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Japan and China agreed on Tuesday to restart coronavirus-hit business travel this month and to continue talks on disputed isles in the East China Sea, in the first high-level dialogue since Japan picked a new leader in September. The two-day visit to Tokyo by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi comes amid growing concerns over Beijing’s assertiveness in the region. Talks with Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi covered maritime tensions, trade and the pandemic response. On Wednesday, Wang will make a courtesy call on Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who has so far sought to balance Japan’s deep economic reliance on China with security concerns, including Beijing’s claims over the disputed isles that are controlled by Japan. While Suga has steered clear of the harsh anti-China rhetoric used by Japan’s ally the United States, he has moved to counter its influence by deepening ties with Australia and choosing Vietnam and Indonesia for his first overseas trip. “It’s important to interact wit

The news reached Sarah Gilbert Saturday evening that the Covid-19 vaccine she’s developed with AstraZeneca Plc appeared to work. But the University of Oxford professor had expected a key number: Was it more than 90% effective, as others have been — or less? Instead, when her colleague Andrew Pollard called with the results, he wanted to show her slides instead of simple figures. “I didn’t really understand why we would have to go through slides,” she recalled. “But then it became clear — because it’s rather more complicated in our trial.” That complexity has led uncertainty to swirl around one of the front-runners along with Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. in the race for a shot to end the pandemic. Questions about the most effective dose of the vaccine, its safety record and the partners’ approach to testing it have cast doubt on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will clear it. Early Monday, AstraZeneca and Oxford reported results after 131 trial participants in the U.K. and

With 37,975 fresh COVID-19 infections, India recorded 13 per cent fewer coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, government data shows. The country also reported 480 Covid-related deaths in this period, marginally lower than yesterday’s 511. India’s overall coronavirus case count now stands at 91.77 lakh, with 1,34,218 Covid-related fatalities, so far. Active cases rose to almost 4.4 lakh even as more than 40,000 people successfully fought off the virus taking overall recoveries to 86,04,955. The country’s overall recovery rate is 93.75 per cent, with a daily positivity rate of about 3.5 per cent against 10.9 lakh tests in the last 24 hours.

International travelers will need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to fly with Australia’s Qantas, the company has said, the first major airline to suggest that such rules could become common across the industry. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said late Monday the Australian flag carrier would implement the measure once a coronavirus vaccine was made available to the public. “We are looking at changing our terms and conditions to say for international travellers that we will ask people to have a vaccination before they can get on the aircraft,” he told Channel Nine. “Whether you need that domestically, we will have to see what happens with Covid-19 in the market but certainly, for international visitors coming out (to Australia) and people leaving the country, we think that is a necessity.” Joyce predicted the rule would likely become standard practice around the world as governments and airlines currently consider the introduction of electronic vaccination passports. Another major regional ai

Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned on Tuesday that any COVID-19 vaccine could lead to side-effects in some people, as even popular medicines do, and that the government would only go by science in finalising one for the country. The comments came ahead of the possible launch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine by early next year in India, the country with the world’s second-highest number of coronavirus infections after the United States. The question of who pays any claims for damages for unexpected side-effects has been a tricky point in supply negotiations between countries and drug makers over potential vaccines. Some richer countries have agreed full or partial exemptions from liability for firms to secure shots. The officials have not commented on who would be held responsible if any vaccine led to serious unwanted consequences. Brazil has said it will not exempt vaccine makers from liability, but Mexico could share some of the burden with laboratories. PM Modi said both speed and

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The Delhi High Court has asked Air India to consider paying at least one month’s salary to its pilots, engaged on contractual basis, whose services were suspended in April and later terminated in August, saying that employees cannot be left to hang high and dry. Justice Navin Chawla asked the counsel for national carrier Air India to take instructions on paying one month’s salary to the contractual pilots, who number around 61. The services of these pilots were terminated in August. The court also asked the airline to hear out the grievances of the pilots, who were engaged on contract after they superannuated, and to see whether something, like a “golden handshake”, can be done for them. With the suggestions, the court listed the matter for hearing on December 16. The court was hearing two pleas moved on behalf of the terminated contractual pilots who have sought quashing of the April 2 order suspending their services and the subsequent order of August 7 by which they were all terminat