Buenos Aires [Argentina], January 4,2021: EU nations and the United States have refused Venezuela’s request to unfreeze its assets, so that the sanctions-hit country could purchase a coronavirus vaccine, President Nicolas Maduro has said.
“The governments of Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the US and their financial institutions have frozen and blocked funds for access to a vaccine. We demanded via the WTO that they provide us with access to funds, and we were refused,” Maduro told a meeting on health care on Sunday.
He added that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez had held talks with these countries’ foreign ministers, but they had refused the request.
As part of attempts to oust Maduro, the US and other Western countries that endorsed opposition leader Juan Guaido have slapped sanctions on Venezuela and frozen its assets abroad.
Washington, Jan 4 ,2021: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world has surpassed 85 million, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Over 1.8 million people have died, and almost 48 million have recovered.
The World Health Organization, in turn, reported late on Sunday that the global COVID-19 tally had topped 83 million, with 740,221 new infections recorded in the past 24 hours.
As many as 1,831,412 people have died from COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, the global health agency said.
Over 12,500 fatalities have been registered only in the past day.
Kabul [Afghanistan], January 2,2021: Mohammad Adil, the mastermind of the Kabul University attack, was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court, said the Interior Affairs Ministry.
Citing the Afghan Supreme Court’s statement, Tolo News reported that five other collaborators of the attack were sentenced to various jail terms on charges of treason, transfer of explosive materials and cooperation with Daesh.
On November 2, at least 22 people were killed and over 40 others were wounded after two gunmen attacked Kabul University, a raid that ended after six hours.
“In total, 18 students, 16 students from the Public Administration Faculty and two of them from the Law Faculty, lost their lives in the attack. The attackers had military uniforms,” Tolo News reported.
Ten who were killed were female students. They were students of the public administration faculty.
All students who lost their lives aged between 20 to 26 years old.
Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh hit out at the Taliban for the Kabul University attack but the Taliban rejected the claims.
Cardiff [Wales], January 2,2021: The findings of a novel study suggests that more than half of individuals with one of four genetic conditions had significant autistic symptoms, despite not qualifying for a formal diagnosis.
People with certain genetic conditions are likely to have significant symptoms of autism, even if they do not meet all diagnostic criteria, the study concludes. Researchers at Cardiff University say their findings show clinical services need to adapt so that people diagnosed with autism-linked genetic conditions are not denied access to vital support and interventions.
Published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, the international study analysed data from 547 people who had been diagnosed with one of four genetic conditions, also known as copy number variants (CNVs), associated with a high chance of autism – 22q11.2 deletion, 22q11.2 duplication, 16p11.2 deletion and 16p11.2 duplication.
CNVs happen when a small section of a person’s DNA is missing or duplicated. Certain CNVs have been linked to a range of health and developmental issues. They can be inherited but can also occur at random.
The results showed a high prevalence of autism in individuals with these four genetic conditions, ranging from 23% to 58%. The prevalence of autism in the general population is 1%. Using clinical cut-offs, the team also found 54% of people with these genetic conditions who did not meet full autism diagnostic criteria nonetheless had elevated levels of autistic symptoms. There was also considerable variability in symptoms of autism between those who had the same genetic condition.
Dr Samuel Chawner, based at Cardiff University’s MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics said: “Our study shows that an individualised approach is needed when assessing the needs of people with genetic conditions. Although many of those who were included in this study would not have met all of the criteria which define someone as having autism, more than half of those with these genetic conditions had significant symptoms associated with it – such as social and communication difficulties or repetitive behaviours.
“There is a danger that being too prescriptive with how autism is diagnosed will result in these individuals slipping through the net and being denied important services. Sadly, many families we have met through doing this research describe longstanding struggles in accessing autism support for their child. This is often due to a lack of integration between genetic testing services and autism diagnosis services.
“Low awareness of genetic conditions can also be a barrier. It is important that clinicians are aware of the risk of autism associated with certain genetic conditions in order to improve opportunities for early diagnosis and support.”
Data for the study was pooled from eight clinical research centres around the world, which had used the “Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R)” and IQ tests on study participants.
The ADI-R is used internationally in research as well as in clinical settings for making autism diagnoses. It involves an interview with the parent or guardian and asks about the child’s developmental history across areas of social skills, communication skills and repetitive behaviours.
It is estimated that 15% of autistic people and 60% of people with developmental delay have a genetic condition.
