100 SECONDS TO MIDNIGHT: WORLD
Crises like the current tiff over Ukraine could have served as contributing factors to one group’s bold statement about our world.
On Jan. 20, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that the “Doomsday Clock” was set at just 100 seconds to midnight. The time is based on continuing and dangerous threats posed by nuclear weapons, climate change, disruptive technologies, and COVID-19. All of these factors were exacerbated by “a corrupted information ecosphere that undermines rational decision making.”
“No one changes the world alone. We’re not all going to agree, but we have to work together. And together, we will get it done,” said Hank Green, New York Times best-selling author and science communicator, who closed the Bulletin’s live program.
On the 75th anniversary of its Doomsday Clock, the Bulletin is asking people to help #TurnBackTheClock. The challenge encourages people to use social media to share stories about the actions that inspire them and strategies of how we can work together to save the world.
The Doomsday Clock’s time is set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board with the support of the Bulletin’s Board of Sponsors, which includes 11 Nobel Laureates. For the past two years the Doomsday Clock has been set at 100 seconds to midnight, closer to midnight than ever in its history.
The Doomsday Clock statement explains that the “decision does not, by any means, suggest that the international security situation has stabilized. On the contrary, the Clock remains the closest it has ever been to civilization-ending apocalypse because the world remains stuck in an extremely dangerous moment.”
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Eugene Rabinowitch and University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project. The scientists felt that they “could not remain aloof to the consequences of their work” and worked to inform the public and policymakers about man-made threats to human existence. The Bulletin was founded on the belief that because humans created these problems, we have the obligation and opportunity to fix them.
The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to convey how close humanity is to destroying itself. Designed by painter Martyl Langsdorf, the Clock has become an international symbol of the world’s vulnerability to catastrophe from nuclear weapons, climate change and disruptive technologies. The Doomsday Clock is a symbol of danger, of hope, of caution, and of our responsibility to one another.
Rachel Bronson, PhD, president and CEO, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said: “The Doomsday Clock continues to hover dangerously, reminding us about how much work is needed to be done to ensure a safer and healthier planet. We must continue to push the hands of the Clock away from midnight.”
OMICRON & MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES: United States
In light of recent information and data available, the FDA has revised the authorizations for two monoclonal antibody treatments – bamlanivimab and etesevimab (administered together) and REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab) – to limit their use to only when the patient is likely to have been infected with or exposed to a variant that is susceptible to these treatments. The announcement was made on Jan. 24
Because data show these treatments are highly unlikely to be active against the omicron variant, which is circulating at a very high frequency throughout the United States, these treatments are not authorized for use in any U.S. states, territories, and jurisdictions at this time. In the future, if patients in certain geographic regions are likely to be infected or exposed to a variant that is susceptible to these treatments, then use of these treatments may be authorized in these regions.
Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful pathogens such as viruses, like SARS-CoV-2. And like other infectious organisms, SARS-CoV-2 can mutate over time, resulting in certain treatments not working against certain variants such as omicron.
Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to account for more than 99% of cases in the United States as of Jan. 15. Therefore, it’s highly unlikely that COVID-19 patients seeking care in the U.S. at this time are infected with a variant other than omicron, and these treatments are not authorized to be used at this time. This avoids exposing patients to side effects, such as injection site reactions or allergic reactions, which can be potentially serious, from specific treatment agents that are not expected to provide benefit to patients who have been infected with or exposed to the omicron variant.
The NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel, an independent panel of national experts, recently recommended against the use of bamlanivimab and etesevimab (administered together) and REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab) because of markedly reduced activity against the omicron variant and because real-time testing to identify rare, non-omicron variants is not routinely available.
Importantly, there are several other therapies – Paxlovid, sotrovimab, Veklury (remdesivir), and molnupiravir – that are expected to work against the omicron variant, and that are authorized or approved to treat patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk for progression to severe disease, including hospitalization or death. Healthcare providers should consult the NIH panel’s COVID-19 treatment guidelines and assess whether these treatments are right for their patients.
The FDA said that while it’s critical that we have ways to treat those who contract COVID-19, the authorized treatments are not a substitute for vaccination in individuals for whom COVID-19 vaccination and a booster dose are recommended. Data has clearly demonstrated that the available, safe and effective vaccines can lower your risk of developing COVID-19 and experiencing the potential associated serious disease progression, including hospitalization and death.
ALLEGED ASSASSINATION CONSPIRATOR ARRESTED: CARIBBEAN
A dual Haitian-Chilean citizen was arrested Jan. 19 based on criminal charges related to his alleged involvement in the assassination of the former President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise, on July 7, 2021.
