Baltic Dry Index. 2137 Fri. Brent Crude 113.66
Spot Gold 1976
Coronavirus Cases 02/04/20 World 1,000,000
Deaths 53,100
Coronavirus Cases 19/04/22 World 505,246,907
Deaths 6,224,814
“----Yes,
we have no bananas
We have-a no bananas today.
We've string beans, and onions
Cabbageses, and scallions,
And all sorts of fruit and say
We have an old fashioned to-mah-to
A Long Island po-tah-to
But yes, we have no bananas.
We have no bananas today."
With apologies. It’s increasingly we have no wheat and flour today. No bananas comes tomorrow if WW3 starts.
More on that rising wheat and flour scarcity in the inflation section. Not to worry though, Fed Chairman Powell and the rest of his gang of inflation misfits are working on the problem of generating fiat wheat as we write. They just haven’t found the Magic Wheat Tree forests yet.
Whose stupid idea was it to flirt with World War Three, destroying Ukraine and killing its people in the process, rather than diplomatically reach a negotiated security pact with Russia? Does it matter now that it’s moot? Well, it does to the people of Ukraine and Russia and to those just about to suffer some very real hunger.
It's long past time to stop this war, but how? A new Russian offensive in the east just got underway. Everyone in the west seems to want to turn up the heat. Are we on the “glide path” to World War Three?
Ukraine says 'Battle of Donbas' begins with Russian attacks all along front
April 19, 2022 5:47 AM GMT+1
LVIV/KYIV, April 19 (Reuters) - Russian forces have launched their long-anticipated offensive in eastern Ukraine, attempting to push through defences along almost the entire front line early on Monday in what Ukrainian officials described as the second phase of the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had begun the "Battle of Donbas" in the east on Monday and a "very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive".
"No matter how many Russian troops they send there, we will fight. We will defend ourselves," he said in a video address.
Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, assured Ukrainians their forces could hold off the offensive in "the second phase of the war".
More
Russia says it launched mass strikes on Ukrainian military overnight
Mon, April 18, 2022, 9:42 AM
Reuters) - Russia said on Monday it had launched mass strikes overnight on the Ukrainian military and associated military targets, using its air force, missile forces, artillery and air defence systems to hit hundreds of targets across its southern neighbour.
The Russian defence ministry said in a statement that air-launched missiles had destroyed 16 Ukrainian military facilities overnight, including five command posts, a fuel depot and three ammunition warehouses, as well as Ukrainian armour and forces.
It said those strikes took place in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions and in the port of Mykolayiv, and that the Russian air force had launched strikes against 108 areas where it said Ukrainian forces and armour were concentrated.
In other areas, the defence ministry spoke of destroying 12 Ukrainian strike drones and tanks and of using Iskander missiles to destroy four arms and equipment depots in the Luhansk, Vinnytsia and Donetsk regions.
Russia, which sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, has pledged to continue what it calls "a special military operation" to degrade the Ukrainian military and root out people it calls dangerous nationalists, until it has met all its objectives.
It is currently focused on trying to take full control of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which has been besieged for weeks.
The defence ministry said Russian artillery had also struck 315 Ukrainian military targets overnight and that air defence systems had been used to bring down three Ukrainian army helicopters, two MiG-29 fighters and one SU-25 plane.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-says-launched-mass-strikes-084210909.html
U.S. to start training Ukrainians on howitzers in coming days -official
April 18, 2022 6:14 PM GMT+1
WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - The United States military expects to start training Ukrainians on using howitzer artillery in coming days, a senior U.S. defense official said on Monday.
Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million in military assistance to Ukraine, expanding the aid to include heavy artillery ahead of a wider Russian assault expected in eastern Ukraine.
So far, four flights of weapons have been sent by the United States as part of the new package.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the howitzer training would take place outside Ukraine.
The United States is planning on teaching Ukrainian trainers on how to use some of the new batch of weapons such as howitzers and radars and then for the trainers to instruct their colleagues inside Ukraine.
