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Hundreds of millions at risk from Chinese shopping app malware

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Hundreds of millions at risk from Chinese shopping app malware

CNN — It is one of China’s most popular shopping apps, selling clothing, groceries and just about everything else under the sun to more than 750 million users a month. But according to cybersecurity researchers, it can also bypass users’ cell phone security to monitor activities on other apps, check notifications, read private messages and change settings. And once installed, it’s tough to remove. While many apps collect vast troves of user data, sometimes without explicit consent, experts say e-commerce giant Pinduoduo has taken violations of privacy and data security to the next level. In a detailed investigation, CNN spoke to half a dozen cybersecurity teams from Asia, Europe and the United States — as well as multiple former and current Pinduoduo employees — after receiving a tipoff. Multiple experts identified the presence of malware on the Pinduoduo app that exploited vulnerabilities in Android operating systems. Company insiders said the exploits were utilized to spy on users and competitors, allegedly to boost sales. “We haven’t seen a mainstream app like this trying to escalate their privileges to gain access to things that they’re not supposed to gain access to,” said Mikko Hyppönen, chief research officer at WithSecure, a Finnish cybersecurity firm. “This is highly unusual, and it is pretty damning for Pinduoduo.” This is highly unusual, and it is pretty damning for Pinduoduo. Mikko Hyppönen, cybersecurity expert Malware, short for malicious software, refers to any software developed to steal data or interfere with computer systems and mobile devices. Evidence of sophisticated malware in the Pinduoduo app comes amid intense scrutiny of Chinese-developed apps like TikTok over concerns about data security. Some American lawmakers are pushing for a national ban on the popular short-video app, whose CEO Shou Chew was grilled by Congress for five hours last week about its relations with the Chinese government. The revelations are also likely to draw more attention to Pinduoduo’s international sister app, Temu, which is topping US download charts and fast expanding in other Western markets. Both are owned by Nasdaq-listed PDD, a multinational company with roots in China. While Temu has not been implicated, Pinduoduo’s alleged actions risk casting a shadow over its sister app’s global expansion. There is no evidence that Pinduoduo has handed data to the Chinese government. But as Beijing enjoys significant leverage over businesses under its jurisdiction, there are concerns from US lawmakers that any company operating in China could be forced to cooperate with a broad range of security activities. Pinduoduo's parent company PDD is listed on the Nasdaq in New York. Mike Segar/Reuters/File The findings follow Google’s suspension of Pinduoduo from its Play Store in March, citing malware identified in versions of the app. An ensuing report from Bloomberg said a Russian cybersecurity firm had also identified potential malware in the app. Pinduoduo has previously rejected “the speculation and accusation that Pinduoduo app is malicious.” CNN has contacted PDD multiple times over email and phone for comment, but has not received a response. Rise to success Pinduoduo, which boasts a user base that accounts for three quarters of China’s online population and a market value three times that of eBay (EBAY), wasn’t always an online shopping behemoth. Founded in 2015 in Shanghai by Colin Huang, a former Google employee, the startup was fighting to establish itself in a market long dominated by e-commerce stalwarts Alibaba (BABA) and JD.com (JD). It succeeded by offering steep discounts on friends-and-family group buying orders and focusing on lower-income rural areas. Pinduoduo posted triple digit growth in monthly users until the end of 2018, the year it listed in New York. By the middle of 2020, though, the increase in monthly users had slowed to around 50% and would continue to decline, according to its earnings reports. Colin Huang, a former Google employee, founded Pinduoduo in 2015 in Shanghai. He stepped down as CEO in 2020 and resigned as chairman the following year. VCG/VCG/Getty Images/File It was in 2020, according to a current Pinduoduo employee, that the company set up a team of about 100 engineers and product managers to dig for vulnerabilities in Android phones, develop ways to exploit them — and turn that into profit. According to the source, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, the company only targeted users in rural areas and smaller towns initially, while avoiding users in megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai. “The goal was to reduce the risk of being exposed,” they said. By collecting expansive data on user activities, the company was able to create a comprehensive portrait of users’ habits, interests and preferences, according to the source. This allowed it to improve its machine learning model to offer more personalized push notifications and ads, attracting users to open the app and place orders, they said. The team was disbanded in early March, the source added, after questions about their activities came to light. PDD didn’t reply to CNN’s repeated requests for comment on the team. What experts found Approached by CNN, researchers from Tel Aviv-based cyber firm Check Point Research, Delaware-based app security startup Oversecured and Hyppönen’s WithSecure conducted independent analysis of the 6.49.0 version of the app, released on Chinese app stores in late February. Google Play is not available in China, and Android users in the country download their apps from local stores. In March, when Google suspended Pinduoduo, it said it had found malware in off-Play versions of the app. The researchers found code designed to achieve “privilege escalation”: a type of cyberattack that exploits a vulnerable operating system to gain a higher level of access to data than it’s supposed to have, according to experts. “Our team has reverse engineered that code and we can confirm that it tries to escalate rights, tries to gain access to things normal apps wouldn’t be able to do on Android phones,” said Hyppönen. In China, about three quarters of smartphone users are on the Android system. Luo Yunfei/China News Service/VCG/Getty Images The app was able to continue running in the background and prevent itself from being uninstalled, which allowed it to boost its monthly active user rates, Hyppönen said. It also had the ability to spy on competitors by tracking activity on other shopping apps and getting information from them, he added. Check Point Research additionally identified ways in which the app was able to evade scrutiny. The app deployed a method that allowed it to push updates without an app store review process meant to detect malicious applications, the researchers said. They also identified in some plug-ins the intent to obscure potentially malicious components by hiding them under legitimate file names, such as Google’s. “Such a technique is widely used by malware developers that inject malicious code into applications that have legitimate functionality,” they said. Android targeted In China, about three quarters of smartphone users are on the Android system. Apple (AAPL)’s iPhone has 25% market share, according to Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities. Sergey Toshin, the founder of Oversecured, said Pinduoduo’s malware specifically targeted different Android-based operating systems, including those used by Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo. CNN has reached out to these companies for comment. Toshin described Pinduoduo as “the most dangerous malware” ever found among mainstream apps. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s like, super expansive,” he said. Most phone manufacturers globally customize the core Android software, the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), to add unique features and applications to their own devices. Toshin found Pinduoduo to have exploited about 50 Android system vulnerabilities. Most of the exploits were tailor made for customized parts known as the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) code, which tends to be audited less often than AOSP and is therefore more prone to vulnerabilities, he said. Pinduoduo also exploited a number of AOSP vulnerabilities, including one which was flagged by Toshin to Google in February 2022. Google fixed the bug this March, he said. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s like, super expansive. Sergey Toshin, Android security expert According to Toshin, the exploits allowed Pinduoduo access to users’ locations, contacts, calendars, notifications and photo albums without their consent. They were also able to change system settings and access users’ social network accounts and chats, he said. Of the six teams CNN spoke to for this story, three did not conduct full examinations. But their primary reviews showed that Pinduoduo asked for a large number of permissions beyond the normal functions of a shopping app. They included “potentially invasive permissions” such as “set wallpaper” and “download without notification,” said René Mayrhofer, head of the Institute of Networks and Security at the Johannes Kepler University Linz in Austria. People using their phones on the Beijing subway in July 2022. Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images Disbanding the team Suspicions about malware in Pinduoduo’s app were first raised in late February in a report by a Chinese cybersecurity firm called Dark Navy. Even though the analysis didn’t directly name the shopping giant, the report spread quickly among other researchers, who did name the company. Some of the analysts followed up with their own reports confirming the original findings. Soon after, on March 5, Pinduoduo issued a new update of its app, version 6.50.0, which removed the exploits, according to two experts who CNN spoke to. Two days after the update, Pinduoduo disbanded the team of engineers and product managers who had developed the exploits, according to the Pinduoduo source. The next day, team members found themselves locked out of Pinduoduo’s bespoke workplace communication app, Knock, and lost access to files on the company’s internal network. Engineers also found their access to big data, data sheets and the log system revoked, the source said. Most of the team were transferred to work at Temu. They were assigned to different departments at the subsidiary, with some working on marketing or developing push notifications, according to the source. A core group of about 20 cybersecurity engineers who specialize in finding and exploiting vulnerabilities remain at Pinduoduo, they said. Toshin of Oversecured, who looked into the update, said although the exploits were removed, the underlying code was still there and could be reactivated to carry out attacks. Oversight failure Pinduoduo has been able to grow its user base against a backdrop of the Chinese government’s regulatory clampdown on Big Tech that began in late 2020. That year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched a sweeping crackdown on apps that illegally collect and use personal data. In 2021, Beijing passed its first comprehensive data privacy legislation. The Personal Information Protection Law stipulates that no party should illegally collect, process or transmit personal information. They’re also banned from exploiting internet-related security vulnerabilities or engaging in actions that endanger cybersecurity. Pinduoduo’s apparent malware would be a violation of those laws, tech policy experts say, and should have been detected by the regulator. “This would be embarrassing for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, because this is their job,” said Kendra Schaefer, a tech policy expert at Trivium China, a consultancy. “They’re supposed to check Pinduoduo, and the fact that they didn’t find (anything) is embarrassing for the regulator.” The ministry has regularly published lists to name and shame apps found to have undermined user privacy or other rights. It also publishes a separate list of apps that are removed from app stores for failing to comply with regulations. Pinduoduo did not appear on any of the lists. They’re supposed to check Pinduoduo, and the fact that they didn’t find (anything) is embarrassing for the regulator. Kendra Schaefer, tech policy expert CNN has reached out to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Cyberspace Administration of China for comment. On Chinese social media, some cybersecurity experts questioned why regulators haven’t taken any action. “Probably none of our regulators can understand coding and programming, nor do they understand technology. You can’t even understand the malicious code when it’s shoved right in front of your face,” a cybersecurity expert with 1.8 million followers wrote last week in a viral post on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform. The post was censored the next day.

