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United to give travelers free COVID-19 tests on select Newark-London flights

Chicago-based United said the program would give Abbott Laboratories' rapid molecular ID Now tests, which take about 15 to 20 minutes, to all passengers above age 2. The program will run from Nov. 16 through Dec. 11 on three evening flights a week from Newark Liberty International Airport to London's Heathrow Airport. Global airlines are backing COVID-19 testing to replace or reduce 14-day quarantines and other restrictions that have battered demand.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Britain will do everything it can to avoid ordering a second national lockdown because it believes it will do more harm than good to the country, a minister said on Thursday. As France and Germany ordered new national closures, British Housing Minister Robert Jenrick said the British government's clear policy was to use the tough local restrictions that were recently imposed on swathes of northern England. After a lull in the summer, the virus started to spread again in September and an Imperial College study published on Thursday showed cases doubling every nine days, with nearly 100,000 people infected in England each day.

Tanzanian opposition leader rejects presidential election

Tanzania’s leading opposition candidate is rejecting Wednesday’s presidential vote after alleging widespread irregularities, saying that whatever happened was not an election and was like “spitting in the face of democracy." Tundu Lissu of the CHADEMA party also appeared to warn of unrest: “Those in power are telling Tanzanians, ‘If you want change, look for it another way, not through the ballot box, not through democracy,’” he told reporters Thursday. The other top opposition party, ACT Wazalendo, announced that its presidential candidate in the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, Seif Sharif Hamad, was arrested Thursday for the second time in a week.

South Korea expresses 'serious concern' over any Japanese radioactive water dump

South Korea expressed alarm on Thursday about the possibility that Japan will dump more than one million tonnes of contaminated water from the tsunami-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. "Director-general Kim highlighted our grave awareness and serious concern about the issue of the Fukushima reactor contaminated water," the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to Kim Jung-han, director-general for Asia and Pacific affairs, who led the South Korean team.

Republican moderate Susan Collins fights for her political life in Trump era

U.S. Senator Susan Collins is fighting for her political life in a race that could decide control of the Senate, having enjoyed years of popularity as an independent-minded moderate before fellow Republican Donald Trump entered the White House. A senator from Maine since 1997 who has voted with Trump two-thirds of the time, Collins is among nine Republicans whose prospects for re-election have been thrown into doubt in a chamber where their party holds a mere 53-47 majority. Trailing her Democratic rival in opinion polls and fundraising, Collins, 67, faces a reckoning with longtime supporters, unsettled by her tepid criticisms of Trump and her votes for White House priorities including the 2018 confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh despite charges of sexual misconduct, which he denied.

How the U.S. early vote surge is shaping Trump, Biden endgames

Early voting, both by mail and in-person, has surged to record highs, with Americans energized by a high-stakes election while also worried about crowded polling places amid the coronavirus pandemic. State data on who has voted early show ballots cast by registered Democrats so far outpacing those cast by registered Republicans. A voter's party affiliation does not necessarily indicate which candidate they backed.

Factbox: On climate, it's Biden's green revolution versus Trump's war on regulations

Next Tuesday's U.S. presidential election pits a politician who plans to tie the country's economic recovery to tackling climate change against another determined to remove as many regulatory hurdles to oil, gas and coal production as possible. Republican President Donald Trump has focused on dismantling Democratic former President Barack Obama's climate agenda to free the energy and auto industries from the costs of regulations meant to protect health and the environment. Democratic challenger Joe Biden, who was Obama's vice president, has broadened his strategy to tackle climate change with a focus on building green infrastructure to reinvigorate the U.S. economy, which is reeling from the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

Factbox: U.S. Supreme Court rules against Trump as legal battles over election continue

With both sides in the U.S. presidential election dueling in court ahead of Tuesday's vote, Democrats scored two significant victories on Wednesday when the U.S. Supreme Court left in place extensions of North Carolina and Pennsylvania's deadlines for receiving mail-in ballots. More than 75 million Americans have voted already, according to a tally on Wednesday from the U.S. Elections Project at the University of Florida. Below are some of the biggest victories for Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

For this world traveler, life shapes leadership choices

James Riley, 59, is used to being on the go as the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group's chief executive. Riley joined the parent company, Jardine Matheson Group, in 1993. For example, Mandarin Oriental partnered with The Oberoi Group in India in September to offer loyalty program members benefits across both companies' properties.

