Health & Science

• Friday, October 16th 2020 - 07:22 UTC

  Queen Elizabeth II in her first major engagement since UK's coronavirus lockdown

  

  Queen Elizabeth II carried out her first major engagement since the United Kingdom's coronavirus lockdown began in March, visiting the Porton Down military research facility on Thursday. The lab in south-west England was involved in dealing with the 2018 Novichok nerve agent attack on a Russian ex-spy in the nearby city of Salisbury.

• Thursday, October 15th 2020 - 09:49 UTC

  Pandemic restrictions reflected an unprecedented fall in greenhouse gas emissions

  

  Covid-19 pandemic restrictions saw an unprecedented fall in greenhouse gas emissions in the first half of 2020 – larger than during the 2008 financial crisis and even World War II – experts said on Wednesday.

• Thursday, October 15th 2020 - 09:34 UTC

  Macron orders night curfew for Paris and eight other cities, a third of French population

  

  President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday ordered a nighttime curfew for Paris and eight other French cities to contain the spread of COVID-19 after daily new infection rates reached alarming record levels.

• Thursday, October 15th 2020 - 09:22 UTC

  Johnson waiting for the EU summit before taking any decision on post-Brexit talks

  

  Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared himself disappointed in the progress of post-Brexit trade talks on Wednesday, but he will wait for news from an EU summit before deciding whether to pull the plug.

• Thursday, October 15th 2020 - 07:26 UTC

  President Trump's son Barron overcame Covid-19, revealed First Lady Melania

  

  President Donald Trump's 14-year-old son, Barron, tested positive for COVID-19 but exhibited no symptoms after both of his parents contracted the virus, first lady Melania Trump said on Wednesday.

• Wednesday, October 14th 2020 - 09:39 UTC

  World Bank approves US$ 12bn for developing countries to purchase Covid-19 vaccines

  

  The World Bank said its executive board approved on Tuesday US$12 billion in new funding for developing countries to finance the purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments for their citizens. The financing plan is part of US$160 billion in total resources that the multilateral development lender has pledged to provide to developing countries through June 2021 to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

• Wednesday, October 14th 2020 - 09:26 UTC

  Ozone hole over Antarctica peaks at 24 million square kms, the highest for the last decade

  

  The annually occurring ozone hole over the Antarctic is one of the largest and deepest in recent years. Analyses show that the hole has reached its maximum size. The 2020 ozone hole grew rapidly from mid-August and peaked at around 24 million square kilometers in early October. It now covers 23 million km2, above average for the last decade, and spreading over most of the Antarctic continent.

• Wednesday, October 14th 2020 - 09:07 UTC

  China claims it found residues of Covid-19 in Brazilian beef packaging

  

  Two months after China said it found residues of Covid-19 in a batch of chicken wings imported from Brazil, Beijing authorities repeated the announcement, but this time in relation to Brazilian beef. Apparently, traces of Covid-19 were detected in beef packaging during an inspection carried out at the Port of Dalian, one of the largest in the country.

• Wednesday, October 14th 2020 - 08:57 UTC

  Climate change emergencies and consequences forecasted to double by 2030, UN report

  

  In the wake of heat waves, global warming, forest fires, storms, droughts, and a rising number of hurricanes, the UN weather agency is warning that the number of people who need international humanitarian help could rise 50% by 2030 compared to the 108 million who needed it worldwide in 2018.

• Wednesday, October 14th 2020 - 08:43 UTC

  Despite the Catholic Church but fearful of Covid-19, Mexicans venerate death saint, “Santa Muerte”

  

  Their arms raised towards the sky, worshippers of Mexico's “saint” of death pray before a giant cloaked skeleton asking for protection from the coronavirus and its devastating economic fallout. The Grim Reaper-like figure, whose devotees include drug cartel members as well as ordinary Mexicans, has been rejected by the Roman Catholic Church as blasphemous.