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International News

WTO mulling intellectual property waivers for vaccines

The argument, part of a long-running debate about intellectual property protections, centers on lifting patents, copyrights, and protections for industrial design and confidential information to help expand the production and deployment of vaccines during supply shortages. The aim is to suspend the rules for several years, just long enough to beat down the pandemic.
The issue has become more pressing with a surge in cases in India, the world’s second-most populous country and a key producer of vaccines, including one for Covid-19 that relies on technology from Oxford University and British-Swedish pharmaceutical maker AstraZeneca.

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Debris from China space rocket likely to fall in international waters -Global Times

“All debris can be potential threats to spaceflight safety and the space domain,” the Pentagon said, adding that the 18th Space Control Squadron in California would be offering daily updates on the rocket body’s location from May 4. The White House said the United States was committed to addressing the risks of congestion due to space debris and wants to work with the international community “to promote leadership and responsible space behaviors.”

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Pfizer lifts sales forecast for coronavirus vaccine to $26 billion

The raised goal assumes 1.6 billion doses of vaccine, which is co-developed with BioNTech SE, will be delivered in the year, with the two-shot vaccine emerging as the best-selling product for the U.S. drugmaker in the first quarter.
“Based on what we’ve seen, we believe that a durable demand for our COVID-19 vaccine – similar to that of the flu vaccines – is a likely outcome,” Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in his prepared remarks.

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A City Tailor-Made for Self-Driving Cars? Toyota Is Building One 

E-palettes will run through the city using autonomous vehicle lanes, providing shared transportation, delivering packages and acting as mobile storefronts.

Beyond futuristic mobility options, the city will also feature smart homes that take out trash and restock refrigerators automatically, according to Toyota. The entire ecosystem will also be powered by hydrogen. It’s a big and ambitious bet for the automaker — although no investment figures have been disclosed, costs are likely to run upwards of a billion dollars. To help fund the project,
Toyota said last month it would sell as much as 500 billion yen ($4.6 billion) in “Woven Planet Bonds,” the biggest such issue at the time to be used in part for the new city.

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Blocking Google class action would deny justice, UK court told

The case has been called “ground-breaking” and “hugely significant” by lawyers, who say it will trigger copycat claims if businesses are not fair or transparent when harvesting and using troves of personal data for commercial gain.

Claims against Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and hotels operator Marriott are among those awaiting the Supreme Court judgment.

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