Briana Mariah, founder of We Speak model agency, believes models should reflect the world, and her agency finds and promotes a unique and diverse group of people. Karina Bafradzhian reports from Washington D.C.Camera: David Gogokhia
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Month: July 2021
The State Department will offer rewards up to $10 million for information leading to the identification of anyone engaged in foreign state-sanctioned malicious cyber activity against critical U.S. infrastructure — including ransomware attacks — and the White House has launched a task force to coordinate efforts to stem the ransomware scourge.The Biden administration is also launching the website stopransomware.gov to offer the public resources for countering the threat and building more resilience into networks, a senior administration official told reporters.Another measure being announced Thursday to combat the ransomware onslaught is from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at the Treasury Department. It will engage banks, technology firms and others on better anti-money-laundering efforts for cryptocurrency and more rapid tracing of ransomware proceeds, which are paid in virtual currency. Officials are hoping to seize more extortion payments in ransomware cases, as the FBI did in recouping most of the $4.4 million ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline in May.The rewards are being offered under the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program. It will offer a tips-reporting mechanism on the dark web to protect sources who might identify cyber attackers and/or their locations, and reward payments may include cryptocurrency, the agency said in a statement. The administration official would not comment on whether the U.S. government had a hand in Tuesday’s online disappearance of REvil, the Russian-linked gang responsible for a July 2 supply chain ransomware attack that crippled well over 1,000 organizations globally by targeting Florida-based software provider Kaseya. Ransomware scrambles entire networks of data, which criminals unlock when they get paid.Cybersecurity experts say REvil may have decided to drop out of sight and rebrand under a new name, as it and several other ransomware gangs have done in the past to try to throw off law enforcement.Another possibility is that Russian President Vladimir Putin actually heeded President Joe Biden’s warning of repercussions if he didn’t rein in ransomware criminals, who enjoy safe harbor in Russia and allied states.That seemed improbable, however, given Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s statement to reporters Wednesday that he was unaware of REvil sites disappearing.”I don’t know which group disappeared where,” he said. He said the Kremlin deems cybercrimes “unacceptable” and meriting of punishment, but analysts say they have seen no evidence of a crackdown by Putin.
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New data by two leading U.N. agencies find the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted routine life-saving immunization services for millions of children, many of whom risk dying from vaccine-preventable diseases.The World Health Organization and U.N. Children’s Fund report 23 million children missed out last year on vaccines against killer diseases such as measles, polio, and diphtheria. They say global disruptions of immunization services caused by COVID-19 have set back progress in childhood vaccinations by a decade.They report children in the Southeastern Asian and eastern Mediterranean regions were most affected. India topped a list of 10 countries with the greatest increase in children who did not receive a first dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis combined vaccine. The nine following countries are in the Americas and African regions.Director of Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals Department at WHO Kate O’Brien said new waves of COVID-19 and the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines must not derail routine immunization. She noted vaccines are the most powerful tools available to safeguard public health.A student reacts as a medical worker administers a shot of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination campaign for children ages 12-17 at a school in Tangerang, Indonesia, July 14, 2021.“The world has rightly prioritized the emergency response to COVID-19,” she said. “But if we fail to find a catch-up, and catch up those who have missed their vaccines, and restore and improve the essential immunization program, there is a serious risk of disease outbreaks that will continue to grow. We really cannot trade one crisis for another.”Principal adviser and chief of immunization at UNICEF, Ephrem Lemango, said immunizations in the first half of 2020 decreased significantly in many countries. This due to the closure of health facilities, pandemic lockdown measures and transportation disruptions.“Later on, recovery interventions, such as the community mobilization activities and supply of protective equipment to health providers and conducting participatory activities, have actually enabled some regions such as the Middle Eastern, Northern Africa region, as well, to really improve its coverage,” Lemango said.He adds the African region also saw a significant improvement in coverage.WHO, UNICEF and partners are helping countries and regions in their efforts to recover from the pandemic and strengthen immunization systems.The agencies aim to achieve 90% coverage for essential childhood vaccines by 2030. If this U.N.-designated goal is fully implemented, they say the deaths of an estimated 51 million future children could be averted.
