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by Ivan Couronne WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Although none of the coronavirus vaccines under development has proved its efficacy yet in clinical trials, at least 5.7 billion doses have been pre-ordered around the world. First shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine created by Western laboratories have often been snapped up by the United States. Five vaccines — three Western and two Chinese — are in Phase 3 efficacy trials involving thousands of people. In a […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore began destroying nine tonnes of seized ivory Tuesday, the largest such action globally in recent years, including contraband tusks that came from more than 300 African elephants. The destruction by an industrial rock crusher was held on the eve of World Elephant Day, and aims to prevent the items from re-entering the market and disrupt the global supply chain of illegally traded ivory, Singapore’s National Parks Board said. A spokeswoman […]
by Hashem Osseiran Agence France-Presse BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — The monster explosion that levelled Beirut’s port darkened the Lebanese capital’s future but also blasted its past into oblivion, ravaging many beloved architectural and cultural treasures. Gems of the city’s heritage, including some of the region’s most elegant Levantine villas with their triple-arch windows, were damaged beyond repair. Many of old Beirut’s remaining colonial-era and earlier landmarks had already been damaged by 15 years of civil […]
by Patrick BAERT BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese workers raise their fists beside a red communist flag in a painting displayed at a Beijing museum, one of nearly 200 works put together for a propaganda exhibition that hails, not the Maoist past, but the “heroic deeds” of frontline medics fighting the coronavirus. Since the discovery of the deadly contagion in Wuhan at the end of last year, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has sought to […]
by Dan Martin / Beiyi SEOW Agence France-Presse SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Chinese entrants in the race to put autonomous vehicles on the road are bringing “robotaxis” online in hopes that a hired-car format can be the key to unlocking wide acceptance of the futuristic technology. It is expected to be years before cars that operate completely without human intervention are unleashed owing to lingering technological, regulatory, and safety hurdles. But as China challenges US […]
by Boureima Hama Agence France-Presse KOURE, Niger (AFP) — Gunmen on motorcycles killed eight people including a group of French aid workers as they visited a part of Niger popular with tourists for its wildlife, officials said. “There are eight dead: two Nigeriens including a guide and a driver, while the other six are French,” the governor of the Tillaberi region told AFP on Sunday. France confirmed its nationals were among the dead, without giving […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — An Italian Alpine resort on Sunday lifted a state of alert declared last week over fears that a chunk of glacier on the Mont Blanc mountain range might crash down on them. Around 15 people who were evacuated can now return to their homes in Courmayeur and traffic in the Cap Ferret valley is permitted again, said a statement from town officials. Climate change has been increasingly melting the world’s glaciers, creating […]
PORT LOUIS, Mauritius (AFP) — Police in Mauritius on Sunday prepared to board a grounded ship leaking tonnes of oil into its crystal-clear waters, as clean-up crews confronted a growing ecological disaster on the archipelago’s pristine shores. The bulk carrier MV Wakashio has been seeping fuel into a protected marine park boasting unspoiled coral reefs, mangrove forests and endangered species, prompting Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth to declare an environmental emergency and appeal for international help. Attempts […]
(Eagle News) – The country’s very own premier research institute in the field of virology will soon rise in New Clark City, according to COVID-19 testing czar and Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president Vince Dizon. In a statement, Dizon said that the Philippines’ first virology research institute building will be built by nexr year after this proposal by the Department of Science and Technology was included in the administration’s list of infrastructure […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — People who are infected with the coronavirus carry similar levels of the pathogen in their nose, throat and lungs whether they have symptoms or not, a new study from South Korea showed Thursday. The paper, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, is an important biological line of evidence in support of the idea that asymptomatic carriers can spread COVID-19. Until now, experts have relied on inferring asymptomatic spread when people contract […]
by Patrick GALEY PARIS, France (AFP) — Intensive farming makes future pandemics such as COVID-19 more likely as wild animals carrying diseases known to infect humans are forced into increasingly close contact with us, research showed Wednesday. Writing in the journal Nature, a team of researchers from University College London warned that animal pathogens are increasingly likely to make the leap to humans as land use changes benefit animal hosts. The United Nations estimates that […]
by Kelly MACNAMARA PARIS, France (AFP) — Fish and other marine life may have to flee thousands of kilometres to escape damaging heatwaves, according to research published Wednesday, highlighting the scale of disruption caused by these increasing surges in ocean temperatures. Hot spells can cause dramatic changes to ocean ecosystems, devastating coral habitats, killing large numbers of seabirds and forcing species like fish, whales and turtles into colder waters. Researchers said the increasing number of […]