Helen Hyde’s 16-year-old daughter, Hermione, was diagnosed with 22q.11.2 Deletion when she was four. Her genetic diagnosis first came to light after it was found she had a cleft palate, which affects her speech. She has Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia (DVD), which causes difficulties with how she processes and communicates language. As a consequence Mini attends a school for pupils with language disorders where she is fully supported in her education. She has also been diagnosed with comorbid anxiety.
Mini, as she’s known to her family, wasn’t formally diagnosed with autism until last year, even though researchers at Cardiff University and her school had previously flagged that she had autistic traits. The family have been involved in studies with Cardiff University’s Copy Number Variant research group for eight years.
“In many ways, the physical diagnosis of Mini’s cleft palate has been easier to deal with than the autism and mental health issues,” said Helen, also mum to Olivia, 19 and Edward, 23.
“People have less of an understanding of Mini’s autistic traits and it’s been much harder to get the right support for her.
“That’s why Cardiff University’s research in this area is so vital. It’s giving us the tools to be able to fight Mini’s corner so that she fulfils her potential.”
Mini said: “At first I did not know what 22q was but now I understand more. My main problem is my speech. Sometimes people don’t understand me and that can make me cross. Sometimes I find lessons difficult and I need a lot of help at school. I know they can learn lots of things from these studies and this will help people with 22q in the future.”
Tracy Elliot, Head of Research and Information at charity Cerebra, said: “We know many children and families frequently have problems in accessing autism support services or face very long delays. We welcome the findings of this research that indicate that individuals with different genetic conditions could benefit from the same autism support. This reinforces the case for improved support and should ease the path for parents and children with rare conditions.”
New Delhi, Jan 1 ,2021: The farmer agitation at the Singhu Border of national capital on Friday continued for 37th day, while more peasants joined the counterparts for extending support to the movement with their eyes now on January 4 talks, while several people reached Singhu border to welcome new year with farmers.
Farmers were seen cheering each other on the occasion of new year to stay strong for their movement amid the chilling cold wave condition, wherein mercury dropped to 1.1 degrees C this morning in Delhi.
As per local sources, many farmers expected repealing of the farm laws, and waited for January 4 with a positive hope, else the stir would be stepped up further, they said.
New batches of farmers from Punjab, Rajasthan and many other states have started reaching the borders of the national capital.
People from farmer organizations are coming with tractor trolleys. They are also bringing ration and drinking water supplies with them.
Apart from youth, women and children are also in the new batch.
Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Committee chief Manjinder Singh Sirsa also reached Singhu border while langar was organised by the DSGMC for people on new year.
The service of providing food and other amenities was set up the DSGMC, Sirsa informed.
Farmers were seen organising prayers, kirtans where people took part.
On January 4, discussion will continue on the legal aspect of MSP and other issues.
Meanwhile, Delhi borders including Singhu, Auchandi and other points continued to remain shut due to the farmers protests.
Meanwhile, All India Kisan Sabha spokesman said the government has been calling for ending the agitation. But the agitation would not be withdrawn till all the demands were met.
Washington [US], January 1,2020: US President Donald Trump on Thursday extended an order suspending the issuance of certain types of work visas for another three months due to the raging coronavirus pandemic.
“The effects of COVID-19 on the United States labour market and on the health of American communities is a matter of ongoing national concern,” Trump wrote in Thursday’s proclamation, which cited the unemployment rate, pandemic-related restrictions on businesses issued by states and the rise in coronavirus infections since June.
The restrictions also halt several temporary visas used by people abroad to work in the US, including the H-1B program that is popular in the tech sector and H-2B visas for non-agricultural seasonal workers. Cultural exchange J-1 visas for Au Pairs and other short-term workers; visas for spouses of H-1B and H-2B holders; and L visas for companies to relocate employees to the US will continue to be suspended as well.
“This proclamation shall expire on March 31, 2021, and may be continued as necessary. Within 15 days of December 31, 2020, and every 30 days thereafter while this proclamation is in effect, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Labor, recommend any modifications as may be necessary,” Trump added.
According to The Hill, Trump faced pressure from some corners to extend the order into 2021, with certain allies noting the economy has yet to fully recover from the pandemic.
“If this proclamation was allowed to lapse, then companies could easily return to exploiting cheap foreign labour,” said RJ Hauman, head of government relations at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which had advocated for an extension of the restrictions, as quoted by The Hill.