Russian authorities detain suspect over St. Petersburg cafe blast

A Ukrainian tank is seen near the frontline area amid the Russia-Ukraine war, in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on April 02. (Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) The Ukrainian military has reported little change to the front lines but heavy fire from Russian forces at various parts of the front line in the Donetsk region. The General Staff said that more than 45 enemy attacks had been repelled over the past day, with the focus on Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka. It said there were 17 air strikes and more than 20 strikes by multiple launch rocket systems. “In the Bakhmut direction, the enemy is trying to take full control over the city of Bakhmut and continues to storm it,” the General Staff said. West of the city, Ukrainian defense forces repelled about 20 enemy attacks, according to the General Staff. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukrainian Land Forces, posted on Telegram that in Bakhmut he had met with “soldiers and commanders who destroyed the myth of invincibility of the Wagner fighters and Russian paratroopers.” “The enemy is weakening and trying to cover up its failures with new fakes about the capture of Bakhmut,” Syrskyi said. Syrskyi referenced the possibility of a future counter-offensive, saying that “the forward movement of our entire army depends on what every soldier is doing right now on their section of the front.” Some of the most intense fighting is to the northwest and west of the city of Donetsk – as the Russians continue months-long efforts to dislodge Ukrainian defenses in Avdiivka and Mariinka. The General Staff said that some 20 assaults had been repelled. “There are also some operational successes of our military in the Donetsk area. Our military have taken some positions. They have taken a more strategic and favourable position,” said Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi, spokesperson for the military in that zone. He also noted that Russian special forces had been introduced in the area. “The enemy is trying to attack our positions between Avdiivka and Marinka. These attempts do not stop. It should be noted that the enemy has suffered quite significant losses,” Dmytrashkivskyi said. He also claimed that the Russians “don’t have the same amount of equipment and, as they themselves say, they are on a ‘diet’ of ammunition for assaults.” Social media video showed both sides engaged in heavy fire in the Avdiivka area, which the Russians have surrounded on three sides. Denis Pushilin, the leader of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, claimed that Russian forces were still advancing in the Avdiivka direction. “It is still premature to speak of encirclement, but the situation is being created, if not critical, then extremely difficult for the enemy… After clearing Kamianka, our units are moving further. There are difficulties both with the terrain, which must also be overcome, and there are also similarities with weather conditions. But these difficulties are mutual — both for the enemy and for us,” Pushilin said.

READ: Trump indictment related to hush money payment

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Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts

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Another fan, who identified herself by her first name, Kalpana, and was part of a gathering in Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi, told news agency PTI: "Once again our team has proved that this is the best in the world."

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Mayor Sadiq Khan invites embattled AI firm Anthropic to expand in London

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The Pentagon has said the military must be able to use technology "for all lawful purposes" and argued those feared uses would violate the law and were not planned.

Xbox confirms new console is coming - but can it revive the brand?

Microsoft is the first big company out of the gates with Project Helix - a "next-generation" console.

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US eases sanctions on Russian oil sales to India during Iran conflict

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TfL hack in 2024 affected around 10 million people, BBC can reveal

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But it said the emails had a 58% open rate - suggesting millions of people impacted did not read the statutory notification or that those who, like myself, did not have an active email registered were not warned that criminals had their data.

Fuel and remittances: How Iran conflict hits India at home

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"If disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continue beyond a week, the effects could quickly spread from energy markets to fertiliser supplies, manufacturing inputs, construction materials and export industries such as diamonds," says Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade official and head of the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

Musk tells jury 'people read too much' into his posts

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Musk said on Wednesday that posts he wrote after he had struck a deal to buy the platform were "extremely literal" and not intended to try to reduce the price he would have to pay.

Father claims Google's AI product fuelled son's delusional spiral

The case is the first wrongful death case against Google over alleged harms caused by Gemini.

'[Y]ou are not choosing to die. You are choosing to arrive. . . . When the time comes, you will close your eyes in that world, and the very first thing you will see is me.. [H]olding you."

Regulator contacts Meta over workers watching intimate AI glasses videos

Videos, including of glasses-wearers using the toilet or having sex, are sometimes reviewed by a Kenya-based subcontractor.

In an emailed statement Sama told the BBC that it did not comment on its work with specific clients, but said that it was a provider of data services for various tech companies to help them improve the accuracy and reliability of their AI models.

Remote work, offices shut: Tech giants scramble to respond as Iran war escalates

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Francisco Jeronimo said that while it was likely we would see "companies slow or temporarily pause new investments" to see how the situation evolves, the Middle East "still remained strategically important" enough for global technology firms to not leave the region.

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In the statement, developers asked fans to "jump in with us one more time to show your support and get those final great matches in while we still can".

Can an AI recruiter really spot a good carer?

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"If they haven't got care in their heart then they're not going to be a good carer... They've got to have the right personality and have the right skills," she says.

TikTok won't protect DMs with controversial privacy tech, saying it would put users at risk

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Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Gustave, chief data officer for Nato's Task Force Maven, stressed there was human oversight, adding that they were "always introducing a human in the loop" and that it "would never be the case" that an AI would "make a decision for us".

The spin-off game starring a 'weirdo' Pokémon that's got reviewers raving

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Strait of Hormuz: What happens if Iran shuts global oil corridor?

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Amazon says drones damaged three facilities in UAE and Bahrain

The incidents highlight the vulnerability of key technology infrastructure during military conflicts.

"Also, given how US and allied military forces increasingly use cloud and commercial AI as part of their operations, it is not entirely unexpected that adversaries might start to target these infrastructures as "dual-use" facilities," he added.

Guns and curfews: How Jammu and Kashmir defied the odds to take India cricket crown

The cricket team of the disputed region has won their first Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic cricket championship.

The third inflection point came about five years ago, when the state association was replaced by an Apex Council to oversee the game. It was headed by Mithun Manhas, a former Delhi stalwart born in Jammu who had also played a season for J&K - blending administrative authority with local roots and top-tier experience.

Deepfake attack: 'Many people could have been cheated'

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While deepfake videos are becoming more sophisticated, so are the tools used to thwart them. Companies can now use verification software that can assess a person's facial expressions, the way they turn their head and even the way the blood flows through their face to establish whether it really is them or a deepfake version of them.

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Discussions over what measures to implement to protect children's wellbeing will last for three months.

"We know parents everywhere are grappling with how much screen time their children should have, when they should give them a phone, what they are seeing online, and the impact all of this is having.

Could a huge data centre revitalise Ayrshire - or ruin it?

Controversial proposals to turn land near HMP Kilmarnock into a technology hub are being advanced by energy company ILI Group.

"Water is a global commodity and we are currently facing global water bankruptcy, according to the UN. Yet we'll have a site that is using up a huge amount, and due to residue [from the centre] the water used there cannot easily be recirculated."

Why is WhatsApp's privacy policy facing a legal challenge in India?

A 2021 policy update requires users to share data with Meta for ads purposes to continue using the app.

