The United States and Europe are taking steps to acquire or manufacture H5N1 bird flu vaccines that could be used to protect at-risk poultry and dairy workers, veterinarians and lab technicians, government officials said, moves influenza experts say could curb the threat of a pandemic. U.S officials last week said they were moving bulk vaccine from CSL Seqirus that closely …
Read More »Tag Archives: reuters
Ukraine to receive fighter jets soon, despite delays in crucial military aid
Ukraine will receive its first supplies of F-16 fighter jets “very soon”, but around half of its desperately needed foreign military aid is arriving late, Kyiv’s defense minister has said. Rustem Umerov, 42, told Reuters in an interview in Kyiv late on Monday that Russia was deploying more manpower and equipment to the front, more than 27 months after its …
Read More »Biden missing upcoming Ukraine talks would be 'applauded' by Putin, Zelenskyy says
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that if U.S. President Joe Biden missed a peace summit organized by Kyiv in Switzerland next month, Russian President Vladimir Putin would applaud his absence. Ukraine hopes to host as many countries as possible in an attempt to unite opinions on how to halt the war and pile pressure on Russia, which has seized …
Read More »Poland signs $735M deal with US for supply of missiles, defense minister says
Poland has signed a $735 million contract with the U.S. for the supply of JASSM-ER missiles, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Tuesday. The country is spending heavily to bolster its armed forces since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Warsaw is spending around 4% of its gross domestic product on defense this year and last week announced an agreement with the …
Read More »Taiwan's president thanks fighter pilots who scrambled against China's 'punishment' drills
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te thanked fighter pilots who had scrambled against China last week during its war games around the island, as he was briefed on the events at a frontline air base on Tuesday. China, which claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, started two days of drills last Thursday in what it called “punishment” for Lai’s inauguration speech …
Read More »What to know about the new 'FLiRT' COVID variants
The so-called FLiRT variants of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that cause COVID-19 have been the dominant forms of the virus circulating this year globally, according to the World Health Organization. The moniker FLiRT is an acronym for the locations of the mutations the variants share on the virus’ spike protein. One of them, called KP.2, has become the most commonly circulating variant …
Read More »Putin wants Ukraine ceasefire on current frontlines, sources say
Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognizes the current battlefield lines, four Russian sources told Reuters, saying he is prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond. Three of the sources, familiar with discussions in Putin’s entourage, said the veteran Russian leader had expressed frustration …
Read More »US and allies say Taiwan should be allowed at important WHO meeting, despite China's objections
The United States and several of its allies, including Britain, Canada, Australia, Germany and Japan, issued a joint statement on Friday calling on Taiwan to be allowed to take part in a key meeting of the World Health Organization next week. Taiwan is excluded from most international organizations because of objections by China, which considers the democratically governed island its …
Read More »North Korea may be preparing to launch military satellite, South Korea says
South Korea’s military said on Friday it had detected signs in North Korea of possible preparations for a satellite launch in what would be the nuclear-armed North’s effort to place a second military reconnaissance craft in orbit. South Korea and U.S. intelligence authorities are closely monitoring North Korea’s activities, a South Korean military official said. The activities were spotted at …
Read More »Man fatally shot by police in violence-hit New Caledonia
Police shot dead a man in riot-hit New Caledonia on Friday evening, a day after President Emmanuel Macron visited to the French-ruled Pacific island to try to calm tensions, local media said, citing the local prosecutor’s office. The police officer used his gun as he and a colleague were attacked by a group of around 15 people before the shot …
Read More »