More
In other news.
World Bank slashes global growth forecast; Ukraine says Russia’s major offensive in the Donbas has started
Updated Mon, Apr 18 20224:49 PM EDT
The World Bank has lowered its annual global growth forecast for 2022 by nearly a full percentage point, from 4.1% down to 3.2%, citing the pressure that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has placed on the global economy.
The Ukrainian military says Russia’s long-expected offensive push into eastern Ukraine has started, with intensified assaults Monday in the Slobozhansky and Donetsk operational districts in the north and east of the country.
Increased attacks were also recorded near the cities of Izyum in the Kharkiv district and Sloviansk in the Donetsk district, as well as around Severodonetsk and Popasna in the Luhansk region, farther east.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has flown four military cargo aircraft of security assistance into the region in the last 24 hours, with another flight into the theater expected before Tuesday afternoon, a defense official said.
The weapons are part of President Joe Biden’s $800 million assistance package announced last week, a package that includes heavy artillery directly from the stockpiles of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.
More
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/18/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slips nearly 2% as China tech stocks drop
SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Tuesday trade, as investors watched for market reaction to China’s central bank announcing financial support for Covid-hit sectors.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led losses among the region’s major markets as it dropped around 1.8%, returning to trade following holidays on Friday and Monday.
Chinese tech stocks in the city tumbled after authorities in China announced Friday a ban on the livestreaming of unauthorized video games. In Tuesday morning trade, shares of Bilibili plunged 9.81% while NetEase shed 2.39%. Tencent also fell 2.51% and Alibaba dropped 3.3%. The Hang Seng Tech index traded 2.83% lower.
The Hong Kong market is expected to remain volatile as earnings “continue to face downward pressure,” Bank of America Securities’ Winnie Wu told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Tuesday.
---- Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed in Tuesday trading, with the Shanghai composite 0.12% higher while the Shenzhen component dipped 0.173%.
On Monday, the People’s Bank of China announced it will increase financial support for industries, businesses and people affected by Covid-19.
The announcement came after China reported mixed economic data, with retail sales in March coming in below expectations while first-quarter GDP was higher than anticipated.
Elsewhere, the Nikkei 225 in Japan climbed 0.59% while the Topix index gained 0.7%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.92%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.48%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.15% lower.
Shares on Wall Street slipped overnight stateside. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 39.54 points, or 0.11%, to 34,411.69 while the S&P 500 was little changed at 4,391.69. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.14% to 13,332.36.
---- Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.54% to $113.77 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 0.3% to $108.54 per barrel.
Oil rises as Libya outage adds to supply woes, Shanghai prepares to reopen
April 19, 2022 5:01 AM GMT+1
April 19 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday as investors fretted over tight global supply after Libya was forced to halt some exports and as factories in Shanghai prepared to reopen post a COVID-19 shutdown, easing some demand worries.
Brent crude futures rose 61 cents, or 0.5%, to $113.77 a barrel at 0349 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 33 cents, or 0.3%, to $108.54 a barrel.
Gains were limited with the dollar trading at a fresh two-year high. A stronger dollar hurts oil buyers holding other currencies.
Both benchmark contracts gained more than 1% in the previous session after hitting their highest since March 28 on political crisis in Libya. The country said it could not deliver oil from its biggest oil field and shut another field due to political protests. read more
"Outages in Libya deepened concern over tight global supply and the Ukraine crisis dragged on, offsetting concern over slowing Chinese demand," said Ajay Kedia, director at energy consultancy Kedia Commodities.
The latest supply hit came just as fuel demand in China, the world's largest oil importer, was expected to pick up as manufacturing plants prepared to reopen in Shanghai.
More
Sri Lanka asks IMF for rapid financial assistance
April 19, 2022 4:57 AM GMT+1
April 19 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka has requested the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for rapid financial assistance and the global lender could consider it after initial reluctance, an aide to thecountry's finance minister said on Tuesday.