Tunisia bans internal travel to contain pandemic

Tunisia on Thursday banned travel between the country's regions, suspended schools and public gatherings and extended a curfew, as it tried to contain a rapid surge of COVID-19 cases with hospitals nearly full. Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has said Tunisia cannot afford a second lockdown with the government already fighting the central bank over a projected deficit double what it had originally foreseen. As well as banning internal travel in most cases, the new rules include a suspension of schools until Nov. 8, a two-week suspension of universities and a ban on protests and public gatherings of more than four people.

Americans plan widespread protests if Trump interferes with election

Dozens of activist groups who claim to represent millions of Americans from both political parties plan to hit the streets next week, if President Donald Trump appears to be interfering with vote counting or manipulating poll results after Election Day. Participants are prepping to demonstrate "as early as the afternoon on Wednesday, November 4," the day after Election Day, and await a SMS message. "We can’t assume that Donald Trump will respect the peaceful transfer of power" said Sean Eldridge, the founder and president of Stand Up America, which started organizing the coalition in June.

Analysis: U.S. drugmakers, bracing for price cuts, shift election support toward Democrats

The U.S. pharmaceutical industry, long a supporter of Republicans, is giving almost half its political donations to Democratic candidates in this year’s election, as companies look to fend off a threat to drug prices if Democrats gain power. The industry moved less dramatically toward Democrats in 2018 during the congressional elections.

