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Archive

World

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Mexico to buy 22mn more doses of Chinese coronavirus vaccines
USA

Mexico to buy 22mn more doses of Chinese coronavirus vaccines

  • Ebrard said Mexico has put in an order for an additional 10 million doses of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine to be delivered between May and July, on top of the 10 million already ordered, which are due to arrive between March and May.
Published 09 Mar, 2021 09:13pm
Russia, China sign memorandum on lunar research station
Europe

Russia, China sign memorandum on lunar research station

  • "An international lunar science station is a complex of experimental and research facilities created on the surface and/or in orbit of the moon, designed to conduct multidisciplinary and multipurpose research work," it said.
  • Russia and China will promote international cooperation on the project and offer equal access to any nation that wants to take part, the agency said in a statement on its website.
Published 09 Mar, 2021 09:10pm
Greece to welcome vaccinated and COVID-negative tourists from May
Europe

Greece to welcome vaccinated and COVID-negative tourists from May

  • Tourism is a major income earner for Greece, which has led calls for an EU-wide vaccination certificate to help unlock travel.
  • The industry accounts for about a fifth of the Greek economy and employs one in five workers, but arrivals collapsed last year because of the pandemic.
Published 09 Mar, 2021 09:05pm
Developers of Russian Sputnik V vaccine doubt EU regulator's neutrality, want apology
Europe

Developers of Russian Sputnik V vaccine doubt EU regulator's neutrality, want apology

  • "We demand a public apology from EMA's Christa Wirthumer-Hoche for her negative comments..., (which) raise serious questions about possible political interference in the ongoing EMA review," the developers wrote on the official Sputnik V Twitter account.
  • Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Wirthumer-Hoche's statement regrettable and inappropriate.
Published 09 Mar, 2021 09:01pm
US House readies final vote on Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 package
USA

US House readies final vote on Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 package

  • "It's really just a matter of paperwork. But we are going to have a vote as soon as we can," Democratic Representative Katherine Clark, the assistant House speaker, told CNN.
  • The House was still awaiting the Senate version late on Monday. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that lawmakers would "take it up Wednesday morning at the latest."
Published 09 Mar, 2021 08:47pm
Spain's government approves 120mn euro aid for Duro Felguera
Europe

Spain's government approves 120mn euro aid for Duro Felguera

  • Duro Felguera, whose shares were up 2.3% on the day in afternoon trading, is the second Spanish company to benefit from the programme after the government approved a 475 million euro package for Air Europa late last year.
  • The government has earmarked a 10 billion-euro fund to potentially bail out companies in strategic sectors that are considered viable but are experiencing solvency problems due to the coronavirus.
Updated 09 Mar, 2021 09:34pm
India summons British envoy over ‘unwarranted’ criticism of farm protests
South Asia

India summons British envoy over ‘unwarranted’ criticism of farm protests

  • Three new agricultural laws introduced by India late last year have led to months of protests by farmers, angry at what they see as sops to large private buyers.
  • "He advised that British MPs should refrain from practising vote bank politics by misrepresenting events, especially in relation to another fellow democracy," it added, in an apparent reference to British lawmakers and voters of Indian descent.
Updated 09 Mar, 2021 09:33pm
Sudan launches vaccination roll-out for medical workers
Africa

Sudan launches vaccination roll-out for medical workers

  • Sudan became the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to benefit from COVAX facility vaccines when it received 828,000 doses of the AstraZeneca shot on March 3.
  • Sudan says it expects to receive the remainder of a total 3.4 million doses through COVAX, a vaccine-sharing programme co-led by the World Health Organization, in the second quarter of this year.
Published 09 Mar, 2021 08:02pm
Brazil services activity starts 2020 with surprisingly strong growth
USA

Brazil services activity starts 2020 with surprisingly strong growth

  • December's fall of 0.2% was revised up to unchanged, IBGE said, meaning the sector has not contracted on a monthly basis since May last year.
  • December's fall of 0.2% was revised up to unchanged, IBGE said, meaning the sector has not contracted on a monthly basis since May last year.
Updated 09 Mar, 2021 09:33pm
Mexico inflation quickens in February to highest since October
USA