Protests have erupted in the island nation as it battles a devastating financial crisis brought by the effects of COVID-19, mismanaged government finances and rising prices of fuel that have sapped foreign reserves. read more
A delegation headed by Sri Lanka's Finance Minister Ali Sabry kicked off formal talks with the IMF in Washington on Monday for a programme the government hopes will help top up its reserves and attract bridge financing to pay for essential imports of fuel, food and medicines.
"The (foreign minister) made a request for a Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to mitigate the current supply chain issues, yet initially IMF of the view that it doesn’t meet their criteria," Sabry's aide Shamir Zavahir said on Twitter.
---- Sri Lanka is seeking $3 billion in the coming months from multiple sources including the IMF, the World Bank and India to stave off the crisis, Sabry told Reuters earlier this month. read more
Last week, the country's central bank said it was suspending repayment on some of its foreign debt pending a restructure.
More
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sri-lanka-asks-imf-rapid-financial-assistance-2022-04-19/
German bosses, unions jointly oppose boycott of Russian gas
April 18, 2022
BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s employers and unions have joined together in opposing an immediate European Union ban on natural gas imports from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, saying such a move would lead to factory shutdowns and the loss of jobs in the bloc’s largest economy.
“A rapid gas embargo would lead to loss of production, shutdowns, a further de-industrialization and the long-term loss of work positions in Germany,” said Rainer Dulger, chairman of the BDA employer’s group, and Reiner Hoffmann, chairman of the DGB trade union confederation, in a joint statement Monday on Germany’s dpa news agency.
They argued that EU sanctions need to be targeted to put pressure on Russia while minimizing damages to the countries imposing the sanctions, saying “in the current discussion, we don’t see that.”
The statement comes as European leaders are discussing possible new energy sanctions against Russian oil, following a decision April 7 to ban Russian coal imports beginning in August. Ukraine’s leaders say revenues from Russia’s energy exports are financing Moscow’s destructive war on Ukraine and must be ended.
More
"On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.”
George Orwell.
Global Inflation/Stagflation Watch.
Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians, inflation now needs an entire section of its own.
Kazakhstan imposes restrictions on grain and flour exports
14:10, 18 April 2022, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , by Tatyana KUDRYAVTSEVA
Quotas for the export of wheat and flour is introduced by the order of the Minister of Agriculture of Kazakhstan. Website of the ministry says.
Until June 15, wheat and flour will be exported strictly within the approved quota volumes:
- Wheat and meslin — 1 million tons;
- Wheat flour or wheat and rye flour — 300,000 tons.
«Applicants who have on a mandatory basis sold Prodkorporatsiya NC JSC 10 percent of the volume declared for export at a fixed price (fixed price and quality indicators of wheat, a list and addresses of grain-receiving enterprises, to which soft wheat will be supplied, will be published on the official Internet resource of the ministry after the aforementioned order is put into effect) are allowed to participate in the distribution of quota for the export of wheat,» the statement says.
https://24.kg/english/231156_Kazakhstan_imposes_restrictions_on_grain_and_flour_exports/
Central Asian Neighbors To Feel The Pain As Kazakhstan Suspends Wheat, Flour Exports
April 14, 2022 19:53 GMT
Kazakhstan's
decision to ban wheat exports is really bad news for the country’s poorer
Central Asian neighbors, which get some 90 percent of their wheat imports from
their northern neighbor.
One of the world's major wheat growers, Kazakhstan also imports relatively
inexpensive wheat from Russia to use domestically and to resell to other
countries.
But Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, temporarily banned grain
exports to its fellow members of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU)
-- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and Armenia -- in March.
The Kazakh Agriculture Ministry now says it will limit wheat and flour exports
to 1 million tons and 300,000 tons, respectively, for three months starting on
April 15. It’s not clear if the restrictions will be extended beyond that date.
The Russian government said it was suspending wheat, rye, barley, and maize
exports until June 30 to “protect the domestic food market in the face of
external constraints” amid harsh Western sanctions over its unprovoked invasion
of Ukraine.
