WHO: SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.529 a ‘Variant of Concern’

The World Health Organisation (WHO) designated SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1529 as a ‘variant of concern’.

Important Points

• This variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been named as Omicron.
• This variant was first detected in Botswana region of South Africa on November 24.
• South Africa is witnessing sharp increase in covid-19 infection, coinciding with the detection of Omicron variant.
• First known confirmed Omicron infection was from a specimen collected on November 9.

Monitoring

The Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) periodically monitors and evaluated the evolution of Covid-19 virus. TAG-VE is an independent group of experts.

Omicron Variant

• The newly detected variant has large number of mutations. Some of the mutations are concerning.
• Preliminary evidence shows that, there is an increased risk of reinfection with the detection of this variant, as compared to other Variants of concerns.
• This variant can be detected using SARS-CoV-2 PCR diagnostics, as of now.
• It has a “very unusual constellation of mutations,” that is, 32 in the spike protein alone.
• This variant is characterised by 30 amino acid changes, 3 small deletions and 1 small insertion in the spike protein as compared to original virus. Out of 30, 15 are located in the receptor binding domain.

Actions

Amid rising concerns over new variant in South Africa, European Union, Canada, US, Saudi Arabia have imposed travel ban and have suspended flights from South Africa.

WTO MC12 conference postponed

World Trade Organisation (WTO) has postponed its “World Trade Organization ministerial conference (WTO MC 12), due to concerns over new Omicron Covid-19 variant.

Important Points

• The WTO MC 12 was scheduled to held in November 2021.
• The WTO was hoping that four-day gathering in Geneva would bring new life into the organisation, which was stuck for years in order to make progress on resolving issues like fishery subsidies.
• Members of WTO also unanimously supported the postponement call.

Background

The WTO’s 12th ministerial conference (MC12) has already been postponed once before, amid covid-19 pandemic. The conference was originally scheduled to take place in capital of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan in June 2020. The WTO conference usually takes place once in two years.

WTO MC

Ministerial Conference (MC) is the highest decision-making body of the WTO. The conference is held once every two years, under the Marrakesh Agreement. The conference is attended by trade ministers and other senior officials from 164 members of WTO. First Ministerial Conference (MC1) was held in 1996, in Singapore. The last conference (MC11) was held in 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Objectives of WTO MC

The WTO MC is held with following objectives:

1. To settle trade disputes between members
2. To analyze trade policies like subsidies, market access, anti-dumping measures, agricultural policies, etc of the member countries.

WTO Members

There are 164 members, as of 2020. 24 countries are observers while 13 member countries of the UN are neither observes nor members of WTO. Afghanistan is the newest member to join WTO in 2016.

Ex SHAKTI- 2021: Indo – France joint military exercise

6th edition of biennial Indo – France joint military exercise called “Ex SHAKTI- 2021” concluded on November 26, 2021 in France.

Important Points

• Ex SHAKTI 2021 involved twelve days of intense joint military training.
• During the exercise, military from both the countries exhibited their combat power and dominance over extremist groups in simulated Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency environment.
• Exercise provided an opportunity to both the sides to train in Counter-Terrorism operations in joint environment under United Nations charter.

2 Phases

Ex SHAKTI was conducted in two phases. It involved combat conditioning and tactical training of Counter-Terrorism operations. It was culminated with validation of training in semi-urban environment. Military from both the sides shared their best operational practices and experiences. Both the contingents expressed immense satisfaction with outcome of this exercise, with respect to the standards achieved during the conduct.

Exercise SHAKTI

This exercise focuses on Counter Terrorism operations in the light of semi-urban terrain under United Nations Mandate. It is organised biennially with the aim of enhancing military cooperation and interoperability between Armies of both the countries. The exercise was started in 2011 and is conducted alternately in India and France.

5^th edition

The last edition (5^th edition) of the Shakti exercise took place in 2019 Rajasthan. In this edition, both the armies practiced “Counter Terrorism operations in semi-desert terrain”.

Other Defence Exercises between India & France

India and France conducts following defence exercises:

1. Varuna, which is a Naval exercise
2. Desert Knight-21
3. Garuda, an Air exercise.