In many countries, the number of new COVID-19 infections is skyrocketing. Did governments move too quickly to loosen the lockdowns? And what is the role of the Delta variant? In interview, British researcher Devi Sridhar warns of the dangers of the new wave and argues that vaccination is our only way out. https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/there-is-no-other-way-out-of-the-pandemic-british-public-health-expert-on-the-need-to-get-vaccinated-a-a460e1a3-9a1d-4a18-abf8-29b08f6a10a8

In an extraordinary Olympic Games where mental health has been front and center, acts of kindness are everywhere. The world’s most competitive athletes have been captured showing gentleness and warmth to one another — celebrating, pep-talking, wiping away one another’s tears of disappointment. https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-acts-of-kindness-sportsmanship-f7484946288e2a078b2a1f9eccbc1232

The delta variant is challenging China’s costly strategy of isolating cities, prompting warnings that Chinese leaders who were confident they could keep the coronavirus out of the country need a less disruptive approach. https://apnews.com/article/business-health-china-coronavirus-pandemic-292b84b26eb41888c579a6460c2647c3

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases talks about the rise in Covid cases, the Delta variant and masking guidance, during an interview with Meet the Press. https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/full-fauci-interview-delta-variant-extremely-dangerous-for-the-unvaccinated-118137925870

It's not only people who need to be rescued from the flames. https://p.dw.com/p/3yjEL

California was praised for acting swiftly to contain the coronavirus last spring. Now more than 31,000 people have died of the virus in the state. What went wrong? https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-55578098

In case you hadn’t already heard, COVID-19 numbers are ticking up again, even among people who are vaccinated. While unvaccinated people in the U.S. are contracting COVID at a much, much higher rate than those who’ve gotten the vaccine, the contagious nature of the Delta variant has meant breakthrough cases are on the rise, too. Seven People Tell Us What It's Like to Have Breakthrough COVID https://www.vice.com/en/article/wx5kyz/what-its-like-to-have-breakthrough-covid

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near Haiti on Saturday morning.
The US Geological Survey is now estimating "high casualties" and widespread disaster.
The earthquake was about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud and 13 kilometers deep, according to the USGS. https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/haiti-earthquake-08-14-21/index.html

To mask or not to mask became the question at the tail end of what many wanted to be a "hot vax summer." Instead, uncertainly about life after the pandemic, and if such a thing will ever exist, lingers. https://www.npr.org/2021/08/12/1027198541/how-to-deal-with-renewed-covid-anxiety

The Afghans who fell from the C-17 didn’t think they were getting out. They’re not stupid. It’s a choice. An uncertain death of desperation vs. A certain death at the hands of your enemies. https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/17/the-falling-man-2001-2021/

More than 9,000 Covid infections were linked to Euro 2020 football games monitored for the government’s mass events test scheme, and scientists have said the tournament generated “a significant risk to public health”. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/20/9000-covid-cases-linked-to-euro-2020-games-in-mass-events-scheme

The European Union is expected to recommend on Monday that member states reinstate Covid-related travel restrictions and halt nonessential travel from the United States and five other countries, a diplomatic source said.
The EU would reestablish coronavirus travel restrictions such as quarantine and testing requirements for unvaccinated travelers from those countries, according to the source. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/eu-travel-restrictions-intl-hnk/index.html

Genetics researchers who have been watching for new coronavirus variants say they've seen a troubling new lineage that carries many of the same hallmarks as other strains, including Alpha, Beta and Gamma.
The variant they are watching, called C.1.2, has popped up across South Africa as well as in seven other countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the researchers report. They're not sure whether its constellation of mutations will make it more dangerous, but it carries changes that have given other variants increased transmissibility and the ability to evade the immune system's response to some degree.
Having more mutations does not necessarily equal more danger -- some mutations can weaken a virus and it's the combination of changes that affects whether a virus becomes more efficient. One extra mutation could cancel out the effects of another. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/30/health/new-coronavirus-variant-maybe/index.html

The US listed Switzerland, Canada and Germany among high risk countries "due to a high level of COVID-19." The decision comes as the EU calls for reimposing restrictions on American tourists. https://p.dw.com/p/3zi56

In the United States, the variant’s pace has slowed, and new infections are falling in some states, like Missouri, that Delta struck hard. The number of infections over the last week is now 14 percent higher than it was two weeks ago, a fraction of the rate during much of July and early August. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/health/covid-delta-us-britain.html

Holy fork!! A cow in a tree!! This video shows rescue workers cutting branches off a tree in Florissant, Louisiana, on Aug 31 to recover a cow that got stuck during Hurricane Ida https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1433480590616051717

The prospect of European travel for Americans has begun to diminish once more as countries adopt new measures in response to a recent surge in US Covid cases.
Earlier this week, the European Union announced it was dropping the United States from its safe list, advising its 27 member states to reconsider allowing entry to nonessential US travelers. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/eu-bans-on-us-tourists-sweden-netherlands-italy/index.html

It's a volatile day for bitcoin, which briefly fell by more than 10% Tuesday — below the $43,000 mark.
The drop comes after El Salvador made good on a plan announced in June and adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender, making it the first country in the world to do so.
The move received some criticism in El Salvador, where people protested, as well as abroad.
"The country needs a stable currency system and efficient payment system. To the extent that El Salvador's government or bank would not create a central bank digital currency, it makes more sense for them to adopt another major stable digital currency, whether it is centrally offered or decentralized," said Will Cong, professor of finance at Cornell University https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/07/investing/bitcoin-selloff-crypto-today/index.html

The fossil fuel economy must be run in reverse, effectively. The simplest and lowest-cost way to do that—planting trees—requires a lot of land relative to the scale of intervention that’s needed. So a handful of companies have been tinkering with “direct air capture” (DAC)—essentially, big CO2-sucking machines.
The largest DAC plant in the world will open Sept. 8 in Iceland. Operated by the Swiss engineering startup Climeworks, the plant, known as Orca, will annually draw down a volume of emissions equivalent to about 870 cars. Orca will boost total global DAC capacity by about 50%, adding to the dozen or so smaller plants that are already operational in Europe, Canada, and the US. https://qz.com/2055951/climeworks-is-opening-the-worlds-biggest-carbon-removal-machine/

Roughly 18 months into the Covid-19 pandemic, global shipping is still in crisis, with backlogs looming over the peak holiday shopping period. One look at the market for steel shipping containers, and it's clear that a return to normal won't happen any time soon. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/08/business/shipping-containers/index.html