More than 30 deaths worldwide, including 26 U.S. deaths, and...
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Musk’s Neuralink implants brain chip in first human
Elon Musk ``Neuralink’s first product would be called Telepathy. It...
Italian regulator notifies OpenAI about violating Europe’s privacy laws
Confirmed breaches of the pan-EU regime can attract fines of up to...
Tsunami-hit reactor in northeast Japan gets final approval to restart
Onagawa was the closest among Japan’s nuclear stations to the epicentre of the magnitude-9 quake in March 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people as well as causing the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.
The station was swamped by the tsunami, but survived with its cooling system intact, saving its reactors from the threat of meltdowns similar to those that occurred at Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima Daiichi station to the south.
Europe ‘must grit teeth’ on COVID-19 as vaccine euphoria fades
As the euphoria that followed Pfizer’s announcement faded, European shares slipped back from their eight-month highs, with poor economic data from Britain adding to doubts about the rebound from the brutal slump caused by the first lockdowns.Its economy lost steam in September, hardening expectations that it will shrink again as 2020 ends.
Britain passed 50,000 COVID-19 deaths this week, and the 33,470 new cases registered on Thursday were its highest daily tally to date.
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Swiss financial market supervisor sees pandemic’s strain lasting
Banks — especially Switzerland’s two big banks, UBS and Credit Suisse — were exposed to heightened risks of debtor bankruptcies and writedowns on loans to corporate clients outside Switzerland, which has experienced a less pronounced downturn than many other countries
Willis Towers Watson acquires Acclimatise, to strengthen climate resilience leadership
John Firth, CEO and Co-Founder of Acclimatise, said, “Climate change risk is fast becoming a central part of government, corporate and financial decision making and planning. Meeting growing client demand will require increasingly sophisticated approaches to climate risk assessment and management.”
North Korean, Russian hackers target COVID-19 researchers: Microsoft
The software company said a Russian hacking group commonly nicknamed “Fancy Bear” – along with a pair of North Korean actors dubbed “Zinc” and “Cerium” by Microsoft – were implicated in recent attempts to break into the networks of seven pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers in Canada, France, India, South Korea, and the United States.
Vaccine alliance secures $2 billion to fund COVID shots for poor nations
The European Commission, France, Spain, South Korea, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others had in recent weeks pledged another $360 million to the AMC, the alliance said, bringing total funding over the $2 billion target for this year.
Another $5 billion will be needed in 2021 to procure COVID-19 vaccine doses as they come through development and are approved by regulators, GAVI said in a statement.
Philippines hunts for missing after its deadliest typhoon this year
Vamco, the 21st and most deadly cyclone to hit the country this year, tore through the main island of Luzon late on Wednesday and early Thursday, just as the country was reeling from Goni, the world’s strongest typhoon of 2020, which killed 25 people and flattened thousands of homes.
Tens of thousands of homes were engulfed by the floods and as the water receded in areas such as Marikina, a suburb east of Manila, homes covered in debris and caked in mud emerged.
Asia-Pacific closes in on world’s biggest trade deal
RCEP includes China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.
One of the deal’s biggest draws is that its members already have various bilateral or multilateral agreements in place, so RCEP builds on those foundations.
It will allow for one set of rules of origin to qualify for tariffs reduction with other RCEP members. A common set of regulations mean less procedures and easier movement of goods.
This encourages multinational firms to invest more in the region, including building supply chains and distribution hubs.
Parents say employers are illegally firing them during Pandemic
Parents who’ve lost their jobs during the pandemic are driving a surge of litigation, alleging their employers discriminated against them for taking care of their kids when schools closed. Since March, working parents have filed at least 40 lawsuits...
India’s Serum says produced 40 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
Serum said it has enrolled 1,600 participants in India for late-stage trials of AstraZeneca’s candidate, and also plans to seek regulatory approval to run late-stage trials for the Novavax vaccine.