flew from Ethiopia to France in December 2021 even though passengers had been required to take COVID tests before boarding. Osterholm and others said mandatory testing before travel to the United States is unlikely to keep new variants out of the country.

☆ U.S. considers airline wastewater testing as Covid surges in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The United States this week also expanded its voluntary genomic sequencing program at airports, adding Seattle and Los Angeles to the program. "Previous Covid-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," she wrote. French researchers reported in July that airplane wastewater tests showed requiring negative Covid tests before international flights does not protect countries from the spread of new variants. They found the omicron variant in wastewater from two commercial airplanes that flew from Ethiopia to France in December 2021 even though passengers had been required to take Covid tests before boarding. Osterholm and others said mandatory testing before travel to the United States is unlikely to keep new variants out of the country.

☆ U.S. and global health officials are worried about lack of transparency from China on Covid outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a statement Wednesday, said the lack of transparency from China could delay the identification of new Covid variants that pose a threat to public health. The CDC on Wednesday announced new testing requirements for airline passengers whose trips originate in China. India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan have also imposed Covid test requirements on airline passengers originating in China. A U.S. federal health official, in a call with reporters on Wednesday, said the Biden administration has very limited information on the number of new Covid cases, hospitalizations and particularly deaths in China. The World Health Organization has also called on China to share more information about what's transpiring on the ground as the virus spread.

☆ Here's where Covid rules for visitors from China are changing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Vernon Yuen | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Some countries announced new Covid testing requirements for visitors from China after the mainland said it would finally relax border controls. Covid-19 infections surged this month in mainland China, but there is limited data available publicly. Those who test positive will need to quarantine at a designated facility, the ministry said. The new rules also apply to people who visited mainland China within the seven days prior to arrival in Japan, the health ministry said. The rules do not apply to flights from Hong Kong or Macao.

The officials said the Biden administration was considering steps similar to those already taken by Japan, which said Tuesday that all travelers from mainland China would be tested on arrival, and Malaysia, which has stepped up tracking and surveillance of travelers from China. Taiwan also said Wednesday that travelers from mainland China would have to take a PCR test on arrival, with those who test positive allowed to isolate at home. Last week, India said it would make virus testing mandatory for travelers arriving from China as well as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand. Any restrictions would be applied to all travelers coming from China, regardless of nationality, the U.S. officials said. Earlier this month, China abruptly eased its “zero-Covid” approach following mass protests, scrapping domestic rules and lifting quarantine requirements for those traveling to China.

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