Hackers replaced Russian TV schedules during Putin's 'Victory Day' parade with an anti-war message saying the blood of Ukrainians is on Russians' hands

Mia Jankowicz
Mon, May 9, 2022,

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday during Victory Day 

celebrations in Moscow's Red Square.

Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP Photo

Russian smart-TV schedules were hacked on Monday with an anti-war message, the BBC reported.

The message highlighted Russian aggression against Ukraine, countering Kremlin propaganda.

The hack came the day Putin spoke at his country's Victory Day military celebrations.

Russian television schedules were hacked to display an anti-war message as the country celebrated a national military festival on Monday, BBC Monitoring reported.

On-screen program descriptions were replaced with the hackers' text when viewed on smart TVs, the outlet reported.

According to the BBC's translation, the message read: "On your hands is the blood of thousands of Ukrainians and their hundreds of murdered children. TV and the authorities are lying. No to war."

Major channels such as Russia-1, Channel One, and NTV-Plus were changed, the BBC reported.

Francis Scarr of BBC Monitoring — the branch of the BBC that follows mass media worldwide — tweeted a short video of a screen showing the TV schedules, on which every program showed the same description.

The hack came during Russia's Victory Day celebrations, a national holiday and military parade overseen by President Vladimir Putin, which was being televised in Russia. The annual event celebrates the Soviet Union's victory alongside Allied forces over Nazi Germany in 1945.

International observers previously speculated that Putin would use the event to further propagandize or toughen his stance around his invasion of Ukraine. But his Monday speech ended without the expected declaration of mass mobilization or war against Ukraine.

Putin's justification at the outset of the February 24 invasion was that he was launching a "special operation" to "denazify" the country. His aggression is viewed by NATO and other Western countries as a war.

But under a near blackout of independent media and social-media platforms, most Russian viewers can access only Kremlin-controlled messaging about the conflict, Insider's Connor Perrett reported.

The message in Monday's hack runs deeply counter to Putin's claims that his forces are in Ukraine to "liberate" Russian-speaking Ukrainians.

It is unclear who was behind the alteration of the schedules on Monday, but the hacker group Anonymous retweeted Scarr's tweet with the message "Good morning Moscow" within hours of the hack.

In early March, Anonymous claimed responsibility in a tweet for the hacking of several state-controlled TV channels, whose programming was replaced with footage from independent networks, Radio Free Europe reported.

ABOLISH THE PRAYER 

MPs debate Bloc motion to scrap reading of daily prayer before House of Commons sits

YOU CANNOT PETITION THE LORD WITH PRAYER

Tue, May 10, 2022

MPs debate Bloc motion to scrap reading of daily prayer before House of Commons sits

MPs are today debating a motion calling for an immediate end to the prayer reading that begins each sitting day in the House of Commons.

Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux sponsored the binding motion in the House. A vote on the motion will be held Wednesday, said a spokesperson for the government House leader's office.

The motion, if it passes, would replace the prayer with a moment of reflection before the start of each day's business. Other parties in the House have opposed the motion in debate, saying there are more pressing issues facing MPs.

The motion says that the prayer should be scrapped because the House "respects the beliefs and non-beliefs of all parliamentarians and of the general public and it is committed to the principle of the separation of religion and the state, the diversity of views and freedom of conscience while upholding the secularism and religious neutrality of the state and out of a desire for inclusiveness."

The Speaker of the House of Commons reads the prayer every morning before the cameras in the chamber have been turned on, and before members of the public and media are allowed inside.

Parliament's website says that the Speaker, MPs and table officers must stand during the prayer, which is followed by a moment of silence.

Though usually a closed-door affair, the prayer was televised on Oct. 23, 2014 — the day after the shooting at the National War Memorial and inside Parliament's Centre Block.

The prayer reads:

"Almighty God, we give thanks for the great blessings which have been bestowed on Canada and its citizens, including the gifts of freedom, opportunity and peace that we enjoy. We pray for our sovereign, Queen Elizabeth, and the Governor General. Guide us in our deliberations as members of Parliament, and strengthen us in our awareness of our duties and responsibilities as members. Grant us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to preserve the blessings of this country for the benefit of all and to make good laws and wise decisions. Amen.

