Delhi High Court is hearing a petition by Elsevier against Sci-Hub and LibGen seeking restraining orders on publication of articles which infringe the copyright of Elsevier.

LibGen is unrepresented before the court today as well.
Sr. Adv. Amit Sibal submits that these rogue websites call themselves pirate websites who do not concern themselves with copyrights.
Sibal: I have gone through the application of Sci-Hub, and it states that they are aware of copyright laws, but find them "oppressive".

#SciHub #LibGen
Sibal: A majority of the material we produce is available on subscription basis, while some material is available publicly.
Sibal: The former is the incentive for us in the first place. Even searching for these articles infringed upon by them results in further infringement, therefore, there is no other way than to block these websites.
Delhi HC: Mr. Sibal, all we need to know is, do you agree that the interveners can argue in the matter?
Sibal: We want to file a reply to the application.
Delhi HC: Subject to filing of your reply, do you mind if we atleast hear them, as this is a matter of public importance, concerning the entire scientific community?
Sibal: Qua Defendant No. 2 (LibGen) we would like a relief.
Delhi HC: This is a matter of public importance, we need to hear them atleast. The court had taken a view that the written statement should come, I am not going to go against that view.
Sibal: That is only qua SciHub.
Delhi HC: There are other matters requiring urgent hearing, why should your matter be allowed to march over all of them? I will give you an early hearing and fix it for arguments itself.
Sibal: The same ad-interim order which was passed against Sci-Hub, I'm seeking against LibGen also.
Delhi HC: Vide order dated 24.11.2020, this court issued notice to certain defendants, out of whom notice has been accepted by some. Notice to be issued to LibGen again via email.
Delhi HC: SciHub has sought for further time to file its written statement, 2 weeks granted.
Delhi HC: SciHub's statement on 24.12.2020 (wrt undertaking to not publish further articles) to continue till the next date of hearing.

Sr. Adv. Gopal Sankaranarayanan: We undertake that, My Lord.
NDOH: 23.02.2021

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I'll begin with the ancient history ... and it goes way back. Because modern humans - and before that, the ancestors of humans - almost certainly originated in Ethiopia. 🇪🇹 (sub-thread):


The first likely historical reference to Ethiopia is ancient Egyptian records of trade expeditions to the "Land of Punt" in search of gold, ebony, ivory, incense, and wild animals, starting in c 2500 BC 🇪🇹


Ethiopians themselves believe that the Queen of Sheba, who visited Israel's King Solomon in the Bible (c 950 BC), came from Ethiopia (not Yemen, as others believe). Here she is meeting Solomon in a stain-glassed window in Addis Ababa's Holy Trinity Church. 🇪🇹


References to the Queen of Sheba are everywhere in Ethiopia. The national airline's frequent flier miles are even called "ShebaMiles". 🇪🇹
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Viruses and other pathogens are often studied as stand-alone entities, despite that, in nature, they mostly live in multispecies associations called biofilms—both externally and within the host.

https://t.co/FBfXhUrH5d


Microorganisms in biofilms are enclosed by an extracellular matrix that confers protection and improves survival. Previous studies have shown that viruses can secondarily colonize preexisting biofilms, and viral biofilms have also been described.


...we raise the perspective that CoVs can persistently infect bats due to their association with biofilm structures. This phenomenon potentially provides an optimal environment for nonpathogenic & well-adapted viruses to interact with the host, as well as for viral recombination.


Biofilms can also enhance virion viability in extracellular environments, such as on fomites and in aquatic sediments, allowing viral persistence and dissemination.