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Key air pollutants temporarily plunged by unprecedented levels during coronavirus lockdowns last year, with fine particle pollution falling by more than a third across parts of Asia, a U.N. agency said on Friday. Particulate matter (PM 2.5) fell by up to 40% across Africa, South America, and Southern Asia and …

Germany’s health minister has warned that Covid-19 is becoming the “pandemic of the unvaccinated” as 90% of the country’s intensive care patients are those who refused a potentially life-saving shot. Speaking on Friday, Health Minister Jens Spahn said people who have not been vaccinated against the virus have a responsibility …

The European Commission and AstraZeneca said on Friday they had reached a settlement on delivering remaining COVID-19 vaccine doses by the British drugmaker and also ended pending litigation in Brussels. The settlement clears a major overhang for AstraZeneca, whose cheap and easily transportable vaccine has faced several setbacks, including the …

A new study of breakthrough Covid-19 infections finds that vaccines not only reduce the risk of severe disease and hospitalization, but can lower the odds of having long-term Covid-19 symptoms too. “We found that the odds of having symptoms for 28 days or more after post-vaccination infection were approximately halved …

Western Union Co is resuming money-transfer services to Afghanistan, a senior executive told Reuters on Thursday, a decision he said was in line with a US push to allow humanitarian activity to continue after the Taliban’s takeover. The world’s largest money-transfer firm and MoneyGram International Inc, another global remittance provider, …

Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, supported by a sharp decline in U.S. crude stocks and a weaker dollar, though gains were capped by an OPEC+ decision to stick to its policy of gradually increasing output. Brent crude was up 45 cents, or 0.6%, at $72.04 a barrel by 1101 …

The Ministry of Planning announced, on Thursday, that it will conduct a new survey of unemployment in Iraq. Ministry spokesperson Abdul-Zahra Al-Hindawi said in an interview, “It is hoped that a new survey of unemployment in Iraq will be conducted soon,” noting that “the Ministry is still dependent on previous …

An arrangement whereby Johnson & Johnson was shipping COVID-19 vaccine doses to Europe that had been packaged in South Africa has been suspended, African Union (AU) envoy Strive Masiyiwa said on Thursday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last month he was “stunned” by the arrangement, since Europe has very …

Apple Inc is facing an antitrust challenge in India for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the apps market by forcing developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system, according to a source and documents were seen by Reuters. The allegations are similar to a case Apple faces in the …

A rescue crew was able to find a swimmer who was missing for 12 hours off the Ireland coast after they spotted a dolphin pod surrounding him, the BBC reported last week. “The RNLI volunteers spotted the exhausted man among the dolphins in the sea near Castlegregory in County Kerry,” …

Composer Mikis Theodorakis, whose infectious, earthy score for the film “Zorba the Greek” helped foster a sunny, carefree image of his country for millions of tourists, died on Thursday, aged 96. As news of his passing swept through the nation, parliament held a moment of silence. “Today we lost a …

The World Health Organisation recommends against using spare doses of COVID-19 vaccine to give booster shots to countries’ fully-vaccinated populations since the priority is to ensure the global population is vaccinated, the agency’s head said. Speaking in Berlin at the opening of a new epidemic intelligence hub, Director-General Tedros Adhanom …

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday it is monitoring a new coronavirus variant known as “Mu”. “Mu”, known scientifically as B.1.621, was classified by WHO as a “variant of interest” on Monday. “The Mu variant has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape,” WHO …

A zoo in the US state of Texas is set to vaccinate its animals against COVID-19, according to a press release. The San Antonio Zoo’s lions and tigers will be among the first animals to get their coronavirus vaccine doses in the coming weeks. “The first zoo animals to receive …

Almost a third of the world’s tree species are at risk of extinction, while hundreds are on the brink of being wiped out, according to a landmark report published by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) on Wednesday. According to the State of the World’s Trees report 17,500 tree species – …

More than $48 billion was spent on professional football player transfer fees over the past decade, a report from FIFA reveals. The sport’s governing body tracked international transfers in the men’s game during the 2011-2020 period. It’s the most comprehensive review on record of transfers across the globe. The report …

The number of disasters, such as floods and heatwaves, driven by climate change have increased fivefold over the past 50 years, killing more than 2 million people and costing $3.64 trillion in total losses, a UN agency said on Wednesday. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says its “Atlas” is the …

A potential shortage of medical-grade oxygen could hit parts of the US as COVID-19 cases continue to rise, according to local media reports citing US state health officials. A spike in COVID-19 cases, especially in Southern US states, has led to more demand for oxygen supply. Hospitals in the southern …

South Korea’s parliament on Tuesday approved a bill that bans major app store operators such as Google and Apple from forcing software developers to use their payment systems, effectively stopping them from charging commissions on in-app purchases. It is the first such curb by a major economy on the likes …

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday 70 percent of adults in the European Union were now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, reaching an end-of-summer target the bloc set for itself in January. “Today we reached an important milestone in our vaccination campaign. Seventy percent of adults in the …