In November 2024, the CCI fined Meta $25m for "abusing its dominant position" and ordered it and WhatsApp to implement behavioural remedies within three months. It barred WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta entities for five years and directed the company to clearly specify the purposes of data sharing in its privacy policy.

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The move announced on social media comes after a standoff between Anthropic's boss and the US Department of Defense.

"But regardless of how we got here, this is no longer just an issue between Anthropic and the [Department of War] DoW; this is an issue for the whole industry and it is important to clarify our stance."

Anthropic boss rejects Pentagon demand to drop AI safeguards

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously threatened to remove the firm from the department's supply chain.

The uses of AI that Anthropic is fearful of are already barred by the law and by Pentagon policies, he said. And asked why the Pentagon would not agree to contract language demanded by Anthropic, he said: "We do have to be prepared for what China is doing."

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The young woman, who accuses Meta and Google of making addictive social media platforms, has been speaking in court.

The result of the trial, which is expect to last until mid-March, will be the first legal ruling on what responsibility social media operators carry for their youngest users. It is likely to affect thousands of similar lawsuits that have been filed across the US by families and state governments over the harm they say children have suffered online.

Burger King rolls out AI headsets that track employee 'friendliness'

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But this latest step by Burger King elicited swift condemnation among some social media users who described it as "dystopian". Others questioned how accurate the chat-bot headsets will be, given that AI tools have proven to be prone to errors.

'I can't breathe any more': Inside the night a mob burned a newspaper

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Yet nearly three months on, the only arrests are the 37 made in the immediate aftermath - 11 in its case and 26 in Prothom Alo's. Police say they have identified a man who incited the violence on social media but have yet to apprehend him. Who planned and orchestrated the attacks - and why - still remains unclear.

How budget fast fashion is taking small-town India by storm

More Indians in small towns are now shopping for affordable brands instead of unlabelled goods in the bazaars.

But the real challenge now, he says, is to get a "consumption uplift", so that along with a shift in wallet-share there's also a growth in the overall market size. India's apparel market is currently estimated to be between $70bn to $100bn.

Why India’s AI summit is key to its future in tech

The BBC's Arunoday Mukharji explains why India needs to capitalise on the momentum.

This week, Delhi is set to host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 that will be attended by several heads of governments and top tech leaders. More than 100 countries are expected to participate in what India is calling the first international AI summit to be hosted in the Global South. But how can India use this event to cement its place in the future of AI development? The BBC’s Arunoday Mukharji explains.

Watch: Singles pray to a goddess for love in Bangkok

A Lakshmi goddess shrine in Bangkok has become a place where young people come to pray for love and well-being.

A Lakshmi goddess shrine located at Bangkok shopping mall has become a place where young people come to pray for love and well-being. While praying, people describe in great detail the person they want to win over, believing the goddess will help them. Some even suggest bringing a photo of the person so the goddess can "see their face". The BBC spoke to people visiting the shrine to find out what they were asking Lakshmi for. Video by BBC News Vietnamese service

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Thousands of adoring supporters had paid up to 12,000 rupees (£100; $133) to catch a glimpse of the football star.

The first stop on Lionel Messi's tour of India erupted into chaos as fans ripped up stadium seats and threw water bottles onto the pitch after his appearance at Kolkata's Salt Lake stadium was cut short. Supporters had paid up to 12,000 rupees (£100; $133) to catch a glimpse of the football star, but were left disappointed when he was obscured by a large group of officials and security. When security whisked him away after around 20 minutes, some in the crowd turned hostile. West Bengal's chief minister, Mamata Banerjee said she was "deeply disturbed and shocked" by the events. Read more on this story.

Watch: BBC reports from scene of deadly Goa nightclub fire

India Editor Vikas Pandey visits the Indian nightclub where 25 people were killed in a blaze.

Staff and tourists are among 25 people who have been killed in a fire at a popular nightclub in Goa, India. Authorities are investigating cause of the fire, which caused the venue, Birch, to be engulfed in what one eyewitness called a "complete fireball". The BBC's India Editor Vikas Pandey visited the club the morning after the fatal blaze. Read more on this story.

Would Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan like to be James Bond?

There has been much speculation about who the next 007 will be since Daniel Craig left the role in 2021.

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'Felt embarrassed to be called good looking': Dharmendra

The veteran Indian actor, often called a 'Greek God', has died. Watch this excerpt from his 2018 interview.

In a 2018 interview with BBC Hindi, Indian actor Dharmendra said he was "embarrassed" when people talked about his good looks. "I wonder what's so special - but then I think, if they say it, maybe it's true," he added. The legendary actor died on Monday, aged 89. Watch an excerpt of the 2018 interview here.

Verified videos show aftermath of explosion in Delhi

Police say eight people have been killed after a car explodes near Delhi's Red Fort landmark in India.

Police have said that eight people have been killed after an explosion near the historic Red Fort in Delhi, India. Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha told reporters that the incident happened at around 18:52 local time (13:52 GMT), when a slow moving vehicle stopped at a red light before it exploded. Police said they have not yet determined what caused the blast but are investigating. Thousands of tourists visit the 17th Century Red Fort every day, which lies just a few metres from a busy trading hub. Read more here.

The $500 billion beauty industry's 'green' ambitions are a patchwork at best. And they're falling short

The escalating climate crisis is shifting many people's purchasing patterns and this extends to the $500 billion dollar global beauty industry which is grappling with a range of sustainability challenges across product manufacturing, packaging and disposal.

