Four killed in Karabakh blast, Azerbaijan blames Armenia

Four Azeri civilians died Saturday after their car hit a landmine planted by retreating Armenian soldiers in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general said.

The incident occurred in a village in Fizuli district, a statement said.

“The mine was planted by the Armenian armed forces during their retreat,” the statement said, adding that it was an anti-tank mine.

The statement called the incident a “new type of provocation” from Armenia.

Running along the border with Iran, Fizuli was among the districts claimed by Armenian fighters in a 1990s war that saw separatists declare independence over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and several surrounding territories.

Azerbaijan recaptured Fizuli in renewed clashes over Karbakh that started in late September and continued for six weeks, claiming more than 4,000 lives.

The ex-Soviet rivals signed a Moscow-brokered peace deal on November 9, ending weeks of heavy fighting and documenting that Armenia will surrender to Baku several territories that were under separatists’ control for more than three decades.

 

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3o5Lc2f

Coronavirus surge leads to curfew in San Francisco

A surge in coronavirus cases will put San Francisco under a curfew beginning on Monday and trigger other restrictions related to the virus, the city announced.

The curfew requires non-essential businesses to close and prohibits members of different households from gathering between 10 pm and 5 am until December 21, Mayor London Breed said Saturday.

San Mateo county outside San Francisco will also be subject to the same rules after the state of California classified both under its most restrictive tier of locations based on the spread of the virus.

In addition to the curfew, certain indoor businesses will be required to either close or reduce capacity beginning on Sunday at noon, Breed said.

“I don’t know how to be more clear — this is the most dangerous time we’ve faced during this pandemic,” Breed said on Twitter.

“Do not travel or gather with others. We have to get this under control now and we can’t afford to let things continue at this rate.”

On Friday, a temporary ban on gatherings of people from different households, with religious services and protests exempt, was announced for California’s largest city, Los Angeles.

That order affecting the United States’ second-largest city will take effect Monday and last at least three weeks, until December 20, Los Angeles county’s public health department said.

California imposed a night-time curfew across much of the state a week ago, but San Francisco was not affected because it was not at the time classified among the state’s most restrictive tier of locations.

The United States on Friday topped 13 million Covid-19 cases — the world’s highest — and President-elect Joe Biden has warned of difficult weeks ahead before vaccines become widely available.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/2Vhpz2J

Canada blocks bulk exports of some prescription drugs in response to Trump import plan

Canada on Saturday blocked bulk exports of prescription drugs if they would create a shortage at home, in response to outgoing US President Donald Trump’s efforts to allow imports from Canada to lower some drug prices for Americans.

“Certain drugs intended for the Canadian market are prohibited from being distributed for consumption outside of Canada if that sale would cause or worsen a drug shortage,” Health Minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement.

“Companies will now also be required to provide information to assess existing or potential shortages, when requested, and within 24 hours if there is a serious or imminent health risk,” the statement said.

The Canadian measure went into effect on Friday, just days before a U.S. “Importation Prescription Drugs” rule that would eventually allow licensed U.S. pharmacists or wholesalers to import in bulk certain prescription drugs intended for the Canadian market.

Neither the White House nor the Department of Health and Human Services had an immediate response to a request for comment.

Trump touted the plan in his first debate with President-elect Joe Biden, who has also said during his campaign that he would set up a similar import plan to try to reduce prescription drug costs for Americans.

“Canada is a small market, representing 2% of global drug sales, that sources 68% of its drugs internationally. The need for vigilance in maintaining the national drug supply continues,” the statement said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in September he was willing to help other nations with pharmaceutical supplies if possible, adding that his priority was protecting the needs of Canadians.

Many of Canada’s drug suppliers opposed Trump’s plan, saying it could lead to shortages.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/2JkSfVM

Will COVID-19 vaccines protect us? Does efficacy equal effectiveness?

The frontrunners in the COVID-19 vaccine race have emerged with different success rates for their shots in clinical trials, but what does that mean for the global fight against the pandemic?

U.S. drugmakers Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna have each said their coronavirus vaccines have an efficacy rate of around 95% and a Russian project touted 92% efficacy for its Sputnik V vaccine.

Britain’s AstraZeneca announced an average efficacy rate of 70%, still well above the 50% rate that U.S. regulators have said they want to see before approving a COVID-19 vaccine for use.

WHAT ARE EFFICACY NUMBERS?

If a vaccine has an efficacy of, say, 80%, it means that if 100 people who have not previously been infected by the coronavirus are given the vaccine, on average 80 of them will not get the disease that the virus causes: COVID-19. These rates relate to vaccines administered and monitored in controlled circumstances, such as clinical trials.

