Giant panda cubs receive public visitors in China zoo
Twin panda brothers born in a zoo in southwest Chinas Chongqing Municipality started to receive public visitors on Friday.
Afemale panda named “Mangzai” gave birth to them on June 10. “Giant pandas often only choose the stronger one of the twins to feed,” said Yin Yanqiang, technical director taking care of the animals at Chongqing Zoo.
“To ensure the survival of the two, we carried out artificially assisted feeding, with one brought up by the panda mom and the other artificially raised in the nursery box. We exchanged their places regularly to allow both of them to enjoy the breast milk in time,” Yin said.
The brothers are growing well with concerted efforts. The older cub now weighs 6,060 grams and the younger one 5,680 grams, said Yin, adding that the twins have different personalities. “The older brother is more active and alert, while the younger cub gentler and quieter.”
The nursery receives visits in two timeslots from Friday, 10:00-11:00 a.m. and 2:30-3:30 p.m., and the public is invited to give names for the cubs.
Cuba sees over 8,000 new COVID-19 cases in one day
Meanwhile, the Cuban government is accelerating its vaccination drive against COVID-19, with over 39 percent of the total population of 11.2 million people immunized so far with one of the three-dose vaccines produced by Cuba: Abdala, Soberana-02 and Soberana Plus.
Cuba on Friday said it registered 8,291 new cases of COVID-19 infection in 24 hours, pushing the total number of cases detected to date here to 784,416.
The Ministry of Public Health also reported 75 more deaths from the disease in the same period, raising the pandemic death toll to 6,676.
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Of the total number of new cases confirmed in the past 24 hours, 8,260 were the result of community transmission, the ministry’s director of hygiene and epidemiology, Francisco Duran, said in presenting his daily pandemic update.
The province of Pinar del Rio remains the epicenter of the pandemic on the island, with 1,629 new cases and an incidence rate of 3,425 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest in the country.
Meanwhile, the Cuban government is accelerating its vaccination drive against COVID-19, with over 39 percent of the total population of 11.2 million people immunized so far with one of the three-dose vaccines produced by Cuba: Abdala, Soberana-02 and Soberana Plus.
U.S. military admits drone strike in Kabul killed 10 civilians
The U.S. military admitted on Friday that a U.S. drone strike in late August in Kabul of Afghanistan killed as many as 10 civilians, including 7 children.
— Commander of U.S. Central Command Kenneth McKenzie admitted the deadly strike was “a tragic mistake.”
— “We apologize, and we will endeavor to learn from this horrible mistake,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said.
“Having thoroughly reviewed the findings of the investigation and the supporting analysis by interagency partners, I am now convinced that as many as 10 civilians, including up to seven children, were tragically killed in that strike,” Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, told reporters during a Pentagon press briefing.
“We now assess that it is unlikely that the vehicle and those who died were associated with ISIS-K, or were a direct threat to U.S. forces,” he added.
The general admitted the deadly strike was “a tragic mistake.” “As the combatant commander, I am fully responsible for this strike and this tragic outcome.”
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The U.S. Central Command said on Aug. 29 that it launched a drone strike on a vehicle in Kabul, which it claimed had eliminated an “imminent” threat, posed by ISIS-K, an Afghanistan-based offshoot of the Islamic State, to the Hamid Karzai International Airport, where evacuations of U.S. service members and personnel were underway.
Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, had called it a “righteous strike” with procedures correctly followed.
Photo taken on Sept. 2, 2021 shows a damaged vehicle at the site of the U.S. airstrike in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Media reports later emerged that the U.S. military might have hit a wrong target in the strike with civilian casualties.
Separate investigations by The New York Times and The Washington Post identified the vehicle driver as Zemarai Ahmadi, a 43-year-old electrical engineer working for Nutrition and Education International, a U.S. aid group based in Pasadena, California.
“We now know that there was no connection between Mr. Ahmadi and ISIS-Khorasan,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement on Friday. “His activities on that day were completely harmless and not at all related to the imminent threat we believed we faced, and that Mr. Ahmadi was just as innocent a victim as were the others tragically killed.”
“We apologize, and we will endeavor to learn from this horrible mistake,” he added.
