Latest news updates: Brazil confirms Latin America's first reported cases of Omicron - Financial Times

Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor-designate, said he is in favour of mandatory vaccinations for all, increasing the likelihood the country will follow Austria in creating a legal requirement for its entire population to get the jab.

A decision on whether to move ahead with the mandate could come as early as Thursday, at a meeting between Scholz and the leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states to discuss new measures to contain the coronavirus crisis.

Scholz’s change of heart — he had long argued that there was no need for mandatory vaccinations — reflects the gravity of the fourth wave sweeping through Germany, with new infections reaching levels not seen at any previous stage of the pandemic.

The Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s main public health authority, reported 45,753 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, and an incidence of 452.2 cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days.

Germany has struggled with stubbornly low levels of vaccination. Only 68.5 per cent have received two shots — a much lower percentage than in countries such as Spain and Portugal. Many of the people in intensive care wards with serious cases of Covid-19 are unvaccinated.

“In these circumstances . . . it’s a morally justifiable position to say that in order to protect all of us, this is a case where ideally everyone should get vaccinated,” he told Bild TV. Scholz said he favoured a free vote in the Bundestag on the issue.

Scholz expressed his support for mandatory vaccinations during a phone conference with outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states on Tuesday afternoon.

According to German media reports, he said the mandate should come into force at the start of February. Scholz called for 30m first, second and booster doses of Covid-19 vaccine to be administered in Germany by Christmas. He also called for chemists, dentists and vets to be drafted into the vaccination drive.

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2021-11-30 22:49:45Z
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Omicron variant is unlikely to cause severe illness in vaccinated people, BioNTech says - Daily Mail

Omicron Covid variant is unlikely to cause severe illness in people who have received the Pfizer vaccine, BioNTech chief says

• Dr Ugur Sahin, co-founder of BioNTech, says he believes people fully vaccinated with his company's shot are safe from severe infection from Omicron variant 
• The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine provides a person with two layers of protection, one that prevents infections and one that prevents severe complications
• He says the variant can evade the first level of protection and cause a breakthrough infection, but not get by the second layer
• The Omicron variant was first discovered in South Africa last week and is believed to have originated in Botswana 

By Mansur Shaheen U.S. Deputy Health Editor For Dailymail.Com

Published: 18:57 GMT, 30 November 2021 | Updated: 19:28 GMT, 30 November 2021

The co-founder of BioNTech - Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing partner - believes their shot is still effective at preventing severe complications from the Omicron variant.

Dr Ugur Sahin, co-founder of the Mainz, Germany-based company, told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that the variant can cause breakthrough infections at a higher rate.

However, once in the body, the variant would likely be destroyed.

Sahin believes that a vaccinated person will have the immune system capacity necessary to defeat the mutated virus, and encourages people to get their booster shots when they can.

Many experts have feared that the Covid vaccines would not effective against the variant because of how many mutations is has of the spike protein that the vaccines target.

Dr Ugar Sahin, co-founder of BioNTech, says the people who have received his companies vaccine - a joint effort with Pfizer - are safe from severe complications from the Omicron COVID-19 variant. Pictured: Sahin at a virtual awards show on March 18 in Berlin, Germany

Sahin explained that the vaccine provides a person with two layers of protection from the virus. The first layer prevents infection, and Omicron can get through that layer because of its many mutations. The second layer prevent complications from the virus, and BioNTech do not believe the variant's mutations will allow it to evade those vaccine protections (file photo)

'Don't freak out, the plan remains the same: Speed up the administration of a third booster shot,' Sahin told the WSJ on Tuesday.

BioNTech initially developed its two-shot mRNA vaccine early in 2020, and partnered with U.S. based-Pfizer to distribute it around the world.

It was the first vaccine to earn emergency use authorization - and later full approval - in America, and is also the only vaccine available to people under the age of 18.

The shot has been administered 266 million times in the U.S. to fully vaccinate over 109 million people.

Sahin told the WSJ that the jab provides people with two levels of protection from the virus.

First, it generates Covid antibodies that helps a person's immune system prevent the virus from infecting cells if a person is exposed.

This first layer is focused on the virus's spike protein, which attaches itself to cells and infects them.

Omicron has more than 30 mutations on its spike protein, giving it the ability to evade the first layer of protection.

Protection from the infection is also found to wane over time, as antibodies provided by the vaccine diminish, making a fully vaccinated person more vulnerable to a breakthrough infection. 

The second layer of protection remains strong against the variant, though.

After infection, a second wave of protection arrives, as immune cells in the body work to destroy infected cells.

The BioNTech chief does not believe that the variant can evade this second level of protection. 

'If a virus achieves immune escape, it achieves it against antibodies, but there is the second level of immune response that protects from severe disease - the T-cells,' he said.

'Even as an escape variant, the virus will hardly be able to completely evade the T-cells.'

