So once again there is a new Covid-19 variant, B.1.1.529, that has been detected in Southern Africa, and it has been described as “heavily mutated.” The good news about this, if there is any, is that it was detected early and therefore may be easier to contain.
The bad news is we don’t know much about it yet, so the markets are reacting negatively. As I write this, the stocks app on my cellphone is all red as investors scurry for safety.
If the first wave of Covid represented a major earthquake with Wuhan, China as its epicenter, the subsequent emergence of dangerous variants are the aftershocks that remind us that the terror could return, that we are not necessarily free of this scourge yet.
The problem, from a global perspective, is only a tiny proportion of the populations of the poorer parts of the world are vaccinated, giving the virus plenty of hosts to continue mutating and adapting to the vaccines deployed against it.
I’ve long assumed that humans will win this war, ultimately, but like in the final stages of any war, the enemy can still achieve major victories and inflict major damage before VC Day. (Victory over Covid)
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FRIDAY’s HEADLINES:
Global authorities reacted with alarm to a new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, with the EU, Britain and India among those announcing stricter border controls as scientists sought to determine if the mutation was vaccine-resistant. Britain said the variant was of huge concern and was considered by scientists to be the most significant one yet found as it could make vaccines less effective. Global stocks tumbled and oil fell below $80 a barrel as the news sent investors scurrying to the safety of bonds, the yen and the Swiss franc. (Reuters)
How a shaky cellphone video changed the course of the Ahmaud Arbery murder case (WP)
How a Prosecutor Addressed a Mostly White Jury and Won a Conviction in the Arbery Case — Linda Dunikoski, a prosecutor brought in from the Atlanta area, struck a careful tone in a case that many saw as an obvious act of racial violence. (NYT)
Afghan Teachers Defy Taliban by Secretly Schooling Teenage Girls (WSJ)
Where Afghanistan’s New Taliban Leaders Went to School — Darul Uloom Haqqania in Pakistan argues that the madrasa and its graduates have changed. Some worry they could be the source of new radicalism. (NYT)
Netherlands plans 'heavy measures' to stop COVID-19 spread (Reuters)
Health agency warns Europe’s covid surge may be ‘window into the future’ for the Americas — The Pan American Health Organization said cases are up 23 percent over the past week in the Americas. (WP)
Portugal reimposes COVID-19 restrictions as cases rise (Reuters)
Native American tribes are gathering in Plymouth to mourn on Thanksgiving(NPR)
G.O.P. Cements Hold on Legislatures in Battleground States — Democrats were once able to count on wave elections to win back key statehouses. Republican gerrymandering is making that all but impossible. (NYT)
The Arctic Ocean began warming decades earlier than previously thought, new research shows (CNN)
Hackney man first to receive 3D-printed prosthetic eye (BBC)
Warning on tackling HIV as WHO finds rise in resistance to antiretroviral drugs (Guardian)
Asia is the global inflation exception (Financial Times)
What Slavery Looked Like in the West — Tens of thousands of Indigenous people labored in bondage across the western United States in the 1800s. (Atlantic)
Albatrosses, known for monogamy, may be pushed to ‘divorce’ because of climate change, study finds (WP)
EU regulator gives go-ahead to first COVID shot for 5-11 year olds (Reuters)
Saving History With Sandbags: Climate Change Threatens the Smithsonian
— Beneath the National Museum of American History, floodwaters are intruding into collection rooms, a consequence of a warming planet. A fix remains years away. (NYT)
A famously far-ranging gray wolf is found dead in Southern California (NPR)
Thanksgiving Conversation Devolves Into Just Stating Things Dog Is Currently Doing (The Onion)
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