The Pentagon chief also noted he had asked a further review of the investigation just completed by U.S. Central Command to determine whether “accountability measures” need to be taken and strike authorities and procedures to be changed in the future.
The Central Command announced on Aug. 30 that it had completed the pullout of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, ending 20 years of U.S. military presence in the country, after botched evacuations that drew fierce criticism from both home and abroad.
The United States announced its “War on Terror” and invaded Afghanistan in 2001, soon after al-Qaida terrorists hijacked passenger planes and carried out suicide attacks against the United States, killing almost 3,000 people on its soil.
Over the years, Washington has expanded warfare into several other countries, relying heavily on drone strikes for targeted killings. U.S. drone attacks and airstrikes have killed at least 22,000 civilians over the past two decades, according to watchdog Airwars.
People stand at the site of the U.S. airstrike in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Sept. 2, 2021.
Malaysia pushes domestic tourism as Asean reports over 71,000 cases
New Covid-19 cases and related deaths in Southeast Asia were slightly higher on Thursday compared to the previous day, collated data showed.
Asean reported 71,263 new cases and 1,460 deaths on Thursday, higher than Wednesday’s 69,057 and 1,440 respectively.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the region crossed 11.26 million and the death toll to 248,366.
Laos reported 154 new cases on Thursday, bringing cumulative cases in the country to 18,059 with 16 deaths. The government announced the extension of a countrywide lockdown until September 30, as the infection rate is still climbing. People have been advised to strictly adhere to disease control measures when attending funerals, and to refrain from large public gatherings to curb the spread of the delta variant of the virus.
Meanwhile Malaysia announced the reopening of Langkawi, a cluster of 99 islands in the Straits of Malacca from September 16 to fully vaccinated travellers as part of a domestic tourism bubble, with strict protocols in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Authorities said if the “Langkawi sandbox” programme proved to be successful, similar schemes would be implemented in other areas to revive the country’s tourism.
Malaysia had the second highest number of cases in Asean on Thursday at 18,815 and the most deaths at 422.
InPics: 3 dead, 60 injured in 6.0-magnitude Sichuan earthquake
Three people were confirmed dead and 60 others were sent to hospital after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Luxian County of Luzhou City, southwest Chinas Sichuan Province.
Among those hospitalized, three were seriously injured, according to the city’s emergency management bureau.
China Earthquake Administration has dispatched a work team to guide on-site disaster relief work. A total of 890 commanders and fighters from nearby fire-fighting and rescue brigades have been mobilized, while another 4,600 rescue workers are on standby.
More than 6,900 affected residents have been relocated, and over 10,000 people have been shifted to temporary shelters as of early Thursday morning, according to the local government.
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According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the earthquake occurred at 4:33 a.m. The epicenter was monitored at 29.2 degrees north latitude and 105.34 degrees east longitude. The quake struck at a depth of 10 km.
Photo taken with a mobile phone on Sept. 16, 2021 shows debris on a street after earthquake in Luxian County, southwest China
Photo taken with a mobile phone on Sept. 16, 2021 shows debris on a street after earthquake in Luxian County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Xinhua)
Photo taken with a mobile phone shows rescuers removing debris on a street in Fuji Town of Luxian County, southwest China
Photo taken with a mobile phone shows rescuers removing debris on a street in Fuji Town of Luxian County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Sept. 16, 2021. (Xinhua)
An armed police medic treats an injured woman at a relocation site in Fuji Township, Luxian County, southwest China
An armed police medic treats an injured woman at a relocation site in Fuji Township, Luxian County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on Sept. 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Yang Jin)
An emergency lane is established to ensure quick passage of disaster relief vehicles at an expressway toll station in Luzhou City of southwest China
An emergency lane is established to ensure quick passage of disaster relief vehicles at an expressway toll station in Luzhou City of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Sept. 16, 2021. (Xinhua)
Evacuated people are seen at a temporary relocation site after an earthquake in Jiaming Township of Luxian County, southwest China
Evacuated people are seen at a temporary relocation site after an earthquake in Jiaming Township of Luxian County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Sept. 16, 2021. (Photo by Liu Xueyi/Xinhua)
Rescuers transfer an elderly man to a safe location after an earthquake in Luxian County, southwest China
Rescuers transfer an elderly man to a safe location after an earthquake in Luxian County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on Sept. 16, 2021. (Photo by Liu Xueyi/Xinhua)
Evacuated people rest at a temporary relocation site after an earthquake in Jiaming Township of Luxian County, southwest China
Evacuated people rest at a temporary relocation site after an earthquake in Jiaming Township of Luxian County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Sept. 16, 2021. (Photo by Liu Xueyi/Xinhua)
Evacuated people rest and dine at a temporary relocation site after an earthquake in Jiaming Township of Luxian County, southwest China
Evacuated people rest and dine at a temporary relocation site after an earthquake in Jiaming Township of Luxian County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Sept. 16, 2021. (Photo by Liu Xueyi/Xinhua)
Evacuated people arrive at a temporary relocation site after an earthquake in Jiaming Township of Luxian County, southwest China
Evacuated people arrive at a temporary relocation site after an earthquake in Jiaming Township of Luxian County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Sept. 16, 2021. (Photo by Liu Xueyi/Xinhua)
Rescuers prepare to set up tents in Fuji Town of Luxian County, southwest China
Rescuers prepare to set up tents in Fuji Town of Luxian County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Sept. 16, 2021.