It is a reassuring signal from a leading vaccine expert after a week of fears caused by the discovery of the new variant.

Omicron was first detected by South African health officials last week and is believed to have originated in Botswana.

American officials acted quickly, and President Joe Biden halted travel from South Africa, Botswana, and fiver other African nations in the region starting Monday.

Many other countries made similar moves, but it has not prevented the variant from spreading.

At least 200 cases of Omicron have been detected in 18 countries, including the UK and Canada.

While it has not yet been sequenced in the U.S., some health experts are sure it has found its way into the country, and it is just waiting to be found.

BioNTech announced Monday that it is working on an Omicron specific vaccine, but for now Sahin encourages people to protect themselves by getting a Covid booster shot.

'We have a plan to administer a third shot to people, and we must stick to this plan and speed it up,' he told WSJ.

'Whether or not we will need extra protection by an adapted vaccine, this remains to be seen, later.' 

Why is the new Omicron variant so scary?

 What is so concerning about the variant?

Experts say it is the 'worst variant they have ever seen' and are alarmed by the number of mutations it carries.

The variant — which the World Health Organization has named Omicron — has 32 mutations on the spike protein — the most ever recorded and twice as many as the currently dominant Delta strain. 

Experts fear the changes could make the vaccines 40 per cent less effective in a best-case scenario.

This is because so many of the changes on B.1.1.529 are on the virus's spike protein.

The current crop of vaccines trigger the body to recognise the version of the spike from older versions of the virus.

The Botswana variant has around 50 mutations and more than 30 of them are on the spike protein. The current crop of vaccines trigger the body to recognize the version of the spike protein from older versions of the virus. But the mutations may make the spike protein look so different that the body's immune system struggles to recognize it and fight it off. And three of the spike mutations (H665Y, N679K, P681H) help it enter the body's cells more easily. Meanwhile, it is missing a membrane protein (NSP6) which was seen in earlier iterations of the virus, which experts think could make it more infectious. And it has two mutations (R203K and G204R) that have been present in all variants of concern so far and have been linked with infectiousness 

But because the spike protein looks so different on the new strain, the body's immune system may struggle to recognise it and fight it off.

It also includes mutations found on the Delta variant that allow it to spread more easily.

Experts warn they won't know how much more infectious the virus is for at least two weeks and may not know its impact on Covid hospitalizations and deaths for up to six weeks. 

What mutations does the variant have? 

The Botswana variant has more than 50 mutations and more than 30 of them are on the spike protein.

It carries mutations P681H and N679K which are 'rarely seen together' and could make it yet more jab resistant.

These two mutations, along with H655Y, may also make it easier for the virus to sneak into the body's cells.

And the mutation N501Y may make the strain more transmissible and was previously seen on the Kent 'Alpha' variant and Beta among others.

Two other mutations (R203K and G204R) could make the virus more infectious, while a mutation that is missing from this variant (NSP6) could increase its transmissibility.  

It also carries mutations K417N and E484A that are similar to those on the South African 'Beta' variant that made it better able to dodge vaccines.

But it also has the N440K, found on Delta, and S477N, on the New York variant — which was linked with a surge of cases in the state in March — that has been linked to antibody escape. 

Other mutations it has include G446S, T478K, Q493K, G496S, Q498R and Y505H, although their significance is not yet clear. 

Is it a variant of concern?

The World Health Organization has classified the virus as a ‘variant of concern’, the label given to the highest-risk strains.

This means WHO experts have concluded its mutations allow it to spread faster, cause more severe illness or hamper the protection from vaccines.

Where has the variant been detected so far? 

The variant has so far been spotted in five nations: South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, Israel and Belgium. 

Most cases have been spotted in Gauteng, a province in north east South Africa where Johannesburg is based.

The first case was uploaded to international variant database GISAID by Hong Kong and was spotted in someone who travelled to the country from South Africa.

No cases have been seen in the UK. But scientists do not sequence every positive Covid sample in the UK and not everyone who catches the virus will take a test.

This means there could be people infected with the variant in Britain.

What is the UK doing about the variant?

The Health Secretary announced last night six countries would be added to the red list from midday on Friday November 26.

The red-listed countries are: South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe. This means all direct flights from these countries to the UK are banned.

Anyone arriving in England between midday today and 4am on Sunday from these countries — or who has been in the countries in the 10 previous days — must complete a passenger locator form, quarantine at home and should take a PCR test.

Anyone arriving from these countries after 4am on Sunday must stay in a managed quarantine hotel for 10 days and take a Covid test on or before the second day of their stay, as well as another test on or after day eight.

And the UK Health Security Agency classified B.1.1.529 as a Variant Under Investigation, which means it has worrying mutations.

Experts will now conduct a risk assessment and may increase its ranking to Variant of Concern if it is confirmed to be more infectious, cause more severe illness or make vaccines and medicines less effective. 

Where did B.1.1.529 first emerge?

The first case was uploaded to international variant database GISAID by Hong Kong on November 23. The person carrying the new variant was traveling to the country from South Africa.

The UK was the first country to identify that the virus could be a threat and alerted other nations. 

Since then, 77 cases have been confirmed in South Africa, two in Hong Kong and three in Botswana.

Health chiefs in Israel today announced it had one confirmed and two suspected B.1.1.529 cases, while there are two suspected cases in Belgium.

Experts believe the strain may have originated in Botswana, but continental Africa does not sequence many positive samples, so it may never be known where the variant first emerged.

Professor Francois Balloux, a geneticist at University College London, told MailOnline the virus likely emerged in a lingering infection in an immunocompromised patient, possibly someone with undiagnosed AIDS.

In patients with weakened immune systems infections can linger for months because the body is unable to fight it off. This gives the virus time to acquire mutations that allow it to get around the body's defenses.

Will I be protected if I have a booster?

Scientists have warned the new strain could make Covid vaccines 40 per cent less effective.

But they said emergence of the mutant variant makes it even more important to get a booster jab the minute people become eligible for one.

The vaccines trigger neutralizing antibodies, which is the best protection available against the new variant. So the more of these antibodies a person has the better, experts said.

Britain's Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, said: 'The booster jab was already important before we knew about this variant – but now, it could not be more important.' 

When will we know more about the variant?

Data on how transmissible the new variant is and its effect on hospitalizations and deaths is still weeks away.

The UK has offered help to South Africa, where most of the cases are concentrated, to gather this information and believe they will know more about transmissibility in two to three weeks.

But it may be four to six weeks until they know more about hospitalizations and deaths.

What is the variant called?

The strain was scientifically named as B.1.1.529 on November 24, one day after it was spotted in Hong Kong.

The variants given an official name so far include Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma.

Experts at the World Health Organization on November 26 named the variant Omicron. 

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2021-11-30 18:57:08Z
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Twitter's new CEO Parag Agrawal will be paid $12m bonus to make changes faster than Jack Dorsey - Daily Mail

How Twitter's new woke CEO Parag Agrawal will be paid a $12M bonus to speed up changes such as Bitcoin payments, moderations by users and targeted ads after investors said Jack Dorsey moved too slowly

• As of Monday, Parag Agrawal, 37, has been promoted from his four-year-long role as Twitter's chief technology officer to CEO of the $11billion company
• The move was effective immediately after co-founder Jack Dorsey, 45, stepped down via email, which he later tweeted 
• Investors were critical of Twitter's slow growth, blaming Dorsey's slow decision-making, and hope that Agrawal could foster speedier improvements
• Agrawal joined Twitter in 2011 on the engineering team and spent the next decade working his way up the ranks
• The former CTO drove many decisions at the company, developed targeted ads, decentralized technologies and improved Twitter's overall infrastructure 
• Agrawal, worth $1.52m, will receive an annual salary of $1m, plus bonuses and stock units valued at $12.5m to make decisions and implement them faster

By Shannon Thaler For Dailymail.Com

Published: 15:46 GMT, 30 November 2021 | Updated: 19:41 GMT, 30 November 2021

Twitter's woke new CEO Parag Agrawal will be paid a $12 million performance-based bonus to speed up money-making developments that investors felt were delayed under Jack Dorsey.

Agrawal's expertise in product development appealed to insiders who felt Twitter had moved too slowly to introduce new products, a person familiar with the succession process told the New York Times. 

As former Chief Technology Officer, Agrawal oversaw Twitter's effort to incorporate cryptocurrencies and allow users send tips in cryptocurrency. 

He has also been instrumental in project Bluesky that will allow Twitter users to make their own moderation decisions and apply their own algorithms to promote content, something that has picked up steam and the platform has said aims to 'open decentralized standard for social media.'

He branded the project as a role-shift 'from "we host a bunch of content" to "we guide people toward what they are interested in,"' he told The Times in an interview about Bluesky in June. 

'We believe empowering more individuals and third parties could help solve problems for communities and help more people,' he said.

And his team used machine learning to develop ways to target ads to particular users, which helped raise Twitter’s revenues. 

It is now thought these innovations and others will be fast-tracked.       

As of Monday, Agrawal was promoted from his four-year-long role as Twitter's chief technology officer to CEO of the $11 billion company - a move that was effective immediately after co-founder Dorsey, 45, stepped down via email, which he later tweeted.   

It was not long after the promotion that Agrawal's own tweets went under the microscope, and his past remarks resurfaced: He has boasted that Twitter is 'not bound by the First Amendment' and in 2010, he appears to call all white people 'racists,' which sparked fury and questions about if Agrawal is impartial enough to make decisions on who gets banned from the app and who can tweet freely.