The prayer has been part of the daily House proceedings since 1877 and was codified in standing orders in 1927.

In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a municipal council in the Quebec town of Saguenay could not continue to open its meetings with a prayer. The unanimous decision said reciting a Catholic prayer at council meetings infringed on freedom of conscience and religion.

Following the decision, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson replaced the prayer at the beginning of city council meetings with a moment of reflection. Parliament is protected by parliamentary privilege and is able to set its own rules.

MPs have more pressing matters to think about: Holland

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seemed cool to the idea as he went into a cabinet meeting in Ottawa on Tuesday morning.

"As I've spoken with Quebecers and people across the country, they're focused on mobility, they're focused on housing, they're focused on the war in Ukraine," Trudeau said. "That's what we're going to stay focused on and that's what, frankly, most of the conversations in the House are all about."

Government House leader Mark Holland said the House of Commons has a debate every June about the standing orders in the House and that would have been a better time for the Bloc to have raised the issue.

"I think it's strange that the Bloc would choose one of their three opposition days — they only get three a year — to deal with this when we already have a day set aside to deal with standing orders," he said.

Holland said the House should be dealing with more pressing issues, such as the pandemic, housing and the war in Ukraine.


New Democrat MP Daniel Blaikie told reporters an opposition day motion that provides just 24 hours' notice isn't the best way to "foster the right dialogue" about ending the prayer, which he said should be broader in scope.

"I know New Democrats have often felt, if we're going to talk about changing the opening ceremony for Parliament, that we ought to have a land acknowledgement as part of that opening ceremony," he said.

Blaikie said that while the motion is a worthwhile effort, there other ways to have that discussion.

"They've proposed one, they've proposed it with very little short notice and not a lot of consultation in advance, and I do question, personally, whether that's the right way to go about it," he said.

NDP caucus chair Jenny Kwan said her caucus would discuss the motion and she did not want to prejudice their decision by suggesting how they might vote.

Conservatives say prayer not a pressing issue

Conservative MP Cathy Wagantall told the House earlier today that while she appreciates the opportunity to discuss vital issues that spark disagreement among MPs, the prayer isn't one of them.

"To me and my constituents, it is offensive that the Bloc does not enter the House until after the national anthem ... is sung, because they openly indicate that their purpose is to separate from Canada," she said. "And yet, I and all members respect the reality that this is their choice in this place."

Gérard Deltell, the Conservative MP representing Louis-Saint-Laurent in Quebec, told the House that the job of MPs is to address critical issues facing Canadians.

"Maybe I'm wrong, but I think in my riding people are more concerned about inflation, about housing, about affordability. Those are issues that are very concerning to all Canadians," he said.

"I'm not quite sure that the prayer that we have to say here in the House of Commons off-camera is very important for our people that we represent."

CONSERVATIVE TOADY COURT
Alberta court rules Canada's environmental impact law is unconstitutional

Canadian Natural Resources Limited's Primrose Lake oil sands project is seen near Cold Lake, Alberta

Nia Williams
Tue, May 10, 2022

(Reuters) - Alberta's highest court ruled on Tuesday that a Canadian law assessing how major infrastructure projects like pipelines impact the environment is unconstitutional because it interferes with the power of the provinces.

The Alberta Court of Appeal said the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), passed in 2019, was a "classic example of legislative creep" and intrudes on provincial jurisdiction.

The decision is a win for Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and his United Conservative Party government, which brought the legal challenge against the act.

However, the federal government plans to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court of Canada.

"Our view is the legislation is constitutional and we will be appealing," Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told reporters.

Kristen van de Biezenbos, associate professor of law at the University of Calgary, said she expected the Supreme Court to reverse the Alberta Court of Appeal's decision, much like it upheld the legality of the federal carbon-pricing act last year.

"There's nothing different enough about what's in this law to justify finding it unconstitutional," she said.

