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“Evushield” to be used only for those who have a weakened immune system or those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US health authorities on Wednesday authorized the use of synthetic antibodies developed by AstraZeneca to prevent Covid-19 infections in people who react badly to vaccines. It was the first time the Food and Drug Administration has given emergency authorization for such a purely preventative treatment. The FDA […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand announced plans Thursday to effectively ban smoking by progressively lifting the age at which tobacco products can be bought, in a “world-first” bid that means today’s young teens will never be able to buy cigarettes legally. New Zealand currently outlaws tobacco sales to under-18s and Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said that from 2027, the age ban would increase by one year annually to keep the cohort smoke […]
by Haeril HALIM Indonesia (AFP) — Chef Ilhani used to serve up Japanese cuisine to holidaymakers every night, now he makes just $3 a day selling fried snacks on the near empty streets of once bustling Gili Trawangan. The coronavirus pandemic has shuttered almost all the resorts and restaurants across Indonesia’s Gili Islands, famed for their turquoise waters, sandy beaches, and diverse marine life. Situated close to Bali, tourism and the local economy had been […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s drug authority has granted emergency approval for the country’s first specialized treatment against Covid-19, found in clinical trials to significantly reduce hospitalizations and deaths among high-risk patients. The move comes as regulators around the world give the green light to treatments — particularly for high-risk groups — amid worries over the new Omicron variant. China is also grappling with a growing number of studies that show its vaccines have lower […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A father and son have been arrested on charges of starting a huge forest fire that burned more than 200,000 acres in northern California this summer, local officials said. David Smith, 66, and Travis Smith, 32, were charged with starting a fire which led to the conflagration known as the Caldor Fire on August 14 near Lake Tahoe, a densely forested area popular with tourists. It took firefighters 67 […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The Houston Rockets pushed their NBA winning streak to seven games on Wednesday with a 114-104 victory over the short-handed Brooklyn Nets as the top three Eastern Conference teams suffered setbacks. Eric Gordon scored 21 points before he was ejected in the fourth quarter and Garrison Matthews added 19 for the Rockets, who have their first seven-game winning streak since they won eight in a row in November of […]
(Eagle News) — The Supreme Court has declared the Anti-Terrorism Law as constitutional except for two parts. In an advisory, the SC’s Public Information Office said the High Court, voting 12-3, struck down, in particular, Section 4’s qualifier clause “…which are not intended to cause death or serious physical harm to a person, to endanger a person’s life, or to create a serious risk to public safety.” The PIO said the en banc had ruled […]
by David SALAZAR Agence France-Presse San José del Guaviare, Colombia (AFP) – In just a few minutes, an enormous century-year-old tree is felled by an electric saw in the middle of a protected national park. The giant collapses, sending a shockwave through the Colombian Amazon. Its executioner is a 40-year-old man with a scarf bound around his face. The purpose of the crime: to plant coca, used to make cocaine — the only means of […]
by Sebastian Smith WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden, who took office amid the biggest US political crisis in decades, hosts representatives of more than 100 countries for a democracy summit Thursday that is drawing fire from China and Russia. The event, held by video link because of the coronavirus pandemic, is billed by the White House as US leadership in an existential struggle between democracies and powerful autocracies or dictatorships. “Make no […]
WASHINGTON D.C., United States (AFP) – President Joe Biden is to sign an order Wednesday to make the federal government carbon neutral by 2050 via a panoply of clean-energy initiatives including electric vehicles and environmentally friendly buildings. The executive order, announced by the White House, directs the government to replace its fleet of gas-guzzling vehicles with electric cars and trucks by 2035 and ensure federal buildings are carbon-free by 2045. “The president is building on […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The CEO who last week laid off 900 employees in a single Zoom call has apologized after he attracted sharp criticism when the video was posted on social media. Vishal Garg, head of online mortgage originator Better.com, convened employees over the video streaming platform and told them “if you are on this call, you are part of the unlucky group being laid off,” according to a video posted online. […]
by Nikolay KORZHOV Agence France-Presse BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AFP) – Malik Mutaliyev walks by an abandoned amusement park in wintry Baikonur, a secretive town in Kazakhstan’s inhospitable steppe that appeared alongside the eponymous Baikonur Cosmodrome where the Soviet Union’s space programme rose to glory. “Our town has lived through a lot: Perestroika, the fall of the Soviet Union, electricity shortages. We’ve been through it all,” says the 67-year-old former chief architect of Baikonur. The settlement located […]