'If they are not gonna make a distinction between Muslims and extremists, then why should I distinguish between white people and racists?' Agrawal tweeted on October 26, 2010.  

As of Monday, Parag Agrawal (left) has been promoted from his four-year-long role as Twitter's chief technology officer to the $11billion company's CEO - a move that was effective immediately after co-founder Jack Dorsey (right), 45, stepped down via email, which he later tweeted

Agrawal's Twitter bio (above) already boasts his new job title and in a public email responding to Dorsey's resignation, the new CEO reminisced on his decade-long career at the company and wrote: 'I've walked in your shoes, I've seen the ups and downs, the challenges and obstacles, the wins and the mistakes'

Agrawal, 37, has been a Twitter insider since joining the company in 2011 and has been the mastermind behind several of the social media site's upgrades. 

Co-founder Dorsey - who became Twitter's first CEO in 2007 - looked to the India-born engineer as his confidant in making major decisions and developing the company's infrastructure.

After climbing the ranks at Twitter, Agrawal earned himself a net worth of $1.52 million. With this promotion, he will receive an annual salary of $1million, plus bonuses, as well as restricted and performance-based stock unit bonuses valued at $12.5 million, according to a company report filed Monday. 

Agrawal shares Dorsey's vision to one day completely decentralize the platform, or let users have more control over data ownership, which would also allow for greater ease in connecting buyers and sellers of cryptocurrency. 

In a decentralized market, investors in cryptocurrency would be able to deal directly with each other instead of operating through a third party governing service, such as Twitter. 

As the new CEO, Agrawal will also be expected to make calls on matters relating to free speech. His moves will be closely watched by Twitter users. His predecessor faced fierce backlash over controversies such as banning former president Donald Trump from the platform and locking the Indian National Congress's account.

When speaking on the topic of balancing the First Amendment with misinformation spread on the site during a 2020 interview with MIT Technology Review, Agrawal said: 'Our role is to serve a healthy public conversation and our moves are reflective of things that we believe lead to a healthier public conversation.'

He also emphasized during the interview that his role is not about deciding what's true and false but instead fostering robust debates.

The father-of-one kicked off his career at Twitter on the engineering team, where he was key in developing targeted ads, which skyrocketed Twitter's revenue, and quickly became Dorsey's lieutenant, The New York Times reported. 

In 2014, Agrawal was counted on to build the social media site's machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities and again in 2019, when he was a key player in developing blockchain technologies.

Despite masterminding many of Twitter's key moves, Agrawal managed to maintain a low profile. He had just 24,000 views before getting appointed to CEO, at which point the figure grew to nearly 300,000.

However, his follower count is still a way's away from Dorsey's 5.9million. 

In 2019, he oversaw Twitter's moderation project, known as Bluesky, which allows users to make their own moderation decisions and apply their own algorithms to promote content, according to The New York Times.   

'A lot of people want to be part of the solution and now the only way is for them to figure out how to work at Twitter or figure out how to have their community prioritized by a company like ours. That’s some of the thinking and reasoning behind algorithmic choice,' Agrawal added. 

Given Agrawal's track record throughout his decade-long career at Twitter, Dorsey wrote in his resignation email Monday: 'Parag has been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around.'

Dorsey's handing over of the CEO title to Agrawal also suggests that the new leader will be faster at making decisions and implementing change, something Dorsey has been long been criticized for by Twitter's investors. 

Dorsey was appointed Twitter's first CEO in 2007 - a year after he co-founded the social media site. More than 20 years later he stepped down as CEO and announced that Agrawal will take over his position. 'My trust in him as our CEO is bone deep,' Dorsey wrote

Meanwhile, Agrawal has consistently ushered product developments, making him an appealing candidate when it came time for Dorsey to step down.

A person familiar with the succession process told The Times that insiders were critical of Twitter's slow growth, especially when compared to competitors such as Facebook, and hope that Agrawal's appointment could foster faster improvement. 

There were also concerns about Dorsey's time being divided between Twitter and payments company Square Inc, which he remains the CEO of. Both are multimillion-dollar companies. 

Some Twitter users were surprised by Agrawal's promotion and others were concerned that the former CTO's relationship with Dorsey meant that the co-founder wasn't actually leaving the company for good. 

Dorsey also announced that he is going to serve on the board throughout the remainder of his term, which ends 'May-ish,' to help Parag in his transition. 

'And after that...I'll leave the board. Why not stay or become chair? I believe it's really important to give Parag the space he needs to lead. And back to my previous point, I believe it's critical a company can stand on its own, free of its founder's influence or direction,' Dorsey added in his resignation email. 

He also noted that Agrawal's appointment was 'unanimous,' after 'the board ran a rigorous process considering all options'.

Agrawal lives in San Francisco, California, with his wife Vineeta and two-year-old son Ansh, who even has a Twitter account of his own under the username @littleansh

As the new CEO, Agrawal will now have incredibly tough targets to meet, after Twitter announced earlier this year that it aims to double its annual revenue by 2023 and increase monetizable daily active users to 315million. 

