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International News

Global sustainable debt issuance will crack $1 trillion mark in 2021 -IIF

With corporations and financial institutions under growing pressure from investors to up their environment, social and governance (ESG) game, the issuance of bonds to raise money for climate-related or social projects, or linked to sustainability targets, is an increasingly popular option.

Sustainable debt sales more than doubled year-on-year in the first half of 2021 to over $680 billion, closing in on the $700 billion issued during the whole of last year.

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China’s first human infection case with Monkey B virus dies: Report

The 53-year-old male vet, who worked for an institution researching on non-human primates, showed early-onset symptoms of nausea and vomiting, a month after he dissected two dead monkeys in early March, the state-run Global Times reported on Saturday, citing English Platform of Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
It said that there were no fatal or even clinically evident BV infections in China before, thus the vet’s case marks the first human infection case with BV identified in China.

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As floods hit western Europe, scientists say climate change hikes heavy rain

In general the rising average global temperature – now about 1.2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average – makes heavy rainfall more likely, according to scientists.
The floods follow just weeks after a record-breaking heatwave killed hundreds of people in Canada and the United States. Scientists have since said that extreme heat would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change, which had made such an event 150 times more likely to occur. 

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Facebook, others ‘killing people’ by carrying COVID misinformation, says Biden

US President’s comments came a day after US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared misinformation about the vaccines a threat to public health, and as US officials advised that deaths and serious illness from the virus are almost entirely preventable because of the vaccines.

Biden, asked if he had a message for platforms like Facebook where false or misleading information about the coronavirus vaccines has spread, told reporters, They’re killing people.

The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated,” he said.

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World leaders pledge to redouble pandemic fight at special APEC meeting

“The pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on our region’s people and economies,” the leaders said in a joint statement issued after a virtual meeting chaired by New Zealand.

“We will only overcome this health emergency by accelerating equitable access to safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable COVID-19 vaccines,” they said.There have been over 50 million cases of COVID-19 within APEC’s borders, with over 1 million deaths. APEC-wide GDP contracted by 1.9% in 2020.

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After COVID revenue collapse, Canadian municipalities face insurance premium spike

Cities need insurance to protect against claims in the event of accidents on municipal properties or roads, and to deal with risks including cyber attacks and natural disasters – so forgoing coverage is not an option.
Accident-related lawsuits against cities and settlements have risen alongside cyber attacks and natural disasters, both domestically and globally, even as bond yields have slid, resulting in more stringent underwriting standards and higher premiums around the world.

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