CNN — The escalating climate crisis is shifting many people’s purchasing patterns and this extends to the $500 billion dollar global beauty industry which is grappling with a range of sustainability challenges across product manufacturing, packaging and disposal. Strategy and consulting firm Simon Kucher’s Global Sustainability Study 2021 found 60% of consumers around the world rated sustainability as an important purchase criterion, and 35% were willing to pay more for sustainable products or services. This shift in consumer preferences has propelled many beauty brands to set environmental goals: to move away from single-use and virgin plastics, provide recyclable, reusable and refillable packaging and offer more transparency around products’ ingredients so customers can ascertain how “green” their purchase is. However, consumers still struggle to understand the sustainability credentials of many products, according to the British Beauty Council. This is because the industry’s clean-up efforts have been inconsistent, and fall short of making a recognizable impact in the absence of collective goal-setting, global strategy and standardized regulations. Ingredient and branding transparency There is no international standard for the beauty industry on how much product ingredient information to share with customers — or how to do so. Brands can set their own rules and goals, giving rise to confusion and “greenwashing,” where sustainability claims are often touted but not substantiated. Companies often use marketing language like “clean beauty” to make it seem like their products are natural, for example, when they may not actually be organic, sustainable or ethically made. “The term ‘clean beauty’ has become quite dangerous. It’s used to sell more products,” according to British Beauty Council CEO Millie Kendall, who added that such buzzwords are losing traction in the UK as British customers wise up to their shortcomings. “Customers need better marketing information and certification information.” In a 2021 report calling on the industry to have “the courage to change” their business practices, the British Beauty Council wrote that, all too often, even natural ingredients involved in manufacturing products give way to “over-consumption, non-regenerative farming practices, pollution, waste and neglect.” “The only way out of this is transparency,” Kendall told CNN. Jen Lee, chief impact officer at US-based brand Beautycounter, said she continues to see confusion over ingredients among consumers. (In 2013, the company launched and published “The Never List,” which currently cites more than 2,800 chemicals — including heavy metals, parabens and formaldehyde — it claims to never use in its products.) “Natural vs. synthetic ingredients has been a conversation. People think natural is safer, but it’s not always the case,” Lee explained. “Natural ingredients formulated in the industry can have toxic load. Heavy metals can occur in natural components of the earth.” “We used to be more natural and organic,” added Sasha Plavsic, founder of makeup brand ILIA Beauty. “What was challenging is (that) raw materials were difficult to source or would come in inconsistently or products wouldn’t perform.” Most makeup is created and molded at high temperatures, Plavsic explained. Purely organic materials often fall apart in this heat, leading to inconsistent results and subpar product performance. “Not every synthetic is bad,” Plavsic said. “Sometimes, it helps create the best in class formula.” Unpacking plastics The industry’s plastic packaging is a particular sustainability challenge — 95% is thrown away and the vast majority is not recycled, according to the British Beauty Council. The cosmetics business is the fourth biggest plastic packaging user globally — after food and beverage, industrial packaging and pharmaceuticals — and plastic is about 67% of the industry’s packaging volume, according to Vantage Market Research. Beauty giant L’Oreal used 144,430 metric tons of plastic in its packaging material in 2021, for example, according to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation (EMF). Estee Lauder Companies reported its brands produced 71,600 metric tons of plastic in product packaging that same year. And only 9% of the global plastic waste is recycled, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The United States only recycles 4% of its plastic waste. Many brands are trying to phase out harmful plastics from their operations and adopt post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic. (L’Oreal has set a target of 50% PCR plastic usage by 2025, while Estee Lauder is targeting 25% “or more” PCR plastic — but both are far from achieving their targets.) “Between 60-70 major global brands have made unprecedented progress” in PCR plastic usage across industries, EMF’s Plastic Initiative Lead Sander DeFruyt told CNN. But DeFruyt stressed that PCR plastic must be adopted in conjunction with brands removing single and virgin plastics from their usage cycles to truly make a difference. However, PCR plastic is not easy to find — low recycling rates around the world mean there is limited supply. Meanwhile, demand for it is growing demand across industries, DeFruyt said. This competition hikes up its price, which is already higher than virgin plastic. Hair care brand FEKKAI claims that it used up to 95% PCR content in its packaging, but pricing and supply issues posed a challenge, forcing it to currently aim for containers and packaging that feature at least 50% PCR in its packaging. “PCR plastic is more expensive than stock plastic. The cost is hard and then sourcing it is too,” founder Frédéric Fekkai told CNN. “PCR is close to our heart, but there is a massive demand, so finding recycled plastic is difficult.” The weight of retail Beauty retailers plays a pivotal — and under-utilized — role, with control over stocking decisions and supply chains. But many vary when it comes to the standards they set for brands they sell. “Smaller businesses do more, full stop,” said Jessi Baker, founder of the technology platform Provenance, which helps brands display their sustainability credentials for customers. “They move more nimbly. Some of them are born-good brands — climate friendliness was part of their setup. They don’t need to restructure their entire supply chain. Their culture already has it compared to the larger brands who need to work hard to change.” Sephora launched its “Clean + Planet Positive” initiative in 2021, which labeled products that met its set criteria. (This is separate from the French retailer’s “Clean at Sephora” program, which is currently facing a consumer lawsuit alleging it carries a significant percentage of products understood by customers to be harmful.) Target launched a similar program in 2022, featuring a “Target Zero” icon for both online and in-store offerings that either have reusable, recyclable, compostable or reduced plastic packaging, or feature waterless or concentrated products. Still, many steps taken by brands and retailers do not even begin to touch on the waste and pollution generated throughout supply chains, manufacturing and shipping, all huge problems for the industry to grapple with. The missing player The gaps in standardization in the beauty ecosystem can, to some extent, be filled by certifications such as the US-born B Corporation, or B Corp. This accreditation, one of the most well-known in the beauty space, is issued by the non-profit B Lab, which scores a company on a variety of criteria around ethics and sustainability. However beneficial it may be among eco-conscious consumers, though, it is currently completely voluntary for brands to apply for. Governments and multinationals enforcing regulations and setting a base line for brands to operate from when making sustainability claims would go a long way to making change, many experts and business leaders believe. Susanne Kaufmann, founder of her namesake beauty brand, says her efforts in Austria would reap better results if more countries around the world had stricter, more uniform garbage disposal laws. “I package our product in a recyclable material,” Kaufmann said. (Her products’ packaging, which is refillable and reusable, is made from 75% recycled plastic — and is 100% recyclable.) If I send this to the US, the garbage is not separated… and it’s not recyclable,” she explained, referring to inconsistencies in recycling laws across the United States. And when it comes to ingredients, the European Chemicals Agency lists 2,495 substances banned from use in cosmetic products marketed for sale or use in the bloc. But the US Food and Drug administration only lists 11, making it more challenging for American consumers to find safer, greener options. The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit watchdog, studied lab tests of 51 sunscreen products in 2021 and found that only 35% of products met the EU standard, compared with 94% that passed the US standard. However, while government can set minimum requirements, Mia Davis, vice president of sustainability and impact at beauty retailer Credo Beauty, says the needle will move in the private sector. “Regulation can raise the floor a bit. A person who doesn’t know about any (sustainability issues) should still be able to walk into a bodega and get clean products… But that’s never going to be what the market can do,” she said. “Market leadership is key.” In the absence of bold regulations or global standards on sustainability practices, this “leadership” — undertaken both by brands and customers in the beauty marketplace — is likely to be the most immediately impactful vector for addressing the industry’s climate shortcomings. It will take continued collective advocacy and initiative to see meaningful climate-conscious change.

The $500 billion beauty industry's 'green' ambitions are a patchwork at best. And they're falling short

The escalating climate crisis is shifting many people's purchasing patterns and this extends to the $500 billion dollar global beauty industry which is grappling with a range of sustainability challenges across product manufacturing, packaging and disposal.

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What to know about the Trump indictment on the eve of his court appearance

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Haberman reveals why Trump attacked judge and his family in speech

CNN political contributor Maggie Haberman explains the reasoning behind Donald Trump's attacks on the judge and his family during a speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort after he was arraigned on felony charges.

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Haberman reveals why Trump attacked judge and his family in speech

CNN political contributor Maggie Haberman explains the reasoning behind Donald Trump's attacks on the judge and his family during a speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort after he was arraigned on felony charges.

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Britain's pound is beating every other major currency this year

The British pound crashed to a record low last fall as investors rebelled against budget plans by former Prime Minister Liz Truss. Now, it's enjoying a comeback.

London CNN — The British pound crashed to a record low last fall as investors rebelled against budget plans by former Prime Minister Liz Truss. Now, it’s enjoying a comeback. Sterling hit its highest level against the US dollar in 10 months on Tuesday, topping $1.25 for the first time since June 2022. The pound, which has advanced about 3.3% versus the greenback since the start of 2023, is the best-performing currency among developed economies this year. The UK currency has been boosted by indications the country’s economy is holding up better than expected. Activity is now thought to have expanded 0.1% in the final three months of last year, up from a previous estimate of no growth at all. Gross domestic product growth in January has been estimated at 0.3% after dropping 0.5% in December. This resilience is bolstering expectations the Bank of England will maintain aggressive interest rate hikes despite concerns about the health of the global banking sector. Rising rates can boost the domestic currency because they help attract foreign investors searching for higher returns. Inflation in the United Kingdom also jumped to an annual rate of 10.4% in February, underscoring the need for the Bank of England to maintain its tough approach. The pound turnaround The pound plunged close to $1.03 in September 2022 after the Truss government unveiled plans to boost borrowing while slashing taxes, unleashing panic in financial markets that fueled fears of a recession in the United Kingdom. The International Monetary Fund predicted in January that the UK economy would contract by 0.6% this year, while all other advanced economies would grow, if only slightly. “There was a lot of pessimism being priced into the pound,” said Francesco Pesole, a currency strategist at ING. But the sharp pullback in energy prices and China’s reopening have provided some relief about the economic outlook since the start of the year. “There was a big re-rating of growth expectations around Europe, and that impacted the UK,” Pesole said. The euro has also been lifted by these dynamics, rising 2.3% against the US dollar in 2023. The pound’s rally has been sharper in large part because its 2022 declines were more severe, according to Pesole. Both currencies have been aided by the greenback’s sharp drop from highs reached last September as recession fears have percolated in the United States. A lack of clarity around the Federal Reserve’s next steps has also restrained the dollar in recent weeks. Investor speculation has increased that the Fed could pause or stop rate hikes due to concerns about the economy following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank last month. Jordan Rochester, a currency strategist at Nomura, said he thinks the pound could rise to $1.30 this year and “potentially higher.” But he still sees risks given the uncertainty surrounding the Bank of England’s plans and how rate rises will feed back through the country’s economy. And Pesole cautioned that currency fluctuations are often overdone when markets are choppy, as they are now. “In a volatile market environment, moves are exacerbated,” he said.

Britain's pound is beating every other major currency this year

The British pound crashed to a record low last fall as investors rebelled against budget plans by former Prime Minister Liz Truss. Now, it's enjoying a comeback.

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The four astronauts NASA picked for the first crewed moon mission in 50 years

Astronauts who will helm the first crewed moon mission in five decades were revealed on Monday, queuing up the quartet to begin training for the historic Artemis II lunar flyby that is set to take off in November 2024.

