China’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows promise in human trials, CNBG says
Topics : CNBG said it is proactively seeking opportunities for late-stage and large-scale Phase 3 trials overseas.”have secured cooperative intent with companies and institutes in many countries,” the company said in a statement.State media reported that the vaccine candidate, along with a different experimental shot developed by Sinopharm’s unit, has been offered to Chinese employees at state-owned firms travelling overseas as developers seek more data on their efficacy.China has five vaccine candidates for COVID-19 in human trials, the most in any country.China’s vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech (Sinovac) released over the weekend positive preliminary clinical trial results for its potential vaccine candidate, which is expected to be tested in a Phase 3 trial in Brazil. China National Biotec Group (CNBG) said on Tuesday its experimental coronavirus vaccine has triggered antibodies in clinical trials and the company plans late-stage human trials in foreign countries.No vaccines have been solidly proven to be able to effectively protect people from the virus that has killed more than 400,000 people, while multiple candidates are in various stages of development globally.The vaccine, developed by a Wuhan-based research institute affiliated to CNBG’s parent company China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), was found to have induced high-level antibodies in all inoculated people without serious adverse reaction, according to the preliminary data from a clinical trial initiated in April involving 1,120 healthy participants aged between 18 and 59.
The State Palace has defended the use of social media influencers to promote public policies, claiming the opinion leaders spearheaded the country’s digital transformation and democracy.Presidential spokesperson Fadjroel Rachman said influencers played a vital role as “key opinion leaders” to help communicate public policy in a connected society dominated by a digitally active middle class.“The active role of these digital actors is an inevitability in the country’s digital transformation. They will continue to grow their important roles in developing an information network to affect social, economic and productive political activities,” Fadjroel wrote in a statement on Monday. He added that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had urged the country to push through a digital change as a prerequisite for a digital economic and democratic transformation. “Therefore, many policies need to be based on digital society and system.”Read also: ‘Unhealthy in a democracy’: Concerns mount over govt using ‘influencers’ to promote policiesThe government has been criticized for using social media influencers to promote its policies. Civil society groups have expressed concern that such a practice might be used to cover up problems in policies and muddle the public discourse.A study issued by Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) found that President Jokowi’s administration had spent Rp 90.4 billion (US$6 million) since its first term in office on goods and services procurement containing the word “influencers” in the documents.NGOs fear social media influencers might speak beyond their capacity or without proper disclosure that their content is sponsored or under a paid partnership with the government.Several social media influencers came under fire in August for posting content supporting the controversial omnibus bill on job creation using the hashtag #IndonesiaButuhKerja (Indonesia Needs Jobs).While denying that the campaign had been ordered by the government, an expert with the Executive Office of the Presidential, Donny Gahral Adian, argued that using influencers to promote policies was fair enough, because they could reach a broad audience through social media.Topics :
In the case of gas, the drops were even sharper, ranging from 36 per cent, on the Henry Hub, to 56 per cent on the Algonquín. In the first quarter of 2020, Repsol recorded an adjusted net income of €447 million, which represents a decrease of 27.7 per cent compared to the €618 million registered in the same period the previous year. The Upstream business posted an income of €90 million, compared to €323 million between January and March 2019. Average production increased by 1.4 per cent, to 710,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day. With a negative impact of €790 million ($864.4Mn), the resulting net loss in the first quarter of 2020 was €487 million ($532.9Mn) compared to a profit of €608 million ($665.3Mn) in 1Q 2019. This volatility and decline in international commodities prices has reduced the valuation of the company’s inventories to an extraordinary degree. Repsol also said that, despite the adverse context, the commitment to a shareholder remuneration of 1 euro per share in 2020 will be maintained. Reducing expenses Upstream performance
The plan includes initiatives that will represent additional reductions of more than 350 million euros in operating expenses and over 1 billion in investments. Spanish oil and gas company Repsol posted a significant quarterly loss after being hit by volatility and decline in oil and gas prices, but it delivered an increased output during the period. It will also include optimizations of working capital of nearly 800 million with respect to what was initially budgeted. To address the current circumstances, Repsol adopted a Resilience Plan for 2020. This result was achieved in a context of exceptional complexity, marked by a sharp drop in oil and gas prices, a drastic decrease in demand triggered by Covid-19. The average price of Brent and WTI crude oils dropped by 21 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively, compared to the first three months of 2019. At the end of the quarter, Brent traded at under $20 per barrel. The results of this area have been hampered primarily by the extraordinary drop in international commodities reference prices. 
