AFP UK

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly

The United States on Tuesday led an initiative of 18 Atlantic nations to step up cooperation in the ocean, putting another $100 million on the table to support the environment and maritime security, while curbing rampant illegal fishing.

On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met jointly with the foreign ministers of Angola, Brazil, Ghana, Portugal and Senegal in what he said was the product of a year of diplomacy.

The nations will work together to “imagine together what greater cooperation across the entire Atlantic Ocean — both North and South — might look like,” Blinken said at the meeting.

“We know we can’t take for granted the free and open maritime trade that employs so many of our citizens, the undersea cables that connect us, the fish stocks and wildlife that sustain us,” he said.

“Only together can we address rising challenges and threats to our Atlantic future.”

The White House released a joint statement of 18 nations that also included Britain, Canada, Spain and Norway, as they explore forming the grouping.

The statement called for action together against piracy, unregulated fishing and the impacts of pollution and climate change.

“The Atlantic Ocean also offers untapped economic potential, from natural resources to new technologies,” it said. “No country alone can solve the cross-boundary challenges in the Atlantic region or fully address the opportunities before us.”

Subject to congressional approval, President Joe Biden’s administration will devote another $100 million next year to the effort, in addition to around $400 million already spent each year on maritime initiatives in the Atlantic, a senior US official said.

– ‘Shared approach’ –

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security advisor, said on Twitter that the nations were coming together “to develop a shared approach to Atlantic Ocean issues.”

“We look forward to continuing the dialogue and exploring opportunities to partner in the Atlantic region,” Sullivan said.

According to UN figures, one in five fish caught in the Atlantic comes from illegal fishing, translating into losses of up to $23 billion per year.

“That harms coastal communities that rely on sustainable fish stocks for their income, for food.  It fuels corruption. It threatens the health and biodiversity of our oceans,” Blinken said.

The initiative comes as the Biden administration puts a growing focus on environmental cooperation around the world, including on the health of the oceans.

The administration has already put a high priority on the Pacific, seen as an area of potential conflict amid the rapid rise of China.

And in the Arctic, the United States has stepped up diplomacy, including by appointing an envoy, in the face of concerns about Russia and China as waterways long inaccessible to ships open up due to climate change.

The joint statement said that the new Atlantic grouping will look to develop a “sustainable ocean economy” and improve cooperation on search and rescue operations and fighting piracy.

The initiative involves Brazil weeks ahead of elections in the Atlantic power, where President Jair Bolsonaro — an ally of business who has long been skeptical on climate — is trailing in polls as he seeks another term.

Researchers found pottery vessels that resembled poppy flowers, from which opium is derived

Israeli archaeologists said Tuesday they had discovered opium residue in 3,500-year-old pottery pieces, providing evidence to support the theory that the drug was used in ancient burial rituals.

The joint investigation by the Israel Antiquities Authority and Weizmann Institute of Science began in 2012 when excavations in the central Israeli town of Yehud revealed a series of Late Bronze Age graves.

Researchers found pottery vessels at the site that resembled poppy flowers — from which opium is derived — dating back to the 14th century BC.

They then examined whether they had served as containers for the drug, which earlier writing had suggested was used in burial rituals in Canaan, and found “opium residue in eight vessels”, the researchers said in a statement.

These were likely “placed in graves for ceremonial meals, rites and rituals performed by the living for their deceased family members”, said Ron Be’eri, an archaeologist with the antiquities authority.

During these ceremonies, “family members or a priest on their behalf” would “attempt to summon the spirit of their dead relatives… and enter an ecstatic state by using opium”, Be’eri said.

But he acknowledged that much remained unknown about its use in ancient times. “We can only speculate what was done with opium,” he said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly

The United States on Tuesday led an initiative of 18 Atlantic nations to step up cooperation in the ocean, putting another $100 million on the table to support the environment and maritime security while curbing rampant illegal fishing.

On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met jointly with the foreign ministers of Angola, Brazil, Ghana, Portugal and Senegal in what he said was the product of a year of diplomacy.

The nations will work together to “imagine together what greater cooperation across the entire Atlantic Ocean — both North and South — might look like,” Blinken said at the meeting.

“We know we can’t take for granted the free and open maritime trade that employs so many of our citizens, the undersea cables that connect us, the fish stocks and wildlife that sustain us,” he said.

