Spain’s central health authority will continue to recommend administering two doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine in the period indicated by its manufacturers, health minister Salvador Illa said on Monday. The decision goes against the United Kingdom’s recent policy shift to no longer reserve doses for a second round three weeks after the first, instead choosing to administer a single dose …

BEIJING/SHANGHAI: Alibaba Group will close its music streaming platform Xiami Music next month, in a move that marks a step back from its ambitions to push into China’s entertainment industry. “Due to operational adjustments, we will stop the service of Xiami Music,” the online music arm of the Chinese e-commerce giant said on Tuesday on its Weibo account, adding that …

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Experts advise against antibody drugs in pediatric COVID-19 As of now, antibody therapies for COVID-19 should not be used to treat infections with the new coronavirus in children or …

Breaker, a popular podcast app, said on Monday it would be acquired by social media company Twitter and shut down its app and website next week. Breaker said on its blog here that people can now transfer their subscriptions to other podcast listening apps like those offered by Apple and Spotify. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Here …

ISLAMABAD: Russia has once again offered to supply Pakistan with its Sputnik-V vaccine. Sources privy to the development told ARY News that the Russian Direct Investment Fund’s (RDIF) head wrote a letter to Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan through the country’s embassy in Islamabad seeking details of the vaccine registration process. In the letter, …

An image of a ‘slow-motion firework’ in space was shared by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which showed a doomed super-massive star 7,500 light-years away named Eta Carinae. The slow-motion firework in space has reportedly lasted over 150 years whose picture has stunned many of the viewers online. The image was captured by NASA’s Hubble telescope. The super-massive …

HAMBANTOTA: England all-rounder Moeen Ali tested positive for Covid-19 in Sri Lanka after the team’s arrival on the island, the country’s cricket board said on Monday. “Moeen will now observe a period of 10 days self-isolation, in accordance with the Sri Lanka Government’s protocol on quarantine,” the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement. “[All-rounder] Chris Woakes has …

HAMBANTOTA: Begin­ning a Test tour with hazmat suits, disinfection spray and isolation would knock many athletes for six, but England’s cricketers are grateful for the cautious welcome laid on by their Sri Lankan hosts, fast bowler James Anderson said on Monday. The veteran England stalwart remarked he is excited by the challenge of tours to Sri Lanka and India even …

JOHANNESBURG: Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne ensured his team would avoid an innings defeat but the tourists were in a precarious position at the end of the second day of the second and final Test against South Africa at the Wanderers on Monday. The tourists were 150 for four at the close, a lead of five runs with six wickets …