Mexico inflation quickens in February to highest since October

  • Consumer prices rose by 3.76% in the year through February, beating the consensus forecast of a Reuters poll for a reading of 3.72%. Inflation, which stood at 3.54% a month earlier, quickened to its highest level since reaching 4.09% in October.
  • The Bank of Mexico targets a rate of 3% with a one percentage point tolerance threshold above and below that figure.
Updated 09 Mar, 2021 09:32pm
Israel, Cyprus agree framework for settling offshore gas dispute
Middle East

Israel, Cyprus agree framework for settling offshore gas dispute

  • Development of the Aphrodite gas field in Cypriot waters has been held up because a small part of it stretches into Israel's maritime zone and another gasfield there.
  • The framework will be set out in a joint letter which is being prepared. We are both very satisfied we are now at this point after nine years of discussion.
Updated 09 Mar, 2021 09:32pm
UN 'deeply worried' over Philippine killings, violent rhetoric
Europe

UN 'deeply worried' over Philippine killings, violent rhetoric

  • His government has said Sunday's killings were lawful and legitimate operations, but has promised a full investigation.
  • We are deeply worried that these latest killings indicate an escalation of violence, intimidation harassment and 'red tagging' of human rights defenders.
Updated 09 Mar, 2021 09:32pm
Denmark has basis to ease restrictions further, health minister says
Europe

Denmark has basis to ease restrictions further, health minister says

  • "The contact number is calculated at 1.0. That means that the epidemic in Denmark is not growing. Thus, we have the basis for further controlled reopening," Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter.
  • Heunicke also said the more contagious B.1.1.7. variant, first identified in Britain, was found in around 80% of all positive cases.
Updated 09 Mar, 2021 09:31pm
United Arab Emirates attracts corporate billions to climb tax-haven ranking
Middle East

United Arab Emirates attracts corporate billions to climb tax-haven ranking

  • The index by the Tax Justice Network, which documents countries that attract companies to shrink their tax bills, added the United Arab Emirates to its top-10 ranking, which includes Switzerland and Bermuda.
  • You don't need to be a tax expert to see why a global tax system programmed by a club of rich tax havens is haemorrhaging over $245 billion in lost corporate tax a year.
Updated 09 Mar, 2021 09:31pm
UK officials urge caution on easing COVID-19 lockdown
Europe

UK officials urge caution on easing COVID-19 lockdown

  • Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced what he has called a cautious but irreversible roadmap out of England's third national lockdown.
  • "It's all pointing in the right direction, but I think nobody can say with certainty that this is... finished," he told lawmakers. "We're certainly not out of the woods yet, even on this wave."
Updated 09 Mar, 2021 09:31pm
Hungarian hospitals under strain from COVID-19 surge
Europe

Hungarian hospitals under strain from COVID-19 surge

  • Cecilia Muller said numbers of hospitalised COVID-19 patients reached 8,270 on Tuesday to exceed a December second-wave peak.
  • "The pandemic situation is very serious in Hungary," she told a briefing, adding that 833 people were on ventilators, also more than December's high.
Updated 09 Mar, 2021 09:30pm
China launches virus passport
South Asia

China launches virus passport

  • The certificate is being rolled out "to help promote world economic recovery and facilitate cross-border travel", a foreign ministry spokesman said.
Published 09 Mar, 2021 05:51pm
UN envoy in Doha to push on Afghan peace process
World

UN envoy in Doha to push on Afghan peace process

  • The US government said on Sunday that all options remain on the table for its remaining 2,500 troops in Afghanistan and that it had made no decisions about its military commitment after May 1.
Published 09 Mar, 2021 12:46pm
Saudi king approves support for Hajj, Umrah operators
World

Saudi king approves support for Hajj, Umrah operators

  • The initiatives are aimed at mitigating the financial and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the sector
  • Support includes exempting accommodation facilities from the annual fees for municipal commercial activities’ licenses in the cities of Makkah and Medina, where the Islamic pilgrimages take place
Published 09 Mar, 2021 10:40am
Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine neutralizes Brazil variant in lab study
World

Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine neutralizes Brazil variant in lab study

  • Blood taken from people who had been given the vaccine neutralized an engineered version of the virus that contained the same mutations carried on the spike portion of the highly contagious P.1 variant first identified in Brazil
  • Scientists said the neutralizing ability was roughly equivalent the vaccine’s effect on a previous less contagious version of the virus from last year
Published 09 Mar, 2021 10:33am