'My trust in him as our CEO is bone-deep,' Dorsey said. Before signing off, he was sure to note that his 'one wish is for Twitter Inc to be the most transparent company in the world.'

Yet despite the niceties in his letter on Monday, Dorsey also insisted that he was not pushed out of the company. The 45-year-old explained he had 'worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders' before patting himself on the back by noting that 'there aren't many founders that choose their company over ego'.

But it wouldn't be the first time Dorsey was axed from a leadership position at Twitter. He was booted in 2008 amid claims he kept leaving work early to enjoy other pursuits like yoga and fashion design, and chose improvements to the site over revenue. 

In March 2011, Dorsey was named executive chairman and later return when new CEO Dick Costolo announced his resignation in June 2015.

He will now remain on Twitter's board of directors through his current term, which runs through 2022, but will step aside as chairman, with current board member Bret Taylor set to assume those responsibilities. Once his term ends, Dorsey told staff, he will leave the company entirely.

Twitter has lagged behind its competitors in the stock market for the past three years

After news of Dorsey's departure broke, shares of Twitter rose 11 percent but then fell 6 percent before falling further to 5 percent above trading yesterday

However, like his predecessor, new CEO Agrawal seems focused on cryptocurrencies and wants Twitter to become increasingly decentralized, according to The Times. 

He previously led a change where Twitter allowed users to send tips in cryptocurrency form, such as Bitcoin.

The Stanford University graduate was described by Dorsey as 'curious, probing, rational, creative, demanding, self-aware and humble,' while Kevin Quennesson, who oversaw Twitter’s machine learning efforts when Agrawal was promoted to CTO in 2017, told The Times that he would call the new executive 'pragmatic'.

'As one of the early engineers, he built strong internal relationships over the last decade,' Quennesson added.

Bret Taylor (pictured), the president and chief operating officer at Salesforce, was named the new chair of Twitter's board on Monday

According to Agrawal's LinkedIn profile, he worked on research teams for AT&T, Microsoft and Yahoo! before accepting a position at Twitter. 

The Indian immigrant now lives in San Francisco, California, with his wife Vineeta and two-year-old son Ansh, who even has a Twitter account of his own under the username @littleansh. 

In a tweet on Monday replying to Dorsey's resignation, Agrawal addressed his team as he reminisced about when he 'joined the company 10 years ago when there were fewer than 1,000 employees'.

'I've walked in your shoes, I've seen the ups and downs, the challenges and obstacles, the wins and the mistakes,' he wrote, adding: 'I recognize that some of you know me well, some just as little, and some not at all. Let's consider ourselves at the beginning.' 

Immediately after assuming the position, Agrawal was slammed by Republicans on the app, citing the CEO's past tweets where he boasted that Twitter is 'not bound by the First Amendment'.

And a 2010 tweet resurfaced Monday in which he appears to call all white people 'racists,' which sparked fury and questions about if Agrawal is impartial enough to make decisions on who gets banned from the app and who can tweet freely.

'If they are not gonna make a distinction between Muslims and extremists, then why should I distinguish between white people and racists?' Agrawal tweeted on October 26, 2010.

The tweet was apparently quoting comedian Aasif Mandvi, who had appeared in an episode of The Daily Show in a segment pitting black people against Muslim people, playing on the irrational fear of the two minorities.

A controversial tweet Parag Agrawal wrote in 2010 has resurfaced after he was named the new CEO of Twitter on Monday

 

 

Sen Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, shared the tweet and wrote: 'This is Parag Agrawal, Twitter's new CEO and the person who's going to be deciding what kind of speech is allowed on Twitter.'

Mia Cathell, a news editor for the Post Millennial, joked that he apparently does not know how to scrub his own tweets.

Others who celebrated Dorsey's departure are likely to be very disappointed with his replacement, as Agrawal implied in an interview last year he would ignore the First Amendment.

Colorado Rep Lauren Boebert tweeted: 'Jack Dorsey is rumored to be stepping down as Twitter CEO. Great. He's been a disaster.

'Hopefully someone who believes in free speech and our Constitution will take the reins and reinstate the tons of Americans unfairly banned.'

After CNBC broke the news of Dorsey's imminent departure, Twitter's share price soared by 11 percent, while those of Square Inc, which Dorsey also serves as the CEO of, were up 3 percent.

By 10am Monday, NASDAQ had announced it would halt trading on the social media giant, but it soon resumed after Dorsey's announcement, dropping 6 percent to be up only 5 percent from the day before.

By the afternoon, shares of the social media giant dipped nearly 1 percent and as of 10am Tuesday, Twitter shares were down nearly 3 percent 

On Sunday, Dorsey had tweeted: 'I love Twitter.'

