Suspected Russian hackers spied on US Treasury e-mails — sources
WASHINGTON — Hackers believed to be working for Russia have been monitoring internal e-mail traffic at the US Treasury and Commerce departments, according to...
Vaccine ‘D-day’ set to start in US
THE FIRST coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine arrived in record time, an essential step toward ending the pandemic. Now comes the hard part: producing enough shots to immunize the majority of the US population and then getting them into everyone’s arms by next summer.
Pope commits Vatican to achieve zero carbon emissions in 30 years
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis urged countries on Saturday to work towards net zero carbon emissions and committed Vatican City — the world’s smallest state — to reaching the target by 2050.
Peru suspends Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine trial after ‘adverse event’
LIMA — Peru suspended trials for China’s Sinopharm coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine due to a “serious adverse event” that occurred with one of the volunteers for the study, the Peruvian government said in a statement on Saturday.
Sweden’s COVID workers are quitting in dangerous numbers
Sweden faces a shortage of health-care workers as the number of resignations ticks up after a relentless year of caring for COVID patients.
First US shots in COVID-19 vaccine campaign coming Monday, Army general says
The first shots in a massive US COVID-19 vaccine campaign will be administered as early as Monday, with Pfizer Inc. and partners aiming to start shipments across the hard-hit country on Sunday, an Army general organizing the rollout said.
UN chief urges leaders of every country to declare ‘climate emergency’
LONDON/BRUSSELS — United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on every country to declare a “climate emergency” on Saturday, as world leaders marking the fifth anniversary of the Paris climate accord made mostly incremental pledges relative to the scale of the crisis.
COVID scare on cruise shows perils of resuming tourism
THE OPTIMISM on display just two months ago when Singapore Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung pledged to reopen the city-state and its tourism-reliant economy has taken a beating after a possible local coronavirus case was found aboard one of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd.’s ships.
Japan to buy 10,500 freezers for coronavirus vaccines
TOKYO — Japan will buy 10,500 deep freezers to store novel coronavirus vaccines and is considering purchasing dry ice in bulk as it prepares to protect its population from the virus, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday.
Scientists develop genome sequencing to trace virus cases
SYDNEY — Australian scientists said on Thursday they had developed a rapid genome sequencing method that would cut to within four hours the time taken to trace the source of coronavirus cases, helping to quickly contain any future outbreaks.
China tells cabin crew to wear diapers on risky COVID flights
China’s aviation regulator is recommending cabin crew on charter flights to high-risk COVID-19 destinations wear disposable diapers and avoid using the bathroom to reduce the risk of infection.
Pounded by pandemic ‘storm,’ poor nations need climate finance more than ever
BARCELONA — Many developing nations are under huge financial stress from the COVID-19 crisis, making it more important than ever that they receive the funding promised by rich nations to help them tackle climate change, said the head of the Green Climate Fund (GCF).