New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI): The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged countries in South-East Asia to strengthen surveillance in view of the increasing cases of respiratory diseases, including due to COVID-19 and its new sub-variant JN.1, and influenza. The WHO also urged people to take protective measures. “The COVID-19 virus continues to evolve, change, and circulate in all countries globally. While current evidence suggests the additional public health risk posed by JN.1 is low, we must continue to track the evolution of these viruses to tailor our response.”For this, countries must strengthen surveillance and sequencing, and ensure sharing of

Even during a cost of living crisis, with interest rates and inflation high, the average spending per person for Christmas 2023 in the UK is expected to reach as much as £974. Retailers, advertisers and a sense of tradition continue to encourage us towards ever greater levels of consumption. Of course, excessive seasonal consumerism has long been a subject of concern. But what if this appetite for treating ourselves and our loved ones actually makes people feel happier during the coldest and darkest time of the year? Here’s what some of the great economists of history might have made of the modern