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International News

AstraZeneca vaccine faces resistance in Europe after health workers suffer side-effects

“AstraZeneca caused more side-effects than the Pfizer vaccine,” said Melanie Cotigny, communications manager at Saint-Lo hospital in Normandy.

“Between 10% and 15% of those vaccinated may have side-effects from this vaccination, but it is only a feverish state, fevers, nausea and within 12 hours it goes away.”

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EU sues more countries over air pollution, nature and water

If found guilty, Slovakia would join a list of nine EU states that the bloc’s top court has found guilty of illegal air pollution, including Romania, Italy and Sweden. Failure to heed the rules could see those countries face further legal action from the EU to impose financial penalties.

Particulate matter is produced by industry, vehicle emissions and home heating, as well as some agriculture, and is associated with cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer.

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Boeing warns pilots in wake of deadly Indonesian 737 crash

In the bulletin, the company lists various causes that can trigger a loss of control, which include malfunctions and incorrect actions by pilots. Preventing such concurrences “involves the active participation of both pilots,” it said.

“Active monitoring skills are essential to facilitate early detection of conditions that can lead to an airplane upset,” the company said. An upset occurs when a plane flies too slowly or banks, climbs or descends too steeply.

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Bitcoin nears $1 trillion market value as crypto jump tops stocks, gold

This month, Tesla Inc. disclosed a $1.5 billion investment and MicroStrategy Inc. boosted a sale of convertible bonds to $900 million to buy even more of the token. That brought the coin closer to corporate America.

“If companies’ fundamentals are going to become closely tied to movements in Bitcoin because they’ve suddenly become speculators on the side, we’re going to be in bubble territory before you know it,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst with Oanda Europe Ltd.

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Swiss Re records larger-than-expected annual loss,eyes 2021 recovery from pandemic fallout

Swiss Re and its competitors have faced large claims from the pandemic, such as those for cancelled events, as well losses from hurricanes and wildfires in the United States.

“We are confident in the outlook for 2021 with COVID-19 losses mostly behind us,” Chief Executive Christian Mumenthaler said, adding the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines provided hope.

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U.K. to set up Green Finance hubs to support banks and insurers to invest in renewables

The goal is to “equip banks with the latest environmental and scientific intelligence to help companies of all sizes,” according to the statement. Researchers will aim to create products and services that help tackle climate change and its effects, including tools to measure storm and flood-risks.

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