JERUSALEM : Israeli warplanes bombed the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip overnight after Palestinians fired a rocket into southern Israel, the army said. The latest exchange came as Israel warned Hamas it was risking “war” by failing to stop fire balloons being launched across the border. Egyptian security officials shuttled between the two sides in a bid to end the flare-up which has seen more than a week of rocket and fire balloon attacks from Gaza and nightly Israeli reprisals. “Earlier tonight, a rocket was fired and during the day, explosive andRead More

South Africa will launch clinical trials of a US-developed coronavirus vaccine with 2,900 volunteers this week, the second such study in the African country worst hit by the disease, lead investigator Shabir Madhi said Tuesday. Known as NVX-CoV2373, the vaccine was developed by US biotech company Novavax from the genetic sequence of SARS‑CoV‑2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. It will be administered to the first volunteer in the randomised, observer-blinded trial on Wednesday. “It’s a two-dose schedule, and they get two either vaccines or placebos… spaced three weeksRead More

Australia should make any coronavirus vaccine compulsory for its 25 million citizens bar medical exemptions, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday, wading into a heated ethical debate. After reaching a deal for the country to manufacture a “promising” vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, Morrison said getting the jab should be “as mandatory as you can possibly make it”. “There are always exemptions for any vaccine on medical grounds, but that should be the only basis,” he told radio station 3AW in Melbourne. Anticipating a backlash from vocalRead More