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It began in February with a tweet by pop star Rihanna that sparked widespread condemnation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of massive farmer protests near the capital, souring an already troubled relationship between the government and Twitter.Moving to contain the backlash, officials hit Twitter with multiple injunctions to block hundreds of tweets critical of the government. Twitter complied with some and resisted others.Relations between Twitter and Modi’s government have gone downhill ever since.At the heart of the standoff is a sweeping internet law that puts digital platforms like Twitter and Facebook under direct government oversight. Officials say the rules are needed to quell misinformation and hate speech and to give users more power to flag objectionable content.Critics of the law worry it may lead to outright censorship in a country where digital freedoms have been shrinking since Modi took office in 2014.Police have raided Twitter’s offices and have accused its India chief, Manish Maheshwari, of spreading “communal hatred” and “hurting the sentiments of Indians.” Last week, Maheshwari refused to submit to questioning unless police promised not to arrest him.On Wednesday, the company FILE – In this Feb. 25, 2021, photo, India’s Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, left, and Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar new regulations for social media companies and digital streaming websites.Tech companies also must assign staff to answer complaints from users, respond to government requests and ensure overall compliance with the rules.Twitter missed a three-month deadline in May, drawing a strong rebuke from the Delhi High Court. Last week, after months of haggling with the government, it appointed all three officers as required.“Twitter continues to make every effort to comply with the new IT Rules 2021. We have kept the Government of India apprised of the progress at every step of the process,” the company said in a statement to the Associated Press.Apar Gupta, executive director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, says he worries the rules will lead to numerous cases against internet platforms and deter people from using them freely, leading to self-censorship. Many other critics say Modi’s Hindu nationalist government is imposing what they call a climate of “digital authoritarianism.”“If it becomes easier for user content to be taken down, it will amount to the chilling of speech online,” Gupta said.The government insists the rules will benefit and empower Indians.“Social media users can criticize Narendra Modi, they can criticize government policy, and ask questions. I must put it on the record straight away . . . But a private company sitting in America should refrain from lecturing us on democracy” when it denies its users the right to redress, the ex-IT minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, told the newspaper The Hindu last month.FILE – India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Despite the antagonisms between Modi and Twitter, he has been an enthusiastic user of the platform in building popular support for his Bharatiya Janata Party. His government has also worked closely with the social media giant to allow Indians to use Twitter to seek help from government ministries, particularly during health emergencies. Bharatiya Janata Party’s social media team has meanwhile been accused of initiating online attacks against critics of Modi.Still, earlier internet restrictions had already prompted the Washington-based Freedom House to list India, the world’s most populous democracy, as “partly free” instead of “free” in its annual analysis.The law announced in February requires tech companies to aid police investigations and help identify people who post “mischievous information.” That means messages must be traceable, and experts say this it could mean end-to-end encryption would not be allowed in India.Facebook’s WhatsApp, which has more than 500 million users in India, has sued the government, saying breaking encryption, which continues for now, would “severely undermine the privacy of billions of people who communicate digitally.”Officials say they only want to trace messages that incite violence or threatening national security. WhatsApp says it can’t selectively do that.“It is like you are renting out an apartment to someone but want to look into it whenever you want. Who would want to live in a house like that?” said Khursheed of Laminar Global.The backlash over online freedom of expression, privacy and security concerns comes amid a global push for more data transparency and localization, said Kolla, the tech expert.Germany requires social media companies to devote local staff and data storage to curbing hate speech. Countries like Vietnam and Pakistan are drafting legislation similar to India’s. In Turkey, social media companies complied with a broad mandate for removing content only after they were fined and faced threats to their ad revenues.Instead of leaving, some companies are fighting the new rules in the courts, where at least 13 legal challenges have been filed by news publishers, media associations and individuals. But such cases can stretch for months or even years.Mishi Choudhary, a technology lawyer and founder of India’s Software Freedom Law Center, says that under the rules, social media platforms might lose their safe harbor protection, which shields them from legal liability over user-generated content. Courts have to decide that on a case-by-case basis, she said. And their legal costs would inevitably soar.“You know how it is in India. The process is the punishment,” Choudhary said. “And until we get to a place where the courts will actually come and tell us what the legal position is and determine those legal positions, it is open season for tech backlash.”
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Roger Federer may have seen his dreams of Olympic gold dashed this week, but he can celebrate that t-shirts, racquets, and shoes from his trophy-laden tennis career proved a treasure trove at auction. The sports legend saw every single item that went under the hammer at a two-phased Christie’s auction sold, raking in $4.7 million. The combined proceeds from an online and a live auction — over three times more than his 1-million target — will go to the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports educational projects in southern Africa and his native Switzerland. “I am overwhelmed by the generosity and enthusiasm of the support from around the world,” Federer said in a statement. The auction of items the 20-time Grand Slam winner’s career happened in two phases. A live sale on June 23 in London focused on Federer’s career at the four Grand Slams: Wimbledon and the Australian, French and US Opens. The subsequent online sale from June 23 to July 14 featured 300 lots from other tournaments spanning 21 years — dating back to his first Olympics appearance at the Sydney 2000 Games, aged just 19. The items sold online found buyers from 44 countries and across six continents, Christie’s said. The highlight of the online sale was a set of three rackets used at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, which sold for $224,898 — more than 23 times above their estimate of nearly $10,000-$14,000. “The prices achieved have been unbelievable,” Federer said. “We started collecting items which accompanied me on court because we thought that perhaps one day, we could do something meaningful with them,” he said. He said he and his wife, Mirka, were “humbled to see that the decision we made will make a profound difference to so many children.” The Roger Federer collection was the most important single-owner collection of sporting memorabilia ever to come to market, a Christie’s representative told AFP prior to the auction. Federer, who turns 40 on August 8, had been hoping to secure his first Olympic singles gold medal at the upcoming Tokyo Games, but announced Tuesday he had withdrawn after a “setback” in his recovery from a knee injury.
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Singer Britney Spears on Wednesday won the right to choose her own lawyer to help her end a 13-year-long conservatorship and tearfully pleaded for the court to oust her father immediately from the role of controlling her business affairs.Her father, Jamie Spears, has been a major figure in the conservatorship since he set it up in 2008 when his daughter had a mental health breakdown. He is currently the sole person in charge of her $60 million estate.”You’re allowing my dad to ruin my life,” Spears told the Los Angeles judge by phone. “I have to get rid of my dad and charge him with conservatorship abuse,” she added.Speaking for about 10 minutes on Wednesday, Spears, 39, said she had always been “extremely scared of my dad.”She said she was fed up with multiple psychological evaluations in the last 13 years and wanted the conservatorship brought to an end without another one.“I’m not a perfect person … but their goal is to make me feel like I’m crazy,” Spears said. Details of Spears’ mental health issues have never publicly been disclosed.Last month, she called the legal arrangement abusive and stupid in a 20-minute public address.Los Angeles Superior Court judge Brenda Penny on Wednesday approved former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart to represent Spears going forward. The singer’s court-appointed attorney stepped down last week.Rosengart, who has previously represented Hollywood stars Sean Penn and Steven Spielberg, said his goal was to end the conservatorship.“Does anybody really believe Mr. Spears’ continued involvement is in the best interest of Britney Spears?” Rosengart said. “If he loves his daughter, it is time to step aside.”Rosengart’s first job is likely to be filing a formal document asking for the conservatorship to be terminated.In June, the pop star complained of being prevented from marrying or having more children, and said she was compelled to take medication against her will.Jamie Spears’ attorney on Wednesday said that many of the singer’s complaints were not valid.“I’m not sure Ms. Spears understands she can in fact make medical decisions and can have birth control devices implanted or not,” attorney Vivian Thoreen said.Thoreen said Spears believes her father “is responsible for every bad thing that happened to her and that is the farthest from the truth.”Outside the courthouse, dozens of fans held a rally, chanting “Free Britney” and calling for the conservatorship to end. A smaller rally took place near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.”If you look at her, she looks tired. She just wants her life back and I understand that completely,” said fan Christina Goswick.Penny made no decisions on requests for 24/7 security following death threats against those involved in the conservatorship.Jodi Montgomery, who is tasked with the pop star’s personal care, Jamie Spears, Ingham and the singer’s sister Jamie Lynn Spears have all received threatening calls and messages that have escalated since the pop star’s address to the judge on June 23, according to court documents.The next hearing in the case was set for Sept. 29.