Freed, then locked in: leaving a California prison amid a pandemic

Inmates left state prisons unsure if they had been infected, and returned to towns reckoning with unemployment and traumaWhen William Blackwell walked out of the gates of San Quentin state prison in mid-July, he had his priorities ironed out: see his family, get a new ID card, search for a job. But first, officials had told him, he’d have to quarantine and test negative for coronavirus twice.So instead of greeting his family outside the prison’s iron enclosure, Blackwell, 58, climbed into the backseat of a prison van headed to a motel in Gardena, California.For the first time in more than two decades, he stepped into the van shackle-free, his hands, waist and ankles unbound. Through the bars on the windows, he saw a landscape he hadn’t seen in over two decades. With just a bottle of water to sustain him for this six-hour journey from the Bay Area down south, he sat thinking about the friends he had to leave behind and picturing what may lay ahead.Series linker“I was reflecting on my life, thinking about my next move and how I need to be accountable to my family,” Blackwell said. “I was coming home as a new person.”At the motel, Blackwell said, the officers gave him two phone numbers: one to use to get meals delivered to his room and the other in case of emergency. When he dialed the emergency line to see who would be on the other end, Blackwell said, all he got was an automated message.He was on his own with no one to report to, no idea where he would be living once his days in isolation were done and no instructions on how to get the coronavirus tests he needed to put his post-release plans in motion.“CDCR dropped us off at the hotel and said ‘bye,’” Blackwell said, referring to California’s Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. “When I called parole, they had no clue what to do with me, they had no idea where I would get tested or who would do it.”So, Blackwell spent his days watching television and learning how to use the cellphone his nephew bought him. On day five of his stay, his daughter and six-year-old granddaughter came to see him. He’d never met the little girl. He waved through the motel window as his family stood smiling in the parking lot.•••Blackwell is one of thousands of Californians released early from prison amid the coronavirus crisis. Covid-19 tore through California’s detention facilities, spreading like wildfire through overcrowded wards, hopping from institution to institution via ill-advised prison transports. At least 70 prisoners in the state have succumbed to the virus since mid-March, and more than 15,300 were infected.Amid huge pressure from activists and families, the California governor and CDCR in April announced measures to enable the early release of 3,500 people. In July, it promised another round of early releases that would see 8,000 people freed. Court records show that almost 6,000 prisoners have been released early since July. Still, the measures affected just a sliver of the more than 97,000 prisoners in the state system. Even before the pandemic, rejoining society after years behind bars was a rough transition for many former prisoners, with steep hills to climb. Housing and job opportunities for former prisoners were always scarce. This coupled with managing drug addictions, parole requirements and family obligations makes the first months of freedom a delicate time.Those who were released amid Covid-19 were spit out by a prison system in chaos, and were often unsure of whether they had been infected and where to get tested. Many arrived home in communities reckoning with unemployment and trauma related to the pandemic. And the network of state workers and non-governmental organizations that are supposed to help them ease back into normal life was pushed to the brink, with prison counselors and parole agents scrambling to get people placed in housing and set up with healthcare.“Re-entry resources are so important in pre- and current Covid times. You need logistical support for finding a bed, food and navigating bureaucracy as well as emotional support like counseling,” said Sandra Gonzales, the operations director with The Place 4 Grace, a nonprofit that works with children and their incarcerated parents.More than two months and four negative coronavirus tests after stepping out of San Quentin, William Blackwell is still not home. He has seen his family just a handful of times and isn’t at work. Stuck in a transitional home, his movement is restricted by policies that remind him of his time locked up.“All of my post-release plans were made pre-outbreak. But because of Covid, things got pushed up, now I’m scrambling,” Blackwell said. “I learned to be patient after 26 years in prison, but it’s still a struggle.”•••Blackwell grew up in Los Angeles and was in and out of prison for robbery and selling drugs since he was a teenager. He held and delivered drugs for his stepfather, a drug dealer, he said, and later joined a gang. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1994 for conspiring to rob a bank. He was 32 at the time.“Me and school didn’t get along. I was more comfortable in the streets. I became a criminal and followed in my stepfather’s footsteps,” said Blackwell, who is slim-framed with a clear baritone voice. “In 1994, I knew the long sentence was coming and I accepted it as my reality.”When the coronavirus struck California at the start of 2020, Blackwell was held in San Quentin in the San Francisco Bay Area, the oldest state prison. On an early morning in June, Blackwell’s cellmate – who had complained about having chills and a fever – passed out while using the restroom. The man’s head hit Blackwell’s calf on the way down, Blackwell recalled. Both Blackwell and his cellmate tested positive for Covid-19. More than 2,000 people in the prison would end up catching the virus – the largest number of infections in any prison in the country.Blackwell learned he was being released less than a week later, almost two months before his original parole date. Since he was still testing positive for Covid-19, CDCR and parole arranged for him to spend his first 10 days in freedom at the Gardena motel. The stay was sponsored by Project Hope, a state-run program that provides up to two weeks of housing for those just getting out of prison and in need of quarantine space.