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Eco/Invest/Demography

Severe Covid-19 breakthrough cases mostly in older, sicker patients: Doctors

Such “breakthrough” cases have become central to a global debate over whether highly vaccinated countries should give booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines, and to which people. Israel began offering booster doses to people age 60 and up in July, and has since expanded that eligibility.

The United States, citing data out of Israel and other findings, said on Wednesday it would make booster doses available to all Americans beginning in September. 

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China allows couples third child amid demographic crisis

The shift to the two-child rule led to a temporary bump in the numbers of births but its effects soon wore off and total births continued to fall because many women continued to decide against starting families. Japan, Germany, and some other wealthy countries face the same challenge of having fewer workers to support aging populations. However, they can draw on investments in factories, technology, and foreign assets, while China is a middle-income country with labor-intensive farming and manufacturing.

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Has global automobile market revived? ​​​​​​​

By market, India market showed the largest increase of 95.2 per cent year-on-year. It was followed by Russia (38.2 per cent |), the US (29.3 per cent |), China (27.5 per cent |), Europe (27.1 per cent |), Brazil (26.3 per cent |), and Mexico (18.1 per cent |). Compared to the first half of 2019 before COVID-19, India (1.5 per cent |) and Russia (6.0 per cent |) showed positive growth rate. The U.S. (1.3 per cent |) and China (1.1 per cent |) also showed similar level before COVID-19. However, Brazil (24.6 per cent |), Europe (23.0 per cent |), and Mexico (19.6 per cent |) showed relatively slow recovery.

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ANALYSIS-Climate science struggles with ‘blind spots’ in developing nations

Only 35% of the authors working on the sixth assessment report – the current series that will culminate in a synthesis due to be finalized in September next year – hail from developing countries, according to a study published in the MDPI journal Climate, up from 31% for the fifth assessment report. Huq said that during his time working on the third and fourth IPCC assessment reports, published in 2001 and 2007, the number of scientists’ nationalities increased – but countries in the Global South were represented by just one or two authors.

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Japanese crypto exchange hit by estimated $94 mln hack

London-based blockchain analysis firm Elliptic said digital addresses identified by Liquid as belonging to the thief had totalled over $94 million , including $45 million in tokens connected to the Ethereum blockchain.

The hacker or hackers is converting these tokens to the ether cryptocurrency via so-called decentralised – peer-to-peer – exchanges, Elliptic said, adding that it was aiding Liquid in tracking the stolen funds.

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