GRAPHITTI
NEWS collates national and international highlights from late-breaking news,
up-coming events and the stories that will be talked about throughout Saturday
and Sunday:
 |
|
Russian
President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with the winner Mercedes Formula One
driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain as Mercedes Formula One driver Nico Rosberg of
Germany stands next to them after the first Russian Grand Prix in Sochi October
12, 2014 (Reuters / Maxim Shemetov)
|
1.
SCIENTISTS IN RUSSIA DEVELOPING THREE EBOLA VACCINES – HEALTH MINISTRY
Russian
scientists are working on three potential Ebola vaccines which they expect to
introduce as soon as in the next six months. One of the vaccines is “already
ready for clinical trials,” Russia’s health minister Veronika Skvortsova has
announced.
"We
have created three vaccines,” Skvortsova announced in an interview with
Rossiya-1 TV. “One vaccine is based on a strain of Ebola, and the other two
have been created by means of genetic engineering.”
Russian
virologists have also created an anti-virus drug that, they believe, could be
successfully used for treating Ebola as tests have showed that that it is
effective in curing Ebola-related diseases.
So
far, there is now no licensed treatment or vaccine for the highly contagious
disease that has killed over 4,000 people in western Africa since the start of
the year and has recently started spreading beyond the region.
Now
several countries are trying to develop an effective treatment.
The
first-ever human trials for an Ebola vaccine started in Mali earlier this week.
On October 8, the first health worker received the drug. Over the course of the
trial, which is being organized by the University of Maryland and Mali’s Health
Ministry, a total of 40 volunteers will be given the vaccine.
In
Russia it’s impossible to contract the Ebola virus, Skvortsova said, adding
that the country has still implemented a protection plan against the virus,
which it stepped up in July.
“We
are now carrying out a sanitary inspection of 7,500 flights per month, which is
almost half a million people,” she said. “Everybody coming from West Africa is
under special control, especially 450 students who study in Russian
universities. Sixteen of them had viral illnesses and were hospitalized, but
they were not relevant to the [virus]."
Skvortsova
said that 71 of Russia’s airports have upgraded their security and now have
thermal cameras to detect the first signs of the virus.
“Both
portable and stationary thermal scanners are being used at many airports, and
we are monitoring all direct and indirect flights that arrive," she said.
As
of Oct. 8, a total 4,033 people have died, out of a total of 8,399 registered
cases in seven countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. For now,
Liberia is the worst-hit of all the affected countries, with 4,076 cases and
2,316 deaths. It is followed by Sierra Leone, where there are 2,950 cases and
930 deaths.
Despite
all international efforts to combat the disease, the WHO said that Ebola’s
spread is “entrenched” and “accelerating.”
"The
disease is entrenched in the [countries’] capitals, 70 percent of the people
affected are definitely dying from this disease, and it is accelerating in
almost all of the settings," WHO deputy head Bruce Aylward said on Friday.
 |
|
Reuters
/ Thomas Peter
|
2.
PHOTOS - BRITISH DRIVER HAMILTON WINS RUSSIAN F1 GRAND PRIX IN SOCHI
British
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has won the 2014 Russian F1 Grand Prix in Sochi
on Sunday, coming out on top in the 53-lap race after starting in pole position
on the starting grid.
The
race started at 15:00 local time (11:00 GMT) at the Olympic Park, which was
used for Sochi’s Winter Olympics in February. The Sochi Autodrom itself is a
brand new 55,000-capacity venue built near the site.
“The track is unique as it is the only one on
the F1 calendar to be located on an Olympic site,” Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel
says. “Generally, I think it has a very successful mix of corners with
different characters, some of them will be very difficult, and that’s
ultimately what we want as drivers.”
Saturday’s
qualifying session ended with Hamilton securing pole position ahead of his
teammates.
“I'm
really grateful that I got the pole here, for the first time. It's going to be
tough tomorrow, it's a long lead down to turn one, so we'll find out how that
works out," he told journalists after Saturday’s time trial.
The
British driver showed the best time of 1m 38.513. Germany’s Nico Rosberg and
Finland’s Valtteri Bottas couldn’t manage to outrace Hamilton and took the
second and the third places, respectively.
Jenson
Button was in 4th spot and Russia’s favorite, Daniil Kvyat, finished 5th.
“Everything
is going great. A Russian, Daniil Kvyat, has qualified fifth and that’s
absolutely fantastic,” a Russian fan told RT’s Neil Harvey.
“We’ve
been supporting him strongly and will do that on Sunday. The race will be very
exciting,” fans said.
 |
|
Lewis
Hamilton will start the inaugural Russian Grand Prix on pole (AP)
|
The
crowds of fans of the major international sporting event will be joined by
Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Kremlin press service. Putin
headed to the competition with Bahrain’s ruler, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
The
Russian president said he noticed positive tendencies in the relations between
Russia and Bahrain.
“I am very glad that we have an opportunity to
discuss bilateral relations and discuss the situation in the region,” he said
addressing Bahrain’s leader. Later, Russia’s ambassador to Bahrain, Victor
Smirnov, told journalists that Moscow and Manama had signed a series of
cultural and tourism agreements.
Sochi’s
F1 race is the 16th of the 2014 season. A week earlier, the Grand Prix was held
in the Japanese city of Suzuka. The event was overshadowed by an accident
involving French driver Jules Bianchi, however, who suffered a severe head
injury after his car crashed into a crane, which was trying to remove another
car that had skidded off the circuit during wet conditions in Suzuka.
Bianchi
drives for Marussia, a joint Anglo-Russian venture that has its headquarters in
the UK. The Marussia team will have only one car on the starting grid, as a
mark of respect to injured driver Bianch
 |
|
General
view of the Sochi Autodrom circuit during the third free practice session of
the Russian F1 Grand Prix October 11, 2014 (Reuters / Laszlo Balogh)
|
3.
NO CHANGE TO AFRICAN NATIONS CUP DESPITE EBOLA - CAF
Organizers
have no intention of changing the dates of next year's African Nations Cup even
though hosts Morocco called for a postponement of the finals because of fears
over the Ebola virus.
But
the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said on Saturday it would meet the
Moroccan government next month, sending a high-powered delegation to discuss
the issue in Rabat led by its president Issa Hayatou.
The
host nation's government made a shock announcement on Friday, saying it wanted
the 16-team tournament from Jan. 17-Feb. 8 postponed following a report by its
health ministry into the possible spread of the virus.
Last
month the Moroccan government ordered a detailed report into the possibility
that the tournament might spread the disease although no cases have yet been
reported in the north African country.
FOR THESE AND OTHER STORIES GO TO GRAPHITTI NEWS SECTION
No comments :
Post a Comment