“I was elated and relieved to get out but it was bittersweet because people were still dying in there,” Blackwell said. “I have friends that are doing the right thing, trying to change their lives, but they’re getting sick.”> I was elated and relieved to get out but it was bittersweet because people were still dying in there> > William BlackwellBy the time California prison officials announced the first positive Covid-19 cases in late-March, several staff members and three inmates had tested positive. Rapidly spreading outbreaks in prisons including Avenal, a medium-security prison in the Central Valley, and San Quentin led officials to halt all in-person visits and volunteer programs.Eventually, California officials would agree to release 6,000 people early in an effort to slow the spread of the virus inside the prison system. The policies prioritized people who are elderly, medically vulnerable and those with six months or less left on their sentences, and excluded those convicted of violent crimes as well as people who would have to register as sex offenders upon release.The state’s re-entry services and the many nonprofits working alongside it, too, were reckoning with the impact of the pandemic. The weeks and months of preparation to get housing and healthcare for people who are about to be released were truncated into a few days. Meetings with parole agents to review parole requirements, such as weekly drug testing, had to shift to Zoom.“We’ve taken 1,000 people home in the last three weeks,” said Sam Lewis, the executive director of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), a re-entry and criminal justice reform nonprofit staffed by formerly incarcerated people, in late-August. “Before it might have been an ebb and flow, but now we need about 10 cars up to one prison in a single day.”Building the capacity to deal with the wave of releases left organizations and officials scrambling, Lewis said. “I applaud the governor for his efforts, but we didn’t have the infrastructure for these releases. We’re building it up while people are coming out.”That infrastructure includes everything from basics like making sure people have a place to quarantine, a way to get there and food delivered during their stay, to getting them set up with cellphones, internet access and stipends if they’re out of work.Since July, California has given $30m to groups such as ARC to give to smaller nonprofits who work directly with former prisoners. The bulk of the government grants and donations has gone toward transportation, hotel rooms and 2,000 longer term beds in local transitional homes, Lewis said.The magnitude of the crisis has forced local organizations to collaborate more, he added, to ensure that people aren’t released into homelessness or left to fend for themselves. “It’s a huge lift and month to month the number of releases and quarantine rules change,” he said. “We’re having more discussions with the CDCR and community-based groups and the level of coordination we have shows how important it is that we continue this post-Covid.”•••Roderick Thompson was handed a prepaid card with almost $200 when he left Avenal state prison in July, and he spent it towards two nights in a motel room where he could quarantine.Thompson, 33, had been in Avenal since 2016. He grew up in Compton, California, in an adoptive home. He says life with his adoptive parents was dysfunctional at times, and his biological mother’s drug addiction and subsequent absence left a void he tried to fill with gang activity and drugs.Thompson was 16 when he faced his first criminal case: receiving stolen property from a local high school. It also marked the first time he was strip-searched, a process that he says would eventually become routine. At first, he was put on probation, but after missing a court date he was sentenced to time at a juvenile detention camp in Lancaster, where he spent about six months before ageing out of the system and reconnecting with his biological mother.While living with his mother, Thompson got hooked on cocaine and spent two years battling addiction and experiencing bouts of homelessness. After a string of robberies he was arrested and sentenced to nearly eight years.“It was kind of fun,” Thompson recalled. “I was still young and felt like I wasn’t in prison because the facility was full of narcotics and cellphones.”Thompson, a glasses-clad man with a youthful face, was released in late 2015 and says that even after years of incarceration he still had “a criminal mentality,” and a short temper. While on a grocery run with his pregnant girlfriend in November 2016, almost a year after his release, he got into an argument with a store employee and told the man, “I’m gonna be back for you.”Less than an hour later he was arrested and eventually convicted of making a criminal threat. Since he had a prior conviction and was on parole at the time, he was sentenced to another eight years in prison. During his stint in Avenal, he joined several rehabilitative groups and eventually became an organizer who spread news about criminal justice reforms to his peers.“I finally realized there was no reason to continually let my family down and mess around with criminal activity,” Thompson said. “Making the change was stressful, but I put the work in.”In May, when California was in lockdown because of coronavirus, life in Avenal still felt normal, Thompson said: no masks, no quarantines, just the occasional temperature check. Later that month he lost his sense of taste and smell, and realized something was wrong. Thompson and other prisoners with similar symptoms didn’t disclose their symptoms to staff out of fear of having their possessions thrown away and being moved to an unfamiliar part of the prison.