International
US health regulator authorizes Pfizer’s Covid pill as Omicron surges
AFP
The United States on Wednesday authorized Pfizer’s anti-Covid pill for high-risk people aged 12 and up, as a surge of cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant threatened holiday plans and Americans struggled to find tests.
Paxlovid, which comprises two types of tablet, was granted an emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after a clinical trial showed it to reduce the risk of hospitalizations and deaths among at-risk people by 88 percent.
“Today’s action is a testament to the power of science and the result of American innovation and ingenuity,” President Joe Biden said in a statement, promising to invoke a law that would help Pfizer ramp up production quickly.
The US has spent $5.3 billion procuring 10 million courses of the treatment, with the first 265,000 to be delivered in January and the rest by late summer, White House Covid response coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters on a call.
The FDA stressed the treatment should complement rather than replace vaccines, which remain the frontline tool against the coronavirus.
But pills that are available at pharmacies are likely to be much easier to access than synthetic antibody treatments, which require infusions administered by drip at hospitals or specialized centers.
The European Union’s drug regulator last week allowed member states to use Pfizer’s Covid treatment ahead of formal approval as an emergency measure to curb a wave fuelled by Omicron, the most infectious variant seen to date.
The authorization comes as cases surge across the United States, where testing remains a challenge, with long lines reminiscent of the early part of the pandemic seen across US cities.
Companies including Amazon, Walgreens and CVS have capped how many home tests customers can buy.
The Biden administration has promised to ship half a billion of the tests starting from next month, but experts have said that figure is too little and too late.
International
Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
At least 10 newborns have died following a fire in the neonatal unit of a hospital in Jhansi, India, which was attributed to a faulty oxygen machine, authorities reported on Saturday, adding that 39 babies were rescued.
“Unfortunately, 10 infants have died,” said Brajesh Pathak, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, regarding the fire that occurred on Friday night.
The fire started at 10:30 PM (17:00 GMT) at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical University in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The rescued babies, all only a few days old, were moved to another area of the hospital for treatment.
Dr. Narendra Senga, the director of a medical faculty attached to the hospital, also confirmed the death toll of 10 infants.
International
Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized
Seven British citizens were arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking in an operation that led to the seizure of 1.2 tons of the drug, which is made from cannabis resin, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior reported on Saturday.
“National Police agents, in collaboration with the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the UK, have dismantled an organization allegedly dedicated to transporting drugs in trucks in Marbella and Elche,” the ministry stated in a press release.
“Agents seized 1,200 kilos of hashish and arrested seven British citizens,” the report specified.
The drugs were found in Marbella and Fuengirola, in southern Spain, as well as in Elche, in the southeastern region.
Part of the hashish was hidden in “large plastic barrels filled with fine mortar sand.”
In addition, the police seized over €63,000 in cash, five passenger vehicles, and a heavy-duty truck.
All of the detainees have been placed in pretrial detention.
Spain serves as the gateway for most of the hashish sold in Europe, due to its proximity to North Africa, the main production area.
In 2022, Spain seized 324.7 tons of hashish, according to the latest available official annual data.
International
Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
Fourteen members of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel were arrested in Spain following an investigation that began with the kidnapping and murder of an associate, the Spanish National Police announced on Sunday.
“The dismantled criminal network, based in Catalonia, is allegedly involved in the kidnapping and death of a man whose body was found in a wooded area of the region,” explained the National Police in a statement. The victim had traveled from Italy to meet with some of the leaders of the gang.
The criminal organization was “mainly composed of Mexican individuals” and was “linked to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.”
The victim, a 46-year-old man, was allegedly working for the organization and had traveled to Barcelona from Italy to meet with leaders of the criminal network. The kidnapping took place between late May and June, and the victim’s family in Kosovo alerted the police after receiving a ransom demand of €240,000 (approximately $253,000). The family paid part of the ransom, $32,000 in cryptocurrency.
The victim’s body, whose nationality was not disclosed, was found in August in a forest, showing signs of violence and in an advanced state of decomposition.
The arrested individuals are allegedly connected to drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, and murder. They received packages from Mexico containing methamphetamine soaked into pieces of clothing, which were sent to Catalonia. Once in Spain, they extracted the drug in a laboratory they operated.
The Sinaloa cartel is named after the northwestern Mexican state where it was founded and remains one of the most important criminal organizations in the world, despite the incarceration of two of its historic leaders, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, in the United States.
-
International5 days ago
Málaga paralyzed by new storm as torrential rains hit Spain
-
International5 days ago
Ecuadorian judge orders preventive detention for nine inmates after deadly prison clashes
-
International5 days ago
Hezbollah launches explosive drone strike on Israel’s defense headquarters
-
International5 days ago
Seven bodies found with signs of torture in Sinaloa
-
International5 days ago
Santiago Uribe cleared of homicide and paramilitary charges
-
International3 days ago
Thousands of displaced people in Haiti flee the violence of armed gangs
-
International5 days ago
Trump nominates Matt Gaetz as attorney general
-
International4 days ago
Drug trafficker dies after boat collision with Guardia Civil Vessel in Sanlúca
-
Central America4 days ago
Mulino warns Trump: Darién is U.S.’s ‘other border’ in call for bilateral solutions to migration
-
International4 days ago
Venezuelan opposition activist dies in custody amid allegations of repressive crisis
-
International5 days ago
Marco Rubio to become first latino U.S. diplomacy chief under Trump
-
International3 days ago
Four complaints in a month for sexual abuse against public figures shake Chile
-
International4 days ago
Israeli airstrikes on Damascus kill 15 and injure 16, including women and children
-
International1 day ago
Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
-
International4 days ago
Aemet downgrades rainfall alert as heavy rains ease in Spain
-
International3 days ago
Ukraine finds in technology its best ally for war
-
International4 days ago
Maria Corina Machado sees clear signs for Venezuela after Trump’s victory
-
Central America4 days ago
Ten dead in Panama due to storms causing over $100 million in damages
-
International4 days ago
Pope Francis meets former Gaza hostages
-
International1 day ago
Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
-
International2 days ago
Israel bombs Lebanon again after a wave of attacks with dozens of dead
-
International3 days ago
Trump will nominate Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota, as Secretary of the Interior
-
Internacionales2 days ago
The Chinese Communist Party expels the former Minister of Agriculture, accused of corruption
-
International2 days ago
Abkhesian opponents take the seat of the Parliament of the region
-
International2 days ago
Australia asks the population to write down their flatulence to study intestinal health
-
International1 day ago
Pedro Sánchez to explain government’s handling of deadly floods in congress appearance
-
International2 days ago
Latin America will once again be in the sights of the United States with Rubio at the head of diplomacy
-
International3 days ago
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un orders the mass production of drones for suicide attacks
-
International3 days ago
The Ibero-American Summit begins, the first without Latino presidents except the host
-
International2 days ago
The director of the RAE asks to take care of Spanish in AI so that they do not create their own dialects
-
International3 days ago
Trump elects Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health
-
International3 days ago
Boluarte and Xi inaugurate Chancay megaport, called to be a bridge between China and A.Latina
-
International1 day ago
Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized