Bill Gates calls for 'germ games' to combat bioterrorism threat


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Bill Gates has called for a new $1 billion World Health Organisation Pandemic Task Force to run "germ games" in preparation for future pandemics caused naturally or by bioterrorists.

The Microsoft co-founder's comments came in the second part of an interview for the Policy Exchange think tank with former UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt.

In the first part, Mr Gates said that rapid innovation was needed to meet the world's 1.5°C climate target.

In the sequel he was equally candid, condemning the world's lack of preparedness for the coronavirus pandemic.

“It was 2015 that I gave the Ted talk and wrote a number of papers titled, 'We're not ready for the next pandemic'," he said.

"And sadly that was a better forecast of what would happen than anyone would have wished for. The economic damage, the deaths – it's been completely horrific."

Mr Gates said a "new way of doing the vaccines" must be found and that the diagnostics were never "up and running in order to achieve what at least Australia and New Zealand showed, that competent management could keep the death rate down pretty dramatically".

He said he hoped that in the next five years he would be able to write a book that said the world was prepared for pandemics, but getting to this happier state would be costly.

"It'll take probably about a billion a year for a pandemic taskforce at the WHO level, which is doing the surveillance and actually doing what I call 'germ games'," Mr Gates said.

These games would involve role-playing situations where terrorists could seek to harness biological weapons to inflict global damage.

Mr Gates gave the example of a bioterrorist bringing smallpox to 10 airports, where advances in medical sciences should give the world the tools to "do dramatically better".

He said preparation for pandemics would bring a broader benefit to social health.

“The nice thing is a lot of the R&D we need to do to be ready for the next pandemic are things like making vaccines cheap, having big factories, eradicating the flu, getting rid of the common cold, making vaccines just a little patch you put on your arm, things that will be incredibly beneficial even in the years when we don't have pandemics."

Mr Gates said he would continue to advocate the preparedness message in years to come and believes people will willingly receive it after the loss "trillions of dollars and millions of lives".

"[They] expect their governments not to let that happen again,” he said.

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

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Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers

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Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

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FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

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Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey
Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
 

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Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

World record transfers

1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m

MATCH INFO

Champions League last 16, first leg

Tottenham v RB Leipzig, Wednesday, midnight (UAE)

match info

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Afghanistan squad

Gulbadin Naib (captain), Mohammad Shahzad (wicketkeeper), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

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Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business

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Updated: November 04, 2021, 9:02 AM