WUHAN

Britain has become the first country in the world to approve a bivalent vaccine against COVID-19, which "works" simultaneously against the original and the current version of the Omicron coronavirus.

The first passenger plane from the Chinese province of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic that killed more than 6 million worldwide, has landed in Istanbul after a two-and-a-half-year halt due to COVID-19.

China Southern Airlines' airliner with flight number CZ8021 arrived in Istanbul Airport at 9.30 p.m. on June 29.

President Xi Jinping has offered state backing for tech, infrastructure and jobs to revive China's economy, but analysts warn growth will continue to wilt until Beijing drops its rigid virus controls.    

Two and a half years since the coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan, China is the last major economy still closed off to the world, despite its relatively low death toll.    

China's ambitions to be a global sporting hub took a heavy blow as the postponement of this year's Asian Games further isolated a country already cut off by its hardline zero-COVID strategy.

China said Monday that just three people have died from Covid-19 in Shanghai since a gruelling lockdown began last month, despite recording hundreds of thousands of cases of the fast-spreading Omicron variant in the eastern megacity.

At the same time, they called on the population to defend their city because the number of new cases exceeds 25.000.
The city police announced the restrictions that are in force for the majority of 25 million inhabitants and called on them to "fight the epidemic with one heart and work together for an early victory," Reuters reports.

The State Department said on Friday that non-priority staff could leave the consulate voluntarily, but it is not known why the recommendation turned into an order on Monday, Reuters reports.

Today, China reported more than 20,000 cases of COVID-19, the highest daily number since the pandemic began, with Shanghai being the center of the virus wave. The country's strategy for "zero COVID" is undergoing a huge test as cases increase.

China reported more than 20,000 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest daily tally given since the start of the pandemic, as millions in locked-down Shanghai began a new round of testing.

An early version of COVID-19, which seems to have been created in the laboratory, was discovered in samples from a Chinese biotechnology company, writes Sara Knapton, the Science Editor for The Daily Telegraph.
This finding justifies claims that the virus may have originated as a laboratory experiment that accidentally leaked.