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Guernsey’s Auction House in New York is auctioning off pieces of music history this week. Evgeny Maslov has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.
Camera: Michael Eckels Producer: Barry Unger
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European Union leaders on Wednesday introduced the bloc’s most comprehensive plans yet to combat climate change, with a new goal of reducing carbon emissions to 55% below 1990 levels by 2030.Unveiled by the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, the legislation would make the bloc’s goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 legally binding and completely overhaul its energy system.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a press conference that the “Fit for 55” plan would act as a road map of concrete actions necessary to achieve the bloc’s climate goals.“Our package aims to combine the reduction of emissions with measures to preserve nature, and to put jobs and social balance at the heart of this transformation,” von der Leyen said.The sweeping proposal would involve every sector of the EU’s economy in its Emissions Trading System, which incentivizes companies to lower their emissions by taxing the carbon they produce.New taxes on previously exempt sectors are proposed for aviation and shipping fuels. The plan also calls for increasing existing carbon taxes to the transportation, manufacturing and power sectors.FILE – Cars sit at a standstill during morning rush hour on a main artery in the European Quarter of Brussels, Dec. 12, 2019. The European Union on July 14, 2021, unveiled new legislation to help meet its pledge to cut climate-changing emissions.Border taxOne of the package’s most noteworthy aspects is a first-of-its-kind tax on the carbon produced by foreign imports, which in turn likely would raise prices for consumers.This border tax — known officially as the carbon border adjustment mechanism — would ensure the EU is reducing emissions across the board, and it would protect domestic companies against price competition from foreign companies without the same environmental restrictions.In April, environmental leaders from China, India, South Africa and Brazil spoke out against such a tax, asserting that a carbon border adjustment would be discriminatory against developing countries that lack the resources to focus on cutting emissions.The commission also is planning to completely phase out the sale of combustion-engine cars by 2035, effectively bringing new car emissions to zero.Other proposals include shifting millions of buildings in the EU toward renewable energy by 2030 via renovation and implementation of a carbon tax on road transport.“Emission of CO2 must have a price, and we know that carbon pricing works,” von der Leyen said. “Our existing emission trading system has already helped significantly to reduce emissions in industry and in power generation.”European Commissioner for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans speaks during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels, July 14, 2021.Fairness, accessibilityThe commission emphasized a focus on making the transition to renewable energy fair and accessible to everyone, particularly low-income individuals and member states whose economies are more reliant on polluting industries.Environmental taxes that target the individual have caused controversy in the past, as seen with the massive yellow vest movement in opposition to the French government’s raising fuel taxes.Since energy prices are expected to rise, the commission proposed creating a $85.2 billion fund that citizens of member states could access to help mitigate the costs of switching to energy-efficient housing and transportation.The commission’s plan comes six years after the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement signaled a worldwide commitment to mitigating the impact of climate change and keeping global temperatures from increasing significantly.Additionally, since the EU produces only 8% of the world’s carbon emissions, the plan is intended to push other world powers to follow suit and produce more concrete plans for reaching climate neutrality.In coming years, the commission’s plan will be the subject of scrutiny and negotiation as the leaders from the 27 member states convene in the European Parliament and Council to implement the laws across the EU.
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More than 93,000 people died from drug overdoses in the U.S. last year, a record experts say was partly triggered by the isolation that many experienced during coronavirus-related lockdowns.
The government reported Wednesday that the 2020 total easily surpassed the previous record of about 72,000 deaths in 2019.
“This is a staggering loss of human life,” Brandon Marshall, a Brown University public health researcher who tracks overdose trends, told the Associated Press. He said the United States was already faced with an overdose epidemic but that the pandemic “has greatly exacerbated the crisis.”
In addition to isolation, many sources of help for addicts were not available during lockdowns.
“During the pandemic, a lot of [drug] programs weren’t able to operate. Street-level outreach was very difficult. People were very isolated,” said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, a health policy expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.
Health experts say that while prescription painkillers once played a key role in U.S. drug overdose deaths, heroin and then in recent years fentanyl — a dangerously powerful opioid — proved exceptionally lethal.
Fentanyl was developed to legitimately treat intense medical pain, but now is sold illicitly and mixed with other drugs.
The government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its studies show fentanyl was involved in more than 60% of overdose deaths last year.This August 2017 shows Jordan McGlashen, left, and his siblings, Brandon, Collin, and Kaitlin, in Battle Creek, Michigan. Jordan died of a drug overdose in his Ypsilanti, Michigan, apartment in 2020. (Courtesy Collin McGlashen via AP) One of the 93,000 was Jordan McGlashen of Ypsilanti, Michigan, who died of a heroin and fentanyl overdose May 6. He would have turned 39 six days later.
“It was really difficult for me to think about the way in which Jordan died. He was alone, and suffering emotionally and felt like he had to use again,” said his younger brother, Collin McGlashen.
Fentanyl is increasingly being found mixed with other drugs.