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2021-11-30 15:46:33Z
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COVID-19: Omicron variant 'highly infectious' and booster jabs may need 'double' dose, says Moderna CEO - Sky News

The head of drugmaker Moderna said he believes the Omicron variant is "highly infectious" and it is "highly possible" the effectiveness of vaccines is decreasing - adding that boosters may need a "double" dose to provide the best protection.

Chief executive of the COVID vaccine creator Stephane Bancel said the new strain is overtaking Delta in South Africa at a faster rate than previously seen.

"It took around four months for Delta to take over Beta, and it seems it's taking just a couple weeks for this new variant to take over Delta," he told CNBC.

COVID-19 Live: Boris Johnson to hold news conference

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The new mutation - first identified by researchers in southern Africa - is believed to be already present in most countries.

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Albert Bourla, chief executive of rival vaccine maker Pfizer/BioNTech said he was "very confident" the jab works against all known mutations of coronavirus, including Omicron.

However, he said his firm has already started making a new vaccine against the variant, adding: "Within 95 days basically we will have a new vaccine."

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Both stressed that more data is needed to fully understand whether B.1.1.529 is more contagious or resistant to vaccines.

Mr Bancel said: "Given the large number of mutations, it is highly possible that the efficacy of the vaccine, all of them, is going down. But we need to wait for the data to know if this is true, and how much is it going down."

The high number of mutations on the protein spike the virus uses to infect human cells could mean existing vaccines need to be modified.

He said a higher dose booster jab would be the "first line of defence".

More data needed

"We've lowered the dose of a booster of a current vaccine, and so we have a lot of safety data showing that we could go back to a higher microgram dose at double the dose of a current vaccine, which should provide better protection than the third dose booster at 50 micrograms," he said.

"So that's the first line of defence, actionable right away."

Mr Bancel's remarks appeared to renew jitters on the financial markets after Omicron caused disruption last Friday.

Pharmaceutical firms were among the losers, in a broad sell-off across Europe on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 in London down by 1.4% in morning deals.

The European Union is already preparing for the possibility vaccines may need to be tweaked.

European Medicines Agency (EMA) executive director Emer Cooke said: "Were there a need to change the existing vaccines, we could be in a position to have those approved within three to four months."

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1:04

Javid persuades Sky reporter to get booster jab

Meanwhile, when asked about the prospect of developing new vaccines, Sage member Professor Paul Moss told Sky News: "Well, as you know, the companies have already started - the gene has been cloned, but typically talking around 100 days.

"We've learned so much in the last 18 months - nobody felt we would get a vaccine within a year when the pandemic started, and we did - we got several."

It comes as the head of the UK's Health Security Agency urged people not to socialise if they do not need to.

Dr Jenny Harries told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that even if our "vaccines appear to be effective, but we find that the variant is more highly transmissible, having lowish grade infection, but in very large numbers of the population, (it) could still be a significant impact on our hospitals."

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She added: "If we all decrease our social contacts a little bit, actually that helps to keep the variant at bay."

Some 14 cases of the variant have so far been identified across the UK, though experts expect this number to rise in the coming days.

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2021-11-30 15:34:32Z
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Edinburgh-based bank shuts 70 branches across the UK including nine in Scotland - HeraldScotland

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1. Edinburgh-based bank shuts 70 branches across the UK including nine in Scotland  HeraldScotland
2. TSB to shut 70 bank branches in mass closure - see full list of locations  Mirror.co.uk
3. TSB to close 70 more branches - is yours one of them?  Sky News
4. TSB will close 70 branches next year as more customers switch to online banking  Daily Mail
5. Another Dorset bank will close its doors for good in 2022  Bournemouth Echo
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2021-11-30 13:07:30Z
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Meta: UK competition regulator tells Facebook owner to sell GIF library Giphy - Sky News

Facebook's owner Meta has been issued a legally binding order to sell the GIF library Giphy after an investigation found the takeover "could harm social media users and UK advertisers".

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an in-depth investigation into the deal in April after raising a number of concerns. It subsequently warned of the potential forced sale in August.

Giphy - a website for making and sharing animated images, known as GIFs - was acquired by Facebook (now Meta) in May last year to integrate the GIFs with Instagram, but the CMA has now ordered the acquisition to be unravelled.

Sky News understands Facebook intends to appeal the CMA's decision. It has four weeks to do so and the appeal would go to a CMA tribunal. Meta could potentially challenge that ruling in the UK courts, but only on points of law.

Image: Facebook's parent company was renamed Meta last month

Stuart McIntosh, who chaired the independent inquiry into the acquisition, said: "The tie-up between Facebook and Giphy has already removed a potential challenger in the display advertising market.

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"Without action, it will also allow Facebook to increase its significant market power in social media even further, through controlling competitors' access to Giphy GIFs.