The IAA, formerly known as Bill C-69, was passed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Government in a bid to streamline and restore trust in the environmental approval process for major projects.

But it stirred fierce opposition in Canada's main crude-producing province Alberta, where critics said it would deter investment by giving the federal government too much power to kill projects.

Kenney, who has long argued that Alberta is treated unfairly by Ottawa, welcomed the court decision on Twitter.

"An historic victory, and central part of our strategy to fight for a fair deal!" he wrote.

(Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

'Rich also cry': Russia's sanctioned oligarchs lose luxuries

The 'Amadea' superyacht was seized in Fiji at the request of the United States (AFP/-)

Anna MALPAS
Tue, May 10, 2022,

From superyachts and mansions to private jets and works of art, mega-rich Russians are being deprived of their expensive playthings, under swingeing sanctions that implicate them in Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.

The seizing and freezing of assets is proving the toughest trial yet for the Kremlin-favoured "oligarchs", many of whom got rich on the back of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In Britain, more than 100 oligarchs and their families have been slapped with restrictions. The United States has sanctioned 140 and the European Union more than 30.

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said the move was designed to hit them where it hurts -- denying them "access to their luxury toys".

The British capital has for years been dubbed "Londongrad" after becoming a haven for Russians to keep their money, educate their children and pursue litigation.

"The welcome mat is now being taken away from Russian oligarchs," The Economist wrote.

Even the high-profile Roman Abramovich has been targeted, forcing him to put Chelsea Football Club, which he bought in 2003, up for sale.

But acting against so many in a highly globalised major economy is "totally uncharted territory", said researcher Alex Nice, from the Institute for Government think-tank.

Whenever the war ends, a deep rift between the West and Russia will remain, even if the assets are just frozen, rather than expropriated, he added.

"There doesn't seem to be any prospect that these sanctions will be lifted any time soon," said Nice.

In Moscow, the independent Russian political analyst Konstantin Kalachev said Putin's "special operation" in Ukraine could last "for years" -- and even be widened to fulfil his dream of recreating the Russian empire.

If the decision is down to Ukraine, "they will never lift them (sanctions)", he told AFP.

- Avalanche -

There's no question that the sanctions have hit home.

Forbes magazine last month removed 34 Russians from its annual billionaire list citing the "avalanche of sanctions".

"The war is an absolute disaster for them," said Elisabeth Schimpfoessl, a lecturer in sociology at Aston University in Birmingham, central England, and author of a book called "Rich Russians".

Petr Aven, known for his extensive collection of Russian art, told The Financial Times newspaper he was unsure if he was "allowed to have a cleaner or a driver" and faced expulsion from the UK.

His long-term business partner, Mikhail Fridman, told Bloomberg news agency he was "in shock" and also struggling to pay a cleaner.

Many oligarchs have multiple citizenships and are not rushing back to Russia.

The West has been a "base that they can go to at any moment when they fear prosecution in Russia", said Schimpfoessl.

"Oligarchs never bothered developing Russia's rule of law."

- Soap opera -

The scale of assets targeted is staggering.

The UK government estimates that Abramovich alone is worth over £9 billion ($11 billion, 10.5 billion euros).

It has also targeted two of his associates worth up to £10 billion.

Abramovich is rumoured to own half a dozen luxury superyachts, two of which docked in Turkey in March, thereby avoiding sanctions.

EU members have reported freezing nearly $30 billion in Russian assets, including almost $7 billion in yachts, helicopters, property and works of art.

Washington has said it has sanctioned or blocked boats and aircraft worth over $1 billion.

US President Joe Biden has proposed permanent sanctions, saying oligarchs should not be allowed to enjoy luxuries while Ukrainian children die.

In Fiji last week, police seized a 348-foot (106-metre) yacht called "Amadea" worth some $300 million and linked to Suleiman Kerimov, a reticent billionaire senator, on Washington's request.

Images of impounded yachts and shuttered mansions of Putin cronies prompt Schadenfreude in Russia, too.

"Ordinary Russians like to see 'the rich also cry'," said Kalachev, citing a Mexican soap opera Russians watched in the early 1990s.

