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Swiss Re Foundation aims to boost health and environmental innovations through Shine Southeast Asia
The programme which seeks to boost innovation in critical impact...
ECB warns of stability risks from global elections, geopolitics
Global dangers have only increased since Russia invaded Ukraine on...
Harsh Vardhan hits out at Maharashtra, accuses it of trying to cover “failures” by spreading panic on vaccines
In a strong statement, he said, “It is shocking to see how the state Government is putting Maharashtrians in danger by letting people escape institutional quarantine mandate for the sake of their personal Vasuli.
“Overall, as the state has lurched from one crisis to another, it seems as if the state leadership is happily sleeping at the wheels.”
Britain recommends non-AstraZeneca vaccine alternative to under-30s
Wei Shen Lim, COVID-19 Chair for JCVI, said that based on the available data and evidence, the committee has advised that it is preferable for adults aged under 30 with no underlying conditions to be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine where available.
Suez Canal must upgrade to avoid future Shipping disruption
Shipping industry sources said specialist equipment and associated procedures have long struggled to keep up with the ever increasing size of commercial vessels.
“The average size of most vessels has increased exponentially over the last 15 years. The ability to salvage these bigger ships has not,” said Peter Townsend, a marine insurance industry veteran.
“The issue is getting containers off essentially a 20-story high building at sea.”
Global Covid toll crosses 3m amid infection resurgence
“Indeed there is a very serious situation going on in Brazil right now, where we have a number of states in critical condition,” WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove told a briefing last Thursday, adding that many hospital intensive care units are more than 90% full.
India reported a record rise in Covid-19 infections on Monday, becoming the second nation after the United States to post more than 100,000 new cases in a day.
Volcanoes and hurricanes become destinations for ethical money
“Reliable contingency financing for disasters is a very important tool for society,” said Joanna Syroka, senior underwriter and director of new markets at Fermat Capital Management in London. “We’ve seen an increase in inquiries from end-investors who want to understand what ESG means in insurance-linked securities over the past year.”
UK’s Boris Johnson launches mass testing programme as economy reopens
Johnson, who is expected to confirm plans to relaunch international travel and open sections of the economy later on Monday, said the new mass testing programme would break the chain of transmissions and spot cases without symptoms
Vaccine passports are also being trial led for mass events.
Under the current plan international travel will not resume until May 17 at the earliest.
U.S. puts J&J in charge of plant that botched COVID vaccine, removes AstraZeneca
The development, first reported by the New York Times, further hampers AstraZeneca’s efforts in the United States. The government has criticized the drugmaker for using outdated data in the results of its vaccine trial. It later revised its study.
Facebook admits leaked data on 533 million users back online for free
The leak includes personal information on 533 million Facebook users, such as phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birth dates, bios and in some cases email addresses, Business Insider reported.
At the time, the company addressed a flaw in its technology that allowed the information to leak out. However, once such data escapes from Facebook’s network, the company has limited power to stop it from spreading online.
World economy risks ‘dangerously diverging’ even as growth booms
For the year as whole, Bloomberg Economics forecasts growth of 6.9%, the quickest in records dating back to the 1960s. Behind the buoyant outlook: a shrinking virus threat, expanding US stimulus, and trillions of dollars in pent-up savings.
Much will depend on how fast countries can inoculate their populations with the risk that the longer it takes the greater the chance the virus remains an international threat especially if new variants develop. Bloomberg’s Vaccine Tracker shows while the US has administered doses equivalent to almost a quarter of its people, the European Union has yet to hit 10% and rates in Mexico, Russia and Brazil are less than 6%.
Global Covid-19 caseload tops 130mn mark
In its latest update on Saturday morning, the University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 130,114,348 and 2,836,446, respectively.
The US is the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 30,606,649 and 554,069, respectively, according to the CSSE.