Category:

Life

Latest

Delta variant forces new lockdowns across world as Europe eases curbs

Bangladesh announced that it would impose a new national lockdown from Monday over the variant, with offices shut for a week and only medical-related transport allowed. Sydney’s normally bustling harbourside centre was nearly deserted after people were ordered to stay home except for essential trips.

New Zealand, citing “multiple outbreaks” in Australia, announced a three-day suspension of its quarantine-free travel arrangement with its larger neighbour.

read more

Oz, Israel were Covid success stories till Delta strain struck

In Australia, around a million people in four eastern and central Sydney neighbourhoods, which include Bondi Beach, were ordered to stay home for at least a week as total infections in an outbreak connected to the Delta variant topped 60. The lockdown is a shock for a population that had returned to relative normality after months of recording few cases.

Israel, which has prided itself on having one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns, has seen infections surge since dropping a requirement to wear masks in enclosed public places 10 days ago.

read more

Third wave of coronavirus unlikely to be as severe as second wave: ICMR Study

Presenting a vaccine ramp-up scenario where 40 percent of the population has received two doses within three months of the second wave peak, and further that the effect of vaccination is (conservatively) to reduce severity of infection by 60 percent, the study said it illustrates how vaccination could substantially reduce the overall burden during the possible third wave.

read more

Explainer: Climate change and financial disclosure – what’s at stake?

Global regulators are working towards creating a common set of guidelines for assessing climate-related financial risks.

The Financial Stability Board, an international body that monitors the global financial system, created the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which released in 2017 recommendations on climate risk disclosure.

A network of central banks also released climate-change scenarios and guides for measuring risks, while the U.N. Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) last year published methods insurers can use to disclose climate risks.

read more