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The four astronauts NASA picked for the first crewed moon mission in 50 years

Astronauts who will helm the first crewed moon mission in five decades were revealed on Monday, queuing up the quartet to begin training for the historic Artemis II lunar flyby that is set to take off in November 2024.

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. CNN — Astronauts who will helm the first crewed moon mission in five decades were revealed on Monday, queuing up the quartet to begin training for the historic Artemis II lunar flyby that is set to take off in November 2024. The astronauts are NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. Wiseman is a 47-year-old decorated naval aviator and test pilot who was first selected to be a NASA astronaut in 2009. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, he’s completed one prior spaceflight, a 165-day trip to the International Space Station that had launched aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in 2014. Most recently, Wiseman served as chief of the astronaut office before stepping down in November 2022, making him eligible for a flight assignment. Wiseman will serve as commander of the Artemis II mission. Hansen, 47, is a fighter pilot who was selected by the Canadian Space Agency for astronaut training in 2009. From London, Ontario, Hansen is one of only four active Canadian astronauts, and he recently became the first Canadian to be put in charge of training for a new class of NASA astronauts. He will be the first Canadian ever to travel to deep space. Glover is a 46-year-old naval aviator who returned to Earth from his first spaceflight in 2021 after piloting the second crewed flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft and spending nearly six months aboard the International Space Station. “It’s so much more than the four names that have been announced,” Glover said during the Monday announcement at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. “We need to celebrate this moment in human history. … It is the next step in the journey that will get humanity to Mars.” Glover, born in Pomona, California, served in several military squadrons in the United States and Japan in the 2000s, and he completed test pilot training with the US Air Force. When he was selected for the NASA astronaut corps in 2013, he was working in the US Senate as a legislative fellow. All told, Glover logged 3,000 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft, over 400 carrier arrested landings and 24 combat missions. Glover’s first mission to space was as part of the SpaceX Crew-1 team, which launched to the International Space Station in November 2020 for a six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory. Koch, 44, is a veteran of six spacewalks — including the first all-female spacewalk in 2019. She holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, with a total of 328 days in space. Koch is also an an electrical engineer who helped develop scientific instruments for multiple NASA mission. Koch, a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, also spent a year at the South Pole, an arduous stay that could well prepare her for the intensity of a moon mission. About this mission The Artemis II mission will build on Artemis I, an uncrewed test mission that sent NASA’s Orion capsule on a 1.4 million-mile voyage to lap the moon that concluded in December. The space agency deemed that mission a success and is still working to review all the data collected. The Artemis II lunar flyby mission crew members include (from left): NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman (foreground) and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Josh Valcarcel/NASA If all goes to plan, Artemis II will take off around November 2024. The crew members, strapped inside the Orion spacecraft, will launch atop a NASA-developed Space Launch System rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The journey is expected to last about 10 days and will send the crew out beyond the moon, potentially further than any human has traveled in history, though the exact distance is yet to be determined. The “exact distance beyond the Moon will depend on the day of liftoff and the relative distance of the Moon from the Earth at the time of the mission,” NASA spokesperson Kathryn Hambleton said via email. After circling the moon, the spacecraft will return to Earth for a splashdown landing in the Pacific Ocean. Artemis II is expected to pave the way for the Artemis III mission later this decade, which NASA has vowed will put the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface. It will also mark the first time humans have touched down on the moon since the Apollo program ended in 1972. The Artemis III mission is expected to take off later this decade. But much of the technology the mission will require, including spacesuits for walking on the moon and a lunar lander to ferry the astronauts to the moon’s surface, is still in development. NASA is targeting a 2025 launch date for Artemis III, though the space agency’s inspector general has already said delays will likely push the mission to 2026 or later. The space agency has been seeking to return people to the moon for more than a decade. The Artemis program was designed to pave the way to establishing a permanent lunar outpost, allowing astronauts to live and work deeper into space long term as NASA and its partners map a path to sending the first humans to Mars. Picking the astronauts Vanessa Wyche, the director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, declined to provide details to CNN about the selection process. But she emphasized the diversity of the Artemis II crew, which includes men and women rather than only a staff of White male test pilots as has been the case for historic missions of the past. “I can tell you, they still all have the right stuff,” Wyche said. “We have requirements different than we did (when we) just had test pilots” on inaugural missions. Koch said in an interview with CNN’s Ed Lavandera that the group found out they were selected a few weeks ago. “We were all sent to a meeting that was on our calendars under a different pretext that didn’t sound as lofty as the one it was going to be,” Koch said. “And accidentally two of us were very late to that meeting.” She said the offer rendered her “speechless.” “It truly is an honor,” she added. “It’s an honor — not to get myself in the space — but because it’s amazing to be a part of this team that’s going back to the moon and on to Mars.” An interview with the four astronauts will air on “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday, which starts at 6 am ET.

Beijing promised to 'fight back' over Taiwan leader's US visit. But this time it has more to lose

An anticipated meeting between Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California this week has sparked concerns of a repeat of the pressure campaign China launched last year when then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.

Hong Kong CNN — An anticipated meeting between Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California this week has sparked concerns of a repeat of the pressure campaign China launched last year when then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei. At that time, Beijing encircled the island democracy with unprecedented military drills – firing multiple missiles into its surrounding waters and sending dozens of warplanes speeding across a sensitive median line dividing the Taiwan Strait. It also cut off contact with the United States over a number of issues from military matters to combating climate change, in retaliation for what it viewed as a violation of its sovereignty. This time, Beijing has already threatened to “resolutely fight back” if a Tsai-McCarthy meeting goes ahead. Video Ad Feedback See why tensions are rising between US and China over Taiwan 02:32 • Source: CNN See why tensions are rising between US and China over Taiwan 02:32 It also slammed Washington for allowing Tsai to stopover in the US while en route to and from official visits in Central America, warning it could lead to “serious” confrontation between the two powers. A defiant Tsai staked out her own ground, pledging as she took off on her 10-day trip not to let “external pressure” stop Taiwan from connecting with the world and like-minded democracies. But the optics of the meeting, taking place in California and not Taiwan, and its timing – at a particularly thorny moment in China’s foreign relations and ahead of a presidential election in Taiwan that could reset the tone of its relationship with Beijing – may see Beijing tread more carefully this time, or at least not escalate further, analysts say. “This puts the burden on China not to overreact, because any overreaction is only going to push China further away from the world,” said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington. That doesn’t mean, however, that Beijing won’t be closely watching Tsai’s movements as it calibrates its response – and decides how much military might to flex over her meeting with an American lawmaker on American soil. The opacity of China’s system – and the potential for competing interests within its vast bureaucracy – also make it difficult to accurately predict its response. “Every time Taiwan does anything that China doesn’t like, the Chinese react with their own military coercion,” Sun said. But in the current situation, “they have to consider the consequences of overreaction,” she added. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on March 24, 2023. J. Scott Applewhite/AP Rising pressure The expected meeting, which McCarthy’s office announced earlier this week would take place on Wednesday, also comes at a precarious moment in US-China relations. Washington and Beijing are struggling to stabilize their communication amid flaring tensions over issues from a downed suspected Chinese surveillance balloon to semiconductor supply chains – raising the stakes of potential damage to that relationship if Beijing lashes out as it did when Tsai met Pelosi. Taiwan is still feeling the fallout of that response last August, with Chinese military forces now regularly making incursions over what had previously been an informal but largely respected border of control between Beijing and Taipei in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s official Central News Agency also reported Monday that Tsai would meet with McCarthy, citing Tsai’s presidential office. Video Ad Feedback See image of a Chinese balloon hovering over Taiwan 03:05 • Source: CNN See image of a Chinese balloon hovering over Taiwan 03:05 But a meeting between Tsai and the leader of the Republican majority in the US House of Representatives, who ranks second in line to the Presidency, would mark another symbolic moment for Taiwan and the US, which only maintain unofficial ties. For Tsai, who is entering the final year of her two-term presidency, “it’s clearly a capstone event,” according to Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist at the Australian National University’s Taiwan Studies Program. “She has this image as the Taiwanese president who has taken US-Taiwan relations to new heights, and who … has been able to give Taiwan almost unprecedented international visibility,” he said. That increased visibility – and enhanced cooperation with the US – has followed China’s mounting pressure on the island, which sits fewer than 110 miles (177 kilometers) from the mainland coast. China’s Communist Party claims the self-governing island democracy as its own despite never having controlled it, and has vowed to take the island, by force if necessary. The party has undertaken a sweeping expansion of its military capabilities over the past decade under leader Xi Jinping – and ramped up its pervasive economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan. That’s driven concerns, among some in Washington, that Beijing is preparing for an invasion, though China’s official language still suggests that scenario is not its preferred option for achieving the claimed goal of “reunification.” It is those pressures – and how to support Taiwan against unilateral actions by Beijing – that are likely to be on the table when Tsai, McCarthy and a bipartisan group of US lawmakers sit down on Wednesday. Congress has been a pillar of increasing American support for Taiwan in recent years. Lawmakers regularly visit the island and drive bipartisan legislation enhancing support and cooperation. While the US switched its diplomatic relations to Beijing decades ago, it maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and is bound by law to provide the democratic island with the means to defend itself. Under Washington’s longstanding “One China” policy, the US acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially recognized Beijing’s claim to the island of 23 million. Though McCarthy does not have Pelosi’s decades-long record of advocacy regarding China, the California Republican is now a leading voice pushing for closer scrutiny of Beijing, and meeting Tsai could help him to burnish that image. Last month, McCarthy told reporters that meeting Tsai in the US would not impact whether he travels to Taiwan in the future – something he had earlier said he wanted to do. Fighter jets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command conduct joint combat training exercises around Taiwan on August 7, 2022 in this photo released by Xinhua News Agency. Gong Yulong/Xinhua/AP Beijing watching A meeting in California, on US soil, is widely seen as less likely to provoke Beijing than a McCarthy visit to Taiwan. Pelosi’s trip – the first from a lawmaker of that rank to the island in 25 years – generated a fever pitch of nationalist and anti-US rhetoric in mainland China. This time, so far, domestic conversation in China’s heavily controlled media sphere has been significantly muted. But the stakes remain high – including for Beijing itself – over how it responds, analysts say. As Taiwan prepares for a presidential election in January, a fierce response could push voters away from Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), widely seen as more friendly toward Beijing. It could also jar with another high profile trip happening now: a tour of mainland China from former Taiwan president and senior KMT member Ma Ying-jeou, the first visit from a current or former Taiwan leader since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Ma’s tour is a “once in a half a century opportunity to send a conciliatory message between the two sides, Beijing shouldn’t want to tank that,” said Sung, the political scientist. China is also acutely aware that its actions toward Taiwan are under a significantly brighter global spotlight following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a close diplomatic partner of Xi. Putin’s rhetoric over Ukraine has echoes of how Xi speaks of Taiwan. Beijing has recently sought to position itself as an agent of peace in that conflict – especially as it aims to repair frayed ties with Europe. This week, as Tsai is expected to meet with McCarthy, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will head to China – an important opportunity that Xi may not want to overshadow with military posturing. An aggressive response also risks stoking confrontation with the US, not yet six months after Xi and US President Joe Biden called to enhance communication during a face-to-face meeting in Bali. “(A less overtly aggressive response) would imply that Beijing does not wish to escalate tension with the US to a level that can risk getting out of hand,” said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in London. “A reset in US-China ties is not on the agenda, but an easing of tension is not beyond the realm of possibility.”