“What’s really driving the surge in overdoses is this increasingly poisoned drug supply,” said Shannon Monnat, an associate professor of sociology at Syracuse University who researches geographic patterns in overdoses. “Nearly all of this increase is fentanyl contamination in some way. Heroin is contaminated. Cocaine is contaminated. Methamphetamine is contaminated.”
The scope is staggering. The CDC is reporting that drug overdoses in 2020 increased in every state but New Hampshire and South Dakota.
States with the biggest increases in overdose deaths were Vermont, up 57.6%; followed by Kentucky, up 54%; South Carolina, up 52%; West Virginia, up nearly 50%; and California, up 46%.
Sharfstein of Johns Hopkins says the U.S. is likely now seeing more overdose deaths than deaths from COVID-19.
“This is a different kind of crisis, and it’s not going to go away as quickly,” he said.Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.
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More than 93,000 people died from drug overdoses in the U.S. last year, a record experts said was partly triggered by the isolation that many experienced during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.The government reported Wednesday that the 2020 total easily surpassed the previous record of about 72,000 deaths in 2019.“This is a staggering loss of human life,” Brandon Marshall, a Brown University public health researcher who tracks overdose trends, told The Associated Press. He said the United States was already faced with an overdose epidemic but that the pandemic “has greatly exacerbated the crisis.”Health experts said that while prescription painkillers once played a key role in U.S. drug overdose deaths, heroin and in recent years fentanyl, a dangerously powerful opioid, proved exceptionally lethal.Fentanyl was developed to legitimately treat intense medical pain but now is sold illicitly and mixed with other drugs.The government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its studies showed fentanyl was involved in more than 60% of the overdose deaths last year.Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed Wednesday to enact measures to protect British professional soccer players from online abuse. Punishment for someone found guilty of such abuse could include banishment from games. The move comes after online abuse, some of it racist, was directed at three Black players for the English national team who missed their penalty shots in the Euro 2020 final shootout on Sunday, leading to an Italian win. According to the Guardian newspaper, an analysis of 585,000 social media posts directed at the English team during the entire Euro 2020 tournament found that 44 messages were explicitly racist. More than 2,000 were “abusive.” “I do think that racism is a problem in the United Kingdom, and I believe it needs to be tackled. And it needs to be stamped out with some of the means that I’ve described this morning,” Johnson told Parliament as he announced his plan. “I repeat that I utterly condemn and abhor the racist outpourings that we saw on Sunday night. And so, what we’re doing today is taking practical steps to ensure that the football banning order regime is changed, so that if you are guilty of racist abuse online of footballers, then you will not be going to the match — no ifs, no buts, no exemptions and no excuses,” he added. But it’s unclear how much of the online abuse actually comes from the U.K. The Daily Mail reported that the Premier League, the top division of professional soccer in England, found that roughly 70% of online abuse directed at British professional soccer players comes from outside the U.K. According to Yahoo News, the Greater Manchester Police said they had arrested a man Wednesday for social media posts directed at players for England’s national team. Johnson added that in addition to going after internet trolls, his government would potentially fine social media companies if they failed to quickly remove offensive content. “Last night, I met representatives of Facebook, of Twitter, of TikTok, of Snapchat, of Instagram, and I made it absolutely clear to them that we will legislate to address this problem in the Online Harms Bill. And unless they get hate and racism off their platforms, they will face fines amounting to 10% of their global revenues,” Johnson said. Some information in this report comes from Reuters.
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Residents in Sydney, Australia will remain under lockdown for another two weeks as officials continue to struggle to contain a growing outbreak of the delta variant of COVID-19.The lockdown was first imposed on June 26 after a Sydney airport limousine driver who had been transporting international air crews tested positive for the variant. More than 800 people have since been infected, including 97 new infections reported Wednesday. Two people have died in the current outbreak.”It always hurts to say this, but we need to extend the lockdown at least a further two weeks,” New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Wednesday in Sydney, the state capital. The city’s five million residents are only allowed to leave home for work, exercise, essential shopping or medical reasons, while schools and many non-essential businesses are closed.People queue in line to wait for coronavirus testing at a testing site in Seoul, South Korea, July 8, 2021.South Korea dealing with new outbreak
South Korea is also dealing with a stubborn outbreak of new COVID-19 cases triggered by the delta variant. Officials with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 1,615 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, a new single-day record. The majority of the new infections came from the capital, Seoul, and immediate surrounding neighborhoods. The outbreak has prompted authorities to enforce strict restrictions and social distancing rules across much of South Korea, including a ban on private gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m. in the Seoul area, with bars and restaurants closing by midnight. South Korea now has 171,911 total COVID-19 cases, including 2,048 deaths. Only 30.6 percent of its 52 million citizens have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. US Experiencing New COVID Surge Surge of new infections blamed on fast-moving delta variant, low rates of vaccinations and political oppositionThe CDC has banned most cruising from U.S. waters since March 2020. Companies have been working with the health agency to resume sailings under its conditional sail order — a set of guidelines for cruise companies wishing to resume sailing in the U.S., including test cruises and vaccine requirements.Norwegian Cruise Lines, which is set to resume cruises from Florida on August 15, said in the complaint that it wants to resume operations “in a way that will be safe, sound, and consistent with governing law,” according to court documents obtained by CNN.