Moscow’s decision
means that Kazakhstan -- the largest buyer of Russian wheat in the EEU -- has
temporarily lost access to relatively affordable agricultural products it got
duty free.
Just two or three weeks later, Kazakhstan’s flour-milling companies began to
raise alarms that they were running out of supplies and going out of business.
The Union of Grain Processors of Kazakhstan urged the government to halt
exports.
----Tajikistan
annually buys nearly 1 million tons of wheat from Kazakhstan, which accounts
for up to 94 percent of Dushanbe’s grain imports.
The immediate impact of Kazakhstan’s decision on Tajikistan hasn’t been
immediately known. But if Kazakhstan prolongs the curbs beyond June, Tajikistan
-- the poorest country in Central Asia -- will face severe food shortages.
Bread is the most important staple in Tajikistan, where some families say they
only have “bread, tea, and sugar for breakfast.”
More
https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-suspends-wheat-exports-neighbors-pain/31803803.html
China Q1 GDP tops forecast, but March weakness sharply raises outlook risks
April 18, 2022 8:08 AM GMT+1
BEIJING, April 18 (Reuters) - China's economy slowed in March as consumption, real estate and exports were hit hard, taking the shine off faster-than-expected first-quarter growth numbers and worsening an outlook already weakened by COVID-19 curbs and the Ukraine war.
The biggest near-term challenge for Beijing is the tough new coronavirus rules at a time of heightened geopolitical risks, which have intensified supply and commodity cost pressures, leaving Chinese authorities walking a tight rope as they try to stimulate growth without endangering price stability.
----A surprisingly strong start in the first two months of the year improved the headline figures, with GDP up 1.3% in January-March in quarter-on-quarter terms, compared with expectations for a 0.6% rise and a revised 1.5% gain in the previous quarter.
Analysts say April data will likely be worse, with lockdowns in commercial centre Shanghai and elsewhere dragging on, prompting some to warn of rising recession risks. read more
"Further impacts from lockdowns are imminent, not only because there has been a delay in the delivery of daily necessities, but also because they add uncertainty to services and factory operations that have already impacted the labour market," said Iris Pang, Greater China chief economist at ING.
"We may need to revise our GDP forecasts further if fiscal support does not come in time."
----Data on March activity showed retail sales contracting the most on an annual basis since April 2020 on widespread COVID curbs across the country. They fell 3.5%, worse than expectations for a 1.6% decrease and an increase of 6.7% in January-February.
The job market is already showing signs of stress in March, a usually robust month for labour market as factories resume hiring after the Lunar New Year holiday. China's nationwide survey-based jobless rate stood at 5.8% in March, the highest since May 2020, while that in 31 major cities hit a record 6.0%.
The industrial sector held up better with production expanding 5.0% from a year earlier, compared with forecasts for 4.5% gain. That was still down from a 7.5% increase seen in the first two months of the year.
Fixed asset investment, a driver of growth that Beijing is counting on to underpin the economy, increased 9.3% year-on-year in the first quarter, compared with an expected 8.5% increase but down from 12.2% growth in the first two months.
Analysts at Capital Economics and Nomura believe the official GDP figures may have understated the slowdown last quarter.
More
Global economy braces for China inflation shock
April 14, 2022 9:16 AM GMT+1Last Updated 4 days ago
HONG KONG, April 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China’s battle against Covid-19 is set to deliver the world economy another blow on top of the war in Ukraine. Chinese manufacturing hubs are seizing up as authorities stamp out fresh outbreaks. Despite talk about diversifying supply chains, the world's dependence on Chinese factories has only increased.
Roughly three-quarters of China's top 100 cities - accounting for over half of national GDP - have implemented varying degrees of pandemic restrictions as of April 6, according to research firm Gavekal. Most of Shanghai's 26 million residents were confined to their homes for over two weeks, which has shuttered warehouses and curbed access to the world's busiest container port; iPhone supplier Pegatron (4938.TW) has halted production at two of its nearby plants. Extreme measures were also deployed in March across Jilin province, a vital corn producer and home to Toyota (7203.T) and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) factories. Export powerhouse Guangdong is bracing for another hit, restricting travel, closing schools and rolling out mass testing.
