PARIS: The vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech appears to retain its effectiveness against coronavirus mutations in worrying new variants that have emerged recently in Britain and South Africa, the firms said Thursday.
Several new variants — each with a cluster of genetic mutations — have sparked fears over an increase in infectiousness as well as suggestions that the virus could begin to elude immune response, whether from prior infection or a vaccine.
Pfizer/BioNTech, which had previously said it was unlikely that the strain originally found in Britain could escape vaccine protection, said Thursday that early tests suggest their immunization would be similarly protective against the variant in South Africa.
In a statement, the two companies said these preliminary findings “do not indicate the need for a new vaccine to address the emerging variants.”
They said they are “prepared to respond” if a new strain is shown to be able to evade the immunity of the vaccine, adding that they can produce updates to their jab if needed.
The statement comes after US biotech firm Moderna this week announced that lab studies suggest its vaccine should protect against the variants first found in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
The latest Pfizer/BioNTech research, which has not yet been peer reviewed, was carried out by researchers from Pfizer and the University of Texas.
The authors compared the antibodies of 20 people who had received two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine during clinical trials with lab-engineered sets of mutations present in the variants that emerged in Britain and South Africa.
The new variants — along with another linked to Brazil — have mutations to the virus’ spike protein, which enables the virus to latch onto human cells and therefore plays a key role in driving infections.
One mutation in particular — known as E484K and found in the South Africa and Brazil strains but not the one in Britain — has experts particularly worried about immunity “escape.”
The study found that the antibodies were able to neutralize all the sets of mutations tested.
It noted that the effect was “slightly lower” against three mutations in the variant found in South Africa, including E484K.
But the firms said that it was “unlikely to lead to a significant reduction in the effectiveness of the vaccine.”
They said they were looking to test against the full set of mutations in the spike protein of the variant that emerged in South Africa.
A study released last week by researchers in South Africa, which has also not yet been peer reviewed, tested the variant found there against blood plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients.
They found that it was resistant to neutralising antibodies built up from prior infection, but said more research was needed into the effectiveness of other parts of the immune response.
Daily global deaths from Covid-19 topped 18,000 for the first time Wednesday, with vaccines seen as the only real chance of returning to some form of normality.
The German firm BioNTech had already said the messenger RNA technology means it could update the vaccine against new variants within weeks.
Pfizer/BioNTech say vaccine effective against UK, South Africa virus mutations
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Pfizer/BioNTech say vaccine effective against UK, South Africa virus mutations
- Pfizer/BioNTech say preliminary findings “do not indicate the need for a new vaccine to address the emerging variants”
- Companies “prepared to respond” if new strain is shown to be able to evade the immunity of the vaccine
UK police arrest over 20 supporters of now banned pro-Palestine group
Sky News footage showed some being led away in handcuffs
LONDON: British police arrested over 20 people on suspicion of terrorism offenses after they showed support for the newly banned Palestine Action group in London on Saturday, hours after the proscription came into effect.
The government moved to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws last month after its activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged two planes in protest against what the group said was Britain’s support for Israel.
Late on Friday, the campaign lost an urgent appeal against the parliamentary vote to proscribe it as a terrorist organization, with the ban coming into force from midnight.
Under UK laws, offenses include inviting support, expressing approval, or displaying symbols of a banned group and are punishable by up to 14 years in prison and/or a fine. Britain has proscribed 81 groups under anti-terrorism laws, including Hamas, Al-Qaeda and Daesh.
On Saturday, supporters gathered in Parliament Square in Westminster, some holding placards that said “I OPPOSE GENOCIDE. I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION.” Sky News footage showed some being led away in handcuffs from a statue of Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi in the square, as they shouted their support.
United Nations experts have accused Israel of carrying out “genocidal acts” against Palestinians in the conflict in Gaza, which began after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel has repeatedly dismissed such accusations.
PRIDE PARADE PROTEST
Palestine Action has targeted Israel-linked companies in Britain in its protests, with interior minister Yvette Cooper saying that violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest and that the group’s activities justify proscription.
Critics of the decision, including some United Nations experts and civil liberties groups, have argued that damaging property does not amount to terrorism.
At another protest on Saturday, five pro-Palestinian activists from the Youth Demand group were arrested after they threw red paint over US company Cisco’s truck, which was participating in London’s Pride parade, and glued themselves to the vehicle.
The parade, which celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities, has since resumed, a separate police statement said.
