Pfizer anticipates that Omicron vaccine should be prepared in March

Pfizer expects a Covid-19 immunization focusing on the Omicron variation to be prepared in March, the organization's head said Monday.

Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla told CNBC that Pfizer is already manufacturing doses due to keen interest from governments, as authorities contend with huge Covid-19 infection counts, including large numbers of "breakthrough" Omicron cases in vaccinated populations.

"This vaccine will be ready in March," Bourla told the network. "I don't know if we will need it. I don't know if and how it will be used."

Bourla said the existing regime of two vaccine shots and a booster has provided "reasonable" protection against serious health effects from Omicron.

But a vaccine focused directly on the Omicron variant would also guard against breakthrough infections of a strain that has proven highly contagious, but has also resulted in many mild or asymptomatic cases.

In a separate interview with CNBC Monday, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the company is developing a booster that could address Omicron and other emerging strains in the fall 2022.

"We are discussing with public health leaders around the world to decide what we think is the best strategy for a potential booster for the fall of 2022," Bancel told the network.

"We need to be careful to try to stay ahead of a virus and not behind the virus."

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US, Russia hold talks amid tensions linked to Ukraine

Senior US and Russian officials launched special talks on Monday aimed at defusing tensions over a Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine, part of a flurry of diplomatic activity in Europe this week.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and his delegation arrived under Swiss police escort at the US diplomatic mission in Geneva for face-to-face talks with Wendy Sherman, the US deputy secretary of state, and her team. The meeting is part of Strategic Security Dialogue talks on arms control and other broad issues launched by Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin during a June summit in the Swiss city. No major breakthrough was immediately in sight.

After an informal working dinner on Sunday, Ryabkov predicted difficult talks in Geneva that are to be followed by a Nato-Russia meeting in Brussels on Wednesday and a meeting Thursday in Vienna of the multilateral Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Moscow has sought to wrest a string of concessions from the US and its Western allies, including guarantees that Nato will no longer expand eastward into former Soviet states like Ukraine, along whose border Russia has massed an estimated 100,000 troops in steps that have raised concerns about a possible military intervention there.

Sherman stressed the United States commitment to the international principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the freedom of sovereign nations to choose their own alliances at the dinner, said State Department spokesman Ned Price, a reference to Ukraine and its aspirations of joining Nato. Many analysts say any such move would be years away at best.

Sherman affirmed that the United States would welcome genuine progress through diplomacy, Price said.

The US has played down hopes of significant progress this week and said some demands like a possible halt to Nato expansion go against countries’ sovereign rights to set up their own security arrangements, and are thus non-negotiable.

But US officials have expressed openness to other ideas, like curtailing possible future deployments of offensive missiles in Ukraine and putting limits on American and Nato military exercises in Eastern Europe if Russia is willing to back off on Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said bluntly that he doesn’t expect any breakthroughs in the coming week. Instead, he said a more likely positive outcome would be an agreement to de-escalate tensions in the short term and return to talks at an appropriate time in the future. But the US will have to see a de-escalation for there to be actual progress.

Its very hard to see that happening when there’s an ongoing escalation, when Russia has a gun to the head of Ukraine with 100,000 troops near its borders, the possibility of doubling that on very short order, Blinken said on ABCs This Week. Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also sought to play down expectations.

I don’t think that we can expect that these meetings will solve all the issues,” he told reporters in Brussels on Monday after talks with Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. “What we are hoping for is that we can agree on a way forward, that we can agree on a series of meetings, that we can agree on a process.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Rome, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said dialogue offered the only way out of the crisis.

At the same time, its equally clear that a renewed breach of Ukrainian sovereignty by Russia would have grave consequences, she said.

Russia has said it wants the issue resolved this month, but Nato is wary that Putin might be looking for a pretext, such as a failure in the negotiations, to launch an invasion.

The United States, which has emphasized that Ukraine’s government and those of other European countries need to be included in the discussions, plans to discuss some bilateral issues in Geneva but will not discuss European security without our European allies and partners, Price said.

Russia entered the talks seeking a clearer understanding of the US position and cited signals from Washington that some of the Russian proposals can be discussed, Ryabkov said, according to state news agency Tass on Sunday.

Ryabkov laid out Russia’s three demands: no further Nato expansion, no missiles on Russia’s borders, and for Nato no longer to have military exercises, intelligence operations or infrastructure outside of its 1997 borders.