“Only together can we address rising challenges and threats to our Atlantic future.”

The White House released a joint statement of 18 nations that also included Britain, Canada, Spain and Norway as they explore forming the grouping.

The statement called for action together against piracy, unregulated fishing and the impacts of pollution and climate change.

“The Atlantic Ocean also offers untapped economic potential, from natural resources to new technologies,” it said. “No country alone can solve the cross-boundary challenges in the Atlantic region or fully address the opportunities before us.”

Subject to congressional approval, President Joe Biden’s administration will devote another $100 million next year to the effort, in addition to around $400 million already spent each year on maritime initiatives in the Atlantic, a senior US official said.

According to UN figures, one in five fish caught in the Atlantic comes from illegal fishing, translating into losses of up to $23 billion per year.

“That harms coastal communities that rely on sustainable fish stocks for their income, for food.  It fuels corruption. It threatens the health and biodiversity of our oceans,” Blinken said.

The initiative comes as the Biden administration puts a growing focus on environmental cooperation around the world, including on the health of the oceans.

The administration has already put a high priority on the Pacific, seen as an area of potential conflict amid the rapid rise of China.

The joint statement said that the new Atlantic grouping will look to develop a “sustainable ocean economy” and improve cooperation on search and rescue operations and fighting piracy.

The initiative involves Brazil weeks ahead of elections in the Atlantic power, where President Jair Bolsonaro — an ally of business who has long been skeptical on climate — is trailing in polls as he seeks another term.

A Chevrolet Bolt EUV is seen on a sales lot in Colma, California in October 2021

US rental car giant Hertz will buy up to 175,000 electric vehicles from General Motors by the end of 2027, the companies announced Tuesday, as the auto industry grapples with concerns over climate change and petroleum dependency.

First deliveries, which will consist of BOLT EVs and EUVs, should take place in the first quarter of 2023, according to the joint statement.

Subsequent purchases will depend on how fast General Motors (GM) ramps up production of electric vehicles. The automaker says it plans to manufacture one million a year in North America by 2025. 

Hertz will be able to select from GM’s Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop EV brands, according to the press release.

“With the vehicle choice, technology and driving range we’re delivering, I’m confident that each rental experience will further increase purchase consideration for our products and drive growth for our company,” GM CEO Mary Barra said.

Hertz, which is aiming for one-quarter of its fleet to be comprised of electric vehicles by 2024, has already signed agreements for 100,000 Teslas and 65,000 Polestars, an electric car firm controlled by Sweden’s Volvo and its Chinese owner Geely.

While gasoline-powered cars still dominate US roads, auto giants are unveiling more and more EVs as they pump billions of dollars in investment in a bid to wrest control of a growing market from Tesla and newer upstarts.

In addition to its agreement with Hertz, GM announced Tuesday it has entered into a partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund to ensure that at least 50 percent of its new vehicles sold by 2030 are zero emitting.

The end goal is to eliminate all tailpipe emissions from passenger vehicles sold by GM by 2035, Barra said.

This undated handout photo shows members of the National Guard providing hurricane assistance in Puerto Rico

Hurricane Fiona, a powerful Category 3 storm, was battering the Turks and Caicos islands on Tuesday after leaving two people dead and triggering major flooding and power outages in the Caribbean.

“Hurricane Fiona has proven to be an unpredictable storm,” Anya Williams, the deputy governor of the British Overseas Territory, said in a broadcast.

Williams said no casualties or serious injuries had been reported in the Turks and Caicos overnight as heavy rain and strong winds lashed the islands but she urged residents to continue to shelter in place.

Blackouts had been reported on Grand Turk and several other islands in the archipelago and 165 people had been admitted to shelters, she said, adding that Britain’s Royal Navy and the US Coast Guard are standing by provide assistance if needed.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Fiona was packing maximum winds nearing 115 miles (185 kilometers) per hour, making it a major hurricane, and is expected to become even stronger.

“Heavy rains around the center of Fiona impacts the Turks and Caicos through this afternoon with continued life-threatening flooding,” the NHC said.

Fiona has left two people dead so far: one man whose home was swept away in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe and another in the Dominican Republic who died while cutting down a tree.

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has declared three eastern provinces to be disaster zones: La Altagracia — home to the popular resort of Punta Cana — El Seibo and Hato Mayor.

Several roads were flooded or cut off by falling trees or electric poles around Punta Cana where the power was knocked out.

