WASHINGTON, (AFP) – Time magazine on Monday named Tesla chief and space entrepreneur Elon Musk as its person of the year 2021, citing his embodiment of the technological shifts but also troubling trends reshaping people’s lives. Musk — who overtook Amazon founder Jeff Bezos this year to become the world’s wealthiest person — wields impact … Read more
BEIJING, Dec 14, 2021 (AFP) – China’s economically important Zhejiang province wrestled on Tuesday with a Covid outbreak that has caused some districts to shut down businesses and left hundreds of thousands of people facing quarantine or other restrictions. Zhejiang, a major industrial and export hub on the country’s east coast, reported 44 of China’s 51 … Read more
A video showing a young man using mathematics to figure out the past participle of the word ‘flew’ has gone viral. In the viral clip, the man uses the cross-multiplication with the variable method to comically ‘derive’ the answer to a previous particle question. The man combined English grammar with a mathematical calculation, resulting in … Read more
The little tractor appears to be moving out the massive excavator in a video uploaded on Twitter. After being shared by billionaire Anand Mahindra, a video of a little child attempting “to pull out an excavator stuck on a muddy road” with his tiny tractor has gone viral. The video shared with a caption, “That’s … Read more
HONG KONG, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported two additional cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on Monday. The cases involved a 62-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman arriving in Hong Kong from Britain together on Dec. 10 and tested positive upon arrival at the Hong Kong International … Read more
HOHHOT, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — The spreading of COVID-19 in the border city of Manzhouli in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has been effectively contained, though risk still remains, the city government said Monday. Manzhouli reported three locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases from 12 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, all of whom had … Read more
SYDNEY, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — Australian researchers developed a new copper surface that could kill bacteria more than 100 times faster and more effectively than standard copper, which is expected to help combat the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. The finding, published in the Biomaterials on Monday, is the result of a collaborative research project … Read more
LONDON, Dec 13, 2021 (AFP) – At least one person has died in Britain after being infected with the Omicron variant, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, as the country launched an ambitious Covid booster shot programme to stop the virus’ spread. Britain — among the countries worst hit by the global health crisis since last year … Read more
COPENHAGEN, Dec 13, 2021 (AFP) – Danish health authorities said Monday a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine would be offered sooner to everyone over 40 to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. “Due to the new and more contagious Omicron variant the Danish Health Authority has decided to push the third jab for everyone aged 40 and above, … Read more
JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — A laboratory research has suggested that the Omicron variant can partially escape antibody immunity induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The research, led by professor Alex Sigal from the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa, has been submitted to medRxiv, a preprint server for health sciences. The research confirms … Read more
JOHANNESBURG, (AFP) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday and is receiving treatment for mild symptoms, the presidency said in a statement. Ramaphosa, who is fully vaccinated, began feeling unwell after leaving a state memorial service for former deputy president F W de Klerk in Cape Town earlier in the … Read more
LONDON, (AFP) – UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday warned of a looming “tidal wave” of Omicron, and brought forward a target to give over-18s a booster jab by one month to the end of December. “No-one should be in any doubt: there is a tidal wave of Omicron coming,” he said in a … Read more
YANGON, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) — Myanmar reported 357 new COVID-19 cases with seven more deaths in the past 24 hours, according to a release from the Ministry of Health on Saturday. The number of total COVID-19 cases in the country had risen to 526,381 while the death toll had increased to 19,177 on Saturday, the … Read more
JAKARTA, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) — Indonesia on Saturday confirmed 228 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 4,258,980, according to the country’s Health Ministry. The ministry said that the death toll from the virus rose by six to 143,929, while 190 more people recovered during the past 24 hours, bringing the total number … Read more
PARIS, Dec 11, 2021 (AFP) – French health authorities have approved the use of an anti-body treatment made by AstraZeneca for high-risk people who show resistance to vaccines against coronavirus. The independent public health body HAS Friday night announced “a greenlight for the preventive use of Evusheld… for patients with a very high-risk of contracting a severe form of Covid-19“. … Read more
SINGAPORE, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) — Singapore reported 559 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total tally in the country to 272,992. Of the new cases, 532 were in the community, six were in migrant worker dormitories and 21 were imported cases, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health (MOH). A total … Read more
BEIJING, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the Greater Bay Science Forum 2021, which opened in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, on Saturday. Noting that the world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century, Xi said the global scientific and technological innovation is in full swing, … Read more
BEIJING, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) — China’s securities regulator has approved the initial public offering (IPO) registration of three companies on the country’s NASDAQ-style ChiNext board. Anhui Tongguan Copper Foil Group Co., Ltd., Beijing Sunwayworld Science & Technology Co., Ltd. and Chengda Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. will be listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s board of growth … Read more
LAUNCH SITE ONE, United States, Dec 11, 2021 (AFP) – Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is set to blast its third private crew to space on Saturday, this time including the daughter of the first American astronaut. The spaceflight will last roughly 11 minutes, launching from the company’s base in Texas and soaring to just beyond the … Read more
MADRID, The Spanish government adopted Friday measures to attract so-called digital nomads — remote tech workers who can do their job from anywhere with a good internet connection. A growing number of countries are seeking to lure digital nomads with easy visa conditions and tax breaks as they can help boost the local tech start-up scene. The Spanish measures, … Read more
LONDON, (Xinhua) — Britain reports 58,194 new coronavirus cases, reaching levels not seen since early January, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 10,719,165, according to official figures released Friday. The country also reported a further 120 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 146,255, … Read more
LISBON, (Xinhua) — Portugal will start vaccinating children between the ages of 5 and 11 against COVID-19 from Dec. 18, the country’s Deputy Secretary of State and Health Lacerda Sales announced Friday. Children under nine currently have the highest incidence of COVID-19 in Portugal, according to the Portuguese Directorate-General for Health (DGS). Therefore, Sales said, … Read more
GENEVA: The Swiss medicines agency Swissmedic on Friday approved the vaccination of children aged between five and 11 with Pfizer-Biontech’s Comirnaty vaccine. “Clinical trial results show that the vaccine is safe and effective in this age group,” it said in a statement. The Comirnaty vaccine is administered in two doses of ten microgrammes three weeks … Read more
PORT LOUIS, Mauritius, Dec 11, 2021 (AFP) – The Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius has recorded its first two infections of the Covid-19 Omicron variant, both linked to people returned from South Africa, with a dozen more contact cases feared. Health Minister Kailesh Jagutpal told a press conference on Friday the pair were asymptomatic and had … Read more
ULAN BATOR, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) — Mongolia’s Health Ministry on Saturday confirmed 284 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 386,384. Two of the latest confirmed cases were imported from abroad, and the remaining ones were local transmissions, the ministry said. Meanwhile, three more COVID-19 patients aged over 60 … Read more
GENEVA, Dec 10, 2021 (AFP) – The Swiss government presented proposals Friday for broad new restrictions as Covid cases surge, including barring unvaccinated people from restaurants and cultural activities as well as home working requirements. The government put forward two proposals for new measures aimed at reining in ballooning rates of transmission and said a final … Read more
JINAN, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) — An international standard for marine surveys, proposed and formulated by China, was published on Friday by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The standard was jointly proposed by the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS) and the First Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural … Read more
Google has announced that the Android 12L upgrade, which is aimed to improve the experience on tablets and large folding phones, is getting its first beta release. While Beta 1 appears to be aimed mostly at developers, it could be an opportunity to see what Google is working on in a (slightly) more polished form … Read more
