WADA chief excited about Beijing 2022 testing method（在线收听）

WADA chief excited about Beijing 2022 testing method

Xi replies to letters from U.S. mayors

Chinese President Xi Jinping has replied separately to letters from the mayors of Tacoma and Steilacoom in the U.S. state of Washington.

Victoria Woodards and Dick Muri recently wrote to the Chinese leader, extending Spring Festival greetings and wishing Beijing a successful Winter Olympic Games.

In his reply, Xi Jinping reaffirmed China's commitment to delivering a simple, safe and splendid Olympics.

He also sent greetings to the residents of the two cities.

Beijing 2022 torch relay starts

The Beijing Winter Olympic torch relay is ongoing with just two days to go before the start of the Winter Games.

"I now announce the start of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics torch relay."

Vice Premier Han Zheng announced the start of the relay that will pass through the three host zones until Friday.

The first torch bearer was 80-year-old Luo Zhihuan, who won China's first world championship in winter sports.

135 torchbearers joined the morning relay on Wednesday, including astronaut Jing Haipeng, former NBA player Yao Ming, and film director Zhang Yimou, who will direct the opening ceremony of the Games.

New testing method at Beijing 2022, exciting development for anti-doping: WADA president

President Witold Banka of the World Anti-Doping Agency has spoken highly of a new testing method at Beijing 2022.

The testing only takes a few drops of blood from the athlete's fingertip to dry on a blotting paper for scientists to analyze certain substances.

It was used at last year's Tokyo Olympics for trials and will make its formal appearance at the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Putin accuses West of ignoring Russia's concerns

Russian President Vladimir Putin is accusing the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Moscow's top security demands.

He made the remarks in his first comments in more than a month on the standoff with the West over Ukraine.

"While ignoring our concerns, the U.S. and NATO are citing every country's right to freely choose the means of ensuring its security. But it's not just about letting someone to freely choose their means of ensuring security. It's only one of the parts of the indivisibility of security formula."

Russia has demanded that NATO not expand to Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations, that it refrain from deploying offensive weapons near Russia, and that NATO roll back deployments to Eastern Europe.

Putin reiterates that the security of one nation should not be strengthened at the expense of others.

Coup fails in Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau's President says loyalist forces remain in control after a failed coup at the Government Palace on Tuesday.

Umaro Sissoco Embalo says the coup attempt was an isolated act carried out by a group of drug traffickers.

More COVID-19 cases confirmed as Tonga starts nationwide lockdown

Tonga reported three new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total in the latest outbreak to five.

Officials say all the infected are under quarantine, and some of them have begun to show symptoms like fever.

The previously COVID-free country confirmed two infections on Tuesday after testing workers at a port that is receiving relief materials.

The government has decided to impose a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.

Pfizer asks for authorization of COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5.

Pfizer is asking the United States to authorize extra-low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5.

If the administration agrees, Pfizer shots containing just one-tenth of the dose given to adults could be dispensed to children as young as 6 months.

The company is testing three shots after two of the extra-low doses turned out to be strong enough for babies but not for preschoolers, and the final data from the study isn't expected until late March.

That means the FDA may consider whether to authorize two shots for now, with potentially a third shot being cleared later if the study supports it.

Sean O'Leary is a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Colorado.

"I think it makes some sense in terms of why they might need three doses in this age group, and I certainly can understand where both the company and the FDA are coming from in terms of wanting to move this along, anticipating that there's going to be a third dose down the line."

The FDA will convene a panel of independent researchers and physicians later this month to help review the Pfizer data.

The ultimate decision could come within the month.

Ethiopian Airlines' Boeing 737 MAX back to sky three years after tragic crash

Ethiopian Airlines has returned its Boeing 737 MAX jet back to the skies around three years after a tragic crash that killed over 150 people.

Passengers onboard Tuesday's flight included the airline's board chairman and officials from Boeing as well as the government.

The incident in March 2019 prompted airlines around the world to ground the 737 Max series.

Ecuador oil spill pollutes protected Amazonian zone

An oil spill in the Amazon region of Ecuador is causing significant damage to the environment.

The spill was caused by a rock fall which ruptured a key oil pipeline on Saturday.

So far, it has left thousands of Indigenous people without access to water and fishing.