Omicron: The latest update

• The WHO warned that “the overall global risk [of the variant]... is assessed as very high”—while Switzerland, Scotland and Portugal reported new cases of Omicron.
• Moderna is readying a new vaccine for the variant—which will be ready by 2022.  
• Chinese president Xi announced plans to ship one billion vaccines to Africa—above the 200 million doses China has already sent to the continent.
• Not exactly related to Omicron, but this is also a Covid horror story: Two bodies of people who died of Covid were found abandoned in a Bangalore mortuary—15 months after their death!

Secret EU-funded prisons for migrants

The New Yorker has published a shocking investigation that exposes secret prisons maintained by the so-called ‘Libyan Coast Guard’—which is not a government security force but patrols manned by local militias. And here’s the really shameful bit: It is funded by the European Union in an attempt to keep out desperate migrants. The key revelation is this:

“In the past six years, the European Union, weary of the financial and political costs of receiving migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, has created a shadow immigration system that stops them before they reach Europe. It has equipped and trained the Libyan Coast Guard, a quasi-military organization linked to militias in the country, to patrol the Mediterranean, sabotaging humanitarian rescue operations and capturing migrants. The migrants are then detained indefinitely in a network of profit-making prisons run by the militias. In September of this year, around six thousand migrants were being held, many of them in Al Mabani. International aid agencies have documented an array of abuses: detainees tortured with electric shocks, children raped by guards, families extorted for ransom, men and women sold into forced labor.”

We highly recommend reading the New Yorker story.

The Amazon-Future Group war: The latest update

The background: If you don’t know why these two companies are fighting, we recommend checking out our explainer. In sum: Amazon owns a stake in one of the Future Group companies—and insists that Future’s sale of its retail assets to Reliance violates that agreement. The two companies have been filing lawsuits and complaints against one another—here in India and with an arbitration tribunal in Singapore. 

The latest twist: The Enforcement Directorate has summoned both companies as part of its investigation into Amazon’s investment in Future Coupons—to see if it violates Indian laws on foreign investment. Why any of this matters: Everyone is waiting to see if the government will wade in on the side of ‘swadeshi’ Future (and Reliance) against Amazon. Reuters has the latest.

Meanwhile, Amazon: has joined hands with the most unlikely allies—15,000 small businesses who traditionally oppose the global giant—to lobby for canceling the deal with Reliance. (Mint)

Meanwhile, Reliance: has unveiled a new ‘tap and chat’ feature that allows users to order groceries on WhatsApp—confirming the worst fears of those small businesses. (Economic Times) 

Mindblowing stats on pregnant women

In the United States, pregnant women are more than twice as likely to be murdered during pregnancy—or within 42 days after giving birth—than to die from any other cause for maternal mortality. Also: pregnant women are 16% more likely to be killed than women the same age who are not pregnant. One likely reason for this increased risk: domestic violence:

“A general explanation for the higher homicide risk that pregnant people face at this time is that their relationships face heightened stress, which might exacerbate an already dangerous situation. ‘Nobody who works in intimate partner violence will be surprised by this finding,’ said Penn State’s Penelope Morrison.”

BuzzFeed News has more. Read the original study here.

Equally shocking Indian stats: A new survey shows that less than one in ten Indian men use condoms—and female sterilization is the most common form of contraception. Nearly four in 10 or 37.9% of women have opted for it. (The Hindu)

Welcome to Metaverse Seoul

The city’s plans to become the first municipal government with a full-service virtual world—and plans to inaugurate it on New Year’s Eve:

“In ‘Metaverse Seoul,’ according to plans, residents would be able to make reservations for city-run facilities, ride city tour buses, visit re-creations of destroyed historical sites, file administrative complaints with city bureaucrats and more. Residents would also be able to visit cultural heritage sites throughout the city by accessing the metaverse on their cellphones.”

Washington Post has more details. Also interesting: This Reuters video report on why young Koreans are rushing into metaverses to escape income inequality and soaring prices.

Barbados is ditching the Queen

The Caribbean nation is finally severing its ties with the British monarchy this week—and will declare itself a republic. Despite achieving independence in 1966, Barbados maintained the monarch as its titular head. Now, its governor general Sandra Mason will be sworn in as the first-ever president—and who says: “[T]he time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind.” Barbados is the first country in nearly three decades to cancel the Queen. (CNN)

The champion of dog shows

A four-year-old Scottish Deerhound named Claire won the top prize at the US National Dog Show—two years in a row! A feat that has not been achieved in twenty years. Mashable has more details and, more importantly, adorable photos.

Speaking of dogs: A leading pet food firm MARS Petcare has launched a new app for dog owners in Bangalore. ForPAWS uses facial recognition to locate missing pets, and here’s how it works: 

“If you’re a dog parent, you must first download the app, then create an account by adding the following details—name, email, and a picture of your pet... Parents can mark the status of their dog as ‘safe’ or ‘lost’. If lost, they can create a notice for the lost dog that can be circulated through the app with others.”

The software then uses the social network plus AI learning to try and locate the dog. It has already worked in at least one case. (The Print)

Two things to see 

One: Imagine you own the original work of a great artist—and he tries to buy it off you. And when you refuse, he says: “In that case, you will never sell it.” That’s what happened to the person who bought the ‘Standing Male Nude’ by Lucian Freud—who denied ever painting it, as did his estate. Twenty five years later, three independent studies have concluded Freud was, well, lying. One reason why: It is likely a self-portrait—and dates back to a time when he had a gay affair in his early years with fellow artist Francis Bacon. (The Guardian)

Two: Archeologists have uncovered a strange-looking mummy of a young Peruvian man that is anywhere between 800-1,200 years old—and predates the Incan empire. He is tied with ropes in a foetal position, with hands covering the face in keeping with ancient funeral custom. See the mummy in the Reuters report below.