"By requiring Facebook to sell Giphy, we are protecting millions of social media users and promoting competition and innovation in digital advertising," Mr McIntosh explained.

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The investigation into the acquisition has seen points of acrimony, with Meta being fined a record £50m by the CMA for deliberately refusing to comply with the regulator's inquiries.

Meta argued that it has been in compliance with the competition watchdog's primary orders at all times.

At the time of the fine, the company complained that the CMA delayed for seven months a request to amend these orders which was eventually agreed in what the company described as nearly an identical manner to what had been requested.

When Facebook first merged with Giphy it terminated the image library's advertising services, "removing an important source of potential competition" according to the CMA.

This was considered "particularly concerning given that Facebook controls nearly half of the £7 billion display advertising market in the UK".

However in Meta's response to the preliminary findings, the social media giant described the acquisition as a simple vertical merger and said that Giphy was financially troubled and suggested that its attempts to monetise its GIF library for display advertising were unsuccessful.

"If GIF paid alignments were the promising business model that the CMA believes they are, then one would expect to encounter them in the real-world at scale... Yet that is not the case," the response stated.

According to the regulator, the acquisition potentially also enabled the social media giant to change the terms of access to the GIF library for its competitors.

"For example, Facebook could require Giphy customers, such as TikTok, Twitter and Snapchat, to provide more user data in order to access Giphy GIFs.

"Such actions could increase Facebook's market power, which is already significant," the regulator said.

In its review of the merger, the CMA said it risked entrenching Meta's market dominance, noting that its platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) already accounted for 73% of all user time spent on social media in the UK.

A spokesperson for Meta said: "We disagree with this decision. We are reviewing the decision and considering all options, including appeal. Both consumers and Giphy are better off with the support of our infrastructure, talent, and resources.

"Together, Meta and Giphy would enhance Giphy's product for the millions of people, businesses, developers and API partners in the UK and around the world who use Giphy every day, providing more choices for everyone."

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2021-11-30 11:29:56Z
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Asda charters cargo ship to prevent Christmas shortages - BBC News

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Supermarket giant Asda said it has chartered its own cargo ship to ensure shelves are fully stocked with key festive products this year.

It said the move would prevent a shortage of toys, clothing and gifts during the busy Christmas period.

Asda blamed supply chain problems that have hit other retailers and made it harder to source goods from abroad.

John Lewis in the UK and Costco and Walmart in the US have all chartered ships to protect their stock.

It comes as Asda reported that like-for-like sales fell by 0.7% in the three months to 30 September compared with the same period last year.

"This is the first time Asda has chartered its own ship and we have done so to navigate the industry-wide supply chain challenges and to make sure there is enough stock on the shelves for customers this Christmas," a spokesman told the BBC.

• John Lewis charters ships to save Christmas
• What's in short supply and why?

He said the ship has 350 containers carrying a range of products including festive decorations, party and celebration supplies, toys, gifts and clothing.

The boat set sail from China and will arrive in the UK in early December.

'Extra mince pies'

Asda has struggled with shortages of some foods this year due to the national driver shortage. But it said it was taking measures to protect its Christmas food ranges, including stocking more turkeys and pigs in blankets in store compared to last year.

It is also keeping extra stock in depots such as mince pies, confectionary, Christmas cakes and puddings, and has recruited 15,000 temporary staff to work during the busy Christmas period.

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In September, John Lewis said it was chartering a fleet of extra ships, along with a number of other businesses, to make sure it has Christmas stock on time.

Boss Sharon White blamed a shortage of shipping containers which had made it tough - and expensive - to get a space on cargo ships travelling from various parts of the world.

Sales fall

Asda - which was recently bought by the billionaire Issa brothers - said the fall in quarterly sales reflected unusually high demand in the same period last year when people were eating more meals at home due to Covid curbs.

However, its rivals Tesco and Sainsbury's have both reported higher sales in the third quarter.

Asda said customer habits that emerged in the pandemic had remained, with demand for its online delivery service still 80% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

It added that the lockdown trend of customers treating themselves to premium own-label products had also continued.

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2021-11-29 17:00:02Z
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Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey resigns saying 'it's time for me to leave' - Sky News

Jack Dorsey has confirmed that he will be resigning as Twitter's chief executive after a share price spike followed reports of the move.

Posting on the platform he said that it was "finally time for me to leave", explaining in a statement from Twitter itself that it was "because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders".

Parag Agrawal, the former chief technology officer, has been announced as the new CEO and a member of the board with immediate effect, and said he was "honoured and humbled" by the appointment.

Shares in the social media platform rose 9% on market opening on Monday morning following a report by CNBC that Mr Dorsey, 45, who co-founded Twitter in 2006, was to leave his role.

Trading was halted on the New York Stock Exchange after the spike, but shares resumed trading with a gain of more than 4.5% ahead of where they started the day.

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However the gains later fell away and the stock was trading slightly below its opening price.