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Federal Cabinet approves to proceed against Shahbaz for submitting false affidavit escaping Nawaz abroad

The federal cabinet has approved to proceed against Shahbaz Sharif in the Lahore High Court for submitting false affidavit in fraudulently escaping Nawaz Sharif abroad.

Briefing media in Islamabad this afternoon, about the decisions taken by the Federal Cabinet, which met in the federal capital with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair today (Tuesday), Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said Nawaz Sharif's proceeding abroad on the pretext of medical reasons was an utter fraud. He said Nawaz Sharif has been living in London for 17 months, but he has not taken any treatment. He said the Punjab Government has rejected all the medical reports submitted by the Sharif family. He said Pakistan's embassy in London also contacted the Sharif family twice, but it did not cooperate.

Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said Shahbaz Sharif had submitted an affidavit guaranteeing return of his elder brother, who neither got any treatment nor returned to Pakistan. He said Shahbaz Sharif was fully involved in Nawaz Sharif's escape from the country. He said the government will pray the court that Shahbaz Sharif should be disqualified for submitting a false affidavit or he should be bound to bring back his brother as per promise.

Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said the cabinet was also briefed about Covid situation in the country. He said it has been decided that no lockdown will be imposed in the country as Pakistan's economy cannot afford this. He, however, appealed the people to observe precautionary measures, especially wearing of face masks at public places, to prevent spread of the virus. He said the government will keep monitoring the situation.

Regarding Electronic Voting Machines, the Minister said the Ministry of Science and Technology has been directed to provide EVMs to the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold next elections in Islamabad through these machines to ensure transparency.

Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said the cabinet also approved launching of a Housing Project on 400 kanals for overseas Pakistanis. He said overseas Pakistanis can procure apartments in this project through Roshan Digital Accounts. He said the government will fetch around two billion dollars through this project. He said the cabinet also directed to frame a policy to enable foreigners to procure land in Pakistan.

The Minister said the Federal Cabinet approved electricity tariff adjustment of one rupee per unit for next three months to provide relief to the people. Besides, Science, Technology, and Innovation policy, Sambarial-Kharian Motorway, import of urea from China, and privatization of Guddu and Nandipur power plants were approved.

Referring to the tragic incidents of Murree, the Minister said the Prime Minister expressed deep grief and sorrow over the deaths of tourists there. He said the people died of carbon monoxide in their vehicles.

The Minister said the PTI government is the first government that gave due importance to tourism sector. He said thirteen new tourist resorts have been established. He said the structure of the tourism sector is being improved to ensure proper facilities to tourists.

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PCB starts online sale of the tickets for the upcoming psl season

The Pakistan Cricket Board has launched the online sale of the tickets for the upcoming Pakistan Super League

The PCB had announced the ticket sale timings in a press statement earlier today.

Cricket enthusiasts can log on to cricket.bookme.pk to purchase the tickets. Besides this, the PCB, in a new initiative, has introduced an early bird offer under which fans can get first-class and general enclosure tickets for all preliminary round matches on discounted prices if booked before 17 January.

PCB says that "all fans can attend the matches and enjoy the engagement in and around the venues that will be introduced to enhance fan enjoyment and experience."

However, there are important ticketing terms and conditions as well as hygiene guidelines to be followed at match venues, that PCB has asked fans to strictly adhere to in order to ensure safety during the ongoing COVID-19 wave.

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Islamabad High Court gives directives to seal Monal Restaurant

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed the Islamabad chief commissioner and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Tuesday to seal off Monal Restaurant immediately and take over the navy’s golf course, respectively.

The IHC chief justice made these remarks during a hearing regarding encroachment in Margalla Hills National Park.

During the hearing, Justice Athar Minallah said that any claims, including the one by the Military Farms directorate, regarding the ownership of land in the Margalla Hills National Park are false. “This is a protected area owned by the federal government,” he added.

"Seal Monal if its lease has ended," Justice Minallah added.

About Margalla Hills Park, the court said the land belonged to the state. “It is a protected area and there can be no activity in it. No one can even cut grass in the national park area,” the IHC CJ said.

In a comment on Margalla Greens Golf Club, the chief justice said that the Pakistan Navy encroached on the national park’s land to build a golf course.

“The armed forces also have to comply with the laws,” he said, adding that people have "respect for the military forces but what message would they convey to the public by encroaching on state’s land".

“People will also follow the law if such things are stopped,” he said in reference to violation of laws by the state institutions.

Ordering the CDA to take control of the golf course on the same day, the IHC CJ directed the chief secretary to make sure that the takeover happens today to avoid any embarrassment.