----The economic toll will be felt beyond China's borders. Disruptions resulting from the trade war with the United States and then the pandemic saw many governments and executives talk up plans to hedge their dependence on Chinese suppliers; World Bank chief David Malpass recently argued that diversification would “probably be good for everyone”. read more That hasn’t changed much on the ground. China's share of world exports climbed to 15.4% last year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels of 13.1% in 2019, Bernstein analysts estimate.
Prolonged disruptions in the world's factory will likely stoke rising prices worldwide . Inflation in the United States is at a 40-year high read more while Euro zone prices rose to a record 7.5% in March. Surging energy and raw material costs are also to blame for the higher-than-expected increases in China's factory-gate and consumer prices in March read more .
The lockdowns have already hit trade. The European Chamber of Commerce in China said on April 7 that its members reckon Shanghai port volumes were down 40% week-on-week; shipping giant Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) has warned of congested container terminals, trucking shortages, and reduced air freight. Beijing's refusal to live with the virus could mean higher prices for everyone.
More
https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/global-economy-braces-china-inflation-shock-2022-04-14/
The Coming Green-Energy Inflation
Demand for metals and other commodities will keep skyrocketing unless mandates are reversed.
By Mark P. Mills April 17, 2022 1:44 pm ET
If you think inflation is bad, wait until the rest of the commodity markets really heat up. Although prices for basic materials like copper, aluminum, nickel and steel—used to build everything—have already inflated, they haven’t yet escalated as much as fuels and energy-driven commodities like food. But they will if European and U.S. policy makers have their way. Buckle up.
More. Subscription required.
Below, why a “green energy” economy may not be possible, and if it is, it won’t be quick and it will be very inflationary, setting off a new long-term commodity Supercycle. Probably the largest seen so far.
The “New Energy Economy”: An Exercise in Magical Thinking
https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/R-0319-MM.pdf
Mines, Minerals, and "Green" Energy: A Reality Check
https://www.manhattan-institute.org/mines-minerals-and-green-energy-reality-check
"An Environmental Disaster": An EV Battery Metals Crunch Is On The Horizon As The Industry Races To Recycle
by Tyler Durden Monday, Aug 02, 2021 - 08:40 PM
Covid-19 Corner
This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
Japan approves Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s health ministry on Tuesday formally approved Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, a fourth foreign-developed tool to combat the infections as the country sees signs of a resurgence led by a subvariant of fast-spreading omicron.
The ministry approval comes the day after its experts panel endorsed use of Novavax’s protein vaccine, which is designed with similar technology used to fight diseases such as the flu and hepatitis B, for the first two shots and a booster.
Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto told reporters that Novavax product adds variety to the choices available and could appeal to those who are hesitant to use COVID-19 vaccines such as Pfizer’s and Moderna’s, which are designed with newer technologies.
Jabs using Novavax vaccine are expected to start as early as late May.
More
https://apnews.com/article/covid-technology-business-health-japan-541c0682f462fc97ef6dc72cff140771
The case for testing Pfizer's Paxlovid for treating long COVID
April 18, 2022 11:03 AM GMT+1
CHICAGO, April 18 (Reuters) - Reports of two patients who found relief from long COVID after taking Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N) antiviral Paxlovid, including a researcher who tested it on herself, provide intriguing evidence for clinical trials to help those suffering from the debilitating condition, experts and advocates say.
The researcher said her chronic fatigue symptoms, which "felt like a truck hit me," are gone after taking the two-drug oral therapy.
Long COVID is a looming health crisis, estimated to affect up to 30% of people infected with the coronavirus. It can last for months, leaving many unable to work. More than 200 symptoms have been associated with the condition, including pain, fatigue, brain fog, breathing difficulty and exhaustion after minimal amounts of physical activity.
