(Reuters) - AstraZeneca, opens new tab said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a "surplus of available updated vaccines" since the pandemic.

The company also said it would proceed to withdraw the vaccine Vaxzevria's marketing authorizations within Europe.

"As multiple, variant COVID-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines," the company said, adding that this had led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied.

According to media, opens new tab reports, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker has previously admitted in court documents that the vaccine causes side-effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts.

The firm's application to withdraw the vaccine was made on March 5 and came into effect on May 7, according to the Telegraph, which first reported the development.

London-listed AstraZeneca began moving into respiratory syncytial virus vaccines and obesity drugs through several deals last year after a slowdown in growth as COVID-19 medicine sales declined.

(AFP): The transfer of the flame onshore in the southern port of Marseille will mark the start of a 12,000-kilometre (7,500-mile) torch relay across France and its far-flung overseas territories.

Under bright skies and calm seas the Belem, the ship carrying the torch, was sighted off the coast of Marseille early on Wednesday.

Organisers are hoping the first public spectacle -- just 79 days from the start of the Games -- will help build excitement after a damaging row about ticket prices and concerns about security.

"It's something we've been waiting for for a very long time," chief organiser Tony Estanguet said Monday, referring to the 100 years since Paris last staged the Games.  "The Games are coming home."

France, which was also the host in 1900, sees itself at the heart of the modern Olympic movement after a French aristocrat, Pierre de Coubertin, revived the idea of the Games as practised by the Greeks until the 4th century BC.

After the Covid-hit edition in Tokyo in 2021 and the corruption-tainted Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, the Paris Olympics are seen as an important moment for the sporting extravaganza.

A measure of public excitement will come when the flame is handed over on Wednesday evening from the Belem, a 19th-century French tall ship that has made a 12-day trip from Greece.

The adventures of the Belem, the historic French sailing ship bringing the Olympic flame to France "We are going to do beautiful, grandiose, sober and accessible at the same time," Marseille mayor Benoit Payan promised ahead of the ceremony, while recalling how his gritty port city was founded by Greek traders in 600 BC.

New Delhi (AFP): Indian authorities have arrested four people accused of “trafficking” Indian citizens to fight for the Russian army in Ukraine.

Two years since Russia’s invasion began, tens of thousands of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine and Moscow has been on a global quest for more troops.

At least two Indian soldiers have been killed in the conflict, with several recruits telling AFP they were shipped to the frontlines under false pretenses.

A statement published by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) late on Tuesday said four men had been arrested, including one who had worked in Russia as a translator for a network facilitating the recruitment of Indian soldiers.

“Investigation is continuing against other accused persons who are part of this international network of human traffickers,” the statement added.

The arrests come two months after the investigators conducted raids across 13 locations in India and detained several people for questioning. The CBI said then that it had found at least 35 instances of Indians being sent to Russia.

India’s foreign ministry had earlier said it was working to secure discharges for around 20 Indian nationals in the Russian army.

Several Indian recruits told AFP in February that they were lured into joining up by promises of high salaries and Russian passports before being shipped to the frontlines.

The soldiers said they had been promised non-combatant roles but were trained to use Kalashnikov assault rifles and other weapons before being sent to Ukraine.

Russia’s army held off a much-hyped Ukrainian counter-offensive last year, and it has since made gains on the front lines as Kyiv struggles with ammunition and manpower shortages.

India is a longstanding ally of Russia and has shied away from explicit condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine.

Unemployment remains high in India despite rapid economic growth and huge numbers seek work abroad each year, including thousands who had sought employment in Israel after labour shortages sparked by its military campaign in Gaza.