What is not clear is whether sanctions affect Moscow's decisions.

They cannot influence Putin, because he meets such business figures "only to tell them things -- it's not a dialogue", argued Kalachev.

"The record of using economic coercion to try to force change in foreign policy is not a good one," said Nice.

But sanctions "are undoubtedly going to weaken Russia's capacity to fight", he added.

- Opposition -

Abramovich has been involved in talks aimed at ending the war, with consent of both sides. Other oligarchs have criticised the conflict.

On Instagram the UK-sanctioned entrepreneur and banker Oleg Tinkov slammed "this crazy war" and Russia's "shitty army".

Fridman urged an end to the bloodshed and Oleg Deripaska, sanctioned by the UK, the EU and the US, said continuing fighting was "madness".

But experts questioned the likelihood of them allying against Putin.

"It's hard to see that happening," said Nice.

"It would not be in their interests ever to speak out against Putin prematurely," said Schimpfoessl.

am/phz/gil

CENSORSHIP AT NYT

NY Times Wordle solution 'fetus' causes kerfuffle


The initial 'Wordle' solution for May 9, 2022 was 'fetus' before being removed (AFP/Michael Draper) (Michael Draper)

Mon, May 9, 2022

The New York Times, owner of the hit game Wordle, hastily changed the solution Monday from "fetus," a term recently catapulted into the news as US abortion rights face possible restrictions by the Supreme Court.

Some of the game's millions of players "may see an outdated answer that seems closely connected to a major recent news event," the editorial director of the paper's game section, Everdeen Mason, said in a statement.

Without mentioning the actual word, she said the choice was "entirely unintentional and a coincidence -- today's original answer was loaded into Wordle last year."

That, of course, was long before a leaked Supreme Court draft decision last week revealed that if adopted, the majority of justices would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision which enshrined a woman's right to an abortion nationwide.

Wordle, a daily game which consists of guessing one five-letter word in just six tries, was bought by the Times in January after it skyrocketed in worldwide popularity.

"We take our role seriously as a place to entertain and escape, and we want Wordle to remain distinct from the news," Mason said.

"When we discovered last week that this particular word would be featured today, we switched it for as many solvers as possible," although it was too late to change it for all.

Already in February, the paper announced that it had scrubbed Wordle of many obscure as well as "insensitive or offensive words."

On social media, some users shared the day's two solutions, mocking the center-left paper for being overly delicate.

The NYT editorial board last week took a formal stand in favor of the right to abortion, with an op-ed titled "America Is Not Ready for the End of Roe v. Wade."

arb/bfm/mlm

Pulitzer Prizes Announced: Special Citation Goes To Journalists Of Ukraine; Washington Post Wins For January 6 Attack Coverage


Ted Johnson
Mon, May 9, 2022,


UPDATED: Journalists from Ukraine were recognized with a 2022 Pulitzer Prize special citation, while jurors of journalism’s top honors also recognized coverage of the January 6th attacks on the Capitol, the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Surfside condominium collapse in Florida.

The Washington Post won a public service award for The Attack, its in-depth look at the siege of the Capitol, which the jurors said was “a thorough and unflinching understanding of one of the nation’s darkest days.”

The New York Times won three prizes in national reporting, international reporting and criticism. Marcus Yam, photographer at the Los Angeles Times, won for breaking news photography of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. There were actually two winners in the breaking news photography category, as photographers from Getty Images also won for their photos of the attack on the Capitol.

The Miami Herald was recognized in the breaking news reporting category for coverage of the Champlain Towers South building collapse, as jurors said that the stories merged “clear and compassionate writing with comprehensive news and accountability reporting.” The Tampa Bay Times won for investigative reporting on the toxic hazards in a battery recycling plant.

Jennifer Senior of The Atlantic won for feature writing for her cover story on a family’s grappling with loss in the 20 years since 9/11.

Reuters photographer Danish Siddiqui was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer along with Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, and Amit Dave for their images of Covid’s toll on India. Siddiqui was killed last year while covering a clash between Afghan special forces and Taliban insurgents.