“Once the staff noticed that people’s temperatures were high, they decided to test everyone, but it was too late,” Thompson said.Thompson tested positive for Covid-19 at the end of May. The diagnosis coincided with the peak of the prison’s outbreak – eventually 804 people would test positive. Once his building was put under quarantine Thompson says he used the newfound free time to map out his goals for life after prison, which included restarting his cleaning business and building a bond with his now three-year-old son.In mid-July – nine months before his original release date – Thompson was called to a correctional officer’s podium and told that he qualified for the state’s expedited release program. He’d be out by the end of the month.By the time Thomspon was packing up his cell he’d had a mental health exam, but no clue as to where he would quarantine or how he would get back to southern California. A parole counselor had asked him if he had a job and housing in place, but those plans were still ambiguous. The abysmal guidance he got from prison officials in the days leading up to his release felt like “a slap in the face”.“CDCR gave us this virus and then kicked us into the community with nothing: no ID, no benefits or way to transition,” he said shortly before leaving Avenal.Arnold Trevino, a re-entry service provider, met Thompson at the gates of the prison just after dawn on 30 July, and took him to breakfast before driving him to the train station. Together, they went over Thompson’s options.> CDCR gave us this virus and then kicked us into the community with nothing: no ID, no benefits or way to transition> > Roderick ThompsonLike Blackwell, Thompson was released before testing negative for Covid-19 and would have to quarantine. Project Hope still provided free hotel rooms, but he was too late to get one before he got to southern California. He couldn’t stay with family because, as far as he knew, he was still positive for Covid-19 and feared passing the disease on to elderly relatives.“When I got to that train station to go back to LA I didn’t know what I was gonna do,” Thompson said. “I had a small variety of options for where I could live and then was thrown off by the early release.”When he reached Los Angeles after an almost seven-hour journey on a train and bus, he decided to use his release money to pay for a motel room where he could quarantine and figure out his next steps.While in the motel Thompson sought help from his parole officer and organizers with Initiate Justice, a criminal justice reform nonprofit that Thompson worked for while in prison. After two nights, parole told him that he was moving to a transitional home where he could quarantine, get tested for Covid-19 and begin his reintegration in earnest.Thompson has continued living in the same home where he was quarantined, and plans to stay there until he completes his parole next year. Since he was officially declared Covid-free, his return to the community and workforce has been mostly smooth, he said. Early into his re-entry Thompson went to the DMV to get a new ID card and driver’s license, and briefly held a job cooking in a South Central Los Angeles market. A fight that broke out in the store made him worry about violating his parole and landing back in prison, and he left in October. He is now hoping to start a nonprofit to help youth and adults who are in prison.“That was a high-risk situation for me and as a parolee I have to evaluate every situation,” Thompson said. “There’s no way I can fail unless I go back to hanging with the wrong crowd and I have a child to take care of, so I can’t afford to do things that won’t benefit or this baby I created.”•••Blackwell, who had left San Quentin in July, has been out of prison almost three months, but feels he is “still under guard”. He lives in a transitional home in Los Angeles, where staff accompany him on errands to local stores and trips to the DMV.“My sentence is up, and I was required to go to a transitional home, not a prison on the streets,” Blackwell said in mid-August. “I understand the safety protocols but being locked in is hindering my progress.”Doug Bond, the CEO of Amity Foundation, which runs the transitional home, said adjusting to the demand for services while trying to avoid outbreaks has led to “difficult decisions” such as discouraging people from taking jobs like janitorial work in healthcare facilities and putting limits around when and where people can visit with their families.“It’s a delicate balance and none of us are enjoying the restrictions,” Bond said. “We don’t want people to have to turn down work and family events, but we have to think about the safety of a lot of people,” he added.In early October, after speaking with the Guardian, Bond sat down with Blackwell to listen to his frustrations and explain the reasoning behind Amity’s policies. After their meeting, house staff told Blackwell that he would be one of 11 people to participate in a job development workshop. Blackwell said he was surprised that Bond came to see him specifically, but is still unsure of how much change will come from the CEO’s visit.“I’m still skeptical because there was no mention of a concrete change that could help everyone in the house,” Blackwell said. “He just said it would take gradual change.”Covid-19 is still ravaging California’s prisons. Folsom state prison, a medium-security facility near Sacramento, didn’t report its first case until late-August and within weeks shot from one to 611. In that same period Avenal saw a new outbreak after cases dropped in mid-July. Meanwhile, early releases have slowed significantly.Just over 1,500 people were released early from early-August to the end of September compared with 4,220 people the prior month, according to court filings. California prisons remain overcrowded, antiquated architecture and poor ventilation persist, and advocates continue to call for mass releases, especially for the almost 6,600 people who the CDCR has identified as being “medically high-risk for Covid-19”. Just 57 of those identified have been released as of early-October.Blackwell’s waiting for a background check for a job with a delivery company that contracts with Amazon. He said he’s leaning on the lessons he learned after two decades of incarceration to help him remain patient. Last month, he got to see his family while attending his granddaughter’s sixth birthday party.“Being in prison for 26 years made me figure out ways to survive: I learned how to multitask, and my thought process changed,” Blackwell said.“So I can laugh at these frustrations because I can see past the obstacles now.”

