FDA scientists endorse Moderna coronavirus vaccine
Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration endorsed the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Moderna as safe and efficacious a day after the first doses of a competing vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech were delivered across the United States. The FDA reviewers said that the two-dose vaccine “was highly effective” in...
US coronavirus crisis: One person dies every 36 seconds
More than 303,500 people have died from Covid-19 in the United States. It is the latest sign of a generational tragedy – one still unfolding in every corner of the country – that leaves in its wake an expanse of grief that cannot be captured in a string of statistics....
Technology experts foresee utility-like criticality for data centres in 2021
As the world moved online seemingly overnight in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the criticality of data centres and the unrelenting reliance on them across all walks of life became an enduring storyline of the crisis. This reality will manifest in new ways in 2021 as the data centre...
20,000 activists petition Kenya to reject US plastics export deal
Despite publicly retreating on the push to force Kenya and by extension to allow trade plastics and petrochemical products, American Chemistry Council (ACC) is said to be quietly lobbying Washington to force concessions for exports during ongoing bilateral trade agreement negotiations between the two countries. The push by ACC has...
Biden positions US to retake lead role in climate agenda as he prepares for office
When Joe Biden won the US presidency earlier this month, it seemed like a huge opportunity to restore the country’s position as a leader in the fight against climate change. But whether he’ll be able to deliver on his climate agenda – the most aggressive ever put forth by a...
Senate GOP accepts Biden’s win, seals Trump’s November 3 loss
Senate Republicans are finally starting to recognise Joe Biden as the next president of the United States — even if they waited until the very last minute. When asked on Monday afternoon whether Biden was the president-elect, some GOP senators paused and asked how far along the Electoral College count...
Scientist: It will be a while before engineers identify source of noise in owl aviation
Forget about the superstition about bad omens associated owls. Science is gradually changing the perception and now beyond the ugly looks of owls, the birds are attracting the interest of researchers keen on identifying the most important source of noise in owl aviation. Research suggests that owl wings have three...
How stealthy owls inspired the design of silent flights
Every owl fancier has a story of the first time they heard an owl – or, rather, did not hear one. It is unforgettable to see an enormous bird, whose wingspan can reach more than six feet, slipping through the air without even a whisper. Justin Jaworski’s first close encounter...
Au revoir Nzayadio, the Cavacha artist who breathed life into sedate rhumba
When he arrived at Orchestra Lipua Lipua, the band was in a flux – nay, anarchy – with musicians leaving and others joining the band. However, Paul Nzaya Nzayadio who had just returned to Kinshasa from a trip to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where he had accompanied Madilu System, did not...
Curtains come down on the life of Charley Pride, country music’s first Black superstar
Charley Pride, a son of sharecroppers who rose to become country music’s first Black superstar on the strength of hits including “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” and “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone,” died on Saturday in hospice care in Dallas. He was 86. Jeremy Westby, a publicist for Mr...
