Nearly 30 generic drugmakers in Asia, Africa and the Middle East will make cheap versions of Merck & Co’s (MRK.N) COVID-19 pill, under a landmark U.N.-backed deal to give poorer nations wider access to a drug seen as a weapon in fighting the pandemic. Merck’s early greenlight to the production of its anti-viral pill molnupiravir Read More…
The transition to clean energy required to prevent temperatures from rising swiftly could shave 2% off global GDP by 2050 but is likely recoverable before the end of the century, a report by natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Thursday. While investments in technologies like solar and wind farms, advanced batteries will generate jobs, Read More…
Britain’s government will cut the BBC’s funding by ordering a two-year freeze on the fee that people pay to watch the broadcaster, the Mail on Sunday reported. The future of the licence-payer funded British Broadcasting Corporation is a perpetual topic of political debate, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government most recently suggesting its funding needs Read More…
Thousands of people demonstrated in the Malian capital Bamako on Friday against sanctions imposed by neighbouring countries on the transitional military government for trying to extend its hold on power. People poured into Independence Square, holding up signs saying “Down with ECOWAS” and “Down with France”, to protest restrictions imposed by the Economic Community of Read More…
A third of the 350 companies most exposed to commodities such as palm oil, beef and timber have no policies to ensure their products are not fuelling deforestation, a report by NGO Global Canopy showed on Thursday. Protecting the world’s forests is central to efforts to limit man-made global warming by mid-century, and at the Read More…
In picture above: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg , Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko and Russian Deputy Defence Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin are seen during NATO-Russia Council at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium January 12, 2022. Olivier Hoslet/Pool via REUTERS Poland’s foreign minister said on Read More…
A pan-African payment platform was inaugurated on Thursday by the trio of the African Union, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat. Known as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), it is a cross-border, financial market platform that enables payment transactions across Africa. It is hoped that it Read More…
After weeks of dithering, Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised on Wednesday for attending a “bring your own booze” gathering at his official residence during Britain’s first coronavirus lockdown. A senior figure in his party and opponents said he should resign. Johnson admitted for the first time that he had attended the party at 10 Downing Read More…
The year 2021 has passed as the world’s fifth hottest on record, with levels of planet-warming carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere hitting new highs, European Union scientists said. In a report issued on Monday, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said that the last seven years were the world’s warmest “by a Read More…
An Imperial College London study published on Monday suggests that high levels of T-cells from common cold coronaviruses can provide protection against COVID-19. The study said that this could inform approaches for second-generation vaccines. Immunity against COVID-19 is a complex picture, and while there is evidence of waning antibody levels six months after vaccination, T-cells Read More…