South African scientists explore vaccines’ effectiveness against Omicron
Crucial work will study how well current jabs work and whether they need to be updated to tackle new variant
Nov. 29 – …South African scientists were the first to report the Omicron variant to the World Health Organization on 24 November. At the time, the first known infection was on 9 November, but earlier infections may come to light as countries conduct thorough searches for cases, chiefly among travellers who recently returned from the region.
The work in South Africa is part of an urgent global effort to understand the threat posed by Omicron. Ravi Gupta, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Cambridge, hopes to join the effort soon, first with pseudoviruses and then with live Omicron. Further experiments, he said, will look at how well synthetic antibody treatments deal with the variant. The therapies are crucial for patients who are not able to mount their own immune response to the virus.
Several vaccine manufacturers have also launched studies into how well the jabs protect against Omicron. AstraZeneca is analysing infections and vaccination status in people in Botswana and Eswatini on the borders of South Africa. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Pfizer said the company hoped to have initial results from its own antibody studies “in the coming weeks”.
If the variant largely evades vaccines, both Moderna and Pfizer claim they can produce a new, tailor-made vaccine in about 100 days, subject to approval by regulators…. quoted from
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Lithuania
…As World War I ended, Lithuania’s Act of Independence was signed on 16 February 1918, founding the modern Republic of Lithuania. In World War II, Lithuania was occupied first by the Soviet Union and then by Nazi Germany. Towards the end of the war in 1944, when the Germans were retreating, the Soviet Union reoccupied Lithuania. Lithuanian armed resistance to the Soviet occupation lasted until the early 1950s. On 11 March 1990, a year before the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania passed the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania, becoming the first Soviet republic to proclaim its independence… quoted from Wikipedia
U.S. Leadership and International Cooperation Leading Up to the Kigali Amendment
The Kigali amendment to phase down HFCs was the result of years of negotiation by parties to the Montreal Protocol, with numerous HFC amendment proposalsEXIT submitted by North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico), Island States (the Federated States of Micronesia and Mauritius), India, and the European Union (28 Member States).
note: 《基加利修正案》（Kigali Amendment）正式生效，決定在全球逐步淘汰氫氟碳化物（HFCs）。
The United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 (USICA), formerly known as the Endless Frontier Act, is United States legislation sponsored by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Todd Young (R-IN) authorizing $110 billion for basic and advanced technology research over a five year period. Investment in basic and advanced research, commercialization, and education and training programs in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, advanced communications, biotechnology and advanced energy, amounts to $100 billion. Over $10 billion was authorized for appropriation to designate ten regional technology hubs and create a supply chain crisis-response program.[1] The act is aimed at competing with China[2] and to respond to US fears of an AI Cold War.[3]
Before the full Senate vote, some Republican lawmakers such as Marco Rubio called for provisions that would prevent the allocation of grants to companies with financial ties to the People’s Republic of China.[4] Rubio’s amendment to limit the Director of National Intelligence from issuing grants to companies invested in the People’s Republic of China was tabled 55-40.[5] On June 8, 2021, the USICA passed 68-32 in the Senate with bipartisan support.[6]
On June 9, 2021, China criticized the bill as “full of Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice".
EXCLUSIVE Chinese embassy lobbies U.S. business to oppose China bills -sources
WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) – China has been pushing U.S. executives, companies and business groups in recent weeks to fight against China-related bills in the U.S. Congress, four sources familiar with the initiative told Reuters, in letters to and meetings with a wide range of actors in the business community…
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (Chinese: 中国人民解放军海军; pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn Hǎijūn), also known as the Chinese Navy, PLA Navy or PLAN, is the naval warfare branch of the People’s Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and, by default, the national armed forces of China. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese Civil War and was established on 23 April 1949.[5] Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, the Soviet Union provided assistance to the PLAN in the form of naval advisers and export of equipment and technology. quoted from Wikipedia
The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference. It is being held in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, between 31 October and 12 November 2021, under the presidency of Alok Sharma.[1][2] The conference is the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the third meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement.
This conference is the first time that parties are expected to commit to enhanced ambition since COP21. Parties are required to carry out every five years, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, a process colloquially known as the ‘ratchet mechanism’.[3]
The venue for the conference is the SEC Centre in Glasgow. Originally due to be held in November 2020 at the same venue, the event was postponed for twelve months because of the COVID-19 pandemic… more
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