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International News

Virus resurges in Africa, doctors fear the worst is yet to come

The reported toll of the pandemic on the continent — 2.6 million cases and 61,000 deaths, according to the Africa C.D.C. — is lower than what the United States alone currently experiences in three weeks.
“It is possible and very likely that the rate of exposure is much more than what has been reported,” Dr. Nkengasong said in an interview.Now, as they battle new outbreaks, doctors are convinced that deaths have also gone uncounted. Dr. John Black, the only infectious-disease specialist for adults in Port Elizabeth, said he and other physicians feared that many people were dying at home.

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Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine causing more allergic reactions than expected

On Monday, a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases official said the US is looking at why some people have suffered severe allergic reactions shortly after Alkis Togias, chief of the NIAID’s Allergy, Asthma, and Airway Biology Branch, told CNBC that “several hundred people” who have a history of severe allergic reactions will be involved in a study.

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Japan aims to eliminate gasoline vehicles by mid-2030s, boost green growth

The “green growth strategy,” targeting the hydrogen and auto industries, is meant as an action plan to achieve Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s October pledge to eliminate carbon emissions on a net basis by mid-century.
The government will offer tax incentives and other financial support to companies, targeting 90 trillion yen ($870 billion) a year in additional economic growth through green investment and sales by 2030 and 190 trillion yen ($1.8 trillion) by 2050.

A 2 trillion yen green fund will support corporate investment in green technology.

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China to leapfrog U.S. as world’s biggest economy by 2028: think tank

“The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding economic fallout have certainly tipped this rivalry in China’s favour.”
Japan would remain the world’s third-biggest economy, in dollar terms, until the early 2030s when it would be overtaken by India, pushing Germany down from fourth to fifth.

The United Kingdom, currently the fifth-biggest economy by the CEBR’s measure, would slip to sixth place from 2024.

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US doctor has severe allergic reaction to Moderna vaccine, says report

A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official said last week that the US drug regulator is investigating around five allergic reactions that occurred after people were administered Pfizer and BioNTech SE’s coronavirus vaccine in America.

Meanwhile, amid the new coronavirus strain scare, Moderna has said that it expects the immunity induced by its Covid-19 vaccine would be protective against the variant reported in the UK.

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EU trade deal brings little progress for UK’s giant financial sector

The City of London finance hub secured no special treatment, leaving it on a par with arch rival New York 3,500 miles away as the EU seeks to reduce reliance on UK financial services.
Brussels has only granted financial market access, known as “equivalence”, for two financial activities from Jan. 1, when Britain will have left the EU’s single market.

The Bank of England has said there could be disruption in markets if no further access is allowed.

Just minutes after Britain and the EU hailed their agreement on trade, the bloc’s executive said it wanted a “series of further clarifications” on how Britain will diverge from EU rules after Dec. 31.

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Another new coronavirus variant found in Nigeria, says Africa CDC

The news comes after Britain and South Africa both reported new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that appear to be more contagious, leading to new travel restrictions and turmoil in markets.

“It’s a separate lineage from the UK and the South African lineages,” John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told an online news conference from Addis Ababa.

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China launches antitrust probe into tech giant Alibaba

It follows China’s dramatic suspension last month of Ant’s planned $37 billion initial public offering, which had been on track to be the world’s largest, just two days before shares were due to begin trading in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

In a strongly worded editorial, the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily said that if “monopoly is tolerated, and companies are allowed to expand in a disorderly and barbarian manner, the industry won’t develop in a healthy, and sustainable way”.

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