(REUTERS) – India captain Virat Kohli has declared Jasprit Bumrah as “the most complete bowler in world cricket” after the quick’s stellar performance in their 2-0 series sweep against West Indies.Set an improbable target of 468 late on day three, West Indies lost their final six wickets for 51 runs and were bowled out of 210 to hand India a 257-run win in the second Test at Sabina Park on Monday.Bumrah finished as the leading wicket-taker in the series with 13 dismissals at an exceptional average of 9.23, which follows his impressive performance at this year’s World Cup.“There is not much you can say about Jasprit, the way he has been bowling,” Kohli told a news conference. “All we can say is we are really lucky to have him on our team.“He confuses you with angles, with swing, he’ll set up for the outswinger, then bowl the inswinger, and it’s coming at a pace, and then he can hit you with bouncers as well. So, I think he is the most complete bowler in world cricket right now.”Bowling at sustained pace and moving the ball through the air and off the seam, Bumrah ripped through the Windies batting order twice in the series, including a hat-trick in the first innings spell of 6-27 in the second Test.His devastating spell of 5-7 in the first Test made him the first bowler from Asia to take five-wicket hauls in Australia, England, South Africa and the West Indies – in only his 11th Test.“He has absolute control of what he is doing. So when he steps out on the field, he knows how much he can contribute for the team,” Kohli said.“It is really pleasing to see a guy who was tagged as a T20 specialist, he came in and took over the one-day scene, and now he is taking over Test cricket.”Kohli was also impressed with Hanuma Vihari’s assuring presence at the crease as the middle-order batsman enjoyed a breakthrough series in the Caribbean.The 25-year-old finished as the top run-scorer with 289 runs that included a century and two half-centuries.“I think the find of the series has to be Hanuma Vihari,” Kohli added.“The way he has batted under pressure … his skills were outstanding, his temperament was top notch.”India’s series sweep helped them claim the top spot in the inaugural World Test Championship with 120 points ahead of their home series against South Africa.New Zealand and Sri Lanka, who shared their series 1-1, follow with 60 points each.
Senior forward and tri-captain Blake Geoffrion netted two goals in the third-ranked Badgers\’ 3-3 tie with No. 1 Denver at the Kohl Center.[/media-credit]All it took was one goal Friday night for the third-ranked Badgers to get going.Unfortunately for head coach Mike Eaves’ squad, however, the momentum they built over a four-minute stretch in the third period did not prove to be enough as Wisconsin skated to a 3-3 tie with No. 1 Denver at the Kohl Center.Still, the tie was a positive result for Eaves and the Badgers.“I think the result was what you might expect from two top college teams in the hockey world,” Eaves said. “It was an interesting game. I thought that we came out and played pretty well. … It was fun to see us get the momentum going a little bit.”For the first 45 minutes, though, the game was all Denver.After both teams went scoreless for more than 16 minutes, Pioneers forward Joe Colborne netted a power play goal to give DU the 1-0 lead. They would maintain that lead for the next 25-plus minutes before extending it to 2-0 less than two minutes into the third period.At that point, UW appeared to be headed for a disappointing home loss to the nation’s top team. Just three minutes later, however, the game completely turned around.At the 4:31 mark of the period, senior forward and tri-captain Blake Geoffrion tipped in a strong wrist shot from fellow senior Michael Davies to cut the margin in half and ignite the announced crowd of 12,603.When the puck hit the net, it was clear the game was far from over.“After their first goal, the building started rocking again,” DU forward Anthony Maiani said. “You knew they were going to get momentum going and it’s a tough thing to do. … It was tough, they took us right out of it.”Not only did Geoffrion’s 16th goal of the season get the Badgers on the board, it also broke DU goalie Marc Cheverie’s shutout streak of more than 180 minutes against UW.Once that happened, Wisconsin knew it could score on the Nova Scotia native.“I think it was good for our confidence,” Geoffrion said. “It was just good to finally see a puck get by.”Wisconsin’s second goal came less than three minutes later at the 7:15 mark when Davies put in his own goal this time, on a pass behind Cheverie, who left the net wide open on his right side.Davies’ goal tied it up and the cardinal and red clad crowd erupted. Less than 90 seconds later, they would have even more to cheer for.At the 8:43 mark, Geoffrion struck again, thanks in large part to an excellent feed from the left side by sophomore forward Jordy Murray. When Geoffrion netted the goal to put UW ahead 3-2, the noise was deafening in the Kohl Center.According to Cheverie, the Pioneers seemed to let up after taking the 2-0 lead early in the third.“That’s our story all year long, we let up,” he said. “We sat back and you know, you can’t do that at this level, especially on the road against a team like Wisconsin. They’re going to make you pay if you do that.”Yet, the game’s fifth goal was still far from the end.A little more than nine minutes later, Denver tied things up with a goal from Maiani, which eventually sent the game into overtime.Both teams had plenty of chances to score in the game’s final two minutes of regulation and the overtime period, but the goalies for the Badgers and Pioneers stepped up to end it 3-3.While both Wisconsin and Denver may be a bit fortunate to get the tie in their own ways, it was still a bittersweet feeling.“You never feel good about a tie,” Cheverie said. “But we were lucky to get back in that game.”