The special citation to Ukrainian journalists was given “for their courage, endurance and commitment to truthful reporting during Vladimir Putin’s ruthless invasion of their country and his propaganda war in Russia.”

Other recognitions of note: The Los Angeles Times’ coverage of the deadly shooting on the set of the movie Rust was a finalist in the breaking news category. NBC News’ Mike Hixenbaugh, Antonia Hylton, Reid Cherlin, Julie Shapiro and Frannie Kelley were finalists in the audio reporting category for Southlake, an account of an anti-critical race theory movement in a Texas community.

The complete journalism winners below:

Public service: The Washington Post

Breaking news reporting: Staff of the Miami Herald

Investigative reporting: Corey G. Johnson, Rebecca Woolington and Eli Murray of the Tampa Bay Times

Explanatory reporting: Staff of Quanta Magazine, notably Natalie Wolchover

Local reporting: Madison Hopkins of the Better Government Association and Cecila Reyes of the Chicago Tribune

National reporting: Staff of The New York Times

International reporting: Staff of The New York Times

Feature writing: Jennifer Senior of The Atlantic

Commentary: Melinda Henneberger of The Kansas City Star

Criticism: Salamishah Tillet, contributing critic at large, The New York Times

Editorial writing: Lisa Falkenberg, Michael Lindenberger, Joe Holley and Luis Carrasco, the Houston Chronicle

Illustrated reporting and commentary: Fahmida Azim, Anthony Del Col, Josh Adams and Walt Hickey, Insider

Breaking news photography: Marcus Yam, the Los Angeles Times; Win McNamee, Drew Angerer, Spencer Platt, Samuel Corum, Jon Cherry, Getty Images

Feature photography: Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, Amit Dave and Danish Siddiqui, Reuters

Audio reporting: Staffs of Futuro Media and PRX

More from Deadline
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Joe Kahn Named Next Executive Editor Of The New York Times

Three decades after Pablo Escobar's death, drugs ravage Medellin

In 2013, some 3.5 percent of Colombians said they had ever taken an illegal substance. Six years later, the number had nearly tripled


May 10, 2022 - AFP

'Basuco,' derived from the coca leaf also used to make cocaine,
is the cheapest illegal drug available in Colombia

Three decades after cartel boss Pablo Escobar was shot dead by police on a rooftop in Medellin, the very city he had sought to uplift with drug money is being ravaged by it.

Junkies frequent hundreds of sales points dotted around Colombia's second city, which has become the epicenter of the domestic drug trade.

Basuco is derived from the coca leaf also used to make cocaine, and mixed with other low-grade substances.

"I am a bit nervous," he confessed.

Four brief months later, all his worldly belongings fit into a worn briefcase, and he often sleeps rough. 

Researchers estimate the figure is now closer to 800.

In 2013, some 3.5 percent of Colombians said they had ever taken an illegal substance, according to the state statistics agency.

With aid from the United States, leader in the global "war on drugs", a Colombian crackdown since the early 2000s has forced traffickers to look homeward.

Domestic clients, however, are not getting the best of what the world's largest cocaine exporter has to offer.

With 2.2 million inhabitants, Medellin is today the city with the highest drug consumption -- 15.5 percent -- in Colombia.

But authorities say the increase in domestic drug use has gone hand-in-hand with rising insecurity.

Official data does not distinguish between gangster and civilian deaths.

In Medellin, the numbers reveal a paradox.

According to Luis Fernando Quijano of social development NGO Corpades, this was more telling of a "mafia peace" than of any real progress.

"When seizures are made... it is often not the product of (police) intelligence," Quijano added. "They are delivered (by the narcos) to create the image that... the security strategy is working."

"As long as there are consumers... criminals will see a business opportunity," he said.

In 2018, then Medellin mayor Federico Gutierrez accompanied nearly 1,000 police who bulldozed the city's main drug market, known as "The Bronx."

His leftist rival Gustavo Petro wants to address drug use as a public health problem.

But many quickly return, including The Bronx.

