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Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 517.3 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 6.25 million. More than 11.65 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has urged those purchasing COVID-19 vaccines to place orders with South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare.

The European Union's drug regulator says it hopes to approve COVID-19 variant-adapted vaccines by September.

Major US airlines, businesses and travel groups have urged the US government to abandon COVID-19 pre-departure testing requirements for vaccinated international passengers traveling to the US.

It comes as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended travelers continue to wear masks on airplanes, trains and in airports.

Colombia will offer a second COVID-19 vaccine booster shot to those aged 50 and over, the government announced last week.

Infection with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 can significantly improve the immune system's ability to protect against other variants, but only in people who have been vaccinated, South African researchers have found.

The first World Trade Organization meeting to discuss a draft agreement to temporarily waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines went "very well", its chair said on 6 May, although some members voiced reservations.

China is setting up thousands of permanent PCR testing stations, with 9,000 completed in Shanghai alone already.

Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries.

Image: Our World in Data

The COVID Response Alliance to Social Entrepreneurs - soon to continue its work as the Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship - was launched in April 2020 in response to the devastating effects of the pandemic. Co-founded by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship together with Ashoka, Echoing Green, GHR Foundation, Skoll Foundation, and Yunus Social Business.

The Alliance provides a trusted community for the worlds leading corporations, investors, governments, intermediaries, academics, and media who share a commitment to social entrepreneurship and innovation.

Since its inception, it has since grown to become the largest multi-stakeholder coalition in the social enterprise sector: its 90+ members collectively support over 100,000 social entrepreneurs across the world. These entrepreneurs, in turn, have a direct or indirect impact on the lives of an estimated 2 billion people.

Together, they work to (i) mobilize support for social entrepreneurs and their agendas; (ii) take action on urgent global agendas using the power of social entrepreneurship, and (iii) share insights from the sector so that social entrepreneurs can flourish and lead the way in shaping an inclusive, just and sustainable world.

The Alliance works closely together with member organizations Echoing Green and GHR Foundation, as well as the Centre for the New Economy and Society on the roll out of its 2022 roadmap (soon to be announced).

New WHO estimates suggest that the full death toll associated directly or indirectly with the COVID-19 pandemic (the "excess mortality") between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2021 was approximately 14.9 million.

These sobering data not only point to the impact of the pandemic but also to the need for all countries to invest in more resilient health systems that can sustain essential health services during crises, including stronger health information systems, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. WHO is committed to working with all countries to strengthen their health information systems to generate better data for better decisions and better outcomes."

Excess mortality is calculated as the difference between the number of deaths that have occurred and the number that would be expected in the absence of the pandemic based on data from earlier years.

COVID-19 cases in the Americas have continued to rise, notably in Central and North America, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on 4 May.

The Americas reported more than 616,000 new cases in the week beginning 25 April, while the death toll was down by less than 1% in the same comparison to 4,200, the organization said.

PAHO's director, Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, called for stronger measures to tackle the pandemic as cases and hospitalizations rise.

"COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising in far too many places, which should prompt us to strengthen our measures to combat the virus, including surveillance and preparedness," Etienne told a news conference.

"We must reach those who remain unvaccinated with the full COVID-19 vaccine primary series, and ensure access to boosters, especially to the most vulnerable," she added.

Written by

Joe Myers, Writer, Formative Content

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

See the original post:
COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic - World Economic Forum

Police in north-east Thailand have arrested a self-proclaimed holy man whose followers allegedly worshipped corpses and consumed bodily fluids as a cure for illness.

There were chaotic scenes as officers raided the thatched house of Thawee Nanra, 75, deep in the jungle of Chaiyaphum province on Sunday. Supporters shouted and jostled with police as he was led, shirtless and white-bearded, to a police vehicle.

Officers said they had found 11 corpses on the premises, which local media reported were believed to be bodies of his followers.

The provincial governor, Kraisorn Kongchalad, said Thawee had at least a dozen followers living with him. Coffins containing bodies were scattered around the house. Devotees reportedly told authorities that the leaders urine and phlegm were believed to cure diseases.

Kraisorn said he had been shocked to discover that such practices still went on in modern times.

Its quite disturbing to see that there are people who believe in such superstition, but this is not only about a personal belief any more. We have dead bodies, and we will have to work with all agencies to establish facts surrounding these individuals, he said.

Thailands population is overwhelming Buddhist, but many people hold beliefs outside the religion, some of which include the worship of local spirits and fear of ghosts.

The authorities believe the group had existed for more than four years without anyone noticing because of the remote location of the leaders house.

Their anonymity ended after a daughter of one of Thawees followers complained to a social media celebrity who specialises in exposing unscrupulous religious figures.

