China has approved its first domestically developed mRNA vaccine against COVID-19, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group said on Wednesday, a major achievement in a country that has declined to use Western COVID shots to support domestic research. China, whose home-grown vaccines are seen as less effective than the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA shots, has been racing to develop vaccines using messenger RNA …

California-based cultivated meat company GOOD Meat has received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration to bring its lab-grown chicken to market, according to agency documents released on Tuesday.   View this post on Instagram   A POST SHARED BY GOOD MEAT (@GOODMEATINC)   Several companies are working to bring cultivated meat to market in the United States, and …

Web browser company Opera has announced to add ChatGPT and Al summariziation features to its platform to transform users’ browsing experience. These new tools are available in early access across all desktop platforms, according to the company. AI Prompts, a native feature in the Opera Browser, will help users shorten a long confusing text or explain it to them, whether …

WELLINGTON: New Zealand middle and long-distance runner Zane Robertson, who competed at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics, has been banned for eight years for doping and interfering with the testing process, the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand said on Wednesday. The 33-year-old, a bronze medallist in the 5,000 metres at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, received one four-year ban for testing …

BUENOS AIRES: Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates will make a triumphant return to their homeland on Thursday when they play their first match since winning the World Cup in Qatar. More than 1.5 million fans applied for 63,000 available tickets for the match against Central American minnows Panama at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires. Football-mad Argentines were out …

DHAKA: Uncapped Bangladeshi cricketers Rishad Hossain and Jaker Ali Anik were named to the Bangladesh squad Wednesday for next week’s three-match T20 International series against Ireland. Leg-spinner Rishad, 20, has shown promise in domestic matches, while 25-year-old wicket-keeper/batsman Anik was a crucial member of the Comilla Victorians’ title-winning team this year. Batsman Afif Hossain, left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam and wicketkeeper-batsman …

CHENNAI: Leg-spinner Adam Zampa took four wickets as Australia beat India by 21 runs to clinch the three-match One-day International series 2-1 on Wednesday. Electing to bat, Australia could not capitalise on a strong start and were bowled out for 269 in 49 overs on a slow track at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Their bowlers, led by Zampa, did an …

LAHORE: The Pakis­tan cricket squad left on Wednesday for Sharjah, without batting coach Mohammad Yousuf, to play a three-match T20 International series agai­nst Afghanistan. According to a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official, the 48-year-old Yousuf cited some personal reasons for not going to Sharjah for the March 24-27 series. In place of Yousuf, interim head coach Abdul Rehman will take …

ISTANBUL: World Cup winner Mesut Ozil announced his retirement from football on Wednesday after an illustrious international career with Germany and club spells with Real Madrid and Arsenal. The 34-year-old helped Germany to glory in Brazil in 2014 but bitterly quit the international scene after the Germans crashed out of the 2018 tournament in Russia. “After thoughtful consideration, I’m announcing my immediate …