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A report by a non-profit group says Africa needs to increase internet access to boost its economies, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The advocacy group found that while Africa’s locally routed online traffic has increased, only one in five Africans has internet access. High taxes and frequent internet shutdowns by some African governments have also discouraged online trade.The Internet Society group says in a report this month Africa’s internet exchange points, or IXP’s, have increased from 19 to 46 in under eight years. Six countries have more than one IXP. An IXP is where multiple networks and service providers exchange internet traffic. The increase is significant because a decade ago, most African countries routed their online traffic outside the continent.Dawit Bekele is the Africa regional vice president for the Internet Society, a global nonprofit organization that promotes the development and use of the internet. He said Africa having its own IXP’s improves internet performance for users on the continent.“By developing internet exchange points within Africa, we have limited this kind of unnecessary travels of internet traffic outside of Africa to come back to Africa, which has a considerable advantage to improving the user experience, be it the speed, connectivity or even the cost of connectivity,” he said.The Washington-based group says its goal is to eventually have 80% of internet traffic in Africa be exchanged locally.Michael Niyitegeka, an information technology expert, said public demand has forced African governments to improve internet access.“We can’t run away from the youth population. There are quite a number of young people and therefore their affinity or drive for technology and use of the Internet is way higher than our parents and they are more comfortable using technology than anything else. Finally, the other aspect I think is quite critical is the access to mobile technology devices is a big driver. We see quite a number of relatively cheap smart or internet-enabled phones in our markets and that has a massive effect on how many people can access the internet,” said Niyitegeka.In a 2020 study, the International Foundation Corporation said internet use could add $180 billion to Africa’s economies.However, some governments have taken steps to control digital communication by shutting down social media platforms and imposing a high tax on internet use.Omoniyi Kolade is the CEO of SeerBit, a Nigerian company that offers payment processing services to businesses. He said that government control of the internet will drive businesses backward. “It’s a way we are driven backward instead of moving forward. We are supposed to encourage access, we are supposed to encourage free access point for interaction for solutions, because if businesses had to put their product on platforms, as long as those platforms are put down or disconnected there is loss of revenue at that point and for payment gateway. We are already losing revenue as those businesses do not exist to achieve the purpose of what they should achieve,” he said.The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa notes that only 20% of the continent’s population has access to the Internet.The Internet Society Group is urging African governments to expand internet infrastructure to rural areas, where most of the population lives, so that they can benefit from it.Editor’s note: an earlier version of this story misspelled Omoniyi Kolade’s last name. VOA regrets the error.
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As the world surpassed four million coronavirus-related deaths, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that millions more remain at risk “if the virus is allowed to spread like wildfire.” The head of the world body said in a written statement that most of the world is “still in the shadows” due to the inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine between the world’s richest and poorest nations and the rapid global spread of the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19. Guterres called for the creation of an emergency task force, composed of vaccine-producing nations, the World Health Organization and global financial institutions, to implement a global vaccine plan that will at least double production of COVID-19 vaccine and ensure equitable distribution through the COVAX global vaccine sharing initiative. “Vaccine equity is the greatest immediate moral test of our times,” Guterres said, which he also called a “practical necessity.” “Until everyone is vaccinated, everyone is under threat,” he added. The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center is reporting 4,002,909 total COVID-19 deaths, out of 185.1 million total confirmed cases. The World Health Organization is urging nations to proceed with “extreme caution” as they ease or altogether end lockdowns and other restrictions in the face of a steady rise of new infections due to the delta variant. Dr. Mike Ryan, the agency’s head of health emergencies program, told reporters in Geneva Wednesday that countries are making “a false assumption” that transmission rates will not increase because of high vaccination rates. “The idea that everyone is protected and it’s Kumbaya and everything is back to normal I think right now is a very dangerous assumption anywhere in the world,” Ryan said, according to CNBC. In a similar vein, an open letter signed by hundreds of scientists published in the Lancet medical journal denounced British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to lift most of the country’s coronavirus restrictions on July 19, a date the prime minister has dubbed “Freedom Day.” The letter called the government’s reopening plans “unethical” and “dangerous” because it involves acceptance of a high level of new infections. Britain is now averaging more than 25,000 new infections over a seven-day period due to the delta variant, but hospitalizations are in the hundreds and the average number of fatalities per day has remained in the low double digits due to the country’s high vaccination rate. Health Secretary Sajid Javid has acknowledged that the rate of new infections could climb to as many as 100,000 a day after July 19, when mandates such as social distancing and mask wearing will expire. Meanwhile, the SEA Games Federation announced Thursday this year’s Southeast Asian Games has been postponed due to a rise of new infections in Vietnam, the host country. The regional games were scheduled to be held in the capital, Hanoi, and 11 other locations from November 21 and December 2. The announcement coincides with a suspension of public passenger services in Hanoi and a two-week lockdown in Ho Chi Minh City that takes effect Friday. The Southeast Asian Games are the latest sporting event affected by the pandemic. Organizers of the Australian Grand Prix auto racing event announced Tuesday it is canceling the Formula One race for the second consecutive year because of Australia’s strict travel and quarantine mandates, while the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, which was scheduled for October, has also been scrapped for a second year. This report includes information from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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UNICEF said Thursday it has signed a deal to provide up to 220 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to African Union member states by the end of 2022.
The child humanitarian group announced in a statement the agreement was reached with Belgium-based and J&J-owned Janssen Pharmaceutica NV.
An additional 35 million doses of the single-dose vaccine could be delivered to the African Union’s 55-member states by the end of this year and another 180 million doses could be ordered by year’s end, UNICEF said.
“African countries must have affordable and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines as soon as possible. Vaccine access has been unequal and unfair, with less than 1 per cent of the population of the African continent currently vaccinated against COVID-19. This cannot continue,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “UNICEF, with its long history of delivering vaccines all around the world, is supporting global COVID-19 vaccination efforts through AVAT, COVAX, and other channels to maximize supply and access to vaccines.”
The J&J vaccine received emergency approval from the World Health Organization in March.