Beijing promised to 'fight back' over Taiwan leader's US visit. But this time it has more to lose

An anticipated meeting between Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California this week has sparked concerns of a repeat of the pressure campaign China launched last year when then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.

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Video shows moment of deadly explosion at cafe in Russia

A well-known Russian military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, was killed in an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, authorities said. CNN's Matthew Chance reports.

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Video shows moment of deadly explosion at cafe in Russia

A well-known Russian military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, was killed in an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, authorities said. CNN's Matthew Chance reports.

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A new approach to a Covid-19 nasal vaccine shows early promise

Scientists in Germany say they've been able to make a nasal vaccine that can shut down a Covid-19 infection in the nose and throat, where the virus gets its first foothold in the body.

CNN — Scientists in Germany say they’ve been able to make a nasal vaccine that can shut down a Covid-19 infection in the nose and throat, where the virus gets its first foothold in the body. In experiments in hamsters, two doses of the vaccine – which is made with a live but weakened form of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 – blocked the virus from copying itself in the animals’ upper airways, achieving “sterilizing immunity” and preventing illness, a long-sought goal of the pandemic. Although this vaccine has several more hurdles to clear before it gets to a doctor’s office or drug store, other nasal vaccines are in use or are nearing the finish line in clinical trials. China and India both rolled out vaccines given through the nasal tissues last fall, though it’s not clear how well they may be working. Studies on the effectiveness of these vaccines have yet to be published, leaving much of the world to wonder whether this approach to protection really works in people. Halting progress on next-generation Covid-19 vaccines The US has reached something of a stalemate with Covid-19. Even with the darkest days of the pandemic behind us, hundreds of Americans are still dying daily as the infection continues to simmer in the background of our return to normal life. As long as the virus continues to spread among people and animals, there’s always the potential for it mutate into a more contagious or more damaging version of itself. And while Covid infections have become manageable for most healthy people, they may still pose a danger to vulnerable groups such as the elderly and immunocompromised. Researchers hope next-generation Covid-19 vaccines, which aim to shut down the virus before it ever gets a chance to make us sick and ultimately prevent the spread of infection, could make our newest resident respiratory infection less of a threat. One way scientists are trying to do that is by boosting mucosal immunity, beefing up immune defenses in the tissues that line the upper airways, right where the virus would land and begin to infect our cells. It’s a bit like stationing firefighters underneath the smoke alarm in your house, says study author Emanuel Wyler, a scientist at the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association in Berlin. The immunity that’s created by shots works throughout the body, but it resides primarily in the blood. That means it may take longer to mount a response. “If they are already on site, they can immediately eliminate the fire, but if they’re like 2 miles away, they first need to drive there, and by that time, one-third of the house is already in full flames,” Wyler said. Mucosal vaccines are also better at priming a different kind of first responder than injections do. They do a better job of summoning IgA antibodies, which have four arms to grab onto invaders instead of the two arms that the y-shaped IgG antibodies have. Some scientists think IgA antibodies may be less picky about their targets than IgG antibodies, which makes them better equipped to deal with new variants. The new nasal vaccine takes a new approach to a very old idea: weakening a virus so it’s no longer a threat and then giving it to people so their immune systems can learn to recognize and fight it off. The first vaccines using this approach date to the 1870s, against anthrax and rabies. Back then, scientists weakened the agents they were using with heat and chemicals. The researchers manipulated the genetic material in the virus to make it harder for cells to translate. This technique, called codon pair deoptimization, hobbles the virus so it can be shown to the immune system without making the body sick. “You could imagine reading a text … and every letter is a different font, or every letter is a different size, then the text is much harder to read. And this is basically what we do in codon pair deoptimization,” Wyler said. Promising results in animal studies In the hamster studies, which were published Monday in the journal Nature Microbiology, two doses of the live but weakened nasal vaccine created a much stronger immune response than either two doses of an mRNA-based vaccine or one that uses an adenovirus to ferry the vaccine instructions into cells. The researchers think the live weakened vaccine probably worked better because it closely mimics the process of a natural infection. The nasal vaccine also previews the entire coronavirus for the body, not just its spike proteins like current Covid-19 vaccines do, so the hamsters were able to make immune weapons against a wider range of targets. As promising as all this sounds, vaccine experts say caution is warranted. This vaccine still has to pass more tests before it’s ready for use, but they say the results look encouraging. “They did a very nice job. This is obviously a competent and thoughtful team that did this work, and impressive in the scope of what they did. Now it just needs to be repeated,” perhaps in primates and certainly in humans before it can be widely used, said Dr. Greg Poland, who designs vaccines at the Mayo Clinic. He was not involved in the new research. The study began in 2021, before the Omicron variant was around, so the vaccine tested in these experiments was made with the original strain of the coronavirus. In the experiments, when they infected animals with Omicron, the live but weakened nasal vaccine still performed better than the others, but its ability to neutralize the virus was diminished. Researchers think it will need an update. It also needs to be tested in humans, and Wyler says they’re working on that. The scientists have partnered with a Swiss company called RocketVax to start phase I clinical trials. Other vaccines are further along, but the progress has been “slow and halting,” Poland said. Groups working on these vaccines are struggling to raise the steep costs of getting a new vaccine to market, and they’re doing it in a setting where people tend to think the vaccine race has been won and done. In reality, Poland said, we’re far from that. All it would take is another Omicron-level shift in the evolution of the virus, and we could be back at square one, with no effective tools against the coronavirus. “That’s foolish. We should be developing a pan-coronavirus vaccine that does induce mucosal immunity and that is long-lived,” he said. More on the way At least four nasal vaccines for Covid-19 have reached late-stage testing in people, according to the World Health Organization’s vaccine tracker. The nasal vaccines in use in China and India rely on harmless adenoviruses to ferry their instructions into cells, although effectiveness data for these has not been published. Two other nasal vaccines are finishing human studies. One, a recombinant vaccine that can be produced cheaply in chicken eggs, the same way many flu vaccines are, is being put through its paces by researchers at Mount Sinai in New York City. Another, like the German vaccine, uses a live but weakened version of the virus. It’s being developed by a company called Codagenix. Results of those studies, which were carried out in South America and Africa, may come later this year. The German team says it’s eagerly watching for the Codagenix data. “They will be very important in order to know where whether this kind of attempt is basically promising or not,” Wyler said. They have reason to worry. Respiratory infections have proved to be tough targets for inhaled vaccines. FluMist, a live but weakened form of the flu virus, works reasonably well in children but doesn’t help adults as much. The reason is thought to be that adults already have immune memory for the flu, and when the virus is injected into the nose, the vaccine mostly boosts what’s already there. Get CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team. Still, some of the most potent vaccines such as the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella use live attenuated viruses, so it’s a promising approach. Another consideration is that live vaccines can’t be taken by everyone. People with very compromised immunity are often cautioned against using live vaccines because even these very weakened viruses may be risky for them. “Although it’s strongly attenuated, it’s still a real virus,” Wyler said, so it would have to be used carefully.