Footage from local media showed residents of the east coast town of Higuey waist-deep in water trying to salvage personal belongings.

“It came through at high speed,” Vicente Lopez, in the Punta Cana beach of Bibijagua told AFP, bemoaning the destroyed businesses in the area.

The NHC said “heavy rainfall and localized life-threatening flash flooding” would continue over part of the Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

US President Joe Biden has meanwhile declared a state of emergency in Puerto Rico — where the storm hit a day earlier — authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide assistance in the US island territory.

Governor Pedro Pierluisi said the storm had caused catastrophic damage since Sunday, with some areas receiving more than 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain.

– ‘I have food and water’ –

Across Puerto Rico, Fiona caused landslides, blocked roads and toppled trees, power lines and bridges, Pierluisi said.

A man was killed as an indirect result of the power blackout — burned to death while trying to fill his generator, according to authorities.

On Monday afternoon, Nelly Marrero made her way back to her home in Toa Baja, in the north of Puerto Rico, to clear out the mud that surged inside after she evacuated.

“Thanks to God, I have food and water,” Marrero — who lost everything when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico five years ago — told AFP by telephone.

Fiona knocked out power to much of Puerto Rico, an island of three million people, but electricity had been restored for some customers on Monday, the governor said.

The hurricane has also left around 800,000 people without drinking water as a result of power outages and flooded rivers, officials said.

After years of financial woes and recession, Puerto Rico in 2017 declared the largest bankruptcy ever by a local US administration. 

Later that year, the double hit from two Hurricanes, Irma and Maria, added to the misery, devastating the electrical grid on the island — which has suffered from major infrastructure problems for years.

The grid was privatized in June 2021 in an effort to resolve the problem of blackouts, but the issue has persisted, and the entire island lost power earlier this year.

New "bivalent" vaccines target Omicron subvariants as well as the original strain that emerged in China

France became the latest country on Tuesday to authorise new Covid-19 vaccines that have been updated to target Omicron subvariants ahead of autumn booster campaign. 

Here’s what you need to know about these “bivalent” vaccines, which means they also still target the original strain that emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019.

– Mutating to evade immunity –

Two of the first vaccines developed to fight the original strain were made by the US-German team of Pfizer-BioNTech and by US firm Moderna, both using new mRNA technology.

While traditional vaccines use a weakened or inactivated germ to prepare the body for a future attack from the real virus, mRNA deploys snippets of genetic material that carry instructions showing the body’s cells how to produce a protein — in this case, Covid’s famous spike protein. 

The body’s immune system then triggers antibodies to fight off that spike protein, making it ready for when the real coronavirus comes knocking.

However, the Covid virus has mutated throughout the pandemic, growing new spikes to help it evade the immune response built up by the original vaccines.

The Omicron variant, which has milder symptoms but is more infectious, has become dominant across the world this year — particularly in recent months its subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

Vaccine makers have been racing to catch up, aiming to provide updated booster shots ahead of an expected new wave of Covid cases in the northern hemisphere’s winter.

– Aiming for BA.4 and BA.5 –

Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna first tweaked their original vaccines to include the spike protein seen in the BA.1 subvariant, while also still targeting the original strain.

Then both vaccines were further tweaked to include the spike proteins on the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. 

The US Food and Drug Administration approved both BA.4/5 vaccines late last month, and officials there hope millions of Americans will receive bivalent boosters throughout September.

The European Union’s medicines watchdog EMA approved Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s BA.1 vaccines at the start of this month.

The EMA then approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s BA.4/5 last week, saying its recommendation was based on clinical data from the older BA.1 version.

Canada meanwhile authorised Moderna’s BA.1 vaccine at the start of September.

Clinical trial data remains sparse for the newest BA.4/5 vaccines, which the US approved based on animal studies showing they produced a greater immune response and lowered levels of the virus in the lungs, compared to older shots.

Antoine Flahault, director of the Institute of Global Health at the University of Geneva, said he was “still not convinced” about the superior efficacy of the BA.4/5 vaccines because there had not yet been clinical trials into their effectiveness.

However, the vaccines are “very promising” and have no new safety concerns, Flahault told AFP, adding that there would be much more data in the coming weeks as the US bivalent booster campaign gains steam.

The concept of adapting a new vaccine without carrying out full clinical trials every time is not a new one.