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Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has formally declared a new state of emergency for Tokyo due to the rise of new COVID-19 cases in the capital city. The new decree will take effect next Monday, July 12 and last until August 22 — a period that will cover the duration of the Tokyo Olympics, which will take place between July 23 and August 8. The new state of emergency will likely prompt the government to either scale back the number of spectators allowed to witness Olympics events to 5,000 people, or ban them altogether. Olympic organizers announced just last month that it would allow just 10,000 people, or 50% of a venue’s capacity, at all events, despite advice from health experts that banning all spectators was the “least risky” option. Foreign spectators have already been banned from attending the Olympics. Local and national government officials along with Olympic and Paralympic officials will make a final decision Thursday or Friday about allowing spectators after meeting with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. Bach arrived in Tokyo Thursday and immediately entered a mandatory three-day quarantine period. Tokyo and several other prefectures shifted last month from a state of emergency imposed in April into “quasi-emergency” measures that are set to expire Sunday, July 11. However, Japan is coping with a fourth wave of new infections and a slow vaccination campaign that has left just 15% of all Japanese citizens fully inoculated. Tokyo reported 920 new infections Wednesday, its highest numbers since May. The surge has already affected two traditional Olympic events. Tokyo’s metropolitan government announced Wednesday that it will move the iconic Olympic torch relay off the city’s public roads; relay runners will instead carry the torch out of public view to private torch-lighting ceremonies across Tokyo after the Olympic symbol arrives Friday. In addition, Olympic organizers will request that the public not gather on the streets to witness the marathon races when they are staged in the final days of the games. The Tokyo Olympics are set to take place after a one-year postponement as the novel coronavirus pandemic began spreading across the globe. The current surge prompted staunch public opposition against going through with the Olympics, including a prominent group of medical professionals that urged Suga to call off the games. This report includes information from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Chinese state-owned media has claimed that Australian consultants in Papua New Guinea have been hindering the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines flown in from China. It was alleged that they had engaged “in political manipulation and bullying” there.Australia has strongly denied claims it has tried to sabotage China’s efforts to boost vaccinations in Papua New Guinea.Papua New Guinea is currently using the AstraZeneca vaccine. Two hundred thousand doses of the Sinopharm vaccine have recently been flown in from China but have yet to be approved for use by local authorities.A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned Australia to “stop interfering with and undermining vaccine cooperation between China and Pacific Island countries.”Australia’s minister for the Pacific, Zed Seselja, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. all international assistance is welcome.“When it comes to the rollout, what we are focused on is making sure that we are providing as much assistance as we possibly can,” Seselja said. “If other countries want to provide assistance that is wonderful.”Papua New Guinea is Australia’s nearest neighbor and has recorded more than 17,000 coronavirus infections and 174 deaths since the pandemic began but it is hard to get accurate figures due to lack of testing, according to media reports.The South Pacific nation has a population of about 9 million. It has administered just under 55,000 vaccine doses, faced with both hesitancy among Papua New Guineans and a lack of supply.Australia has pledged to ship 10,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Papua New Guinea every week, along with medical support. It has also promised to donate tens of thousands of additional doses to other Pacific nations.China delivered 50,000 Sinopharm doses to the Solomon Islands earlier this year.The row over vaccines in Papua New Guinea is the latest dispute between Australia and China. Relations have soured in recent years over geopolitical flashpoints, including Beijing’s military ambitions in the South China Sea and allegations of Chinese interference in Australia’s domestic affairs.Papua New Guinean health officials are trying to stay out of any diplomatic arguments between Australia and China. They have said they are not concerned about where their coronavirus vaccines come from but just want sufficient supplies to protect the country’s population.
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South Korea’s capital is on the verge of perhaps its most intense lockdown yet, after the country reported its largest daily surge of coronavirus cases.Officials on Thursday recorded 1,275 new infections, the vast majority of which were in the Seoul area, where over half of South Koreans live.That is South Korea’s largest number of confirmed daily cases since the pandemic began.Seoul may soon impose the toughest restrictions under a four-tier social distancing system, said Sohn Young-rae, a senior Health and Welfare Ministry official, according to the Yonhap news agency.Level 4 restrictions can include severe measures, such as a ban on private gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m.That would amount to the first intense lockdown of Seoul, where life has largely gone on as usual over the past year and a half, compared to many other parts of the world.South Korea won international praise for its initial containment of the virus, thanks to its efficient and widely available COVID-19 tests and intense contact tracing.However, the country has lagged most other developed countries in acquiring vaccines, meaning it has been stuck in a state of not being fully opened or closed.Over the past several weeks, restaurants, cafes, and outdoor parks along Seoul’s Han River have been more crowded than usual, as the government prepared to ease social distancing precautions.Many now say that message was premature, leading to what health officials call the fourth wave of the virus.Health officials say they are especially concerned that the virus is spreading among those in their 20s and 30s, many of whom are not yet eligible for vaccinations. There is also a growing number of cases of the highly transmissible delta variant.The outbreak is especially centered in the Seoul metropolitan area, a densely populated region with more than 25 million people.Health officials have identified cluster infections at several so-called English “cram schools” in the Seoul outskirts, as well as a restaurant near the Seoul city center.In some ways, South Korea’s situation mirrors that of other Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, which have seen recent infection spikes after initially controlling the virus.South Korea’s outbreak, though, is still mild compared to many other countries. According to government figures, only about 2,000 South Koreans have died of the virus, compared to 605,000 in the United States and 128,000 in Britain.However, in Britain and the United States, the vaccine has been widely available for months. In South Korea, less than 11% of the population have been fully vaccinated, according to health authorities.South Korea’s government says it is still on track to vaccinate enough people to achieve herd immunity by November and has recently reached several deals that could speed up the pace of vaccinations.