“Young people will not accept ... crimes against humanity,” Youth Demand’s statement — which did not mention Palestine Action — said. It added that its activists targeted Cisco’s float as the company supplies “technology that is helping Israel.”
Cisco did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of business hours.
Macron to press Starmer on recognizing Palestinian state during UK visit
- French leader’s trip comes as Paris pushes for relaunch of UN-led process on the issue to be hosted with Saudi Arabia
- Macron also expected to discuss ‘one-in, one-out’ migrant return deal to curb Channel crossings
LONDON: Emmanuel Macron is expected to urge Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to formally recognize Palestinian statehood during his upcoming state visit to the UK, it was reported on Saturday.
The French president arrives in London on Tuesday for a three-day trip, which will include a summit with Starmer, an address to both Houses of Parliament, and a state banquet hosted by King Charles at Windsor Castle.
While the centerpiece of the visit is expected to be a new “one-in, one-out” migrant returns deal aimed at curbing Channel crossings, sources say Macron will also raise the issue of Palestinian statehood during private talks with the UK leader.
“The French are trying to get us back on board with recognition. We’re reticent,” a Whitehall insider told The Telegraph.
“You do it when you think you can achieve something from it, not for the sake of saying ‘we’ve done it.’”
Downing Street and the Elysee Palace are said to be at odds over the pace and conditions under which recognition should take place, though both governments publicly support the idea in principle at the “right time.”
Paris views recognition as a possible catalyst for a two-state solution and is pushing to relaunch a proposed UN-led process to discuss the matter to be hosted with Saudi Arabia.
However, UK officials fear the move could be largely symbolic without commitments from Hamas, including disarmament and withdrawal from leadership roles.
Israel has strongly opposed unilateral recognition, warning it would amount to “rewarding” Hamas for its Oct. 7 attacks.
The bilateral summit will also cover joint civil nuclear projects and coordination on a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
Macron’s visit will be marked by pageantry, including a carriage procession through Windsor and a tour of the Royal Collection. The French president will also be presented with Fabuleu de Maucour, a horse he gifted the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.
Afghans in British defense ministry data breach to get compensation
- Individuals can claim $5,400, armed forces minister says
- Lord Coaker promises to ‘drive improvement’ in data handling
LONDON: Afghans whose personal information was exposed in a UK Ministry of Defence data breach have been told they can claim up to £4,000 ($5,400) in compensation.
The breach, which happened in September 2021, saw the email addresses of 265 Afghans who had worked with British forces mistakenly shared in a group email sent by the ministry’s Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy team.
The message, intended to provide updates on evacuation plans, used the “To” field instead of the blind carbon copy function, which revealed names, email addresses and in some cases thumbnail profile images.
On Friday, Armed Forces Minister Lord Coaker confirmed the compensation scheme in a written statement to Parliament, saying the ministry was taking a “proactive” approach to what he described as a historical data-handling incident, The Times reported on Saturday.
“I can confirm to members the Ministry of Defence will be directly contacting those individuals who were affected by the data incident,” he said. “Once a response is received and the affected individual’s identity confirmed, a single ex gratia payment of up to £4,000 per individual will be made.”
The ministry expects the total cost to be about £1.6 million.
“Every effort will be made to ensure payments are made as quickly as reasonably practical,” Coaker said.
“I cannot undo past mistakes but I wish to assure members that in my role as minister for the armed forces I intend to drive improvement in the department’s data handling training and practices.”
The ministry’s record on such issues “must improve and I am determined to ensure it does,” he said.
The breach was condemned at the time by then shadow defense secretary John Healey, who said: “We told these Afghan interpreters we would keep them safe, instead this breach has needlessly put lives at risk.”
In December 2023, the Information Commissioner’s Office fined the ministry £350,000 over the incident.
UK Information Commissioner John Edwards described it as “a particularly egregious breach of the obligation of security owed to these people, thus warranting the financial penalty my office imposes today.”
“This deeply regrettable data breach let down those to whom our country owes so much,” he said.
Following the incident, the ministry contacted those affected and asked them to delete the original email, change their contact details and inform the ARAP team using a secure form. Concerns were raised at the time that the information could have fallen into the hands of the Taliban.
Manila mayor launches weekly clean-up drive to deal with city’s garbage crisis
- Manila residents affected by rotting trash uncollected for weeks
- Waste collection contractors have quit, citing millions of dollars of unpaid bills
MANILA: Manila, one of the world’s most densely-populated cities, launched a weekly clean-up initiative on Saturday to address its worsening garbage problem, in the same week that a state of emergency was declared in the Philippine capital due to piles of uncollected rubbish.