DOES THAT MEAN AN INDIVIDUAL’S PROTECTION LEVEL IS THE SAME?

No. A person immunised with a vaccine that has, say, 80% efficacy is very likely to be protected from getting the disease with symptoms, especially severe ones.

They are also very likely to be protected from asymptomatic disease – but this, depending on the vaccine, may be less certain.

Even with 95% efficacy, there is no absolute guarantee of protection for any particular individual.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN THE REAL WORLD?

There is a difference between efficacy rates obtained in clinical trials and effectiveness – the real-world protection rate of a vaccine when it is rolled out.

“Efficacy says: ‘Does it work?’. Effectiveness says: ‘Can it be applied? Can you carry the efficacy to the people?’,” said Marcel Tanner, an epidemiologist and president of Switzerland’s Academies of Arts and Sciences.

In the real world, a vaccine’s effectiveness can be influenced by multiple, unpredictable factors including, for example: the rate of spread of a virus; how many, or few, people adhere to the optimum dosing schedule and timetable; how individuals’ immune systems respond; whether the vaccine was stored at the correct temperature; whether people know, or don’t know, if they’ve been exposed before.

Generally, a vaccine’s real-world effectiveness tends to be slightly lower than its efficacy.

WILL THESE VACCINES STOP THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC?

Experts say this is unlikely. More realistic, they say, is that we will have to live alongside the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Evidence so far suggests that COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna and AstraZeneca will help stop people developing the disease. Only AstraZeneca’s data, so far, shows signs that its shot may also help prevent transmission of the virus.

“Protection against illness has a value for an individual,” said Penny Ward,” a visiting professor in pharmaceutical medicine at King’s College London. She added, however, that vaccines that do not prevent transmission will not halt the pandemic.

“Until the vaccination and other measures result in the virus being close to elimination in any particular country, and worldwide, there will still be a need for distancing, masks and hand washing to reduce transmission further than will be achieved by the vaccine alone,” said Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

“(A) vaccine is no good until people are vaccinated, and even then, it will not result in a situation where all other protective measures can be immediately abandoned.”

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3mnmtpC

PM Imran Khan lambastes Opposition, says PDM leaders 'lack empathy'

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday lambasted the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), for holding rallies and jalsas amid a worsening coronavirus situation in the country and the Opposition parties' bid to save what he termed was "looted wealth and corruption".

In a series of tweets Sunday afternoon, PM Imran Khan said Pakistan is facing not only the COVID-19 pandemic but a "a political leadership that has never gone through any democratic struggle" and is not well-versed with the challenges ordinary citizens experience.

The premier criticised the Opposition leaders for lacking empathy and their families that "looted national wealth to further impoverish our masses".

Problem confronting us in Pak during COVID 19 is of a political leadership that has never gone through any democratic struggle, nor worked with ordinary citizens to understand the problems they confront, nor contributed in any substantive way for betterment of ordinary citizens.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 29, 2020

"These entitled 'leaders' living like royalty in their secluded mansions, have simply inherited their positions because of their families," he said. "Now their sole and desperate goal is to save their families' looted wealth and corruption of which they are an integral part."

PM Imran Khan reiterated his earlier stance that the Opposition parties and their leaders were only focused on a concession under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), which "is all that guides their politics, not any concern for the lives of ordinary citizens".

"Their desperation to get NRO any which way they can motivates them," he said.

The prime minister further slammed the Opposition for earlier opposing the smart lockdown strategy to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus — Pakistan recorded over 2,800 new infections and has so far lost close to 8,000 people to COVID-19 — and "now, with [a] new spike, when we again need smart lockdown" in the country.

"They want jalsas, not caring for the lives and safety of people. They think this is their last means of pressuring us for NRO — which will never happen," he stressed.

The premier also took a jibe at the lifestyle of the Opposition leaders, which he said was no less than that of royals, and said they had "never worked a day in their lives".

"Having never worked a day in their lives, their 'shahi' lifestyles are directly dependent on saving their families ill-gotten, illegally acquired wealth through robbing and impoverish the nation," PM Imran Khan wrote.

from Latest Pakistan News - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3fU2sEY

Suicide car bomb kills 30 Afghan security personnel

A suicide car bomber struck an army base in Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 30 security personnel, officials said, in one of the bloodiest attacks in recent months.

The attack occurred on the outskirts of Ghazni city, capital of the eastern province of Ghazni, which has seen regular fighting between the Taliban and government forces.