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Ethnic minorities, the self-employed and low-income families in Britain suffered greater deprivation levels during the coronavirus pandemic despite “surprisingly positive” living standards figures, a report published Thursday found.The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank’s annual report on living standards, poverty and inequality identified these groups as the hardest hit, even as unprecedented state support mitigated the worst effects of the crisis.The research follows other studies showing that Britain’s ethnic minorities were more likely to suffer worse health and economic outcomes during the pandemic and less likely to accept vaccines.”How fast and to what extent these groups recover as the economy reopens will be a key determinant of the pandemic’s legacy,” said report co-author Tom Wernham.Some 15% of Britons from minority ethnic backgrounds were behind their household bills at the start of 2021, compared with 12% before the pandemic.The proportion of adults of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin living in households where all adults were unemployed or furloughed remained 10 percentage points higher at the beginning of 2021 than pre-pandemic levels, as many of these households relied on one income earner.Household worklessness for black adults rose 2.4 percentage points, higher than the national average of 1.9, the report added.The share of self-employed workers who lost all work in the first lockdown in March 2020 and fell behind household bills is now 15%, up from 2% before the pandemic.Despite the government’s flagship furlough scheme, which has paid millions of workers’ wages since March 2020, 36% of self-employed workers — many of whom work in the hard-hit events, arts and culture sectors — were ineligible for the government self-employed income support scheme.Researchers also found that more families suffering from in-work poverty fell behind on bills during Britain’s first nationwide lockdown from last March, with the share jumping from 9 to 21%.The figure receded to 10% in the first quarter of 2021, but 13% of such families expect their financial situation to deteriorate in the near future.One of the report’s authors, Tom Waters, said the furlough scheme’s success largely explained Britain’s “surprisingly positive” deprivation and labor market statistics.But he added that people’s ability to return to their old jobs or find new ones would be the key factor for living standards as support was withdrawn.The government’s furlough scheme initially paid 80% of employees’ wages to prevent mass job losses but is to be phased out by the end of September.An increase of $28 per week to its main social security payment, Universal Credit, is also due to end at that time.
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The deadly heat wave that roasted the Pacific Northwest and western Canada was virtually impossible without human-caused climate change that added a few extra degrees to the record-smashing temperatures, a quick new scientific analysis found.An international team of 27 scientists calculated that climate change increased chances of the extreme heat occurring by at least 150 times, but likely much more.The study, not yet peer reviewed, said that before the industrial era, the region’s late June triple-digit heat was the type that would not have happened in human civilization. And even in today’s warming world, it said, the heat was a once-in-a-millennium event.But that once-in-a-millennium event would likely occur every five to 10 years once the world warms another 0.8 degrees Celsius, said Wednesday’s study from World Weather Attribution. That much warming could be 40 or 50 years away if carbon pollution continues at its current pace, one study author said.This type of extreme heat “would go from essentially virtually impossible to relatively commonplace,” said study co-author Gabriel Vecchi, a Princeton University climate scientist. “That is a huge change.”The study also found that in the Pacific Northwest and Canada climate change was responsible for about 2 degrees Celsius of the heat shock. Those few degrees make a big difference in human health, said study co-author Kristie Ebi, a professor at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the University of Washington.”This study is telling us climate change is killing people,” said Ebi, who endured the blistering heat in Seattle. She said it will be many months before a death toll can be calculated from June’s blast of heat but it’s likely to be hundreds or thousands. “Heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer of Americans.”In Oregon alone, the state medical examiner on Wednesday reported 116 deaths related to the heat wave.The team of scientists used a well-established and credible method to search for climate change’s role in extreme weather, according to the National Academy of Sciences. They logged observations of what happened and fed them into 21 computer models and ran numerous simulations. They then simulated a world without greenhouse gases from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. The difference between the two scenarios is the climate change portion.”Without climate change this event would not have happened,” said study senior author Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford.What made the Northwest heat wave so remarkable is how much hotter it was than old records and what climate models had predicted. Scientists say this hints that some kind of larger climate shift could be in play — and in places that they didn’t expect.”Everybody is really worried about the implications of this event,” said study co-author Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, a Dutch climate scientist. “This is something that nobody saw coming, that nobody thought possible. And we feel that we do not understand heat waves as well as we thought we did. The big question for many people is: Could this also happen in a lot of places?”‘You ain’t seen nothing yet’The World Weather Attribution team does these quick analyses, which later get published in peer-reviewed journals. In the past, they have found similar large climate change effects in many heat waves, including ones in Europe and Siberia. But sometimes the team finds climate change wasn’t a factor, as they did in a Brazilian drought and a heat wave in India.Six outside scientists said the quick study made sense and probably underestimated the extent of climate change’s role in the heat wave.That’s because climate models used in the simulations usually underestimate how climate change alters the jet stream that parks “heat domes” over regions and causes some heat waves, said Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann.The models also underestimate how dry soil worsens heat because there is less water to evaporate, which feeds a vicious cycle of drought, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the Nature Conservancy.The study hit home for University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver, who wasn’t part of the research team.”Victoria, which is known for its mild climate, felt more like Death Valley last week,” Weaver said. “I’ve been in a lot of hot places in the world, and this was the worst I’ve ever been in.”But you ain’t seen nothing yet,” he added. “It’s going to get a lot worse.”
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Africa’s Sahel region is seeing the worst effects of climate warming anywhere on the planet, according to the United Nations.Farmers bear the brunt of the changes because 80% of the Sahel’s economy is agrarian. Art Melody, a musician in Burkina Faso who raps in the local Djula and Moore languages, knows from experience the negative impact on farm production because he is a farmer himself. His songs convey the fear and emotion felt by millions of people across the region because of the impact of global warming. Art Melody says his grandparents have told him the rainy season used to start in April but now can start in July, so there is less rain and more heat. FILE – A man herds his goats in the village of Samba, Passore province, northern Burkina Faso, March 29, 2016.The U.N. says the impact of desertification and drought on farmers is one of several factors causing the Sahel conflict in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Combatants include terror groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaida. More than two million people have been displaced because of the fighting, and more than 20,000 people have been killed since 2012, according to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. “When there’s a drought, it’s a disaster, it’s hell,” said Ibrahim Thiaw, executive secretary of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification. “When that situation happens, you have two options — flight or fight. Either you flee because there is no way you can produce anymore, or you fight with your neighbors for the limited resources that are still there.”FILE – People work in a dry field near Diapaga, 300 kms northeast of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, March 21, 2012.Conflicts often arise between ethnic groups that traditionally grow crops and those that herd livestock, since land usually cannot be used for both purposes. While that is a major obstacle, new techniques and technologies can help integrate agricultural production with livestock farming through agro-ecological actions, says Marc Gnasonre, a representative of a Burkinabe farmers union. As for Art Melody, his songs attempt to raise awareness of the plight of farmers because, he says, if people’s eyes are closed, they will always end up destroying everything, whether it is plants or human relationships.Until the effects of climate change in the Sahel are mitigated, farming will likely get harder and the Sahel’s conflict will likely get worse.
