Global Outlook

Covid-19 latest variant Omicron’s case is rapidly surging in Australia and even though the country is focusing on implementing stricter protocols, the health care system certainly lacks testing laboratories.  The country registered a record total of nearly 50,000 Covid-19 cases Tuesday of the latest variant and the whole population has been increasingly caught with the virus attack but people who are lining up for tests are ones who are having to suffer.  The only thing one can take positively from the spread of Omicron is the fact that it is less fatal than the prior variants; however, one cannot deny that it does need extreme precaution as it is highly transmissible. Because of this many people are trying to get their hands on rapid tests.  The self-administered rapid tests are an easier way to examine if one has a possibility of getting the virus as antigen kits are available in it but again, the reliability factor of an RT-PCR test always is higher.  People ar...

 In the list of countries expressing their discontent for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, Japan has been added as the new nation to announce a boycott for the event. There were lingering confusions about Japan attending the event or not and on Friday, the nation made it clear.  On December 24, the Japanese government announced that it will not be sending an official delegation to next year's Winter Olympics in Beijing .  This is after the United States had already announced that it will not be sending its officials for the game, which only led to deepening tensions with China.  Along with the United States , it was also expected that other nations who can be counted as its allies will be leaving the event. This was an extremely delicate issue for Japan as not only is it a close partner to the US but it also has strong economic ties with China .  The games are to start in February in 2022, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno clarified during a news ...