WORLD - The African Mirror

Dec

05

2020

“20-million Americans could be vaccinated this year”

WORLD

THE U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expects to move quickly after a December 10 review of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and 20 million Americans could be vaccinated this year, its commissioner has revealed. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn declined to give a specific timeline of how long approval of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech would take but said that he hoped there would be a decision by the regulator in December. As soon as the FDA approves a vaccine, "I will be first in line and I will encourage my family to take this vaccine," Hahn…

Dec

05

2020

By The African Mirror

India’s multi-billion-dollar food programme is at the heart of farmers’ protests

WORLD

MAYANK BHARDWAJ THOUSANDS of Indian farmers angered by farm laws that they say threaten their livelihoods have intensified their protests by blocking highways and camping out on the outskirts of the capital Delhi. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of protesting farmers' unions have held several rounds of talks but have not made any progress in breaking the deadlock over the set of laws passed by parliament in September. Although various farmer unions have supported the protest, the agitation is largely led by the growers of relatively well-off states of Punjab and Haryana in India's north. Every…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Ensuring global COVID-19 vaccine access seen worth billions to rich nations

WORLD

SONIA ELKS RICH nations stand to lose hundreds of billions of dollars in economic output over the next five years if poorer countries do not get equal access to COVID-19 vaccines, a report said on Thursday as concerns grow about "vaccine nationalism". As the World Health Organisation (WHO) seeks to plug funding gaps in its ACT Accelerator programme for global COVID-19 treatments, researchers said their findings showed there was a financial - as well as a moral - case for ensuring equal access. "Governments are increasingly focusing on investments that can help their own economies to rebound," said Hassan Damluji,…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

EXCLUSIVE: Children in Brazil found working for food delivery apps

WORLD

FABIO TEIXEIRA CASES of children working for food delivery apps in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic have been uncovered by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, with prosecutors vowing to investigate amid growing scrutiny of employment practices in the gig economy. Videos and posts on YouTube and Facebook and interviews with underage workers and researchers showed how Rappi, iFood, 99Food and Uber Eats had failed to stop child labor, with under-18s using older relatives' accounts or signing up under their names. School closures and job losses caused by the pandemic have driven more children to work in the informal economy, according to…

Dec

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Biden promises help to U.S. workers hit by pandemic, Trump hints at 2024 run

WORLD

JARRETT RENSHAW and STEVE HOLLAND PRESIDENT-ELECT Joe Biden has promised a group of workers hit by the raging COVID-19 pandemic that more aid would be on the way, while President Donald Trump hinted he may be ready to begin planning another run for the White House in 2024. Biden, who has pledged to act quickly to provide more resources to fight the health crisis after he is inaugurated on January 20, told a group of workers and business owners that any emergency aid approved by Congress before he takes office would be only a "down payment." Republicans and Democrats are…

Dec

03

2020

By The African Mirror

New Zealand declares climate emergency, promises carbon neutral govt by 2025

WORLD

PRAVEEN MENON NEW ZEALAND promised its public sector would become carbon neutral by 2025 as it declared a climate emergency, a symbolic move that critics said needed to be backed with greater actions to reduce emissions. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the climate emergency declaration was based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's findings that to avoid more than 1.5 degree Celsius rise in global warming, emissions would need to fall by around 45% from 2010 levels by 2023 and reach zero by around 2050. "This declaration is an acknowledgement of the next generation. An acknowledgement of the burden…

Dec

03

2020

By The African Mirror

Afghan govt, Taliban announce breakthrough deal to pursue peace talks

WORLD

HAMID SHALIZI and ABDU QADIR SEDIQI AFGHAN government and Taliban representatives have reached a preliminary deal to press on with peace talks, their first written agreement in 19 years of war and welcomed by the United Nations and Washington. The agreement lays out the way forward for further discussion but is considered a breakthrough because it will allow negotiators to move on to more substantive issues, including talks on a ceasefire. "The procedure including its preamble of the negotiation has been finalised and from now on, the negotiation will begin on the agenda," Nader Nadery, a member of the Afghan…

Dec

03

2020

By The African Mirror

Putin orders Russia to begin mass COVID-19 vaccinations

WORLD

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian authorities to begin mass voluntary vaccinations against COVID-19 next week as Russia recorded 589 new daily deaths from the coronavirus. Russia will have produced 2 million vaccine doses within the next few days, Putin said. Russia said last month that its Sputnik V jab was 92% effective at protecting people from COVID-19 according to interim results. "Let's agree on this - you will not report to me next week, but you will start mass vaccination... let's get to work already," Putin told Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova. Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova Golikova said…

Dec

02

2020

By The African Mirror

Barr sees no sign of major U.S. vote fraud despite Trump’s claims

WORLD

SARAH N. LYNCH and BRAD HEATH ATTORNEY General William Barr says the Justice Department has found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in last month's election, even as President Donald Trump kept up his flailing legal efforts to reverse his defeat. The comments by Trump's top law enforcement official came as the Republican president's official and unofficial lawyers filed new long-shot legal motions to challenge his loss to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden. Barr, who has been frequently accused by Democrats of politicizing law enforcement, told the Associated Press that prosecutors have not found evidence to back up Trump's claims that…

Dec

02

2020

By The African Mirror

‘I’m no party boy’: One Nobel winner won’t miss the pomp at low-key awards

WORLD

SIMON JOHNSON SPARE a thought for this year's Nobel Prize winners. Gone are the ball gowns, white tie and tails, concerts, banquets and adulation that come with arguably the world's most coveted awards. With the coronavirus pandemic tearing through Europe, celebrations this year will be modest and remote. Roger Penrose Instead of wining and dining in Stockholm and Oslo later this month, in many cases winners will receive their award in their home country at an agreed venue from a Swedish diplomat. The number of guests will depend on local restrictions, and plans are still subject to change given the…