Domestic violence survivors need more help than ever during pandemic

Somy Ali’s cellphone doubles as a lifeline for domestic violence survivors.

Poland's total coronavirus cases top 300,000 after new daily record

Poland reported another daily record of coronavirus infections and deaths on Thursday with new 20,156 cases and 301 deaths related to COVID-19. The health ministry said the total number of confirmed coronavirus infections has tripled in less than a month, exceeding 300,000. Government officials have warned infections could rise fast due to massive protests sweeping Poland following a Constitutional Court ruling last Thursday that has introduced a near total ban on abortions.

Activists urge 'Big Pharma' to be transparent on COVID-19 vaccine costs

Activists called on pharmaceutical companies on Thursday to be transparent about the costs and terms of providing COVID-19 vaccines, saying they must be available and affordable for all. French drugmaker Sanofi and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline said on Wednesday they would supply 200 million doses of their COVID-19 candidate vaccine to the global COVAX vaccine facility backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the GAVI vaccine alliance. Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) demanded the two companies provide details around price, supply and distribution of any vaccine proven safe and effective.

Fired Buffalo police officer who contends she stopped another cop from choking a man finds new support — in Chicago

CHICAGO — The arts collective at the Inner-City Muslim Action Network on Chicago's Southwest Side supports artists from across the country, encouraging them to inspire change through storytelling. But the details of Cariol Horne's story, shared there during a summer of intense national conversation over police abuse, struck an unusually troubling note — Horne has maintained for 15 years that ...

China's Kangtai starts mid-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate

China's Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products has begun a mid-stage human trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine, clinical trial registry data shows. Kangtai's candidate is among more than 10 potential vaccines Chinese scientists have brought into various phases of clinical trials in efforts to counter the virus that has killed more than 1.1 million people globally. The company plans to test the vaccine's safety and ability to trigger immune responses in a Phase 2 clinical trial expected to recruit 1,000 participants, according to the latest record published on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry on Wednesday.

Singapore firm invents coronavirus breathalyser with results in seconds

A company in Singapore has developed a breathalyser test for the new coronavirus which it says will enable people to know whether they are infected in under a minute. Breathonix, a startup firm from the National University of Singapore, says its test achieved more than 90% accuracy in a pilot clinical trial of 180 people in the city-state and hopes to get regulatory approval early next year. Countries worldwide are looking to develop alternative tests to the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) nasal swab, which is invasive and in short supply in some places where demand has outstripped manufacturers' production capacity.