Astronauts to return home after Chinas longest space mission
The Shenzhou-12 spaceship completed circumnavigation and radial rendezvous tests at 1:38 p.m. (Beijing Time) Thursday, and the three astronauts will start their way home.
The tests successfully verified the radial rendezvous technology, laying an important technical foundation for the following manned missions, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The spaceship will return as planned. The three astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo will begin their journey home, after living and working in the space station core module Tianhe for 90 days, the longest stay in space by Chinese astronauts, the CMSA said.
Shenzhou-12 separated from Tianhe at 8:56 a.m. Thursday.
The three Chinese astronauts were sent into space onboard the Shenzhou-12 spaceship and entered Tianhe on June 17. The crew carried out extravehicular activities twice over the past 90 days.
U.S., UK aid to Australias acquisition of nuclear submarines “sheer act of nuclear proliferation”: Chinese envoy
“This contradicts the purpose, objective and core obligation of the NPT to the detriment of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime with the NPT at its core and on-going international efforts on this front,” Wang stated.
AChinese diplomat on Thursday expressed China’s “grave concern” at the pronounced assistance by the United States and the United Kingdom to Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.
Addressing the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting here, Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, described the trilateral move as “sheer act of nuclear proliferation”.
The U.S. and the UK, both nuclear weapon states, and are state parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) which prevents proliferation of nuclear weapons and technologies, the core obligation for its state parties, Wang stated.
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He stressed that such assistance “will apparently give rise to proliferation of nuclear materials and technologies by openly providing assistance to Australia”, a non-nuclear weapon state, in its acquisition and building of the nuclear-powered submarine.
Photo taken on Sept. 3, 2021 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States.
“This contradicts the purpose, objective and core obligation of the NPT to the detriment of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime with the NPT at its core and on-going international efforts on this front,” Wang stated.
“While firmly safeguarding the validity of the international non-proliferation regime, China wishes to register its grave concern at the development,” Wang said.
“In the meantime, we believe that, it is the responsibility of IAEA, as an international organization mandated to implement NPT non-proliferation regime, to openly express its solemn position at the trilateral act by the U.S., the UK and Australia, which contradict their obligations under the NPT,” Wang stated.
Wang also stressed that, such an act of nuclear proliferation “will give rise to serious negative implications on the on-going international efforts to address the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula as well as the Iranian nuclear issue”.
“Given the ongoing review and discussions of the Korean Peninsula and Iranian nuclear issues at the IAEA Board of Governors and the General Conference, it is essential that all members of the Board and international organizations including IAEA, make solemn position on the trilateral collaboration among the U.S., UK and Australia in helping Australia develop nuclear-powered submarine, in promotion of the full and effective implementation of international non-proliferation obligations under the NPT by all countries,” he stated.
Exporting highly sensitive nuclear submarine technology to Australia has shown that the U.S. and the UK have “once again adopted a double standard on nuclear export”, and “have taken nuclear export as a means of their geo-political game”, Wang pointed out.