Thawee was initially charged with encroaching on a forest area his house was said to be on public land and holding illegal gatherings prohibited under disease control laws that have been used in the past two years to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Local media reported that he had been denied bail on Monday. Police say they are looking into other charges, including the unlawful disposal of bodies.

More:
Thai police arrest holy man said to be leader of corpse worshippers - The Guardian

While waving his shield metaphor over cost-of-living pressures, Scott Morrison road-tested another method of defence against the media that doubled as an attack.

You get to ask the questions, not say what the answer is, the Prime Minister responded to a press pack peppering him about his fate should Australia put a pack of so-called teal independents in the balance of power.

Scott Morrison said he could answer questions how he liked.Credit:James Brickwood

Morrison side-stepped actually providing an answer to the press in Perth on Friday morning, while simultaneously shaping up against his opponent, who stood in the relative safety of his inner-western Sydney seat of Grayndler, thousands of kilometres away.

The sledge against Anthony Albanese who this week stumbled again in the face of the medias persistent memory tests, and its perceived savagery from quarters of the community was to remind Australians they had a choice to make about who was in control.

When youre prime minister, you dont get an easy day in the office. Every single day is hard, Morrison said staring down the lens of a camera in a West Australian drone-making facility. If Anthony Albanese thinks the campaign is hard, Ive got news for him governments a lot harder.

He had ground to regain after being drowned out by a frustrated group of journalists in a western Sydney sweetshop the day before, after refusing to answer whether he would be campaigning in the seat of Wentworth, a question he ducked artfully throughout the week.

My mum lives in Wentworth, hed said wryly to queries to weed out whether he will be showing his face alongside Liberal moderate Dave Sharma, defending a paper-thin margin against independent Allegra Spender.

The question dogged Morrison throughout the week after the Coalitions broad church showed signs of being stretched too thin over climate action, a tension point manifesting in the Prime Ministers absence so far in certain under-threat metropolitan seats.

During the fourth week of the campaign Morrison visited Parramatta twice, then Corangamite, Dunkley, Chisholm, Boothby, then back to Parramatta, before jetting far west to the electorates of Cowan, Swan and Christian Porters relinquished seat of Pearce.

Read more from the original source:
You get to question, I get to answer: Morrison wants to remind Australia who is in control - Sydney Morning Herald

Writer and political activist Gloria Steinem has fought for women's rights for decades. Jose Luis Magana | AP

Gloria Steinem is in her late 80s now.

She has spent a lifetime fighting for women's rights including their right to control their own reproductive choices.

She had some thoughts when she read the leaked draft opinion, suggesting the Supreme Court may be about to overturn Roe v. Wade.

"It felt both new and angering and ancient," she says.

Gloria Steinem spoke with All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly, and here are highlights from their conversation.

The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

On her reaction to the leaked document that suggests the Supreme Court may be about to overturn Roe v. Wade

There have always been efforts to control women's birth-giving. I remember sitting in the Kalahari Desert, talking to women who were showing me the plants that they used for abortifacients and to increase fertility. This is not a new issue. And the very definition of patriarchy is trying to control women and birth-giving.

On how we got here and whether this was the direction she anticipated

I think it's important to connect the ancient to the new, because otherwise we don't understand the strong thread of patriarchy and racism that has been with us and continues to be to be with us.

This affects some states and not others, so it does not affect the whole country. It's completely wrong. As the great Florynce Kennedy used to say: "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament." But we have to contend with it, and we will.

On equality and the impact of potentially striking down Roe v. Wade

It's a huge impact, potentially, on women because we have to be able to make decisions about our own physical selves. It's a very differential impact on women, depending on what part of the country they're in, what their economic situation is, [and] their race, ethnicity. It affects all women, but not all women equally. But I do note in all the surveys that all women are devoted to making sure we maintain reproductive freedom.

On Justice Samuel Alito's draft opinion stating the Constitution makes no mention of abortion

His comment that this is not mentioned in the Constitution is ridiculous since women weren't mentioned in the Constitution. It's quite possible that reproductive freedom would have been up there with freedom of speech if everyone had an equal say. But medical needs should not be distributed geographically. They are way too distributed by class and economics as it is, because we don't have national healthcare as we should. And this makes it far worse for the female half of the population.

On whether her life's work is being stripped down

No, I don't feel my work or the work of all the women and men who care about racial and sex equality has been struck down. It's just that it has a roadblock that is, theoretically, coming from the highest court in the land, but actually will impose hardships unequally. But it will not change the basic fact that we either have decision-making power over our own bodies women and men or there is no democracy.