A 3-8 to 3-6 defeat by Slaughtneil of Derry means they won’t be going to Croke Park in the spring.Camogie expert Mossie Finn made the long trip to Monaghan for the game.He says the Tipp side could have done with a bit more firepower…
Brendan Maher praised Feehan’s work on the pitch. Paudie Feehan has emerged as one of the success stories from Tipp’s win over Waterford at the weekend.The Killenaule clubman was called on to start minutes before throw-in, when seasoned campaigner Cathal Barrett was ruled not fit enough to play.The Premier overcame the Deise at Semple Stadium to register their first points of the National Hurling League campaign. Photo © Tipp FM
Previously, Alvarez claimed he wanted to become the undisputed champion at 160 pounds. It’s clear his mind has shifted due to reports of him not wanting to partake in a trilogy bout with Golovkin and more interested in the possibility of taking on WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith or WBO light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev. While one can’t put the onus on Alvarez for wanting different things as taking on Derevyanchenko is a significant drop off in name recognition and does nothing for him in terms of continuing to want to make history, one can blame the IBF for forcing Alvarez’s hand.Canelo had the title for a cup of coffee (66 days to be exact) and the sanctioning body barks its orders, trying to force the action, instead of letting the face of boxing decide who he wants to face next and then deciding how to rule. Join DAZN and watch more than 100 fight nights a yearAlvarez could either fight Derevyanchenko his next time out on Sept. 14, cut a deal with Derevyanchenko (13-1, 10 KOs) to step away for a fee or vacate the championship. The likely scenario is Alvarez giving up the title and the top two contenders: Derevyanchenko and Golovkin compete for it. The IBF has ordered a July 23rd purse bid for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Sergiy Derevyanchenko in a mandatory title fight due to Alvarez being the champion and Derevyanchenko the top contender, multiple outlets reported Tuesday.Alvarez (52-1-2, 35 KO), also the WBA and WBC “Franchise” champion, won the IBF belt in May by defeating Daniel Jacobs via unanimous decision. Jacobs had captured the title from Derevyanchenko in a vacant title affair last October after Gennadiy Golovkin relinquished the belt for refusing to face Derevyanchenko and rematching Alvarez in September. 
Football club ” Sarajevo” has its own ”house” at this year’s Sarajevo Holiday Market. The dark red and white house does offer a great amount of items from the ‘Sarajevo” Fan Shop club.Since yesterday, all fans also have the opportunity to hang out with the harshest opponents of the club. Yesterday, in the dark red house, from 18:00 p.m. till 19:00 p.m. there were the goalkeepers, Emir Plakalo and Dejan Bandović. On Saturday, at the same time period, all interested can come to hang out with Asmir Suljić and Dejan Bandović.Last year as well as this year, this football club will organize a New Year gift program for the youngest fans of the dark red and white club. All interested in the FK ”Sarajevo” gifts can apply for one at one of their boots, or at the ”Sarajevo” Fan Shop club. The special program and the ceremony of giving gifts will be held on the 26thDecember at 17:00 p.m. in Ilidža’s ”Thermal Riviera”.
The footballer of the Široki Brijeg team spoke to the press today before his training and told them that he is thrilled to be a part of our best football team and that it represents great honour for him.“Everything is great. The atmosphere is fabulous. We all want to achieve good results in Tuzla against Lichtenstein and in Zenica against Cyprus. We know for sure that it’s going to be full and that the public will be our 12th player in both matches. I hope we will open the qualifications in the best possible way.” – said Zakarić.When it comes to his actual shape, and his hopes for the debut, he says:“I’ve opened well our championship. I’ve scored three goals and two assistances. I am happy for this call and I will do my best at all trainings as well as hope that the selector will decide to give me a chance. I am new here and it’s an honour to be among the best Dragons.” – said Zakarić.(Source: Sport Centar / photo: Benaris Mahmić)