Influenza vaccines are updated annually, and are now quadrivalent, targeting components of two influenza A and two influenza B viruses.

US health officials have said that in the future newly updated Covid boosters could be recommended every year, similar to influenza vaccines — unless drastically different variants emerge.

– Other bivalent vaccines –

On Tuesday France’s National Authority for Health gave the green light for three bivalent vaccines — Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s jabs targeting BA.1, as well as Pfizer’s against BA.4/5.

The French health authority recommended that those at risk of severe disease or caregivers get any one of the three vaccines as soon as they become available as part of an autumn booster campaign.

France has already ordered several million doses of bivalent vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, the health ministry told AFP.

There are already signs of a Covid resurgence in France, where the number of cases jumped by more than 65 percent last week after two months of decline.

Other vaccine makers are working on bivalent jabs, including one from France’s Sanofi and Britain’s GSK that targets the earlier Delta and Beta strains.

The EMA is reviewing that vaccine as well as another from the Spanish pharma firm HIPRA targeting the Alpha and Beta strains.

A member of the Coldstream Guards walks through a bed of flowers during Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral

The sea of floral tributes left in London’s parks for Queen Elizabeth II will be composted and re-used on planting projects, the city’s Royal Parks said Tuesday.

A huge volume of flowers have been left in parks across London following the death of Britain’s longest-serving monarch, who was laid to rest on Monday.

Work to remove the bunches of flowers will begin next Monday, a week after the state funeral for the late sovereign, who died on September 8 aged 96 after 70 years on the throne.

Well-wishers will still be able to leave tributes but bunches of flowers which have already deteriorated will be taken away.

The Royal Parks include well-known London green spaces such as Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens and Green Park, which is the scene of the main floral tribute site.

The compost will be used on landscaping projects and shrubberies across the parks.

“Our priority at the moment is to manage the huge volume of flowers and tributes that are being left in the Green Park Floral Tribute Garden,” a Royal Parks spokesperson said.

“We will store any teddies and artefacts that have been left and will work closely with our partners to agree what we do with them over the next few months with discretion and sensitivity.”

A young person rides his bicycle in Nagua, Dominican Republic, on September 19, 2022

Fiona strengthened into a powerful Category Three hurricane on Tuesday as it headed toward the Turks and Caicos islands after leaving two dead and triggering major flooding and blackouts in the Caribbean.

With maximum winds nearing 115 miles (185 kilometers) per hour, the storm is already bringing hurricane conditions to the British overseas territory and is expected to become even stronger, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

“Heavy rains around the center of Fiona impacts the Turks and Caicos through this afternoon with continued life-threatening flooding,” the NHC said in an advisory, adding that the storm was expected to pass near the island chain within hours.

Fiona has left two people dead so far: one man whose home was swept away in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe and another in the Dominican Republic who died while cutting down a tree to protect against the storm.

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has declared three eastern provinces to be disaster zones: La Altagracia — home to the popular resort of Punta Cana — El Seibo and Hato Mayor.

Several roads were flooded or cut off by falling trees or electric poles around Punta Cana where the power was knocked out, an AFP journalist on the scene said.

Footage from local media showed residents of the east coast town of Higuey waist-deep in water, trying to salvage personal belongings.

“It came through at high speed,” Vicente Lopez, in the Punta Cana beach of Bibijagua told AFP, bemoaning the destroyed businesses in the area.

The NHC said “heavy rainfall and localized life-threatening flash flooding” would continue over part of the Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

US President Joe Biden has meanwhile declared a state of emergency in Puerto Rico — where the storm hit a day earlier — authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide assistance in the US island territory.

Governor Pedro Pierluisi said the storm had caused catastrophic damage since Sunday, with some areas facing more than 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rainfall.

– ‘Unprecedented’ flooding –

Across Puerto Rico, Fiona caused landslides, blocked roads and toppled trees, power lines and bridges, Pierluisi said.

A man was killed as an indirect result of the power blackout — burned to death while trying to fill his generator, according to authorities.

On Monday afternoon, Nelly Marrero made her way back to her home in Toa Baja, in the north of Puerto Rico, to clear out the mud that surged inside after she evacuated.

“Thanks to God, I have food and water,” Marrero — who lost everything when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico five years ago — told AFP by telephone.

Fiona knocked out power to much of Puerto Rico, an island of three million people, but electricity had been restored for some customers on Monday, the governor said.

