COVID-19

A collection of 71 posts

UN General Assembly Begins

The UN's annual General Assembly opened Monday, with Secretary-General António Guterres highlighting that the world is facing its highest number of violent conflicts since 1945, as well as high food prices, record temperatures, climate disasters, and unprecedented numbers of migrants and asylum ...

Politics

RFK Jr. Criticized for Suggesting COVID is 'Ethnically Targeted'

During remarks made at a gathering over the weekend and recorded on video, Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ("RFK Jr.") claimed that COVID disproportionately affected Caucasian and Black people compared to East Asians and Ashkenazi Jews.

Politics

WHO Ends COVID Global Health Emergency

The World Health Organization (WHO) downgraded the threat level of COVID on Friday, saying it no longer qualifies as a global emergency.

World

Report: China Frees COVID 'Citizen Journalist' After 3 Years

Fang Bin, a Chinese citizen journalist who disappeared after reporting on the COVID outbreak in Wuhan, was released on Sunday after three years of detention, according to multiple reports citing people familiar with the matter.

Social issues

Report: US COVID Response Exposed 'Collective National Incompetence'

A group of crisis experts and federal advisors, called the COVID Crisis Group, released a report Tuesday detailing the US' alleged lack of disaster preparedness and coordination that it claims led to an unraveling of the nation's pandemic response.

COVID-19

Ex-Chancellor Merkel Gifted Highest German Honor

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel was decorated with Germany’s highest possible honor on Monday in recognition of her near-record 16 years at the helm of the country....

World

Pfizer CEO: We Need Omicron Boosters

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla stated that 2-dose vaccines 'are not enough' protection from the Omicron variant and even boosters may wane....

Medicine & healthcare

Survey: 36% of Researchers Fear ‘Nuclear Level’ AI Catastrophe

In a survey conducted by Stanford University, 36% of researchers said they believe Artificial Intelligence (AI) could lead to a “nuclear-level catastrophe,” underscoring concerns in the sector about the risks posed by rapidly advancing technology....

Artificial Intelligence

Syphilis Cases Hit 70-Year High During Pandemic

According to a report released Tuesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sexually transmitted infections rose in 2021, after a slight drop during the first year of the COVID pandemic....

Medicine & healthcare

Musk: Twitter 'Roughly Breaking Even'

In an interview with BBC broadcast live on Wednesday, Twitter CEO Elon Musk addressed several topics surrounding the company since his $44B purchase of the platform, including revealing that Twitter is “roughly breaking even.”...

Science & Technology

Report: One-in-Five Americans Has Family Member Killed by Guns

According to data published Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than half of US adults recently surveyed claimed they or a family member have experienced a gun-related incident. The data comes amid a wave of continued gun violence in America....

Children and youth

New Zealand: Cabinet Reaches Gender Parity For First Time

New Zealand has reached gender parity in its government cabinet for the first time in history, with women being the majority in the executive branch when the ministers outside the cabinet are included....

New Zealand

Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Challenge Biden for Democratic Nomination

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of assassinated Pres. John F. Kennedy, has announced that he will be running for the Democratic nomination for US president in 2024....

Money

Tenn. House GOP Expels Democrat Over Gun Protest

On Thursday, in a 72-25 vote, the GOP-led Tennessee House of Representatives expelled Democratic Rep. Justin Jones for participating in a gun reform demonstration that involved protesters entering the statehouse last week....

Gun control

Finnish PM Concedes Defeat, Right-Wing Party Wins Vote

Finland's left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin conceded defeat in the nation's parliamentary election on Sunday as the opposition right-wing National Coalition Party (NCP) claimed victory in a tightly fought contest....

Finland

Malaysia: Former PM Najib Loses Bid to Review Corruption Case

Malaysia's top court on Friday dismissed the ultimate court challenge by jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak to review his corruption conviction and 12-year prison sentence....

Malaysia

S.Korea Publishes Report of North's Alleged Human Rights Abuses

On Thursday, South Korea's Unification Ministry released a 450-page report detailing North Korea's alleged human rights abuses, including the public execution of teenagers, pregnant women, and homosexuals....

China

Study: China Spent $240B Bailing Out 'Belt & Road' Countries

An international study published Tuesday claims that China spent $240B bailing out 22 developing countries between 2008 and 2021, with the figure rising in recent years as they have struggled to repay loans spent building 'Belt & Road' infrastructure....

Sri Lanka

Twitter Files: US Govt Backed COVID Information Censorship

In the latest 'Twitter Files' — reporting on internal emails from the social media giant during COVID — investigative journalist Matt Taibbi focused on Stanford University’s Virality Project — a federally-funded initiative aimed at 'detecting and mitigating the impact of false and mislead...

Censorship

Report: Data Ties COVID Origins to Raccoon Dogs at Wuhan Market

Virus researchers say they have found genetic data from a market in Wuhan, China, allegedly linking the COVID virus with the sale of raccoon dogs in that location, adding to evidence that the pandemic could have been started by an infected animal sold through the illegal wildlife trade....

China

FDA Advisers Back Full Approval of Paxlovid

Independent advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday voted 16-1 in support of full approval of Paxlovid — Pfizer’s oral treatment for COVID — for high-risk adults....

Diseases & conditions

Whistleblower Doctor Who Alleged China's SARS Cover-up Dies

Jiang Yanyong, a former PRC military surgeon who blew the whistle on Chinese authorities' alleged cover-up of the 2003 SARS [SARS-CoV-1] epidemic, died of pneumonia on Saturday at the age of 91....

Diseases & conditions

Texas Judge to Consider Banning Abortion Pill in US

US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is set to hear arguments on Wednesday over whether mifepristone, an abortion pill, should be banned nationwide. The pill was granted approval over two decades ago....

Abortion

Report: Extreme Poverty Could be Eradicated by 2050

According to a new report from the Center for Global Development (CGD), titled Scenarios for Future Global Growth to 2050, extreme global poverty could be eradicated by 2050....

Economic conditions & trends

China to Re-Open Borders to Tourists for First Time in Three Years

China has fully reopened its borders to foreign tourists for the first time since the outbreak of COVID three years ago. Its embassy in the US released a statement saying Beijing would resume issuing all categories of visas....

COVID-19