Others offer "tusibi" -- calling it "tusi" for short or sometimes "pink cocaine" -- the latest party drug based on Ketamine mixed with substances such as ecstasy and mescaline, a psychedelic derived from a cactus.

Addict Julian, his discolored skin stretching over the pronounced cheekbones of his emaciated face, told AFP he needed to inject himself four times a day.

The transaction takes mere seconds. 

But no longer.

COMMODITY FETISH
Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe fetches record $195 mn: Christie's


US artist Andy Warhol's 1964 portrait "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" is sold at auction for a record USD$195M


Andréa BAMBINO
Mon, May 9, 2022, 

An iconic portrait of Marilyn Monroe by American pop art visionary Andy Warhol went under the hammer for $195 million Monday at Christie's, becoming the most expensive 20th century artwork ever sold at public auction.

"Shot Sage Blue Marilyn," produced in 1964 two years after the death of the glamourous Hollywood star, sold for exactly $195.04 million, including fees, in just four minutes in a crowded room at Christie's headquarters in Manhattan.

Dozens of Christie associates were in the room clutching their phones as they took orders from potential buyers. The auction house owned by French magnate Francois Pinault said in a brief press conference that the winning bid for the "Marilyn" was made from within the room.

Prior to the sale, the portrait was estimated to go for about $200 million, according to Christie's.
-
While falling just short of that threshold, it nevertheless beat the previous record for a 20th century work, Pablo Picasso's "Women of Algiers," which brought $179.4 million in 2015.

The all-time record for any work of art from any period sold at auction is held by Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi," which sold in November, 2017 for $450.3 million.

Warhol's silk-screen work is part of a group of his portraits of Monroe that became known as the "Shot" series after a visitor to his Manhattan studio, known as "The Factory," apparently fired a gun at them.

In a statement, Christie's described the 40-inch (100-centimeter) by 40-inch portrait as "one of the rarest and most transcendent images in existence."

Alex Rotter, head of 20th and 21st century art at Christie's, called the portrait "the most significant 20th century painting to come to auction in a generation."

"Andy Warhol's Marilyn is the absolute pinnacle of American Pop and the promise of the American Dream encapsulating optimism, fragility, celebrity and iconography all at once," he said in a statement.

Warhol began creating silkscreens of Monroe following the actress's death from a drug overdose aged just 36 in August 1962.

The pop artist produced five portraits of Monroe, all equal in size with different colored backgrounds, in 1964.

According to pop-art folklore, four of them gained notoriety after a female performance artist by the name of Dorothy Podber asked Warhol if she could shoot a stack of the portraits.

Warhol said yes, thinking she meant she would photograph the works. Instead, Podber took out a gun and fired a bullet through the forehead of Monroe's image.

The story goes that the bullet pierced four of the five canvasses, with Warhol barring Podber from The Factory and later repairing the paintings -- the "Shot" series.

The "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" portrait portrays her with a pink face, red lips, yellow hair and blue eye shadow set against a sage-blue backdrop.

It was based on a promotional photograph of her for the 1953 movie "Niagara," directed by Henry Hathaway.

- Charity -

At an unveiling at Christie's headquarters, Rotter said the portrait stood alongside Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus", Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" as "categorically one of the greatest paintings of all time."

Only 14 paintings have sold for more than $100 million at auction, according to an AFP tally, although others are expected to have changed hands for as much during private sales.

The auction record for a Warhol is the $104.5 million paid for "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)" in 2013.

In 1998, Sotheby's sold the orange shot Marilyn for $17 million.

Monday's blockbuster sale headlines a spring sales week, on behalf of the Zurich-based Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation.

All proceeds of the sale will benefit the foundation, which works to improve the lives of children around the world.

arb/mlm/dw

‘We haven’t seen worst of the Covid pandemic yet,’ warns Bill Gates

Bill Gates has called for an expert group to be established to spot and prevent future pandemics. 

Photo: Jamie McCarthy

Joe Middleton
May 02 2022

Bill Gates has warned that we might not have seen the worst of the Covid pandemic and that a more deadly variant of the virus could emerge.