The hurricane has also left around 800,000 people without drinking water as a result of power outages and flooded rivers, officials said.

After years of financial woes and recession, Puerto Rico in 2017 declared the largest bankruptcy ever by a local US administration. 

Later that year, the double hit from two Hurricanes, Irma and Maria, added to the misery, devastating the electrical grid on the island — which has suffered from major infrastructure problems for years.

The grid was privatized in June 2021 in an effort to resolve the problem of blackouts, but the issue has persisted, and the entire island lost power earlier this year.

Researchers found pottery vessels that resembled poppy flowers, from which opium is derived

Israeli archaeologists said Tuesday they had discovered opium residue in 3,500-year-old pottery pieces, providing evidence to support the theory that the hallucinogenic drug was used in ancient burial rituals.

The joint investigation by the Israel Antiquities Authority and Weizmann Institute of Science began in 2012 when excavations in the central Israeli town of Yehud revealed a series of Late Bronze Age graves.

Researchers found pottery vessels at the site that resembled poppy flowers — from which opium is derived — dating back to the 14th century BC.

They then examined whether they had served as containers for the drug, which earlier writing had suggested was used in burial rituals in Canaan, and found “opium residue in eight vessels”, the researchers said in a statement.

These were likely “placed in graves for ceremonial meals, rites and rituals performed by the living for their deceased family members”, said Ron Be’eri, an archaeologist with the antiquities authority.

During these ceremonies, “family members or a priest on their behalf” would “attempt to summon the spirit of their dead relatives… and enter an ecstatic state by using opium”, Be’eri said.

But he acknowledged that much remained unknown about its use in ancient times. “We can only speculate what was done with opium,” he said.

How the Ebola virus attacks

The highly contagious Ebola virus has claimed more than 15,000 lives since it was first identified in central Africa in 1976.

On Tuesday, Uganda announced its first Ebola fatality since 2019 in an outbreak in the central district of Mubende.

Here is a factfile on one of the world’s most deadliest diseases:

– Origins –

Ebola is a viral haemorrhagic fever that was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

Five of the virus species are known to cause disease in humans — Zaire, Sudan, Bundibugyo, Reston and Tai Forest.

The first three have resulted in serious outbreaks in Africa.

The 24-year-old man whose death was announced Tuesday in Uganda tested positive for the Sudan strain.

– Transmission –

The virus’ natural reservoir animal is suspected to be a species of fruit bat, which does not itself fall ill but can pass the disease on to primates, including humans. Humans become exposed to the virus if they kill or butcher infected bats for food. 

Among humans, the virus is passed on by contact with the blood, body fluids, secretions or organs of an infected or recently deceased person. 

Those infected do not become contagious until symptoms appear. They become more and more contagious until just after their death, which poses great risks during funerals.

Death rates are high, at around 50 percent on average of those infected, and up to 90 percent for some epidemics, World Health Organization (WHO) data show.

– Symptoms –

Following an incubation period of between two and 21 days, Ebola develops into a high fever, weakness, intense muscle and joint pain, headaches and a sore throat.

The initial symptoms are often followed by vomiting and diarrhoea, skin eruptions, kidney and liver failure, and sometimes internal and external bleeding.

– Vaccines and treatment –

Merck’s Ervebo vaccine, the first Ebola jab approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2019, has been shown to be highly effective in protecting people from the Zaire strain.

US group Johnson & Johnson has also reported promising results against the Zaire strain of its two-dose Zabdeno vaccine, which has been authorised for use in the European Union.

In terms of treatment, the WHO in August recommended two life-saving medicines, Inmazeb and Ebanga, which were successfully trialled during Ebola outbreaks. 

– Worst outbreaks –

The worst-ever outbreak began in December 2013 in southern Guinea before spreading to two neighbouring West African countries, Liberia and Sierra Leone. 

More than 11,300 people were killed, according to WHO estimates. 

The second-deadliest took place between 2018 and 2020 in DR Congo’s conflict-plagued North Kivu province and killed 2,299 people according to the WHO. 

DR Congo has experienced 14 Ebola outbreaks since the 1970s.

The first person infected outside Africa was a Spanish nurse who caught the disease in 2014 after cleaning the hospital room of a Spanish missionary who was repatriated from West Africa with the virus. The missionary died but the nurse survived.