From polar bears to groundwater, nature is riddled with ‘forever chemicals’
Paris, France - They didn't exist a century ago but today PFAS "forever chemicals" contaminate the environment from groundwater to Antarctic...
Geostrategy
Middle East poised to lead global crypto surge as Bitcoin eyes $100,000
Geneva, Switzerland - A major new study released by The Lancet Neurology shows that, in 2021, more than 3 billion people worldwide...
Geostrategy
WHO urges malaria funding boost as deaths stay stubbornly high
The World Health Organization called for more funds to help overcome towering challenges in the battle against malaria, which continues...
- A report highlighted significant remaining challenges, including limited donor funding.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded several challenges facing efforts to battle malaria.
Geostrategy
WHO member states agree to develop draft of pandemic accord in early 2023
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - Member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Thursday agreed to develop the first draft of a...
- This zero draft of the pandemic accord, rooted in the WHO Constitution, will be discussed by member states in February 2023.
- The agreement by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body, comprising WHO’s 194 member states, was a milestone in the global process to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Geostrategy
EU gives US$131 million to WHO Universal Health Coverage Partnership
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Commission agreed on reinforcing a decade-long collaboration to accelerate...
- EU contribution will focus on strengthening health systems to make them more resilient and responsive to natural, climate or human-made disasters.
- The partnership with WHO is a key deliverable of the new EU Global Health Strategy adopted by the European Commission.
Science
UAE’s health and prevention ministry launches National Nutrition Strategy 2022-2030
DUBAI, UAE - UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has launched the National Nutrition Strategy 2022-2030 to establish sustainable...
- National Nutrition Strategy comes as part of MoHAP’s ongoing efforts to support the UAE’s visions aimed at improving the health of younger generations.
- The strategy was launched during an event hosted by the ministry at the Etihad Museum.
Economy
Saudi Minister inaugurates Aquatic Animal Diseases Network
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Engineer Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadhli inaugurated Sunday...
- The launch aims to strengthen the aquaculture industry, prevent aquatic diseases, support the production of aquatic organisms.
- It also aims to meet the growing demand for aquaculture and its products, reduce the spread of diseases, train veterinarians and specialists in aquatic health.
Business
China’s ‘iPhone city’ tightens Covid rules after violent protests
The curbs in Zhengzhou are part of China's national zero-tolerance approach to Covid, which involves grueling lockdowns, travel restrictions and...
- Hundreds of workers took to the streets around the vast iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, confronting hazmat-clad personnel wielding batons in a rare display of public anger in China
- In the wake of the unrest, Zhengzhou authorities ordered mass testing and an effective lockdown for several districts in the central Chinese city starting Friday
Economy
Air pollution killed 238,000 Europeans prematurely in 2020: EEA
Across the 27-nation bloc that year, "exposure to concentrations of fine particulate matter above the 2021 World Health Organization guideline...
- Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5 travel deep into the respiratory tract, worsening the risk of bronchitis, asthma and lung disease
- The EU wants to slash premature deaths related to fine particulate matter pollution by 55 percent in 2030 compared to 2005 levels
Business
Abu Dhabi DoH, Eversight to jointly set up UAE’s first eye, tissue bank
ABU DHABI, UAE - Abu Dhabi's Department of Health (DoH), the regulator of the healthcare sector in the Emirate, and...
- Department of Health Abu Dhabi and Eversight will focus on implementing the necessary arrangements for the eye and tissue bank.
- Eversight will develop a comprehensive medical framework to standardize and operate procedures on all clinical functions.
Geostrategy
Abu Dhabi inks MoU with African Union in public health
ABU DHABI, UAE - Abu Dhabi Public Health Center (ADPHC) has signed an agreement with the Africa Centers for Disease...
- The partnership aims to bolster collaboration and information exchange between ADPHC and Africa CDC.
- The partnership’s priorities include promoting disease information and surveillance.
Business
Walmart posts Q3 loss of $1.8bn
Settlement on opioid cases hit earnings of the firm.
- The opioid crisis in the US - causing over 500,000 deaths over 20 years - triggered a flurry of lawsuits against drugmakers, distributors and pharmacies.
- US pharmacy chains CVS Health and Walgreens similarly reached preliminary agreements this month to pay more than a total of $10 billion to resolve opioid claims.
From polar bears to groundwater, nature is riddled with ‘forever chemicals’
Paris, France - They didn't exist a century ago but today PFAS "forever chemicals" contaminate the environment from groundwater to Antarctic...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Positive trial for Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-flu jab
Berlin, Germany - Germany's BioNTech and US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on Thursday announced "positive" results from initial trials of their combined...
Business
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment inks 3 MoUs at FII7
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – The Kingdom’s Ministry of Investment signed three memoranda of understanding (MoU) in the fields of biotechnology,...
Business
Swedish researchers find snoozing in the morning isn’t bad
Stockholm, Sweden - You snooze, you lose? Swedish researchers said Wednesday that might not be the case, after their study even...
Science
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Geostrategy
WHO transports Gaza aid to Egypt, waits for humanitarian access
Geneva, Switzerland - The World Health Organization said on Saturday enough basic health supplies to serve 300,000 people in the Gaza...
- The WHO supplies include enough medicines to treat 1,200 wounded patients and 1,500 patients suffering from various diseases.
- The supplies were ready to go in once humanitarian access could be established through the Rafah crossing from Egypt into the southern Gaza Strip.
Business
SFD to provide US$20m loan to Central African Republic for development projects
MARRAKESH, MOROCCO - The CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, signed an additional US$20...
- The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 2023 World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Morocco.
- The US$20 million loan agreement aims to finance development projects in CAR, including the establishment of a 250-bed hospital.
‘Broken in two’: Libya flood survivors grapple with mental health
Last month's flood was the latest catastrophe to strike the oil-rich North African country that has been wracked by war...
- IRC warned of the "immense psychological toll the emergency is taking on those affected, particularly in the city of Derna, one of the areas hardest-hit
- UNICEF's partners had "reported several instances of suicides, withdrawal, lack of sleep, bed wetting... among children, especially in shelters"