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Archive

World

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Hungary to extend AstraZeneca jabs to people over 60
Europe

Hungary to extend AstraZeneca jabs to people over 60

  • A week ago, Hungary became the first European Union member to start inoculating people with China's Sinopharm vaccine after rolling out Russia's Sputnik V vaccine as well, even though neither has been granted approval for emergency use by the bloc.
  • A new change is that it (AstraZeneca jab) can be given to everyone above the age of 18 without any age limit. There has been sufficient data that proves its efficacy also for older people.
Published 03 Mar, 2021 08:52pm
Euro zone inflation could exceed forecasts this year: De Guindos
Europe

Euro zone inflation could exceed forecasts this year: De Guindos

  • Growth on the other hand could fall short of projections in the first quarter due to widespread pandemic-related restrictions, even if full-year activity is still seen in line with the bank's 3.9% projection made in December, de Guindos said in a webinar with investment bank Berenberg.
Updated 03 Mar, 2021 08:45pm
Powerful earthquake shakes central Greece, no casualties
Europe

Powerful earthquake shakes central Greece, no casualties

  • "I have never experienced anything like this before, I immediately left the house," a citizen in Larissa region, in central Greece, told ERT state television.
  • The USGS said the magnitude was 6.3, while the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) put it 6.2, revising earlier reports that suggested the tremor was as much as 6.9.
Published 03 Mar, 2021 08:03pm
France eyes possible easing of COVID restrictions from mid-April
Europe

France eyes possible easing of COVID restrictions from mid-April

  • "We will still face hard times, it is true, but for the first time in months, the return to more normal living conditions is in sight," Attal told reporters following a meeting of the French cabinet.
  • "It is neither a distant nor uncertain horizon - it is an horizon that is getting closer and closer. We hope maybe from mid-April, and we are preparing for it," he said.
Published 03 Mar, 2021 07:46pm
Moody's sees no fast improvement to UK budget position
Europe

Moody's sees no fast improvement to UK budget position

  • "As expected at this stage of the crisis, the budget statement provides only limited visibility on the government's medium-term fiscal strategy," Moody's lead sovereign analyst for the UK, Evan Wohlmann, said.
  • "That said, the statement confirms our view that the broad deterioration in the UK's fiscal position stemming from the pandemic will not be rapidly reversed," he added.
Published 03 Mar, 2021 07:38pm
Jobless aid, direct checks in play as US Senate nears vote on COVID-19 aid bill
USA

Jobless aid, direct checks in play as US Senate nears vote on COVID-19 aid bill

  • The bill would pay for vaccines and medical supplies, boost jobless assistance and send a new round of emergency financial aid to households, small businesses and state and local governments.
  • Before the legislation comes to a final vote, Democrats will have to sort out a welter of competing ideas as they seek to advance the bill.
Published 03 Mar, 2021 07:36pm
Tax hikes blur UK's Sunak ‘whatever it takes’ budget
Europe

Tax hikes blur UK's Sunak ‘whatever it takes’ budget

  • The corporate tax increase in 2023 will derail some of those expectations. The UK economy is expected to have explosive growth in 2022, but then quickly return to trend in 2023 at 1.7%, which is when the economy will face higher taxes."
  • "The positive impact the spending pledges has on growth has been somewhat offset by concerns of fiscal consolidation later down the line.
Published 03 Mar, 2021 07:34pm
Namibia moves to curb mining speculators, boost local ownership
Africa

Namibia moves to curb mining speculators, boost local ownership

  • Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo told Reuters that effective April 1, Namibian mining exploration license holders will be required by law to retain at least a 15% stake.
  • The ministerial decree is the latest attempt by the world's fourth-largest uranium producer to boost local participation in mining, a key contributor to the economy.
Published 03 Mar, 2021 07:25pm
US mortgage rates jump by most in nearly a year
USA

US mortgage rates jump by most in nearly a year

  • The contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the most popular US home loan, rose by 0.15 percentage point to 3.23% in the week ended Feb. 26.
  • The MBA said its weekly index of mortgage applications rose 0.5% to 794.5, its first increase in four weeks.
Published 03 Mar, 2021 07:13pm
UK says planning to allow more time for post-Brexit N.Ireland adjustment
Europe

UK says planning to allow more time for post-Brexit N.Ireland adjustment

  • After leaving the EU last year, Britain agreed a free trade deal with the bloc to leave its single market and customs union, which came into force at the beginning of this year.
  • Britain and the EU have been in talks to try to solve the issues, which some Northern Irish lawmakers say threaten to cut the British province off from the rest of the United Kingdom.
Published 03 Mar, 2021 06:20pm
UK PM Johnson: nothing is off the table in NI protocol talks
Europe

UK PM Johnson: nothing is off the table in NI protocol talks

  • The position of Northern Ireland within the UK internal market is rock solid and guaranteed. We are making sure that we underscore that with some temporary operational easings in order to protect the market in some areas, such as food supplies, pending further discussions with the EU.
Published 03 Mar, 2021 06:14pm
Brazil GDP down 4.1pc in 2020, less than forecast
USA

Brazil GDP down 4.1pc in 2020, less than forecast

  • Latin America's largest economy grew by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to official statistics agency IBGE, more than the 2.8% median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists.
  • The 3.2% expansion in the fourth quarter was led by 2.7% growth in services, 3.4% expansion in household consumption, and a 20% surge in fixed business investment, IBGE said.
Published 03 Mar, 2021 06:04pm
Pakistan offers military training to Qatari armed forces
Middle East

Pakistan offers military training to Qatari armed forces

  • Pakistan's Federal Minister for Defense Production Zobaida Jalal, has offered military training to the Qatari Armed Forces, adding that her country's military institutions were open to soldiers belonging to the Arab state.
  • Last month, the two countries signed a 10-year Liquefied Natural Gas supply contract at the “lowest-ever publicly disclosed price under a long-term contract in the world.”
Updated 03 Mar, 2021 02:59pm
U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee approves Burns to lead CIA
USA

U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee approves Burns to lead CIA

  • Warner said he hoped the full Senate “will move to confirm Ambassador Burns without any unnecessary delay.”
  • “After meeting with Ambassador Burns, I believe he understands the nature of the Chinese threat and the others facing our nation,” the committee’s top Republican, Senator Marco Rubio, said in a statement.
Published 03 Mar, 2021 02:27pm