Dr. Steven Deeks, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (USSF), and an expert in HIV cure research, said drug companies tend to discount single-patient case studies. But such instances have helped drive HIV cure research, and Deeks thinks these Paxlovid cases could do the same for long COVID.
“This provides really strong evidence that we need to be studying antiviral therapy in this context as soon as possible," said Deeks, adding that he has heard of yet another anecdotal case at UCSF in which a long COVID patient's symptoms cleared after taking Paxlovid.
Scientists caution that these cases are "hypothesis-generating only" and not proof that the drug caused relief of lingering symptoms. But they lend support to a leading theory that long COVID may be caused by the virus persisting in parts of the body for months, affecting patients' daily lives long after acute symptoms disappear.
----Paxlovid, which combines a new Pfizer pill with the old antiviral ritonavir, is currently authorized for use in the first days of a COVID infection to prevent severe disease in high-risk patients.
More
Shanghai factories struggle with restarts as city aims to ease lockdown
April 18, 2022 9:25 AM GMT+1
SHANGHAI, April 18 (Reuters) - Manufacturers including Tesla (TSLA.O)on Monday began preparing to reopen their Shanghai plants as China’s most populous city speeds up efforts to get back to normal after a nearly three-week COVID shutdown.
The shutdown and measures to control the pandemic elsewhere in the country have hurt the economy and rattled global supply chains. Shanghai's 25 million people have struggled with income losses, lack of steady food supplies, separation of families and poor conditions in quarantine centres.
Tesla has recalled workers to itsShanghai plant to prepare for the restart, two sources told Reuters. SAIC Motor (600104.SS), the Chinese partner of Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and General Motors (GM.N), said it would start stress-testing its own production resumption plans on Monday. read more
Meanwhile, Shanghai aims to stop spread of COVID-19 outside of quarantined areas by Wednesday, Reuters cited sources as saying on Sunday, an ambitious target that would allow further easing of its lockdown.
It is stepping up testing and the transfer of positive cases and their close contacts to isolation centres to meet that target. read more
Shanghai's lockdown and wider China curbs are taking a toll on the world's No.2 economy during a key year for President Xi Jinping, who is expected to secure a third leadership term in the autumn.
Data for March released on Monday showed that consumption and employment suffered because of COVID curbs, with economists predicting a worsening overall economic outlook. read more
But Jin Dongyan, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, said it would be difficult for Shanghai to make sure by Wednesday that nobody outside centralised quarantined facilities in the city is free of COVID, given that the virus can spread faster than Shanghai can identify infections using PCR tests.
Shanghai on Monday announced a new round of daily PCR and antigen tests for residents in "sealed" and "controlled" areas from Monday to Thursday, urging cooperation.
Several residents have said that they and their neighbours have collectively refused to join queues for PCR tests, some out of weariness after multiple rounds and others out of fear of catching COVID while gathering for tests.
"We hope that the majority of our citizens will continue to cooperate as always ... and achieve the goal of zero-COVID at community level as soon as possible, and allow normal production and life to resume," Shanghai health official Wu Qianyu said.
Of 21,395 new local infections Shanghai reported for Sunday, 561 were found outside quarantine areas, down from 722 on Saturday, the third consecutive decline.
More
Tourism-reliant Cyprus scraps virus tests for most travelers
April 18, 2022
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus authorities on Monday made traveling to the east Mediterranean island nation easier as the summer tourist season kicks into gear by rescinding the need to undergo any COVID-19 tests prior to boarding a flight or on arrival.
According to the new regulations, only unvaccinated people who haven’t contracted and recovered from the coronavirus must undergo a PCR test 72 hours prior to boarding or a rapid test 24 hours before departure.
All Cyprus-bound passengers are no longer required to fill in a form — also known as a Cyprus Flight Pass — providing information that enables authorities to trace them if they do test positive for COVID-19 during their stay.
Vaccinated and recovered passengers will need a valid European Union health certificate. Health certificates from third countries are accepted if they’ve joined the EU’s COVID certificate system.
