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The head of the World Trade Organization said on Monday she hoped that members could reach an agreement by July on improving access to COVID-19 vaccines after months of talks on waiving drug firms’ intellectual property rights. “It’s going to be tough because there are still differences but we hope …

Heightened workloads and household responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic are driving deep dissatisfaction among many women in the workforce, according to a new report released on Monday from Deloitte Global. Seventy-seven percent of respondents said their workload increased since the pandemic crisis broke. “Women @ Work: A global outlook,” found …

Dutch medical equipment company Philips has recalled some breathing devices and ventilators because of a foam part that might degrade and become toxic, potentially causing cancer, it said on Monday. The foam used to dampen the machines’ sound can degrade and emit small particles that irritate airways, the group said …

Swiss voters rejected a trio of environmental proposals on Sunday, including a new law intended to help the country meet its goal for cutting carbon emissions under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. A new CO2 law was narrowly rejected, with 51.6% of voters opposing it in a nationwide referendum …

Shenzhou-12, meaning ‘Divine Vessel’, will be the third of 11 missions needed to complete China’s space station by 2022. A Chinese spacecraft will blast off from the Gobi Desert on a Long March rocket in the coming days, ferrying three men to an orbiting space module for a three-month stay, …

Americans are becoming more comfortable meeting friends, returning to offices, and attending large events, as per a survey. Oil prices held near multi-year highs on Monday, underpinned by an improved outlook for demand as increased COVID-19 vaccinations help lift travel curbs. Brent crude was up 14 cents, or 0.2 percent, …

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk tweeted on Sunday that the electric carmaker will resume allowing bitcoin transactions when miners who verify transactions use more renewable energy. “When there’s confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with the positive future trend, Tesla will resume allowing Bitcoin transactions,” …

Countries should also avoid giving the Astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine to people over 60, the head of the EU drug regulator’s COVID-19 task force was quoted on Sunday as saying, amid fears over rare blood clotting and as more vaccines become available. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) considers the Astrazeneca shot …

The Japanese government will probe the activities of US tech giants, Apple and Google, amid alleged antitrust violations, the newspaper Nikkei has reported. According to the media outlet, citing sources, a government panel will be formed this month to investigate the connection between domestic smartphone manufacturers and US companies. Currently, …

Russia has tested a nasal spray form of its COVID-19 vaccine that is suitable for children aged 8-12, and plans to launch the new product in September, the scientist who led the development of the Sputnik V vaccine said on Saturday. Alexander Gintsburg, who heads the Gamaleya Institute that developed …

Bdelloid rotifers typically live in watery environments and have an incredible ability to survive. Russian scientists found the creatures in a core of frozen soil extracted from the Siberian permafrost using a drilling rig. “Our report is the hardest proof as of today that multicellular animals could withstand tens of …

Iraq, OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer, said crude prices will be in the range of $68 to $75 a barrel in the second half. The price range is expected because of a commitment to OPEC+ output cut, Iraq’s Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar told reporters at the Baghdad International Book Fair. …

Hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa are “overwhelmed” by a rise in COVID-19 infections, President Felix Tshisekedi said on Saturday, as the country was hit by a third wave of the disease. Like many African countries, Congo has officially registered relatively few cases. But the virus has …

For $28 million, a civilian will see space. That’s the winning bid for a seat aboard the New Shepard when Jeff Bezos’ space tourism venture Blue Origin flies people to space for the first time next month. The live auction lasted under 10 minutes Saturday, after opening at $4.9 million …

Denmark star Christian Eriksen was reported to be in a stable condition after collapsing during the first half of Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 match against Finland in Copenhagen. The match was suspended following prolonged efforts from the medical staff to resuscitate Eriksen with CPR and a defibrillator after he fell …

Saudi Arabia will limit this year’s Hajj pilgrimage to 60,000 residents and nationals living in the Kingdom due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced in a statement Saturday. “In light of what the whole world is witnessing from the continuing developments of the coronavirus …

Oil prices reached fresh multi-year highs on Friday, closing out a third straight week of gains on an improved outlook for worldwide demand as rising COVID-19 vaccination rates help lift pandemic curbs. Brent crude futures settled at $72.69 a barrel, rising 17 cents after reaching their highest since May 2019. …

Pulitzer Prizes were awarded to Reuters, the New York Times, the Atlantic, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Friday for their coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial inequities in U.S. policing, topics that dominated the ceremony. The Star Tribune won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting for what …

The variant first identified in India currently accounts for more than 90 percent of Britain’s new COVID-19 cases. Health authorities in Britain have said the new Delta coronavirus variant is 60 percent more transmissible in households than the previous dominant Alpha variant that forced the United Kingdom to lock down …

The Central Bank of Iraq confirmed that the dollar exchange rate is stable and will remain unchanged. The Central Bank said in a statement that the price set at the end of 2020 for the dollar exchange rate was based on in-depth studies of the requirements of the economic and …