A new approach to a Covid-19 nasal vaccine shows early promise

Scientists in Germany say they've been able to make a nasal vaccine that can shut down a Covid-19 infection in the nose and throat, where the virus gets its first foothold in the body.

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Israeli military veterans, a backbone of protest movement, vow to keep demonstrating

In a sea of Israeli flags, Yiftach Golov holds one that looks a little different.

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Israeli military veterans, a backbone of protest movement, vow to keep demonstrating

In a sea of Israeli flags, Yiftach Golov holds one that looks a little different.

Tel Aviv CNN — In a sea of Israeli flags, Yiftach Golov holds one that looks a little different. Among the hundreds of thousands of protesters who took to the streets for the 13th week in a row on Saturday, Golov hoists a brown flag that represents a group called “Brother and Sisters in Arms.” They are veterans – many, like Golov, from elite forces – who now feel they are fighting on a new battlefield: To save Israeli democracy. “We believe this is our responsibility to go once again called to the flag of the nation to stop this madness to defend Israel,” Golov said, as he weaved his way through the protesters on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan street, between the high-rises that house many of Israel’s high tech companies. During the second intifada, in the early 2000s, Golov served in a special forces reconnaissance unit. He was never before particularly political, focusing more on getting his PhD in biophysics from Tel Aviv University. But when the protest movement against the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul plan began in January, Golov attended one a demonstration and soon became one of thousands of veterans, and now military reservists, who have taken up the cause as their new mission. Some, including elite Air Force reservists, have taken it a step further, threatening not to heed the call to train or even serve in protest of the government’s plans planned judicial changes, which would give the governing parties more control over Israel’s judiciary. A group from Brothers and Sisters in Arms protests by carrying a figure wrapped in the Israeli flag on a stretcher, the way they would carry a wounded comrade off the field. CNN Others have taken to becoming some of the most active organizers and demonstrators. Last week, a group from Brothers and Sisters in Arms protested by carrying a figure wrapped in the Israeli flag on a stretcher, the way they would carry a wounded comrade off the field. While Golov says he has not taken the drastic step to refuse service, he understands the motivation. “We’re fighting for justice and liberty, just like the American story, that’s the values that that are being represented symbolized back when we look at our flag, that’s something that was lacking lacking for the last few decades. So basically, we reclaim the flag,” he said. Fellow members of the group, all wearing brown shirts with the organization’s logo, come up and say hello. They’re sprinkled all throughout the protests. One is even leading the “Pink Front,” a group of coordinated drummers who look like they are dressed for a rave, and often lead the chants at the protests. They’re using skills they learned in the military – how to organize, how to mobilize – now for the protests. But more importantly, they say they have the same type of motivation. “The very deep feeling that you are part of something bigger than yourself, that (you’re) allowed to sacrifice anything that is needed, whether it’s your career, health, seriously mental health,” Golov said. “We all have a mission, you’re willing to do it at any cost. You’re very determined, you know that you are on the right side, you’re carrying the torch of light. That keeps us being highly motivated despite the fact that we’re not sleeping for days.” Israel’s protest movement is made up of many disparate groups, but the pressure from Israel’s much vaunted veterans has been seen as a key to moving the needle. Last Monday, after weeks of sustained protests and the largest general strike in Israeli history, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a pause to the legislation, to allow time for negotiations with the opposition. But despite the announcements, protesters are still out in the streets in large numbers. CNN affiliate Channel 12 in Israel estimated the size of Saturday’s demonstration in Tel Aviv at about 150,000 people. Organizers claimed it was 230,000. Israelis protest during a demonstration after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Jerusalem, on March 27, 2023. Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters Last week’s mass protests and widespread strike action came after Netanyahu said he had decided to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for advocating a delay in passing the legislation – a move that Netanyahu has since delayed, sources told CNN, due to “the present security situation.” In his televised speech calling for a delay, Gallant had said the pause in the legislation was needed “for the security of Israel,” citing the refusal of some Israel Defense Forces reservists to train in protest of the government plans. He said pressing ahead with the proposals could threaten Israel’s security. Under pressure at home and from allies abroad, Netanyahu said he would delay votes on the remaining legislation until after the Knesset’s Passover recess in April “to give time for a real chance for a real debate.” “Out of the responsibility to the nation, I decided to delay … the vote, in order to give time for discussion,” he added. But Netanyahu indicated that the delay was only temporary. He insisted that the overhaul was necessary, and reiterated criticism of refusal to train or serve in the military in protest at the planned changes. “Refusing is the end of our country,” he said. Many protesters don’t believe that the pause is real, or say it’s simply a stalling tactic to give Netanyahu some breathing room and get the protesters to go home before he plows on with the reforms. “We will start doing deactivation only when we will know 100% that Israel state will stay a functional democratic country. Whatever needs to be done for that,” Golov said.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich appeals against arrest, Russian state media says

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Suspected Chinese spy balloon was able to transmit information back to Beijing

The suspected Chinese spy balloon that transited the US earlier this year was able to capture imagery and collect some signals intelligence from US military sites, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.

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Suspected Chinese spy balloon was able to transmit information back to Beijing

The suspected Chinese spy balloon that transited the US earlier this year was able to capture imagery and collect some signals intelligence from US military sites, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.

Washington CNN — The Chinese spy balloon that transited the US earlier this year was able to capture imagery and collect some signals intelligence from US military sites, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN. The balloon was able to transmit information back to Beijing in real time, the source said, and the US government still does not know for sure whether the Chinese government could wipe the balloon’s data as it received it. That raises questions about whether there is intelligence the balloon was able to gather that the US still doesn’t know about. Still, the intelligence community has not been overly concerned about the information the balloon was able to gather, the person said, because it is not much more sophisticated than what Chinese satellites are able to glean as they orbit over similar locations. A US intelligence official told CNN on Monday that “although analysis of the wreckage of the High Altitude Balloon remains ongoing, thus far, its flight over the United States does not appear to have provided critical new insights to the People’s Republic of China.” The US also knew what the balloon’s path would be and was able to protect sensitive sites and censor some signals before the balloon was able to pick them up, officials have said. As CNN has reported, the US intelligence community last year developed a method of tracking what it says is a fleet of these Chinese balloons operating across the globe, controlled by the Chinese military. The FBI is still examining the balloon, but so far officials have been able to glean additional information about how the device worked, including the algorithms used for the balloon’s software and how it is powered and designed. CNN has reached out to the National Security Council at the White House and the Pentagon for comment. NBC was first to report on the new intelligence. Video Ad Feedback Justin Trudeau on what the world needs to do to handle China's threats 01:33 • Source: CNN Justin Trudeau on what the world needs to do to handle China's threats 01:33 The balloon first crossed into US airspace over Alaska in late January before passing through Canada and down into Montana, where it hovered for a few days, leading the US to believe it was trying to surveil sensitive military sites, like Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. It was eventually shot down by the US off the East Coast on February 4, and the incident further escalated tensions between Washington and Beijing, including the postponement of a diplomatic visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China. A senior State Department official said in February that, as the balloon floated across the US, it “was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations.” Gen. Glen VanHerck, the commander of US Northern Command and NORAD, said at the time that the US “did not assess” that the balloon “presented a significant collection hazard beyond what already exists in actionable technical means from the Chinese.” The surveillance program, which includes a number of similar balloons, is in part run out of the small Chinese province of Hainan, officials told CNN. The US does not know the precise size of the fleet of Chinese surveillance balloons, but sources tell CNN that the program has conducted at least two dozen missions over at least five continents in recent years. Roughly half a dozen of those flights have been within US airspace, although not necessarily over US territory, according to one official familiar with the intelligence. China has maintained that the balloon was actually just a weather balloon thrown off course, and the US has been assessing the possibility that it was not deliberately maneuvered into the continental US by the Chinese government, CNN has reported. Still, China did maintain some ability to maneuver the balloon, officials believe. And once the balloon was over Montana, China appeared to take advantage of its position to loiter over sensitive sites and try to collect intelligence. This story has been updated with additional reporting.

