The White House wants to boost global commitments to human rights and fighting corruption. But as the summit convenes, American democracy itself is under pressure.
Scientists from Japan have said that ostrich antibodies allowed them to design glowing masks, which help to tell if a person has contracted the coronavirus.
The unusual detection method was developed by a team from the Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyodo News reported.
Researchers injected ostriches with an inactive and non-threatening form of the coronavirus, and extracted antibodies from the eggs they laid.
They then sprayed fluorescent dye with antibodies onto a special filter that is placed inside the mask. The filter glows under UV light when the virus is present.
After monitoring 32 infected people for 10 days, researchers saw that all the masks they wore were glowing, with the glow fading over time as their viral load decreased.
The university president and the project’s leader, Yasuhiro Tsukamoto, was quoted as saying that he himself found out that he had Covid-19 after wearing one of the experimental masks.
Tsukamoto’s team plans to expand the experiment to 150 participants and receive the government’s approval to sell their masks next year. “We can mass-produce antibodies from ostriches at a low cost. In the future, I want to make this into an easy testing kit that anyone can use,” Tsukamoto said.
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec 09 (IPS) – As a feminist activist and defender of women’s rights in Iraq, I would like to share with you my growing concerns about the assassinations, kidnappings, assaults, threats of assassination against and defamation of feminist activists and human rights defenders, which they have faced especially during the popular protests in October 2019–2020, all of which have occurred with impunity.
The decision marks a rebuke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who according to U.S. intelligence approved the killing of the former Washington Post journalist and critic of Saudi policy.
French security services have prevented a planned stabbing spree in public places during the Christmas season. Two suspected Islamic State sympathizers, who hoped to knife holiday shoppers and die as martyrs, have been arrested.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed the arrest of two individuals on Wednesday by the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), with a link to a report by the daily Le Parisien.
“The terrorist threat remains at a high level in France, we are not lowering our guard,” Darmanin said.
According to media reports citing sources within the French judiciary, the DGSI arrested two men, both 23, on November 29 in the Île-de-France department. One was detained in Meaux, and the second in Pecq, on the other side of Paris. They were charged and jailed on December 3, as part of an investigation opened by anti-terrorism prosecutors. Neither has been identified by name.
One of the suspects reportedly confessed to police that they planned to carry out knife attacks in public places by Christmas and die as martyrs. Their potential targets included shopping centers, universities and busy public streets. Jihadist literature and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) literature were found during a search of their homes, BFMTV reported.
The other suspect admitted to a “fascination” with IS but denied planning the attacks, according to AFP. He was previously sentenced by a Paris juvenile court in April 2019 to four years in prison, of which 30 months were suspended with probation, according to a police source.
The two men first made contact on social media, and later met in person, the French police said.
