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Covid-19 vaccines showed high efficacy against severe Omicron: US data
Covid-19 vaccines and boosters continued to have very high efficacy against severe outcomes during the Omicron wave of the virus, a large real-world study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed Friday.
'The last wave?' Spain ICU staff exhausted by Covid battle
Seemingly milder for some but still highly contagious, Omicron has filled intensive care beds again at a hospital near Barcelona where shattered staff are still fighting a virus that refuses to retreat.
UN religion envoy to join China's Winter Olympic torch relay
China on Friday said the UN's religious freedom envoy will take part in the Winter Olympics torch relay, which organisers announced would be closed to the public because of coronavirus fears.
Soaring Covid self-test kit sales fuel India underreporting fears
Booming sales of home self-test kits for Covid are prompting Indian authorities to tighten the rules around their sale and fuelling long-held fears of underreporting as cases surge.
Glimmers of hope, but Doomsday Clock stuck at 100 seconds to midnight
The "Doomsday Clock," representing the judgment of leading science and security experts about perils to human existence, remains at 100 seconds to midnight this year, with advances like Covid-19 vaccines balanced by rising misinformation and other threats.
Tearful Adele pulls plug on Las Vegas show
A tearful Adele postponed her Las Vegas residency Thursday, a day before it was due to begin.
CIA sees no foreign effort behind 'Havana syndrome' cases
The CIA has concluded that no foreign government is likely behind hundreds of mysterious "Havana syndrome" afflictions reported by US diplomats and that nearly all have more conventional medical or environmental explanations, a senior official said Thursday.
World Sevens events in LA, Vancouver rescheduled
Upcoming World Sevens Series tournaments in Vancouver and Los Angeles have been rescheduled due to Covid-19 concerns, organisers said Thursday.
Nine evacuated as Covid-19 hits Antarctic research base
For the first time since the start of the pandemic the coronavirus has reached an Argentine research base in Antarctica, causing the evacuation of nine unvaccinated staff who tested positive for Covid-19, an official said Thursday.
Austria makes Covid vaccination mandatory in EU first
Austria's parliament on Thursday approved making Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for adults from next month, becoming the first European country to do so despite a wave of protests opposing the measure.
In Lima, infirm get Covid jabs at home as Peru's cases surge
As night falls over a dusty neighborhood in Lima, a team of health workers hustle from home to home to vaccinate the old and infirm as a third coronavirus wave sweeps over Peru, the world's hardest-hit country per capita.
Austria parliament approves mandatory Covid vaccination
Austria's parliament on Thursday approved making Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for adults from next month, becoming the first European country to do so despite a wave of protests opposing the measure.
UK PM denies blackmailing Tory rebels
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday dismissed new allegations that his aides had tried to "blackmail" and threaten Conservative rebels, in a potentially criminal twist to Downing Street's "partygate" scandal.
Artist Emin demands Downing St remove artwork
British artist Tracey Emin demanded Thursday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street office remove an artwork of hers reading "More Passion," saying it did not need further encouragement to party.
Australian Open chief defends 'optional' Covid tests
Australian Open chiefs said Thursday that their Covid measures were working after several players questioned the "optional" testing policy at the Grand Slam.
Labour vs luxury: virus tracing highlights China's inequality
The stark contrast between the lives of two coronavirus patients unearthed by Chinese contact tracers sparked a widespread debate on Thursday over the country's entrenched wealth inequality.
Spain leads calls for Covid-19 to be treated like flu
Spain is spearheading calls for governments to start tackling Covid-19 as any other endemic respiratory virus like seasonal flu, despite WHO opposition and warnings that the approach is premature.
CIA says 'Havana Syndrome' is not foreign power campaign: reports
The CIA has concluded that US diplomats suffering mysterious headaches and nausea in what has been dubbed "Havana Syndrome" were not targeted in a global campaign by a foreign power, reports said Wednesday.
Natural immunity more potent than vaccines during US Delta wave: study
During America's last surge of the coronavirus driven by the Delta variant, people who were unvaccinated but survived Covid were better protected than those who were vaccinated and not previously infected, a new study said Wednesday.
US Covid doc: We are 'burned out'
Exhausted and overwhelmed by the influx of mostly unvaccinated Covid patients, Dr James Samuel Pope, an intensive care physician at Hartford Hospital in the US state of Connecticut, hopes the Omicron wave of the pandemic will be the last.
World Bank chief contrasts Microsoft deal with poor countries' debt
After Microsoft announced it would spend tens of billions of dollars to buy a video game company, World Bank President David Malpass on Wednesday drew a contrast between the deal and the amount of money rich nations have pledged to help poor countries facing higher debt loads.
'In the name of God, go!' UK PM defies calls to quit
A defiant Boris Johnson vowed Wednesday to remain British premier and contest the next election as calls for his resignation snowballed and a former Brexit minister demanded he quit 'in the name of God'.
Omicron starts receding in the United States: data
The United States appears to be emerging from its latest coronavirus wave driven by the Omicron variant, data showed Wednesday, though cases remain far higher than during any previous surge and Covid hospitalizations are at a peak.
US tycoon opens Africa's first start-to-finish Covid-19 jab plant
US biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong on Wednesday opened a plant in Cape Town that will be the first in Africa to produce Covid-19 vaccines from start to finish.
Beijing battles virus as Xi'an emerges from lockdown
Beijing on Wednesday reported five new locally transmitted coronavirus cases, raising fears of a fresh outbreak less than three weeks before the city hosts the Winter Olympics.
Fury over Hong Kong's mass cull of hamsters and small pets
Hong Kong's government faced outrage Wednesday over its decision to cull thousands of small animals after hamsters in a pet store tested positive for Covid-19.
Azarenka wants no-jab, no-play rule in women's tennis
Two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka threw her support Wednesday behind a vaccine mandate on the women's tour, as tennis wrestles with the fall-out of the saga surrounding unvaccinated Novak Djokovic.
Xi'an restarts some public transport after coronavirus lockdown
The Chinese megacity of Xi'an has partially resumed public transport, according to official announcements, after millions were confined to their homes for weeks because of a coronavirus outbreak.
World tourism won't return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024: UN
Tourism arrivals around the world are not expected to return to their pre-pandemic levels until 2024 at the earliest, the World Tourism Organization said Tuesday.
Messi back in full training for PSG after Covid
Lionel Messi was back in full training with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday for the first time since testing positive for Covid-19 at the end of last year.
Covid pandemic 'nowhere near over': WHO
The Covid-19 pandemic is far from over, the World Health Organization chief said Tuesday, cautioning against a narrative that the fast-spreading Omicron variant is risk-free.
Hong Kong to cull hamsters after Covid found in pets
Hong Kong will cull hundreds of hamsters after some tested positive for coronavirus, officials said Tuesday, as the city pushes to maintain its strict "zero-Covid" strategy.