The Microsoft billionaire said he did not want to be “all doom and gloom” but there was at least a “5pc risk” that the pandemic could get worse and urged world leaders to spend more to increase preparedness for health threats.

Mr Gates has long warned of the global threats posed by viruses.

He previously gave a talk in 2015 claiming the world was “not ready for the next epidemic” and that viruses, not war, pose the greatest risk of “global catastrophe”.

The philanthropist told the Financial Times: “We’re still at risk of this pandemic generating a variant that would be even more transmissive and even more fatal.

“It’s not likely, I don’t want to be a voice of doom and gloom, but it’s way above a 5pc risk that this pandemic, we haven’t even seen the worst of it.”

The philanthropist also called for a team of experts, costing around $1bn, that would be managed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to spot and prevent future pandemics.

He said: “The amount of money involved is very small compared to the benefit and it will be a test: can global institutions take on new responsibilities in an excellent way, even in a time period where US-China [relations are] tough, US-Russia is extremely tough?”

It comes as the WHO’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urg­ed countries to maintain surveillance of coronavirus infections, saying the world was “blind” to how the virus was spreading because of falling testing rates.

“As many countries reduce testing, WHO is receiving less and less information about transmission and sequencing,” he told a news conference at the UN agency’s headquarters in Geneva.

“This makes us increasingly blind to patterns of transmission and evolution.”

Bill Rodriguez, chief executive of FIND, a global aid group working with WHO on expanding access to testing, said “testing rates have plummeted by 70 to 90pc”.

“We have an unprecedented ability to know what is happening. And yet today, because testing has been the first casualty of a global decision to let down our guard, we are becoming blind to what is happening with this virus,” he added.

In other developments, an analysis of data from 50 studies has shown that almost half of the people recovering from coronavirus are still experiencing post-Covid conditions. (©Independent News Service)

WHO says China's zero-COVID strategy unsustainable

Image of the ultrastructural morphology exhibited by the 2019 Novel Coronavirus

 (2019-nCoV). Credit: CDC

China's flagship zero-COVID strategy to defeat the pandemic is unsustainable, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, adding that it had told Beijing so and called for a policy shift.

China has imposed draconian measures, trapping most of Shadnghai's 25 million people at home for weeks as the country combats its worst outbreak since the pandemic began.

The Shanghai lockdown has caused outrage and rare protest in the last major economy still glued to a zero-COVID policy, while movement in the capital Beijing has been slowly restricted.

"When we talk about the zero-COVID strategy, we don't think that it's sustainable, considering the behaviour of the virus now and what we anticipate in the future," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.

"We have discussed about this issue with Chinese experts and we indicated that the approach will not be sustainable.

"Transiting into another strategy will be very important."

There is a pressing political dynamic to China's virus response, with President Xi Jinping pegging the legitimacy of his leadership on protecting Chinese lives from COVID.

Xi has doubled down on the zero-COVID approach, despite mounting public frustration.
—Rights, society and economy—

Shanghai is China's economic dynamo and its biggest city. The zero-COVID policy has winded an economy which just months ago had been bouncing back from the pandemic.

"We need to balance the control measures against the impact they have on society, the impact they have on the economy, and that's not always an easy calibration," said WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan.

He said any measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic should show "due respect to individual and human rights".

Calling for "dynamic, adjustable and agile policies", Ryan said early responses to the crisis in many countries showed that a lack of adaptability "resulted in a lot of harm".

He reflected on how the world's most populous nation had had relatively very few deaths officially ascribed to COVID, and therefore had "something to protect".

Given the rapid rise in deaths since February-March, "any government in that situation will take action to try and combat that", he told reporters.

Tedros has been discussing adjusting according to the circumstances to find an exit strategy, "in depth and in detail with Chinese colleagues", Ryan said.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, said that worldwide, it was impossible to stop all transmission of the virus.

"Our goal, at a global level, is not to find all cases and stop all transmissions. It's really not possible at this present time," she said.

"But what we need to do is drive transmission down because the virus is circulating at such an intense level."Testing cuts leave world 'increasingly blind' to COVID spread: WHO

© 2022 AFP