Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
'No-swab' OptiGene coronavirus test highly sensitive, UK says
A type of COVID-19 test that can be taken without the need for a nose or throat swab has been found to be highly effective in identifying infectious cases, including for people not showing symptoms, the British government said on Tuesday.
The RT-LAMP tests, made by privately-held British company OptiGene, have been studied in a pilot programme in the southern English city of Southampton, where they were used to test some health service staff as well as 55,000 people connected to the local university. LAMP is short for loop-mediated isothermal amplification, the technology used to process the tests.
"We've shown through carefully conducted studies that the OptiGene LAMP test is fast, reliable and easy to use, and dependent on testing format can work directly with saliva samples as well as with swabs," said Sue Hill, chief scientific officer for England in the National Health Service's Test and Trace programme.
U.S. analyst says China gave vaccine candidate to N.Korea's Kim
China has provided North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family with an experimental coronavirus vaccine, a U.S. analyst said on Tuesday, citing two unidentified Japanese intelligence sources.
Harry Kazianis, a North Korea expert at the Center for the National Interest think-tank in Washington, said the Kims and several senior North Korean officials had been vaccinated.
It was unclear which company had supplied its drug candidate to the Kims and whether it had proven to be safe, he added.
Australia's Queensland lifts most state border curbs in boost to economy
Australia's Queensland state on Tuesday lifted border restrictions on the country's two most populous states for the first time in more than eight months, reuniting families and aiding the country's economic recovery. Residents from all of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria will now be allowed to freely travel to Queensland.
Road checkpoints between Queensland and NSW were removed in the early hours on Tuesday, while the first flights landed at 6am local time with passengers arriving in Brisbane Airport greeted by a singer and a piano player.
Queensland, a popular holiday destination, has taken one of Australia's hardest lines on border restrictions. With international travel banned, Queensland hopes to see a wave of domestic tourists for the busy summer season.
'Pandemic' chosen as Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year
The 2020 prize for Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year went to an obvious choice: pandemic. The term had the most online dictionary lookups of any word, Merriam-Webster said on its website.
The word's Greek roots are "pan," meaning all or every and "demos," meaning people, Merriam-Webster said.
Dictionary lookups skyrocketed on March 11 when the World Health Organization officially labeled COVID-19 a pandemic. The word "saw the single largest spike in dictionary traffic in 2020, showing an increase of 115,806% over lookups on that day in 2019," said the company.
Reuters
Tue Dec 01 2020
The RT-LAMP tests, made by privately-held British company OptiGene, were used to test some health service staff as well as 55,000 people connected to the local university. REUTERSpic
ANALYSIS - What could happen if Trump rejects the US election results
If Trump seems to be losing, the delay could let him claim fraud and undermine confidence in election officials.
Motorcycling - Marquez wins Australian MotoGP after intense battle with Martin
The 31-year-old, third in the championship standings, has now won the Australian MotoGP four times in the premier class.
Prabowo takes up Indonesian presidency, vows to tackle corruption, other issues
Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto on Sunday took over as president of the world's third-largest democracy, vowing to combat internal issues
Nepal's Sherpas deserve more, says teenager who scaled world's 14 tallest peaks
Sherpas are known for climbing skills that make them the backbone of mountain expeditions.
Inside the underground lab in China tasked with solving a physics mystery
China will soon collect neutrino data, aiming to unravel one of particle physics' biggest mysteries.
Millions in Cuba still without power as major outage persists
Millions of Cubans remain without electricity because of a prolonged outage at the main power plants on the island, Anadolu Agency reported.
Surge in Gaza violence increases famine risk, monitor says
About 1.84 million people across the besieged Palestinian enclave are living through high levels of acute food insecurity.
Israel pounds Beirut and Gaza after rockets hit Israel's north
A drone was launched at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's holiday home.
Elon Musk promises to award $1 mil each day to a signer of his petition
He awarded a $1 million check to an attendee of his event in Pennsylvania aimed at rallying supporters behind Donald Trump.
Former special forces commander Prabowo to take up Indonesian presidency
Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto will take over as president of the world's third-largest democracy after sweeping the country's election with policies like free meals for school children
Father of Malaysian Islamic banking, Abdul Halim Ismail passes away
His dedication and pioneering spirit played an important role in shaping the journey of Bank Islam as well as leaving a lasting impact on the development of Malaysia's Islamic finance industry.
Zayn Malik postpones US tour dates after One Direction bandmate Liam Payne's death
Payne, 31, died on Wednesday after falling from a third-floor hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires, shocking fans of the boy band.
Why voters in a handful of swing states will decide the US presidential election
The contest will almost certainly be decided by just tens of thousands of voters a tiny fraction of the populace in a handful of states.
INSIGHT - Sudan's war risks 'lost generation' of children
A devastating crisis is unfolding in Sudan, where the most vulnerable members of society children are bearing the brunt of the violence.
Who is Prabowo Subianto, incoming president of Indonesia?
A wealthy ex-general with ties to Indonesia's popular outgoing president and its dictatorial past, looks set to be its next leader.
Trump says he would impose tariffs on China if China went into Taiwan
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would impose additional tariffs on China if China were to "go into Taiwan,"
Iran's supreme leader says Hamas leader's death will not halt 'Axis of Resistance'
The "Axis of Resistance", built up with years of Iranian support, includes Hamas, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, the Houthi movement in Yemen, and various Shi'ite groups in Iraq and Syria.
Putin says Russia willing to seek compromises between Iran and Israel
Russia is ready to help seek compromises between arch-foes Israel and Iran, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, saying these would be difficult but possible.
What proposals will Russia push at the BRICS summit?
The proposal is also to establish a BRICS reinsurance company to allow uninterrupted shipment of goods and key commodities between members.
Indonesia's free meals plan in the spotlight as Prabowo readies for office
Prabowo calls the programme one of the main drivers of economic growth, eventually set to add an estimated 2.5 million jobs.