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W.H.O: COVID variants will now be renamed to avoid “stigmatizing”

Published

3 years ago

June 1, 2021

ticker NEWS

The World Health Organization has said it will rename COVID-19 variants to avoid stigmatization of countries where new strains of the virus are first reported.

The new system applies to variant of concerns – the most troubling of which four are in circulation.

“While they have their advantages, these scientific names can be difficult to say and recall, and are prone to misreporting,” the WHO says in a statement.

#COVID19 does not care who we are, where we live, or what we believe.

Yet the pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering.

That’s why I’m appealing for an all-out effort to end hate speech globally. pic.twitter.com/ojh957xhQq
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 8, 2020

The new names:

The four coronavirus variants considered of concern by the United Nations agency and known generally by the public as the UK, South Africa, Brazil and India

Under a new system revealed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Kent variant will now be known as Alpha, the Indian variant as Delta, and the South African variant as Beta.

Their scientific names – B.1.1.7, B.1.617.2 and B.1.351 – had been considered too complicated to remember, but there were also concerns about referring to them by the locations where they were discovered.

Critics have warned the current format can stigmatise countries where variants are first found.

Some have warned the rise in coverage of the so-called Indian variant as it becomes more widespread could fuel racism against Indian people.

In 2020, due to the fact that COVID-19 originated in China, experts say it led to an inc rease in hate crimes against Asian people.

Former US president Donald Trump was condemned for regularly referring to coronavirus as the “China virus”, among other such labels.

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President Biden threatens to cut off weapons supplies to Israel

Published

2 days ago

May 10, 2024

ticker NEWS

Does this mark a shift in Washington’s public approach to the war?

President Joe Biden is vowing to withhold weapons from Israel if the Jewish State goes forward with its invasion of Rafah.

The comments came after the Biden administration halted a recent shipment of bombs amid concerns over Israel’s plans to launch a full-scale assault on Rafah even as cease-fire talks continue with Hamas.

Jonathan Tobin, the Editor-in-Chief of Jewish News Syndicate, joins Veronica Dudo to discuss.

#IN AMERICA TODAY #trending #Israel #Hamas #Gaza #GazaWar #Rafah

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OpenAI prepares search software to rival Google

Published

2 days ago

May 9, 2024

Nathan Langridge

OpenAI is gearing up to launch a groundbreaking AI-powered search product, aiming to compete directly with Google’s dominant search engine.

By harnessing the power of AI, OpenAI aims to deliver more accurate and relevant search results, potentially revolutionising the way people access and consume information online.

Russ Macumber from Impressive joins to discuss. #trending #featured

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Human-like robots want to takeover the workplace

Published

2 days ago

May 9, 2024

Nathan Langridge

Generative AI is rapidly advancing the development of robots that closely resemble humans, raising questions about the future of employment.

On this episode of Ahron & Mike Live – How Gen AI robots could threaten to takeover the workplace, Disney’s shares fall 10%, Google responds to lowering morale and Apple reveals a new iPad.

Ticker’s Ahron Young & Mike Loder discuss. #featured