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Red Sea, Black Sea and Panama Canal: UNCTAD raises alarm on global trade disruptions
The Suez Canal, a critical waterway connecting the Mediterranean...
Germany is launching a six-month trial of 4-day work week from Feb 1
A six-month programme starting from Feb 1 will grant a day off...
Insurance losses from U.S. West Coast wildfires to top $8 billion:: Aon
Insurance and reinsurance industry losses from wildfires across U.S. states, including California, Oregon and Colorado, were estimated to be more than $8 billion, according to a monthly report on global catastrophes by Aon Plc. Economic losses from the fires...
Job creation,IT Relief and Rs 900 cr grant for COVID-19 vaccine research In Stimulus 3.0
Employees contribution (12 per cent of wages) and employer’s contribution (12 per cent of wages) totalling 24 per cent of wages would be given to establishments for two years, she said.
Under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana, every Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) registered establishment taking new employees would get this subsidy.
Japan suicides rise as economic impact of coronavirus hits home
According to preliminary police data, the total number of suicides for October was 2,153, an increase of more than 300 from the previous month and the highest monthly tally since May 2015.
Of October’s cases, 851 were women, a rise of 82.6% over the same month in 2019. The number of suicides by men rose 21.3%.
Cases of suicide had been falling steadily until July but then the economic impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak hit home and the numbers started rising, activists say.
Climate finance neglects small-scale farmers – new report
Small-scale farmers currently produce 50 percent of the world’s food calories. However, higher temperatures – together with increased incidences of drought and flooding – destroy crops and livestock and make it difficult for them to continue to feed their communities and earn a living.
“It is unacceptable that the people who produce much of the world’s food, and who are at the greatest mercy of increasingly unpredictable weather, receive the least support. Small-scale farmers living on marginal lands are on the frontline of climate change and should have access to the climate finance they need to adapt their production,”said Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD..
Global insurance markets set to rebound with China leading recovery, says Swiss Re
Global insurance premiums expected to grow by 3.4% in real terms in 2021, after contracting an estimated 1.4% in 2020
China will lead recovery with premiums up by an estimated 10% in non-life next year, and by 8.5% in life
Insurance recovery supported by heightened risk awareness driving demand and continued strong rate hardening
Amid uncertainty of how the COVID-19 crisis will evolve, and the risk of trade war and a credit crisis, public policy should focus on sustainable infrastructure development and inclusive growth
Global insurance markets set to rebound with China leading recovery, says Swiss Re Institute
Pfizer vaccine trial success signals breakthrough in pandemic battle
“Today is a great day for science and humanity,” said Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla, noting the data milestone comes with “infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen.”
Russia says its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is 92% effective
Alexander Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya Institute which developed the vaccine, said the interim results demonstrated that Sputnik V was effective and mass vaccinations would be rolled out in Russia in the coming weeks.
Nepal COVID-19 cases cross 200,000 amid fears of health catastrophe
“The government is not prepared to handle the catastrophic situation. There are no community based isolation centres and ICU beds are limited,” said Aayas Luintel, a doctor who has been treating coronavirus patients in Patan Hospital near Kathmandu.
Santa Kumar Das, of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, in Kathmandu, said medics were seeing more severe cases of community transmission after relatively mild cases from outside previously.
Pandemic to deliver $12 trillion hit to global output – Swiss Re
“Overall the insurance industry has handled this well because it entered the crisis with lots of capital. So it knew about the risk,” Chief Executive Christian Mumenthaler told a Bloomberg financial conference.
Many market players hedged early, he said, figuring the COVID-19 respiratory disease would spread around the world after first being identified in Wuhan, China, late last year.
“And then the overall loss as we can see it now – between $50 billion and $80 billion – is manageable for the insurance industry. You compare that to more than $140 billion in 2017 in terms of nat cat (natural disaster) losses,” he said.
Deep-freeze challenge makes Pfizer’s shot a vaccine for rich
The expense of deploying the Pfizer shot will likely heighten existing fears that wealthier nations will get the best vaccines first, despite a World Health Organization-backed effort called Covax that aims to raise $18 billion to purchase vaccines for poorer countries.
“The requirement for extremely cold temperatures is likely to cause spoilage of a lot of vaccine,” said Michael Kinch, a vaccine specialist at Washington University in St. Louis.