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International News

239 scientists from 34 countries claim coronavirus now airborne

The World Health Organisation has long held that the coronavirus is spread primarily by large respiratory droplets that, once expelled by infected people in coughs and sneezes, fall quickly to the floor.

But in an open letter to the WHO, 239 scientists in 32 countries have outlined the evidence showing that smaller particles can infect people and are calling for the agency to revise its recommendations.

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Germany is first major economy to phase out coal and nuclear power

The plan is part of Germany’s ‘energy transition’ – an effort to wean Europe’s biggest economy off planet-warming fossil fuels and generate all of the country’s considerable energy needs from renewable sources.

Achieving that goal is made harder than in comparable countries such as France and Britain because of Germany’s existing commitment to also phase out nuclear power by the end of 2022.

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GIC Re unveils strategies to overhaul its financials and ratings,domestic exposure to Covid-19 claims extremely limited

“We have already addressed the the key issues within our control of profitability and portfolio size We have taken further action to strengthen our balance sheet by increasing our outwards reinsurance purchases on the domestic portfolio by 37.5 percent, growing in size from USD 2.1 billion for 2019-20 to USD 2.7 Bn for 2020-21, using high credit quality retro-cession counter parties,”said GIC Re

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At least 126 killed as Myanmar jade mine collapse buries workers

“There’s no hope for the families to get compensation as they were freelance miners.”

The government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi pledged to clean up the industry when it took power in 2016, but activists say little has changed.
Official sales of jade in Myanmar were worth 671 million euros ($750 million) in 2016-17, according to data published by the government as part of an Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

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Big South African insurers face $232 million in claims from 500 virus-hit firms

Loss adjustment firm Insurance Claims Africa (ICA) is pushing a host of big South African insurers including Santam , Old Mutual, Hollard and HIC Underwriting Managers to make payouts under business interruption policies sold to its clients.They are firms in the hospitality and tourism industry now on the cusp of closure after virus restrictions brought their businesses to a standstill.

Ryan Woolley, ICA CEO, told journalists on Wednesday that its calculations showed the claims by the firms ICA is representing amounted to between 3.5 billion rand and 4 billion rand, though it had offered the relevant insurers reduced amounts to settle the matter.

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Facebook,YouTube,Twitter to face same EU rules on hateful content as broadcasters

“Online players will have to ensure, in a similar way to traditional media players,that users are protected against hate speech and that minors are protected from harmful content,” the Commission said.

“Online platforms must take action against flagged content, which incites violence, hatred and terrorism, and ensure appropriate advertising and product placement in children’s programmes,” it said.

The non-binding guidelines apply to social platforms where audiovisual content is seen as an essential but not principal part of their business. EU countries, which have until Sept. 19 to implement the rules, will have the final say on the list of companies.

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