Panama Canal.

Yale study identifies causes of cancer.

Update: The News Items investment pitch deck will be distributed soon. The 1st edition of Political News Items will be distributed soon. I’m a bit behind schedule on both.

1. Anger and anxiety over the Shanghai lockdown, now in its fourth week, has posed a rare challenge for China’s powerful propaganda apparatus, which is central to the Communist Party’s ability to stifle dissent. As the Omicron variant continues to spread across the country, officials have defended their use of widespread, heavy-handed lockdowns. They have pushed a triumphalist narrative of their Covid response, which says that only the Chinese government had the will to confront, and hold back, the virus. But among a populace with growing evidence of the costs of that approach, an alternate story — of rage, frustration and despair — is finding an audience. The anger, if not contained, could pose the biggest political test for China’s leadership since the outbreak began. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has staked his legitimacy on successful control of the pandemic, a message that has only been amplified ahead of this fall, when he is expected to claim an unprecedented third term. (Source: nytimes.com)

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2. Shanghai recorded its lowest daily number of new Covid-19 cases in more than three weeks while Beijing added a record number of new infections amid growing concerns that a severe outbreak is ramping up in the capital city. The financial hub reported a 20 per cent drop in new cases over the last 24 hours, marking its fourth consecutive day of declines, official figures released on Wednesday showed. In Beijing, mass testing uncovered 34 new cases – the highest total since the Omicron variant surfaced there on April 22. Health authorities in Beijing earlier ordered mass tests in 10 of the city’s 16 districts after admitting that the coronavirus had spread undetected for a week. (Source: scmp.com)