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International News

Digital health in spotlight as pandemic shifts tech show focus

“One of the big problems is the lack of ability to examine patients remotely,” said Samir Qamar, a family physician and founder of MedWand told AFP.

Companies have been developing remote tools that can be used at home, including stethoscopes, otoscopes, heart and blood pressure monitors, but need to show they are highly accurate in order to gain regulatory approval, Qamar noted.

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WhatsApp updates terms as moves to monetize app

Facebook aims to monetise WhatsApp by allowing businesses to contact their clients via the platform, even sell them products directly using the service as they already do in India.”Privacy policy and terms updates are common in the industry and we’re providing users with ample notice to review the changes, which go into effect on February 8th,” a Facebook spokesperson said.
Federal and state regulators in US have accused Facebook of using its acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram to squelch competition and filed antitrust lawsuits last month that aim to force the company to divest them.

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A year after first death in China, Coronavirus source still a puzzle and may remain one forever

Establishing the source is vital for extinguishing future outbreaks early, leading virologists say, providing clues that can guide policy decisions on whether to cull animal populations, quarantine affected persons, or limit wildlife hunting and other human-animal interactions.

“If we can identify why they (viruses) keep emerging, we can reduce those underlying drivers,” said Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, a global NGO focused on infectious disease prevention.

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European hunt for assets for Chinese assets in insurance, healthcare and automobile sector

“These are the major growth areas with massive amounts of investments. EU companies are pretty keen to get a piece of the action,” said Alan Wang, Partner at law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
“The EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) will certainly facilitate the FDI, including M&A, by EU investors into China,” said Cherrie Shi, a senior counsel at law firm FenXun Partners, Baker McKenzie’s Joint Operation partner.
Total M&A value of EU companies into China amounted to $71 billion for the past three decades, much lower than the $117 billion recorded over the same period from American companies, data from Refinitiv showed.

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