One woman decapitated and two others dead in suspected 'terror' attack in Nice - latest updates

A woman has been decapitated, and two others have been killed, during a knife attack inside the Notre Dame Basilica church in the French city of Nice. The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, tweeted that the incident is a "terrorist" attack. Here's what we know so far: At least three people, two women and a man, have been killed, including one woman who was decapitated. The man is reportedly the sexton of the church. Nice mayor Christian Estrosi said it was a terrorist attack, and that the "Islamo-fascist" assailant "didn't stop shouting Allahu Akhbar even under medication" after being shot and arrested. The police believe the attacker, who has been named as 'Brahim', was acting alone. A suspect with a knife reportedly shouting "Allahu Akbar" has been fatally shot during an attack on police officers. A Saudi citizen has also been arrested in Jeddah for stabbing a security guard outside the French consulate with "a sharp tool". Follow the latest updates below.

Merkel decries populists who say coronavirus is harmless

Populists who purport the coronavirus is harmless are dangerous and irresponsible, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday, defending a circuit break lockdown announced on Wednesday that is aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. "It is only with solidarity and transparency that we will be able to confront the pandemic," she told the Bundestag lower house of parliament, adding the pandemic was a challenge to the democratic system. "Lies and disinformation, conspiracy theories and hatred damage not only the democratic debate but also the fight against the virus," she said during a speech in which she was at times heckled, adding this put human lives in danger.

LVMH and Tiffany end luxury battle, cut price on $16 billion takeover

France's LVMH will pay slightly less to acquire U.S. jeweler Tiffany & Co after the two companies agreed to end a bitter dispute triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and salvage the luxury sector's biggest-ever deal. "We are as convinced as ever of the formidable potential of the Tiffany brand and believe that LVMH is the right home for Tiffany and its employees during this exciting next chapter," Arnault said in the statement.

UK COVID researcher says any lockdown should come sooner not later

Britain should act sooner rather than later if it is going to follow Germany and France and take nationwide steps to slow a second wave of the coronavirus, said Steven Riley, author of an Imperial College study into the spread of the disease. The spread of the coronavirus continues to increase across all parts of England with cases doubling every nine days, according to the new study by Imperial College.

New French COVID lockdown may have to go beyond December 1: government adviser

France's new national lockdown, aimed at curbing the resurgence of COVID-19, may have to be extended beyond its initial deadline of Dec. 1, government scentific adviser Professor Jean-François Delfraissy said on Thursday. President Emmanuel Macron said late on Wednesday that France might start to ease back lockdown measures once COVID infections fell back to about 5,000 per day from around 40,000 per day at present.

Australian scientists find huge new healthy coral reef off northern coast

Australian scientists found a detached coral reef on the Great Barrier Reef that exceeds the height of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower, the Schmidt Ocean Institute said this week, the first such discovery in over 100 years. The "blade like" reef is nearly 500 metres tall and 1.5 kilometres wide, said the institute founded by ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy. It lies 40 metres below the ocean surface and about six kilometres from the edge of Great Barrier Reef.

Walter Wallace: Philadelphia police to release body-cam footage as son blames 'racist white cops' for death

Shooting of Wallace on Monday night has sparked violent clashes in city

Novartis buys Vedere Bio, whose founders helped blind mice see

Swiss drugmaker Novartis is buying Vedere Bio, hoping gene therapy technology that has helped blind mice to see will produce similar results in people with inherited conditions that cause them to lose their sight. Novartis is paying $150 million upfront for the U.S. biotechnology company, with the remainder in milestone payments for a total of $280 million. Novartis, which ploughed into gene therapy with its $8.7 billion acquisition of AveXis in 2018, is deepening its push into the segment with Vedere Bio, with a pair of early-stage programmes that rely on viruses to deliver genes to people with blindness-causing diseases like retinitis pigmentosa.

Japan's Takeda to import 50 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, raises profit forecast

Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co said on Thursday it would import and distribute 50 million doses of Moderna Inc's novel coronavirus vaccine candidate. Takeda will be responsible for securing regulatory approval for the vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, with supply starting in the first half of 2021, Takeda said in a release. The companies were previously in talks to supply 40 million or more doses of the vaccine in Japan.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered their countries back into lockdown, as a massive second wave of coronavirus infections threatened to overwhelm Europe before the winter. World stock markets went into a dive in response to the news that Europe's biggest economies were imposing nationwide restrictions almost as severe as the ones that drove the global economy this year into its deepest recession in generations. "The virus is circulating at a speed that not even the most pessimistic forecasts had anticipated," Macron said in a televised address.