It came as the government and Taliban are engaged in peace talks to end the war in the impoverished country that has killed tens of thousands of people in nearly two decades.

“Thirty bodies and 24 wounded people have been brought to hospital. All of them are security personnel,” Baz Mohammad Hemat, director of Ghazni hospital, told AFP.

Interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said a suicide bomber had detonated a vehicle full of explosives.

“The bomber drove a Humvee vehicle right inside the base and detonated it,” Ghazni governor spokesman Wahidullah Jumazada told AFP.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Ghazni attack comes just days after two bombs killed 14 people in the historic city of Bamiyan, ending years of calm in the isolated town famous for its ancient Buddhist heritage.

In another suicide car bomb attack on Sunday, one civilian was killed and 20 others wounded in the southern city of Qalat in the province of Zabul, provincial police chief Hekmatullah Kochi told AFP.

He said the attack targeted the vehicle of Zabul provincial council chief, Atta Jan Haqbayan, who was wounded.

Violence surges

Sunday's bombings marked the latest carnage in Afghanistan, where violence has surged since the start of peace talks on September 12 in the Qatari capital of Doha.

Brutal attacks have killed more than 50 people in Kabul in recent weeks, including two assaults on educational centres and a rocket attack.

The three Kabul attacks were claimed by the militant Islamic State group, but Afghan officials blamed the Taliban — who denied any involvement.

The Taliban have launched daily attacks targeting Afghan forces despite engaging in the peace talks. The talks had been bogged down by disputes on the agenda, the basic framework of discussions and religious interpretations, but agreement has now been reached on all issues, according to sources close to the talks.

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for “expedited discussions” during a visit to Doha last week during which he met with both Taliban and Afghan government negotiators.

The Pentagon said earlier this month that it would soon pull out some 2,000 troops from Afghanistan, speeding up the timeline of a full withdrawal by May 2021 as agreed with the Taliban in a separate deal signed in February.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/2Vh1uZG

Brilliant Bairstow powers England to victory in first T20

England’s Jonny Bairstow bludgeoned a brilliant unbeaten 86 from 48 balls as the tourists chased down 180 to beat South Africa by five wickets with four balls to spare on a slow wicket in the first Twenty20 International at Newlands on Friday.

Sent into bat, South Africa posted a respectable 179 for six in their 20 overs, before claiming early wickets to have England in trouble in their reply.

But Bairstow, batting in an unfamiliar number four position, led the fightback as he sat deep in his crease and smashed nine fours and four sixes with the kind of exquisite timing few other batsmen found on the day.

The win will be pleasing for captain Eoin Morgan, who said this week he did not know his best XI in the shortest format but could already have had some questions answered ahead of the second fixture in the three-match series in Paarl on Sunday.

South Africa’s innings was anchored by their experienced former captain Faf du Plessis (58 from 40 balls), who was especially brutal on Tom Curran (1-55), smashing the England seamer for 24 runs in his second over that contributed to the bowlers most expensive figures in international Twenty20 cricket.

Brother Sam Curran (3-28) exac­ted some family revenge when he had du Plessis caught on the boundary by Chris Jordan and was the pick of the visitors attack with his career-best figures, and clever change of pace and ability to surprise with the short ball on a slow wicket.

Captain Quinton de Kock (30 from 23 balls) and Rassie van der Dussen (37 from 28 balls) also provided useful runs for the home side.

England were in early trouble in their reply, losing Jason Roy (0) second ball to debutant George Linde as South Africa took pace off the ball at the start of the innings.

When Jos Buttler (7) and Dawid Malan (19) fell the visitors had slumped to 34-3 in the sixth over. But Bairstow and Ben Stokes (37 from 27 balls) rallied, putting on 85 in 8.4 overs for the fourth wicket to drag England back into the contest.

England still needed 51 from the final four overs, but when Beuran Hendricks conceded 28 runs in his last over, the game swung heavily in their favour.

De Kock refused to blame the Hendricks over. “I don’t think it was just the one over. It was the way Jonny and Ben played. We didn’t play badly. They played really well.”

Bairstow survived one chance, when du Plessis leaped and dropped a one-handed chance on the boundary. Apart from that, Bairstow was utterly fluent, crunching boundaries over the leg-side or easing them away off the face of the bat on the off-side.

Man-of-the-match Bairstow said he didn’t care where batted after being a regular opener in white-ball cricket. “It’s something you’ve got to enjoy. You learn to craft your innings in different ways.”

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/2Ju1nrm