“You agreed that the golf course is illegal,” the IHC CJ said to the secretary, directing him to launch an inquiry to fix responsibility.

Justice Minallah said these rules also applied to the armed forces. “Are these rules being implemented,” he questioned. “Did the Pakistan Air Force seek CDA’s permission for the constructions it carried out,” the bench inquired.

They may have some security reservations, Justice Minallah said, adding that the defence secretary is here and he should be heard but the laws needed to be implemented strictly.

He said there should not be any illegal construction by the armed forces as the court did not want to see the forces become controversial. "It is against the public interest," the judge added.

According to Justice Minallah, not even a single property can be in the name of any institution. He said the armed forces were not autonomous but subordinate to the defence ministry. The 8,000 acres of land claimed by the military farms is now part of the national park, he said while dismissing the claim of the military farms.

Speaking about the role of armed forces in the encroachment, he said the law was clear regarding the land allocated to the armed forces. "The armed forces should not be controversial in any way. It is not in the public interest," the judge remarked.

He also mentioned the sailing club built by the navy in a public park, saying such practices bring a bad name to the armed forces.

At the start of the hearing, the additional attorney general (AAG) informed that Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam could not appear before the bench due to Covid-19. Justice Minallah also grilled the climate change secretary during the hearing. He said his ministry had acknowledged that the land was encroached upon, but still there was no action. “Is your job just to plant trees,” he quipped.

Lamenting the state of affairs in the federal capital, he said there was “lawlessness” in 1,400 square miles of the ICT territory. “What is happening is shocking; what should the court do,” he added.

During the hearing, the IHC CJ also asked what happened to land that is of no purpose or use to anyone. The AAG replied that it was the executive's job to determine that. However, Justice Minallah retorted that this is to be determined by the law instead of the executive.

The high court also ordered the Environment Protection Agency to submit a report on the damages caused by illegal constructions in the national park.

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Italy's prime minister declared tight Covid-19 restrictions

Prime Minister asked Italians to get immunized against Covid, faulting the people who were not for "a large portion of the issues we confronting", as Italy again fixed its Covid-19 guidelines.

New restrictions came into force Monday barring the unvaccinated from restaurants, gyms, swimming pools, theatres, cinemas, sports events and public transport, with only those recently recovered from Covid-19 exempt.

The measures were introduced in the face of a sharp rise in infections in Italy, the first European country hit by coronavirus in early 2020, which has since recorded almost 140,000 Covid-19 deaths.

At a press conference, Draghi emphasised that despite the rising cases -- another 100,000 were reported on Monday -- the situation was different from last winter when the vaccination campaign had yet to begin and lockdowns were required to stop hospitals becoming overwhelmed.

"Most of the problems we are facing today depend on the fact that there are unvaccinated people," he said.

"Unvaccinated people have a much higher chance of developing the disease and severe forms of the disease," he said, saying they were putting hospitals under pressure -- and urging "all the Italians who are not yet vaccinated to do so".

More than 86 percent of people over the age of 12 in Italy are fully vaccinated, while 23 million of the 60-million-strong population have had a booster jab.

Vaccines are also open to children aged five and over.

The government is also making vaccines obligatory for the over 50s from next month.

The majority of schools opened Monday for a new term despite calls from headteachers, the doctors' union and some mayors to delay the return to class for at least two weeks.

Hundreds of councils across the country kept their schools closed, according to media reports, but Draghi repeated that keeping children in class was a priority.

"We want to be careful, very careful, but also try to minimise the economic and social effects and above all the effects on boys and girls who have been affected more than others by the closures, from a psychological and educational point of view," he said.

Top virologist Massimo Galli at the Sacco de Milan hospital earlier warned opening schools was "imprudent and unjustified", while public health expert Walter Ricciardi described the situation as "explosive".

The high number of cases is also having an economic effect -- Trenitalia said Monday it had cancelled 180 regional trains due to staff shortages.

The so-called Super Green Pass showing proof of vaccination or recent recovery is required in almost all public places and on public transport until March 31, while FFP2 masks are mandatory in many places.

Unvaccinated residents on Italy's small islands, which had warned they risked being cast into "forced exile" by the new rules, have been permitted to travel with a negative Covid test until February 10 for health or educational reasons.

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Corona claims 2 more lives across the country

Pakistan has reported 2 more deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of confirmed positive cases has surged to 1,307,174. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 28,974 on Tuesday.

According to the latest figures issued by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 1,467 persons were tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

 

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