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When Dr Fransisco Velasco started work on a Covid ward, he found himself commuting to work with his laptop and notes in a bin bag.

His brand new rucksack was made of canvas and could not be sterilised at the end of each day.

The doctor, based in Mexico, decided to contact the British company behind the bag and tell them about the problem. His girlfriend told him not to bother, as they probably wouldn't care. Undeterred, Dr Velasco wrote a lengthy message.

Sarah Giblin, the owner and designer of RiutBag, responded immediately.

She told him: "I'm the designer, and I am so heartbroken you can't use your backpack. Please give me half an hour of your time to tell me what you need."

Dr Velasco spoke of the difficulties of his job, sharing details he had kept from his family, not wishing to worry them.

"He needed a stranger to listen," says Sarah, who was contending with worries of her own.

Sarah's bag company is a microbusiness that she runs herself from Manchester. She keeps in touch with a loyal customer base through social media and runs Kickstarter campaigns to fund her new designs.

But when the pandemic struck, with no way to travel for fun or commute to work, people had stopped buying bags and Riutbag was struggling. เว็บสล็อต pg

Public health experts have recommended a version of the Indian Covid variant found in the UK to be made a "variant of concern", the BBC has been told.

Public Health England (PHE) has been tracking a variant known as B.1.617.2, which appears to have been spreading more quickly in the UK than others.

Scientists believe it is more transmissible than the version of Covid first discovered in Wuhan, China.

A spokesman for PHE said it would not comment on leaked data.

Viruses mutate all the time, producing different versions of themselves. Most of these mutations are insignificant - and some may even make the virus less dangerous - but others can make it more contagious and harder to vaccinate against.

The Kent, South Africa and Brazil strains have all been deemed "variants of concern" in the UK. These versions, along with the India variant, have all undergone changes to their spike protein - the part of the virus which attaches to human cells.

The original India variant - officially known as B.1.617 - was first detected in the country in October.

That version has now been re-characterised as three different subtypes, all with slightly different genetic mutations.

The UK has seen a sharp increase in one version in particular, known as B.1.617.2, which now makes up the majority of all Indian variant cases and appears to be growing faster than other versions.

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PHE scientists think with "moderate confidence" that it spreads at least as quickly as the version of the virus first found in Kent last year - known as B.1.1.7 - which is currently dominant in the UK.

But a source has told the BBC there is no evidence this version of the Indian variant is resistant to current vaccines.

It does not feature the E.484K mutation found in the South African variant of the virus, which could help the virus dodge a person's immune system and may affect how well coronavirus vaccines work.

It is believed that more than 500 cases of B.1.617.2 have now been detected across England with the highest levels in London and the north-west of England.

That would represent a sharp rise from the 202 cases officially recorded by PHE in the UK as of 28 April.

It is not known how many of the current infections in the UK can be linked back to international travel.

However, it is thought there has already been some evidence of "significant" community transmission, mainly linked to workplaces and religions gatherings. slotpg
 
In one cluster at a care home, 14 elderly residents who have all been vaccinated were infected with the variant, the source said. A number needed hospital treatment but not for severe disease, and it is thought all have now recovered.

All current vaccines are thought to offer some degree of protection against variants but can never completely stop all Covid infections, especially among the vulnerable or elderly.

At least 25 people including a police officer have been killed in a shoot-out in Rio de Janeiro, according to local media.

The shoot-out took place during a police operation in a favela in the Jacarezinho area of the city.

Police launched the operation after receiving reports that drug traffickers were recruiting children for their gang.

Two passengers on a metro train were hit by bullets but survived.

Police in the Brazilian city confirmed the death of one of their officers, Inspector Andre Leonardo de Mello Frias. A statement on Facebook said "he honoured the profession he loved and will be missed".

Police Chief Ronaldo Oliveira told Reuters news agency that Thursday's raid was "the largest number of deaths in a police operation in Rio".

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According to local news, the gang targeted in this raid engages in drug trafficking, mugging, murders and kidnappings.

Television images showed suspects trying to escape across rooftops as police entered the favela.
Meanwhile, residents of Jacarezinho have shared accounts of what they witnessed on social media.

One resident posted a photo of his blood-covered floor and said two people had died in his house as police chased the criminals. The man, who did not want to give his name, said he would try to move out of the area as soon as possible.

"We're trying to sell the house as fast as possible, we can't continue to live here," he said. pg slot

Other residents said officers had seized their phones, accusing them of warning gang members of the raid.

K-pop label Big Hit Entertainment is teaming up with US giant Universal Music Group (UMG) to find the next K-Pop boy band.

The new group will be released under a joint-venture label created by UMG's Geffen Records and Big Hit, the Korean label behind the K-Pop juggernaut BTS.

Geffen's music stable has included Nirvana, Guns N' Roses and Elton John.

The band will be based in the US, but will target the global market, according to Big Hit.

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"I strongly believe that UMG and Big Hit will create a synergy that will rewrite the global music history," said Bang Si-Hyuk, the chief executive of Big Hit.

US music labels have shown increasing interest in K-Pop, which has overcome a language barrier to find a huge fan base in the US.

Behind the Scenes
The new K-pop group will be formed by a "survival-type" competition show which will give fans a look at how K-pop groups operate behind the scenes. pg slot

It's a format that has produced some wildly popular groups in South Korea, although the format's track record is less proven in the US, said Sarah Bathke, a K-pop writer at EnVi magazine.

"As we've seen, K-pop is only getting bigger in the US, so it will be interesting to see how this new group fares in a music market that has typically been hostile towards music in other languages and is just starting to open up to it," said Ms Bathke.

Nearly seven million people in the US state of Texas have been told to boil tap water before consuming it after a deadly winter storm caused power blackouts at treatment facilities.

The huge storm sweeping across the southern US has killed at least 24 people and left millions without power.

Texas has seen widespread outages.

Freezing temperatures have also caused water pipes to burst, despite attempts by some homeowners to insulate them from the cold using blankets.

The state's energy grid has been overwhelmed by a surge in demand as people try to keep warm in some of the coldest temperatures there in more than 30 years - hitting 0F (-18C) earlier this week.

Over 13 million people - close to half of the state's population - have faced some disruption of water services.

Texas family 'trying to keep warm'
How to stay safe in freezing weather
In pictures: Snow blankets Texas
Texas Senator Ted Cruz flew to Mexico amid storm
US President Joe Biden earlier approved a state of emergency for Texas, which has been blanketed by snow and ice since the storm swept in at the weekend.

What's happening in Texas?
A so-called "boil water notice" has been issued for the city of Houston and surrounding areas, with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advising that all water planned for consumption - even if filtered - must be boiled as it may be contaminated.

Only boiled or bottled water should be used, including for brushing teeth, the CDC said.
The mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, urged those without power - and unable to boil tap water - to try to access bottled water wherever possible. pg slot

"Power will not be restored fully, I would say, probably for another couple of days," he told reporters at a press conference.

Houston police and disaster response teams will be delivering bottled water to those with disabilities who do not have access to transportation, the mayor said on Thursday.

Mr Turner also urged people who had been leaving taps running to prevent pipes from freezing not to do so, in an effort to help conserve supplies.