Wang said that, in the meantime, it is “utterly irresponsible” for Australia, as a non-nuclear state and state party to the NPT and South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, to import nuclear submarine technology with strategic militarily value.
“The international community, including neighboring countries, has every reason to question Australia’s sincerity in implementation of nuclear non-proliferation commitment under the relevant treaties,” he said.
The trilateral collaboration by the U.S., the UK and Australia “will seriously impair the regional peace and stability, escalate arms race, to the detriment of international peace and security,” Wang added.
Wang said that China will closely follow its development and reserve the right to make further responses. In the meantime, China will call on the international community to “work together to check such a dangerous act”.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, governments of the U.S., the UK and Australia announced the creation of a new trilateral security partnership called “AUKUS,” which will help “significantly deepen cooperation on a range of security and defense capabilities”.
The first initiative under AUKUS will be the delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine fleet for Australia, and the three countries will spend as many as 18 months discussing how this capability will be delivered, according to the statement.
A lantern is seen on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, on March 23, 2021.
U.S., Britain, Australia announce new security partnership
In a joint statement, the three governments said the partnership, called “AUKUS,” will help “significantly deepen cooperation on a range of security and defense capabilities.” The first initiative under AUKUS will be delivering a nuclear-powered submarine fleet for Australia.
The United States, Britain and Australia announced on Wednesday the creation of a new trilateral security partnership.
U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement during a virtual event.
In a joint statement, the three governments said the partnership, called “AUKUS,” will help “significantly deepen cooperation on a range of security and defense capabilities.”
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The first initiative under AUKUS will be delivering a nuclear-powered submarine fleet for Australia and the three countries will spend as many as 18 months discussing how this capability will be delivered, according to the statement.
Australia intends to build the submarines in Adelaide, a coastal city in the country’s south, in cooperation with Britain and the United States, Morrison said in his remarks.
“Australia is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons or establish a civil nuclear capability,” he said, vowing to meet all of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations.
Biden and Johnson said the nuclear-powered submarines that Australia wants to acquire are conventionally armed, noting that their countries will also be fully in line with their non-proliferation obligations.
A senior administration official told reporters on Wednesday that AUKUS “is not aimed or about any one country,” claiming that “it’s about advancing our strategic interests, upholding the international rules-based order, and promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.”
Though over 64 percent of its population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot, Israel has experienced a resurgence in the infections since June mainly due to the fast spread of the Delta variant.
Israel’s Ministry of Health on Thursday reported 8,586 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally of infections in the country to 1,208,144.
The ministry also reported 21 new deaths from the virus, taking the death toll in the country to 7,465, while the number of patients in serious condition increased from 650 to 654, the ministry said.
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The total recoveries from the virus climbed to 1,117,027, after 10,880 newly recovered cases were recorded, while active cases decreased to 83,652, it added.
Israeli students wearing masks are seen in a classroom on the first day of new school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in the central Israeli city of Modiin, Sept. 1, 2021.
The number of people who have received the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Israel stood at over 6.05 million, or 64.4 percent of its total population, while over 5.56 million have taken two doses and over 2.98 million have got three jabs, according to the ministry.
An Israeli woman receives her third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Clalit Healthcare Maintenance Organization in Jerusalem, Aug. 24, 2021.
Maryland Zoo is one of 70 U.S. facilities vaccinating wild animals against the coronavirus
Pull back that fur and stick out that paw.
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore said Tuesday that it plans to vaccinate some of its animals this fall against the coronavirus. The vaccine shots will be administered to more than 30 animals, including chimpanzees, North American river otters, an Amur leopard, cheetahs, lions, bobcats, lemurs and one American badger named Makoda with razor-sharp claws.
No animals at the Maryland Zoo have gotten covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, since the pandemic started more than a year ago. But the vaccine will “add another layer of protection for the animals in our care,” Ellen Bronson, senior director of animal health, conservation and research at the Maryland Zoo, said in a statement.
The Maryland Zoo is one of 70 zoos, sanctuaries and conservatories in the United States getting the coronavirus vaccine donated from Zoetis, a publicly traded drug company headquartered in Parsippany, N.J. Zoetis makes medicines and vaccines for livestock and pets. It was previously a subsidiary of the huge pharmaceutical company Pfizer before it spun off and became a separate entity.