Rodolphe Jaar, 49, is charged with conspiring to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support resulting in death, knowing or intending that such material support would be used to prepare for or carry out the conspiracy to kill or kidnap. Jaar is the second individual to be charged and arrested in the United States for his role in the assassination plot.
As alleged in the complaint, which recently unsealed, the defendant and others – including a group of approximately 20 Colombian citizens and a number of dual Haitian-American citizens – participated in a plot to kidnap or kill the Haitian President. In particular, as alleged, Jaar was present when another conspirator (“Co-conspirator #1”) secured the signature of a former Haitian judge on a written request for assistance to further the arrest and imprisonment of President Moise.
According to the complaint, on June 28, 2021, Co-conspirator #1, a dual Haitian-American citizen traveled from Haiti to the United States in furtherance of the conspiracy and provided other individuals with the document, and flew from Florida back to Haiti on July 1, 2021, to participate in the operation against the president.
As alleged in the complaint, while the plot initially focused on conducting a kidnapping of the Haitian President as part of a purported arrest operation, it ultimately resulted in a plot to kill the president. The complaint alleges that on July 7, 2021, various co-conspirators entered President Moise’s residence in Haiti with the intent and purpose of killing him, and in fact the president was killed.
As alleged in the complaint, Jaar was responsible for providing weapons to the Colombian co-conspirators to facilitate carrying out the operation; several of the Colombian co-conspirators also stayed at a residence controlled by Jaar. After the assassination, Jaar allegedly communicated with Co-conspirator #1 and others to assist the Colombians and Co-conspirator #1 while they were in hiding from Haitian authorities.
Co-conspirator #1 was subsequently arrested by Haitian authorities and remains in custody in Haiti. Jaar was arrested in the Dominican Republic and agreed to travel to the United States.
If convicted of the charges in the complaint, Jaar faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami Office made the announcement.
The FBI and HSI are investigating the case with other law enforcement partners.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Goldbarg and Walter Norkin for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case, with assistance from National Security Division Trial Attorneys Frank Russo, Jessica Fender and Emma Ellenrieder. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance. Dominican authorities provided significant assistance in securing the return of Jaar to the United States.
SMUGGLING RING BUSTED: EUROPE
A Judicial and law enforcement authorities in Italy, Greece and Albania have taken a coordinated action against a network of people smugglers, which transferred at least 1,100 migrants irregularly to the European Union. During an action day with the support of Eurojust, Europol and Frontex, 29 suspects were arrested in the three countries involved. They allegedly made illegal gains of at least several hundreds of millions of euros. The action is the concrete result of a joint investigation team (JIT) which was set up in January 2021 with the support and funding of Eurojust.
The suspects are of Albanian, Turkish, Syrian, Iranian, Iraqi and Pakistani origin. Eight of them were arrested during a smuggling operation that was ongoing, with the migrants involved brought to safety. The suspects belong to a wider network of approximately 80 persons who were involved in at least 30 bigger irregular transfers of migrants from Turkey via Albania and Greece to the Salento coast of Italy. From Italy, the migrants were later transferred to other EU countries. The transfers to Italy took place by vessel and or by vehicle over land via the so-called Eastern Mediterranean route.
Of the arrested persons, four are allegedly the main perpetrators, leading separate cells or groups of the network. One of them was mainly responsible for the return of the smugglers to Turkey, where they could prepare for new transfers. The gains of the irregular migration transfers are preliminarily estimated to be at least several hundreds of millions of euros, with the smugglers using the ‘Hawala’ financing system to hide the proceeds.
In preparation for the action day, the authorities carried out long-term surveillance of the suspects, using telephone and online interceptions of evidence and video recordings. This enabled them to document the routes used by the network and identify the perpetrators. Today’s operation is one of the first operational implementations of Eurojust’s commitment to fight migrant smuggling, as specified during the Annual Meeting on Migrant Smuggling, organized by the Agency in November 2021.
Eurojust not only supported the joint investigation team but also set up a coordination center during the action day and provided cross-border judicial support via the Agency’s Italian and Greek National Desks, as well as the Liaison Prosecutor for Albania at the Agency. Europol provided additional analytical support to the operation and deployed mobile offices, with Frontex assisting with surveillance via an Italian Guardia di Finanza helicopter deployed to control the EU’s external borders.
The operation was carried out under the direction of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Lecce in Italy, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Appeal of Athens, the Special Investigative Judge for Mutual Legal Assistance in criminal matters at the Court of First Instance of Athens and the Special Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office of Tirana (SPAK).