All adults are considered vaccinated for nine months after receiving their second dose or have received a 3rd booster shot. Individuals are designated as recently recovered from COVID-19 seven days after testing positive and for six months thereafter.
Tourism directly accounts for 13% of the island nation’s economy and authorities are keen to attract new markets to make up for the significant loss of Russian and Ukrainian tourists in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-travel-europe-lifestyle-8af222c2ba4c2a2fcca4a690f3b7511c
Next, some vaccine links kindly sent along from a LIR reader in Canada.
NY Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
Regulatory Focus COVID-19 vaccine tracker. https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker
Some other useful Covid links.
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus resource centre
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Rt Covid-19
Centers for Disease Control Coronavirus
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
The Spectator Covid-19 data tracker (UK)
https://data.spectator.co.uk/city/national
Technology Update.
With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported.
Chemical synthesis: Golden wedding for molecules
Date: April 14, 2022
Source: Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA)
Summary: Chemical syntheses in liquids and gases take place in three-dimensional space. Random collisions between molecules have to result in something new in an extremely short time. But there is another way: on a gold surface under ultrahigh vacuum conditions, molecules lying still next to each other can be made to combine - even those that would never 'want' to react with each other in a liquid. Researchers have now discovered such a reaction. Best of all, the experts can 'take pictures' and watch every step of the reaction.
In chemistry, there are structures that are particularly stable, such as the so-called "benzene ring" consisting of six interconnected carbon atoms. Such rings form the structural basis for graphite and graphene, but they also occur in many dyes -- such as the jeans dye indigo and in many drugs such as aspirin.
When chemists wanted to build such rings in a targeted manner, they used so-called coupling reactions, which usually bear the name of their inventors: for example, the Diels-Alder reaction, the Ullmann reaction, the Bergman cyclization or the Suzuki coupling. Now there is another one that does not yet have a name. It was discovered by a team from Empa together with the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz.
Everything in the dry
The Empa researchers omitted liquids in their chemical synthesis and instead attached the starting materials to a gold surface in an ultra-high vacuum. The starting material (diisopropyl-p-terphenyl) can be observed resting calmly in the cooled-down scanning tunneling microscope before the researchers turn up the heat.
Turn up the heating -- movement on the dance floor
At room temperature, nothing happens yet, but at about 200 degrees Celsius, an amazing reaction occurs that would never happen in liquids: the two isopropyl groups -- which are normally completely inactive from a chemical point of view -- combine to form a benzene ring. The reason: due to the firm "adhesion" on the gold surface, a hydrogen atom is first loosened and then released from the molecule. This creates carbon radicals that are waiting for new partners. And there are many partners on the gold surface. At 200 degrees Celsius, the molecules vibrate and perform rapid pirouettes -- there is a lot of movement on the golden dance floor. So what belongs together soon gets together.
And once again everything in slow motion
Matchmaking on the golden surface has two advantages. First, there is no need for coercion: the reaction takes place without mediating boric acids or halogen atoms flying away. It is a coupling involving only saturated hydrocarbons. The starting materials are cheap and easy to obtain, and there are no toxic byproducts.
The second advantage is that the researchers can watch every step of the reaction -- another thing that is not possible with classical, "liquid" chemistry. The Empa team simply turns up the heating of the gold surface gradually. At 180 degrees Celsius, the molecules have only connected one arm with their neighbors, the second still protrudes freely into the dance floor. If one now cools down the gold surface inside a scanning tunneling microscope, one can view and "photograph" the molecules just before they are "married off." This is exactly what the researchers did. Thus, the reaction mechanism can been followed in the form of "snapshots."
More
“Blinken's clever,"
said Biden thoughtfully.
"Yes," said P.M. “Slippery” Johnson, "Blinken's clever."
"And he has Brain."
"Yes," said Slippery, "Blinken has Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Biden, "that that's why he never understands
anything.”
With apologies to AA Milne and Pooh Bear. When diplomacy failed.
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