For weeks, garbage has been causing problems in the city, with roads becoming impassable for cars in some areas and the stench of rotting waste inescapable for Manila’s two million residents.
The reason behind the crisis was revealed on Monday, when Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso assumed office: the capital’s rubbish collection contractors had quit, claiming they were owed millions of dollars by the previous administration.
“Since the beginning of 2025, it was obvious that the garbage trucks weren’t coming in regularly — unlike the year before,” Manila resident Sophie Escudero told Arab News on Saturday. “Every time I (go out), the garbage is just way more than what I normally see.”
By Tuesday, Domagoso had declared a state of health emergency and issued an executive order mandating “every Saturday … as regular clean-up and de-clogging day throughout the city of Manila,” and highlighting the city’s “deteriorating sanitary conditions and worsening garbage collection problem” as a hazard to people’s health and safety.
Under the order, the city’s Department of Public Services and the Department of Engineering and Public Works are directed to take part in the weekly, citywide clean-up drive. Residents are also “strongly encouraged” to participate.
“I need everyone’s cooperation—because together, we can make Manila great again,” Domagoso said on Friday. “I humbly appeal to everyone: let’s work together to lift our city up and make it a cleaner, more livable, and more peaceful place for our fellow citizens here in the nation’s capital.”
He also claimed that he could “confidently say” the garbage crisis was “70 percent solved,” after joint efforts from city officials and having reached out to a former waste collection contractor for help. The emergency declaration also allowed his office to access “more resources and exercise broader authority,” he said.
Domagoso, a former teen idol also known by his screen name Isko Moreno, prioritized cleaning up the city’s streets during his first stint as mayor from 2019 to 2022. He won the election in May with a promise to “Make Manila Great Again.”
“The reason I voted for Isko was because, somehow, you could actually be proud that Manila was at least a bit clean (during his previous term in office). Because when (his successor, former Mayor Honey) Lacuna took over, I was so frustrated. In some streets, you couldn’t even pass through,” Manila resident Malu Rongalerios told Arab News. “Now, the improvement is huge. No joke.”
Prior to this week, Rongalerios said garbage trucks had only been coming to his neighborhood once or twice a week.
“That’s just not acceptable,” he said. “We even segregate our trash. We make sure to take it out properly. To step out of your house and see trash everywhere? That’s just too much.”
On Saturday, city authorities across Manila were flushing the streets with water, hauling piles of garbage away, and de-clogging drains to comply with the executive order.
The city’s garbage crisis would have been preventable if “waste reduction measures such as bans on single-use plastic and support for reusable packaging and refill systems were to be implemented,” claimed Marian Ledesma, a zero-waste campaigner with Greenpeace Philippines, who warned that Manila may face a similar crisis in the future if strict waste segregation from households and businesses is not enforced.
“Right now, collectors just dump everything into one truck,” Ledesma told Arab News. “This poor collection practice of mixing waste doesn’t (reward) the good habits of people who do segregate, and cities lose valuable resources because glass and other recyclables are thrown out, and food or organic waste that can be composted are mixed with other waste.”
Several hurt in Ryanair false fire alarm
- “Passengers were disembarked using the inflatable slides and returned to the terminal,” Ryanair said
- “While disembarking, a small number of passengers encountered very minor injuries”
MADRID: A false fire alarm aboard a Ryanair jet preparing for takeoff from Spain’s Palma de Mallorca airport saw several passengers injured as they left the plane via inflatable ramps, the Irish carrier said Saturday.
Friday evening’s Manchester-bound flight was suspended owing to a false fire alarm warning indication.
“Passengers were disembarked using the inflatable slides and returned to the terminal,” Ryanair said in a statement, adding that there was no fire on the aircraft.
“While disembarking, a small number of passengers encountered very minor injuries (ankle sprains, etc.) and crew requested immediate medical assistance.
“To minimize disruption to passengers, we quickly arranged a replacement aircraft to operate this flight, which departed Palma at 07:05 this morning.”
Local Mallorca media reported 18 injuries, all minor, with six requiring hospitalization and the remainder treated on site.
The low-cost airline is popular with British tourists visiting coastal destinations in Spain and southern Europe, including the Balearic island of Mallorca.
State-owned Spanish airport managing company Aena confirmed that “there was an incident on a Ryanair plane last night at Palma de Mallorca Airport.
“There was no fire and the incident did not affect airport operations.”
