Pfizer and BioNTech yesterday said trial results showed their coronavirus vaccine was safe and produced a robust immune response in children aged five to 11, adding that they would seek regulatory approval shortly. The vaccine would be administered at a lower dosage than for people over 12, they said.

A vaccine summit being hosted by US President Joe Biden must come up with a plan this week to transfer 100 million stockpiled Covid-19 vaccines to poorer countries before they reach their expiry date, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

North Korea yesterday warned that the United States risked a dangerous nuclear arms race by providing submarine technology to Australia, criticising its “double standards” and vowing counter-measures.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of a potential new cold war between China and the United States, and implored the two major powers to repair their “completely dysfunctional” relationship.

US Capitol on high alert

The European Union and the United States yesterday called on more nations to join a pledge to slash methane gas emissions and cut warming by at least 0.2 degrees Celsius by 2050.

The world’s biggest trees were being wrapped in fire-proof blankets Thursday in an effort to protect them from huge blazes tearing through the drought-stricken western United States.

It’s long overdue. I’m not out to punish anyone. I’m a capitalist … All I’m asking is you pay your fair share. It’s about the super wealthy ­finally beginning to pay what they owe... I’m confident that Congress will deliver to my desk both the bipartisan infrastructure plan and the Build Back Better Plan I proposed.”

Australia has announced that more US troops will rotate through the island nation and that the allies will cooperate on missile development, the latest joint steps amid shared concerns about China’s increasing assertiveness in the region.

The number of US states where at least 35 percent of residents are obese rose to 16 last year, with notable ethnic and racial disparities, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed Wednesday.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying four space tourists blasted off Wednesday night from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first mission to orbit the globe with an all-civilian crew.

New data from Moderna Inc’s large Covid-19 vaccine trial shows that the protection it offers wanes over time, supporting the case for booster doses, the company said in a news release on Wednesday.

This year has seen fossil fuel emissions bounce back, greenhouse gas concentrations continuing to rise... Unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to 1.5 C will be impossible, with catastrophic consequences for people and the planet.

President Joe Biden’s administration will meet Friday with Israeli and Arab leaders to celebrate a normalization accord overseen by Donald Trump one year ago, calling it a step toward peace with the Palestinians.

Gunmen on Tuesday abducted around 20 migrants, mostly Haitians and Venezuelans, from a hotel in central Mexico, authorities said.

The UN yesterday called for a moratorium on artificial intelligence systems like facial recognition technology that threaten human rights until “guardrails” are in place against violations.

Three US former intelligence agents admitted in a Virginia court Tuesday to taking part in a United Arab Emirates hacking operation aimed at enemies and rivals of the Gulf country.

The United States will be looking at its relationship with Pakistan in the coming weeks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, to formulate what role Washington would want it play in the future of Afghanistan. 

Joe Biden will host the prime ministers of India, Japan and Australia for an in-person summit September 24, the first-ever White House gathering of the “Quad” grouping, the president’s office said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday insisted the Biden administration had prepared for worst-case scenarios in Afghanistan, as irate lawmakers accused the White House of presiding over a historic disaster.