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China’s most popular social media service has deleted accounts on LGBT topics run by university students and nongovernment groups, prompting concern the ruling Communist Party is tightening control over gay and lesbian content.WeChat sent account holders a notice they violated rules but gave no details, according to the founder of an LGBT group, who asked not to be identified further out of fear of possible official retaliation. She said dozens of accounts were shut down about 10 p.m. Tuesday.It wasn’t clear whether the step was ordered by Chinese authorities, but it came as the ruling party has tightened political controls and had tried to silence groups that might criticize its rule.WeChat’s operator, Tencent Holding Ltd., confirmed it received an email seeking comment but didn’t immediately respond.The Communist Party decriminalized homosexuality in 1997, but gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and other sexual minorities still face discrimination. While there is more public discussion of such issues, some LGBT activities have been blocked by authorities.The official attitude is increasingly strict, the founder of the LGBT group said.Contents of the WeChat accounts, which included personal stories and photos of group events, were erased, according to the group’s founder.DevastatingThe former operator of a different group for university students, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, called the step a devastating blow.University officials asked students two months ago to shut down LGBT social media groups or to avoid mentioning their school names, according to the LGBT group founder. She said universities in the eastern province of Jiangsu were told by officials to investigate groups for women’s rights and sexual minorities to “maintain stability.”Surveys suggest there are about 70 million LGBT people in China, or about 5% of the population, according to state media.Some groups have organized film festivals and other public events, but those have dwindled.One of the most prominent, Shanghai Pride, canceled events last year and scrapped future plans without explanation after 11 years of operation.China’s legislature received suggestions from the public about legalizing same-sex marriage two years ago, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. However, it gave no indication whether legislators might take action.
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Uganda saw an increase in deaths among health care workers last month just as COVID-19 cases increased. Sixteen doctors died of the disease, while others are in intensive care. Uganda Medical Association believes more than 100 health workers have died in the country because of the coronavirus pandemic since March of last year.Dr. Mukuzi Muhereza, the association’s secretary general, said that number rose sharply last month.“The biggest bit was the last two weeks when we lost 16. Some people are in intensive care and we are holding our fingers. And 14 were active clinicians and most likely got it from the hospitals.” The death of 16 doctors coincides with a general rise in COVID-19 cases last month before the country instituted lockdown restrictions.On July 5, Uganda registered 425 new cases, bringing the cumulative number to 84,979. More than 2,000 Ugandans have died of COVID-19.According to investigations by the Ministry of Health, a total of 37 doctors have died of COVID during the pandemic. It says they all had underlying health conditions like diabetes and hypertension, or had not been vaccinated, or were of advanced age.However, Ministry of Health spokesman Emmanuel Ainebyoona acknowledges that doctors and other health care workers in hospitals face elevated risks due to lack of protective gear and medical gloves.He also said the government has been slow to give workers in COVID-19 units their extra pay for enduring risky conditions.“Yes, there might always be delays. But these delays are sometimes not within our controls because they are based on availability of resources. But, we are doing our best as government. That’s why the Director General gave a guidance on double masking. And also, we commit to ensuring health workers always have what to use in the COVID treatment units and our health facilities,” he said. Last week, the head of the ministry’s medical supplies agency, Dr. Moses Kamabare, said the increased number of infections has temporarily overwhelmed the ministry’s ability to deliver personal protective equipment to all hospitals that need it.Kamabare said expanded deliveries will begin next week.
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World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters Wednesday that the world was at a perilous point in the COVID-19 pandemic, as fast-moving variants continued to spread because of an uneven global vaccination effort.From the agency’s headquarters in Geneva, Tedros said that some countries with high vaccination rates were making plans to roll out booster shots in coming months and were dropping public health social distancing measures and relaxing as though the pandemic were already over.But the WHO chief said that because of what he called a “shocking inequity in vaccination,” and highly contagious variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, far too many countries in every region of the world were seeing spikes in cases and hospitalizations.He said that had led to an acute shortage of oxygen and treatments and was driving a wave of death in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America.Tedros said around the world, variants were winning the race against vaccines because of inequitable vaccine production and distribution, which, he said, also threatened the global economic recovery.Sydney to Remain in Coronavirus Lockdown for a Third Week New South Wales state premier calls delta strain of COVID-19 ‘a game-changer’ 4 million deathsDeaths worldwide related to the coronavirus recently passed 4 million as many countries struggled to obtain sufficient supplies of vaccines to inoculate their populations.He said, “Vaccine nationalism, where a handful of nations have taken the lion’s share, is morally indefensible and an ineffective public health strategy against a respiratory virus that is mutating quickly and becoming increasingly effective at moving from human to human.”Tedros noted that finance ministers from the G-20 world economic powers would be meeting this week in Venice. He called on the finance ministers and other leaders to get behind his call for 10 percent of people in all countries to be vaccinated by September and for that figure to rise to 40 percent by the end of the year.He said providing the necessary funding to scale up the equitable manufacturing and distribution of health tools was the fastest way to end the acute stage of the pandemic, save lives and livelihoods, and drive a truly global economic recovery.Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
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