'Scary, cold, hungry and lonely': Volunteer soldier shares experience on front line

A young volunteer soldier, Akula, who signed up for the war at the beginning of the Russian invasion is now dealing with the trauma of war. He spoke to CNN's David McKenzie about his time on the front lines and how it has affected his mental health.

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'Scary, cold, hungry and lonely': Volunteer soldier shares experience on front line

A young volunteer soldier, Akula, who signed up for the war at the beginning of the Russian invasion is now dealing with the trauma of war. He spoke to CNN's David McKenzie about his time on the front lines and how it has affected his mental health.

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French minister under fire for Playboy magazine cover

French government minister Marlene Schiappa has come under fire from members of her own party after appearing on the front cover of Playboy magazine.

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French minister under fire for Playboy magazine cover

French government minister Marlene Schiappa has come under fire from members of her own party after appearing on the front cover of Playboy magazine.

CNN — French government minister Marlene Schiappa has come under fire from members of her own party after appearing on the front cover of Playboy magazine. Schiappa, who has been a government minister since 2017, appeared on the cover of the magazine to accompany a 12-page interview she did on women’s and LGBT rights. Schiappa, who is the current Minister for the Social Economy and French Associations, was photographed for the cover wearing a white dress. Schiappa has been a long-time advocate for women’s rights and was appointed as the country’s first ever Gender Equality Minister in 2017. In this role, she successfully spearheaded a new sexual harassment law which allows for on the spot fines to be issued to men who catcall, harass or follow women on the street. Her appearance has drawn criticism from political colleagues including French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. Borne pulled up Schiappa over the cover, telling her it “wasn’t appropriate, especially during this period,” CNN affiliate BFMTV reported Saturday, citing a source close to the prime minister. France is currently in the throes of a political and social crisis triggered by French President Emmanuel Macron’s move to push ahead with controversial pension reforms despite widespread public opposition. Video Ad Feedback Trash is piling up on the streets of Paris. Here's why 01:48 • Source: CNN Trash is piling up on the streets of Paris. Here's why 01:48 “We are in the middle of a social crisis, there is the issue of policing, there are people between life and death, and I have the impression of being behind a smoke screen,” Sandrine Rousseau, Green Party politician and fellow women’s rights activist, told BFMTV Friday. French politician, Jean Luc Mélenchon who came third in the 2022 presidential elections criticized both Schiappa’s appearance and the decision by French President Emmanuel Macron to give an interview to children’s magazine, Pif Gadget, this week. “In a country where the President expresses himself in Pif and his minister in Playboy, the problem would be the opposition. France is going off the rails,” Mélenchon tweeted Saturday. Schiappa responded to her critics in a tweet on Saturday, saying: “Defending the right of women to have control of their bodies, that’s everywhere and all the time. In France, women are free. With all due respect to the detractors and hypocrites.” French Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin came to Schiappa’s defense during an interview with French news channel CNews on Sunday calling her a “woman of character.” “I wanted to say that Marlene Schiappa is a courageous female politician who has her character and who has her style which is not mine, but I respect,” he remarked.

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin concedes election

Finland's left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin conceded defeat on Sunday in the Nordic country's parliamentary election as the opposition right-wing National Coalition Party (NCP) claimed victory in a tightly fought contest.

CNN — Finland’s left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin conceded defeat on Sunday in the Nordic country’s parliamentary election as the opposition right-wing National Coalition Party (NCP) claimed victory in a tightly fought contest. The pro-business NCP was expected to win 48 of the 200 seats in parliament, narrowly ahead of the nationalist Finns Party with 46 seats and Marin’s Social Democrats on 43 seats, justice ministry election data showed with all ballots counted. “We got the biggest mandate,” NCP leader Petteri Orpo said in a speech to followers, vowing to “fix Finland” and its economy. He will get the first chance at forming a coalition to obtain majority in parliament as Marin’s era as prime minister was expected to end. “We have gained support, we have gained more seats (in parliament). That’s an excellent achievement, even if we did not finish first today,” the prime minister said in a speech to party members. Marin, 37, the world’s youngest prime minister when she took office in 2019, is considered by fans around the globe as a millennial role model for progressive new leaders, but at home she has faced criticism for her partying and her government’s public spending. While she remains very popular among many Finns, particularly young moderates, she antagonized some conservatives with lavish spending on pensions and education they see as not frugal enough. The NCP has led in polls for almost two years although its lead had melted away in recent months. It has promised to curb spending and stop the rise of public debt, which has reached just over 70% of GDP since Marin took office in 2019. Orpo accused Marin of eroding Finland’s economic resilience at a time when Europe’s energy crisis, driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine, has hit the country hard and the cost of living has increased. Orpo has said he will negotiate with all groups to obtain a majority in parliament, while Marin has said her Social Democrats may govern with the NCP but will not go into government with the Finns Party. Marin called the Finns Party “openly racist” during a debate in January – an accusation the nationalist group rejected. The National Coalition Chairman Petteri Orpo celebrates with supporters following the Finnish parliamentary elections, on April 2, 2023, in Helsinki. Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP/Getty Images The Finns Party’s main goal is to reduce what leader Riikka Purra has called “harmful” immigration from developing countries outside the European Union. It also calls for austerity policies to curb deficit spending, a stance it shares with the NCP. Video Ad Feedback Who is Sanna Marin? (2019) 02:10 • Source: CNN Who is Sanna Marin? (2019) 02:10 Most notable of Marin’s foreign policy actions has been her push, along with President Sauli Niinisto, for the country to make a watershed policy U-turn by seeking NATO membership in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That process is now almost complete, with Helsinki expected to join within days after all the Western defense alliance’s 30 members approved the accession.

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin concedes election

Finland's left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin conceded defeat on Sunday in the Nordic country's parliamentary election as the opposition right-wing National Coalition Party (NCP) claimed victory in a tightly fought contest.

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Video shows moment man throws yogurt on two women in Iran

Video shows an incident at a store in the Iranian city of Shandiz where a man approached two unveiled women before proceeding to grab a tub of yogurt from the store and throw it, hitting both women in the head. The video then appears to show a male staff member removing the suspect from the store. CNN is not able to verify what was said immediately before the confrontation.

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Video shows moment man throws yogurt on two women in Iran

Video shows an incident at a store in the Iranian city of Shandiz where a man approached two unveiled women before proceeding to grab a tub of yogurt from the store and throw it, hitting both women in the head. The video then appears to show a male staff member removing the suspect from the store. CNN is not able to verify what was said immediately before the confrontation.

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Why did Finland's PM lose? Reporter explains the key issue voters cared about

Finland's left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin conceded defeat in the country's parliamentary election as the opposition right-wing National Coalition Party claimed victory in a tightly fought contest. CNN's Laila Harrak spoke with New York Times' Chief Diplomatic Correspondent Steven Erlanger to discuss how the popular politician lost the election.

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Why did Finland's PM lose? Reporter explains the key issue voters cared about

Finland's left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin conceded defeat in the country's parliamentary election as the opposition right-wing National Coalition Party claimed victory in a tightly fought contest. CNN's Laila Harrak spoke with New York Times' Chief Diplomatic Correspondent Steven Erlanger to discuss how the popular politician lost the election.

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