This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Camels in Qatar found infected with deadly MERS virus
- China vs U.S. air confrontations are now a daily occurrence
- Netherlands loses its AAA credit rating
Camels in Qatar found infected with deadly MERS virus
Camel farm with Doha, Qatar, in the background (File/Reuters)
MERS-CoV (the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus) hasalready infected about 170 people, mostly in Saudi Arabia. The virusis particularly deadly, since almost 40% of those infected have died.Health officials are puzzled because they have not yet been able toidentify the “animal reservoir” that is allowing the virus to infectand kill humans, despite the fact that it’s not yet being transmittedfrom human to human.
Active MERS infections have now been found in three camels in Qatar,indicating that camels may be the animal reservoir allowing the virusto spread. The three camels were asymptomatic, meaning that theycarried active infections but showed no external symptoms. Priortests on racing camels in Oman and animals imported by Egypt fromSudan (for slaughter) signal high degree of infections, indicatingthat MERS is widespread in camels throughout the Middle East.Recombinomics and Reuters
China vs U.S. air confrontations are now a daily occurrence
The United States military is making daily flights into China’srecently declared Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the EastChina Sea without complying with Chinese demands to notifyChinese authorities in advance. According to an unnamed Pentagonofficial:
It’s very important the U.S. signal to the Chinesethat we’re not going to be bullied and that we’re going to adhereto our commitments.
According to a Chinese air force spokesman, two U.S. and 10 Japaneseaircraft were monitoring targets in the zone, and that the Chinese airforce and navy were scrambling warplanes to monitor them.
According to Liu Jieyi, China’s ambassador to the United Nations:
It is indeed the right of every country to defend itsairspace, and also to make sure that its territorial integrity,its sovereignty, are safeguarded. This is a normalarrangement.
Apparently the intention is that warplanes from each of the threecountries will be “patrolling” the ADIZ on a daily basis, in order tosafeguard its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
However, U.S. administration officials are advising commercialairlines to comply with China’s demands when flying into the ADIZ.CNN and Bloomberg
Netherlands loses its AAA credit rating
Standard & Poors ratings agency on Friday downgraded the debt ratingof the Netherlands to AA+, saying, “The downgrade reflects our opinionthat the Netherlands’ growth prospects are now weaker than we hadpreviously anticipated.” This leaves only three countries remainingin the 17-country eurozone with an AAA rating: Germany, Luxembourg, andFinland. The only other countries still having AAA ratings are:Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, and Singapore.Expatica
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan,Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, MERS-CoV,China, Air Defense Identification Zone, ADIZ,East China Sea, Liu Jieyi, Japan,Netherlands, Standard & Poors Financial Services
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