WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Pfizer and BioNTech have begun enrollment for a clinical trial to test the safety and immune response of their Omicron-specific Covid-19 vaccine in adults aged up to 55, the companies said in a statement Tuesday. Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla previously said at a conference that the pharmaceutical giant could be ready to file for regulatory approval of the shot by March. The company’s head of vaccine research Kathrin Jansen said […]
Life
Virtuoso keeps Afghan music alive despite Taliban ban
by Anna MALPAS Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Homayoun Sakhi closes his eyes and runs his fingers along the long neck of his wooden instrument encrusted with mother-of-pearl. “I feel like I have my Afghanistan in my hand,” says Sakhi, one of the world’s most renowned performers on the country’s national instrument, the rubab. He is jet-lagged after flying in from California to perform at London’s Barbican concert hall to raise funds for […]
Covid outbreak on ship threatens Tonga aid efforts
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AFP) – A Covid-19 outbreak on an Australian warship threatened to disrupt Tonga eruption aid efforts Tuesday, as survivors of the deadly volcanic blast described how they fled with only the clothes on their backs. The January 15 eruption generated huge tsunami waves and blanketed the Pacific kingdom in toxic ash when it obliterated an uninhabited island with explosive forces more powerful than a nuclear bomb. Australia has led international relief efforts, rushing […]
Climate change: Biden’s next big political gamble?
by Camille CAMDESSUS Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – After a string of setbacks on getting his priorities through the deeply divided US Congress, President Joe Biden may set his sights on climate change in a bid to save the planet — and his imperiled legacy. Last week, the president announced that efforts were underway to revive the environmental component of his $1.8 trillion social spending plan, after it was all but killed […]
Copy or innovate? Study sheds light on chimp culture
by Sara HUSSEIN Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Chimpanzees in one part of Guinea crack and eat nuts while others declined to do so even when offered tools, research published on Monday found, and the difference could shed light on their culture. As humans, we are said to have cumulative culture: skills and technologies are transmitted and refined from generation to generation, producing behaviours more sophisticated than a single person could dream up. Some […]
S.African rhino returns to wild after brutal attack
BELA BELA, South Africa (AFP) – A 10-year-old rhino that had its horn brutally hacked off returned to the wild Monday, after 30 operations over six years to repair the gash in its face. His rescuers named the bull Sehawukele, meaning “God have mercy on us”. Called Seha for short, he was found by police stumbling near a fence in a reserve, so disfigured that he could barely hear or eat. The police called in […]
Volkswagen hits 2021 EU emissions target after 2020 miss
FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) – German car giant Volkswagen said Monday it beat the European Union’s target for cutting carbon emissions on its new vehicles in 2021, having missed the mark last year. “Our group-wide electric offensive picked up significant speed last year with many attractive new models,” the head of sales for the multi-brand group Christian Dahlheim said. Average CO2 emissions for passengers cars sold in the EU were “around two percent below the legal […]
Beijing warns of heavy air pollution during Winter Olympics
BEIJING, China (AFP) – Beijing warned Monday that heavy air pollution is likely during the Winter Olympics, but said emergency plans were in place to ensure the Games are not disrupted by smog. The Chinese capital declared “war on pollution” after winning the Olympics bid in 2015, shutting down dozens of coal plants and relocating heavy industries to shed its status as one of the world’s most polluted cities. But air quality is still far […]
Webb telescope reaches final destination, a million miles from Earth
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The James Webb Space Telescope has arrived at its cosmic parking spot a million miles away, bringing it a step closer to its mission to unravel the mysteries of the Universe, NASA said Monday. At around 2:00 pm Eastern Time (1900 GMT), the observatory fired its thrusters for five minutes to reach the so-called second Lagrange point, or L2, where it will have access to nearly half […]
Peru races to save birds threatened by oil spill
by Carlos MANDUJANO Agence France-Presse LIMA, Peru (AFP) – A Lima zoo is racing to save dozens of seabirds, including protected penguins, left covered in oil after 6,000 barrels of crude spilled off Peru’s coast due to waves from a volcanic eruption in the South Pacific. More than 40 birds, including Humboldt penguins — listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature — were brought to the Parque de Las Leyendas zoo […]
Lab monkeys found, killed after fleeing US road crash
WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – Three monkeys have been found and killed after a truck carrying 100 primates to a laboratory crashed, allowing them to escape and triggering a police hunt. The vehicle turned in front of an oncoming dump truck near Danville, Pennsylvania, on Friday en route to a lab in Florida. Police said on Twitter Friday that “a small number of monkeys may have fled the crash scene into the surrounding area.” […]
EU nations quarrel over whether nuclear, gas are ‘green’
by Julien GIRAULT Agence France-Presse AMIENS, France (AFP) – Hours before the window for lodging objections closes, EU environment and energy ministers meeting in France Friday differed sharply on a European Commission provision that would classify nuclear and natural gas energy as “sustainable”. The controversy pits countries led by France — where nuclear generates a world-leading 70 percent of electricity — against Germany, Austria and others in the 27-nation bloc. Debate over the Commission’s so-called […]