On whether other laws are threatened by a rollback of Roe v. Wade

The first thing it makes me think about is the racial balance in this country. Because it's also true that the first generation of babies, that is, majority babies of color has already been born. And clearly, we are going to become a majority people of color nation, which will make us more like the rest of the world. And I wonder how much of a part, consciously or unconsciously, racism plays in trying now to suddenly control reproduction. Only they can speak to this, I can't pass judgment on them. But it does seem mysterious that at this juncture when the nation is changing to majority people of color, this suddenly would be coming back.

On the next move for supporters of abortion rights

It's not that we should all make the same move, because some of us might go and support our local Planned Parenthood clinic or any place that supports abortions. However, each of us as an individual, we can wear buttons, we can carry banners. We each probably have a very fervent way of doing it. And I think, you know, it's very important that we state our opinion.

On whether she thought this fight would be ongoing in 2022

Yes, because of the fact that a) we still live in some degree of patriarchy; and b) that women have the unique power of giving birth means that there is likely to be this and other patriarchal efforts to control the bodies of women.

It is much different from my earlier days, when abortion was way more likely to be illegal and way more difficult to find. We have made a lot of progress. And we have made a lot of progress in contraception and the morning after pill and many ways of making sure that we don't need to have abortions. It's not a pleasurable experience. It's not an experience that any woman would choose unless she had to.

On her determination and belief in activists shaping discourse and changing laws

One thing I've learned over time, over and over again, is that politics and deep change and everything we're trying to do is like a tree. And too often we think the tree grows from the top, from Congress. Trees grow from the bottom. So what you and I do every day, what's possible in our community.

I mean, today, we could thank the physicians who are supporting and providing reproductive freedom. We can give money to the elected figures who are supporting this vast majority view. And we can just refuse to be intimidated by the protestations of a losing minority.

Read this article:
Gloria Steinem's calls to protect bodily autonomy live on as Roe faces reversal - Houston Public Media

Claims around Akhand Bharat on the World Wide Web suggest that some groups are keen to realise this idea within the next 10-15 years from now, while astrologers on the Web are more circumspect, asserting that Akhand Bharat might come about in the next 20-25 years.

The world wide web is strewn with materials claiming that the the idea of Akhand Bharat is as old as the civilisation spread over the modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Burma, Tibet, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. The idea gained momentum with the Hindu nationalists since 1924 and was promoted publicly from 1937. The idea was based on the ultimate vision of a perfectly organised State of Society wherein each individual was to be moulded into an ideal Hindu manhood .

The clamour for Akhand Bharat has recently been joined by the Hindu Mahasabha, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Shiv Sena, Hindu Sena, and Hindu Jana Jagriti Samiti speaking in tandem. The RSS Chief has in fact set a deadline to realise the idea within the next 15 years. Though the roadmap for accomplishing this objective has not been delineated publicly, the broad strategy has become quite explicit. The RSS chief is reported to have said that nobody can stop Indias march forward. Those trying to impede the countrys march forward will either move away or be removed from the scene, he has been quoted in the media as saying.

Geography: The pre-Partition map of India included present day Pakistan and Bangladesh as parts of British India and thus defines the broad borders of Akhand Bharat. The babble for Akhand Bharat, based on dharma (religion) linked to the Hindutva and Shuddhi invariably includes Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar as well. More often than not, the Akhand Bharat os said to comprise India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Some, in fact, go on to suggest that whole of South and South-East Asia, having been once integral to Pracheen Bharat, could be included in Akhand Bharat.

Although the Tibetan government in exile operates from India, Tibet has been declared as an autonomous region of China. Would China or the other countries being eyed be willing to cede territory based on good will? But who knows? Favourable constellations of stars, as astrologists are now predicting, may create conditions that become conducive for such a radical transformation.

Akhand Bharat may, thus, consist of at least nine independent sovereign nations i.e. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Contours of Akhand Bharat: Based on available data, Akhand Bharat shall cover an area of 7.13 million square kilometre and will have a population of 1.89 billion and a population density of 265 per Sq.Km. In economic terms, the nominal GDP of the unified entity would add up to US $ 4.166 Trillion with the per capita income of US $ 2,204.

The area of the unified entity would more than double from the present 3.29 million Sq.Km to 7.13 million Sq.Km. The population density, however, would decline from 415 to 265 person per Sq.Km.

Akhand Bharat shall have a population of 1.89 Billion as compared to 1.35 billion at the present (make allowance for an increase over the next 10-20 years). Economically speaking, the nominal GDP of Akhand Bharat would average US$ 4.138 Trillion as compared to Indias present US $ 3.250 Trillion. The per capita income would, however, decline from the present US$ 2,313 to US$ 2,204. Obviously, it may not make a good proposition.

Read more:
Akhand Bharat: 50 shades of grey - National Herald