Mr Dorsey will remain the chief executive of financial payments company Square, which has a market capitalisation of over $98bn (£73bn) compared to Twitter's $38bn (£28bn).

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Mr Dorsey faced ousting last year when Twitter stakeholder Paul Singer, the found of Elliott Management, publicly questioned his ability to run both companies at the same time.

The investment firm eventually reached a deal with Twitter's management.

Following the announcement, executives at Elliott said in a statement on the appointment of Mr Agrawal and new chairman Bret Taylor that they were "confident that they are the right leaders for Twitter at this pivotal moment for the company".

Mr Dorsey leaves a business he has repeatedly had to defend before Congressional committees, including relating to the company's controversial decision to ban Donald Trump in relation to comments he made regarding the 2020 US presidential election.

Earlier this year Mr Trump asked a federal judge to force Twitter to restore his account, which was shut down after his supporters attacked the US Capitol in January.

Analysis: This isn't a surprise

By Ian King, Sky News business presenter

It is no surprise to see Jack Dorsey stepping down as chief executive of Twitter.

There has been disquiet for some time among shareholders at Mr Dorsey serving in that role and also at Square, the fintech payments company he co-founded, with Paul Singer – the head of the influential activist investor Elliott Management – having called in the recent past for him to step down at Twitter.

Mr Dorsey made peace with Mr Singer on that occasion by giving Elliott and its ally, the private equity firm Silver lake, seats on the Twitter board.

But ultimately the arrangement was unsustainable and given the comparative size of the two businesses, with Square valued at $97billion and Twitter at just $37billion, it was obvious which one he would opt for if made to choose between the two.

Moreover, Square is becoming an infinitely more demanding business to manage, with Mr Dorsey recently announcing plans for the company to look into running an open-source Bitcoin mining system.

Something had to give and just about the only significant obstacle to Mr Dorsey stepping down at Twitter was the need to find his successor.

It seems that hurdle has now been cleared.

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2021-11-29 16:30:00Z
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Nissan shows radical new concepts to preview EV future - Autocar

3 mins read

29 November 2021

Nissan has shown four new concept cars and detailed an ambitious transformation plan for the next eight years, giving clues to its next-generation electric cars. 

The headline unveiling is the Chill-Out concept, which is familiar from earlier preview images issued by Nissan when it confirmed a new electric crossover will be built at Sunderland in the coming years. 

Although unconfirmed, the Chill-Out is expected to closely preview the styling of this future production model, which has earlier been said to prioritise "making the switch to electric driving even more accessible".

As with the eventual production car, which could serve as a replacement for the Nissan Leaf, the concept sits atop the same CMF-EV architecture as the forthcoming Ariya SUV and uses the same e-4ORCE, twin-motor four-wheel drive system. 

It is described as "a new way to think about mobility". Technical details are thin on the ground, but its sleek, minimalist cabin – which notably does not feature a traditional steering wheel or pedals – indicates its autonomous potential. During its 'Nissan Ambition 2030' presentation, Nissan pledged to ramp up the roll-out of self-driving technology, installing ProPilot assist systems on 2.5 million vehicles by 2026 and lidar sensors on nearly all vehicles by 2030. 

The other three concepts, meanwhile, look further ahead, previewing how "advancements in battery technology, hardware and packaging can offer customers a wide variety of mobility solutions to match their needs and lifestyles".

Notably, each is imagined to feature a solid-state battery as part of an adaptable skateboard platform. Nissan has not yet named this structure, nor confirmed its production potential, but said it features two motors, a "very low" centre of gravity, optimal mass distribution and e-4ORCE four-wheel drive. 

Showcasing the flexibility of this platform, Nissan has shown a trio of vehicles of differing positioning and sizes. 

The first is the Max-Out, a striking, drop-top sports car that aims to "deliver a new driving experience with its superlative stability and comfort". 

Nissan promises tight handling and limited body roll, and says the passenger seat can be folded flat into the floor when not in use, to maximise interior space. 

Although it remains a forward-thinking design study, this concept serves as the first hint that Nissan is considering the future of traditional sports cars as it transitions to become a maker of pure EVs. The pure-combustion Z has just been launched in the US, but the GT-R flagship has been on sale for several years and Nissan has yet to officially detail any successor. 

The Surf-Out concept takes the form of a futuristic pick-up truck, promising a comfortable driving experience on all terrains, a range of power outputs and a "low and flat cargo space". 

Rounding off the reveals is the Hang-Out concept, which adopts more familiar, MPV-style proportions but aims to "surpass the conventional wisdom about interior layouts". 

It aims to suppress vibrations and jolts on the move to reduce car sickness, while providing space and quiet on a par with a traditional living room. It has a 'theatre-like' seating arrangement and is said to be capable of going "off the beaten path". 

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2021-11-29 11:51:25Z
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