At the National Zoo in the District, a spokeswoman said Tuesday that its veterinarians have plans to use vaccines from Zoetis – depending on their availability – this fall for some of its animals at its facility in Northwest Washington and at its sister location, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia.
Maryland Zoo officials said Makoda, a badger shown here doing a training exercise, will get a coronavirus vaccine this fall. MUST CREDIT: Maryland Zoo
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Maryland Zoo officials said the vaccine will be rolled out for “species that have been proven to be susceptible to covid-19,” starting with great apes and big cats, as they’ve been found to be at higher risk of contracting the coronavirus.
Exactly how do you give a shot to a busy chimp or a lion or a cheetah?
Carefully and by training it.
Bronson said “many of these animals are trained to participate in their own health care, meaning they willingly work with the animal care team and veterinary technicians to receive injections.” She said sometimes animals will even “allow blood to be drawn” and have ultrasounds done when they’re awake.
By training the animals, she said, it avoids experts having to use anesthesia for minor procedures.
John Flanders Jr., an associate veterinarian at the Maryland Zoo, said most of the animals getting the vaccine have been trained to take injections voluntarily, and for those who may need to be anesthetized, it will be done when they have their regular annual exams.
“Chimps are trained to lean up against the mesh and hold their shoulder there while a needle is injected,” Flanders said. Even the cheetahs, the leopard and bobcats are trained to put forward their shoulder or a hip to get a shot.
The animals will need two coronavirus vaccine doses, several weeks apart, experts said. Once the animals are vaccinated at the Maryland Zoo, Bronson said, they’ll be closely monitored for any side effects.
Zoetis said it has given more than 11,000 doses of its coronavirus vaccines for animals to zoos and other animal care facilities in 27 states in the country. Its vaccine can be used in roughly 100 mammal species, experts said. The company’s vaccine is authorized for use on a case-by-case basis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state veterinarians, said a company spokeswoman.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the coronavirus can infect mammals. There have been several cases of animals at zoos getting sick, and many experts said they typically got the virus after being in close contact with humans who had it. Animal experts have been most worried about orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees catching the coronavirus because they are susceptible to many illnesses that affect humans, and a simple cold can be deadly for them.
Across the country, some zoos have started to vaccinate their animals against the coronavirus.
Last week, officials at the Zoo Atlanta said some of their gorillas tested positive for the coronavirus, and they have plans to vaccinate them once they’re better.
Over the summer, tigers, mountain lions, ferrets and bears at the Oakland Zoo were given the coronavirus vaccine from Zoetis. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Zoo said that some of its great apes got an experimental vaccine from Zoetis after some of its gorillas tested positive for the virus.
Some of the other animals that have tested positive for the coronavirus include two tigers at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo in Indiana, two tigers at Norfolk’s Virginia Zoo, three snow leopards at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky, and four tigers and three African lions at New York’s Bronx Zoo.
Some pets such as dogs, cats and ferrets have also been infected.
Zoetis officials said their experts started working on a coronavirus vaccine for animals in February 2020 after they first heard about dogs getting infected with the virus in Hong Kong.
Christina Lood, a spokeswoman for Zoetis, said the company has not heard of any “significant adverse reactions” in animals that have received the coronavirus vaccine.
“We all want to make sure we protect our animal friends and this is one way we can keep them safe from covid,” Lood said.
Photo taken on Sept. 2, 2021 shows a damaged vehicle at the site of the U.S. airstrike in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
People stand at the site of the U.S. airstrike in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Sept. 2, 2021.
Photo taken on Sept. 3, 2021 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States.
A lantern is seen on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, on March 23, 2021.
Israeli students wearing masks are seen in a classroom on the first day of new school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in the central Israeli city of Modiin, Sept. 1, 2021.
An Israeli woman receives her third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Clalit Healthcare Maintenance Organization in Jerusalem, Aug. 24, 2021.
Maryland Zoo officials said Makoda, a badger shown here doing a training exercise, will get a coronavirus vaccine this fall. MUST CREDIT: Maryland Zoo
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