US focused on disrupting finances for Somalia's al-Shabab

The United States strongly backed efforts to disrupt the illegal financing methods used by Somalia’s al-Shabab extremist group, which according to U.N. experts raised more than the $21 million it spent last year on fighters, weapons and intelligence. U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft told the Security Council on Wednesday the Trump administration is committed to partnering with other countries and using U.N. sanctions to counter al-Shabab's “financing of terrorism” and the threat from homemade bombs the group is making.

India passes bleak landmark of 8 million coronavirus infections

India crossed a grim milestone of 8 million coronavirus cases on Thursday, with a daily rise of 49,881 infections, health ministry data showed. The world's second most populous nation also has the second highest tally of infections after the United States, which has recorded 8.8 million. Cases in India have dipped sharply from September's peak, but experts warn the current festival season could bring another spike.

Next crop of COVID-19 vaccine developers take more traditional route

The handful of drugmakers dominating the global coronavirus vaccine race are pushing the boundaries of vaccine technology. The world will need several different vaccines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, given the sheer size of global need, variations in effects on different populations, and possible limits of effectiveness in the first crop. Many leading candidates now in final-stage testing are based on new, largely unproven technology platforms designed to produce vaccines at speed.

Australia's COVID-19 hotspot state reports one case after four month city lockdown lifted

Australia's COVID-19 hotspot state Victoria reported only one new infection on Thursday, a day after it lifted a four month lockdown in the city of Melbourne. Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said that while there were three positive cases of COVID-19 detected in the past 24 hours, two may be old infections. "This is another good day," Andrews told reporters in Melbourne.

Japan's Shionogi readies COVID-19 vaccine for December trial: CEO

Shionogi & Co is planning clinical trials by year-end for what may be one of Japan's first domestically produced COVID-19 vaccines to reach the market, as the globe races to secure enough doses to battle the pandemic. The company plans to put its vaccine candidate into Phase 1 clinical trials in December and shift into Phase 2 by January and apply for tentative approval from the government, Shionogi chief executive Isao Teshirogi told Reuters in an interview. Shionogi's plan to have enough doses to inoculate 30 million people by the end of next year means its impact will be much larger than that of first mover Osaka-based AnGes Inc, which expects to have its first doses ready by March.

More sex assault charges filed against adult film actor Ron Jeremy

The seven new counts, which add to others previously filed, involve six victims dating to 1996, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.

Nevada dad accused of throwing newborn baby off balcony during argument

Clarence Martin, Jr. allegedly suffered from “mental issues.” A newborn was allegedly thrown from the second-floor balcony by her father on Saturday around 4 a.m. in  Las Vegas. Clarence Martin, Jr. was arguing with the infant’s mother, Nicole Poole, when he snatched her away to the balcony of their apartment and didn’t return with her moments later, according to People.

Mexico's confirmed coronavirus death toll passes 90,000

Health officials have said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases. On Sunday, the ministry said the true death toll from Covid-19 may be around 50,000 higher.

Body and dash camera video released in Waukegan police fatal shooting of Black man

The encounter killed 19-year-old Marcellis Stinnette and wounded girlfriend Tafara Williams, who has said police harassed the pair prior to the shooting.

Body and dash camera video released in Waukegan police fatal shooting of Black man

The encounter killed 19-year-old Marcellis Stinnette and wounded girlfriend Tafara Williams, who has said police harassed the pair prior to the shooting.

Sunrise road rage turns to murder, police say. The suspect is still on the loose

Sunrise police are looking for a person they say killed a 21-year-old in a Friday shooting.