WHO chief: waive Covid vaccine patents to put world on 'war footing'
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he supports patent waiver to help countries make and sell cheap vaccine copies
The normal rules of business that protect the profits of vaccine manufacturers will have to be set aside if that is what it takes to ensure everybody is immunised against the coronavirus, according to the director general of the World Health Organization.
Writing in the Guardian, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the world needs to be “on a war footing”. Before a key meeting of the World Trade Organization next week on the anniversary of the declaration of the pandemic, he supports a patent waiver that would allow countries to make and sell cheap copies of vaccines that were invented elsewhere.
Women’s rights ‘rolled back’ in EU by Covid crisis
‘There is already ample evidence that the hard-won achievements of past years have been ‘rolled back’... progress on women’s rights is hard won but easily lost’
Women living in the European Union have been affected “disproportionately” by the Covid-19 pandemic since they make up the majority of workers in frontline jobs, an EU report said on Friday.
According to the EU’s annual gender equality report, the pandemic has negatively affected a range of issues for women. These include pay, employment and health.
The report read: “The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women’s lives.”
Can Pope Francis save Iraq's Christians from 'extinction'?
Iraq's Christian minority has dealt with decades of persecution — and many are skeptical about whether a four-day visit by Pope Francis will make a difference.
Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church, began a historic four-day visit to Iraq on Friday morning, marking the first papal visit to the country. The pope's schedule will see the 84-year-old cleric crisscross the country.
He landed in Baghdad on Friday and was greeted by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, who said Iraqis were eager to welcome Francis' "message of peace and tolerance" and called the visit a meeting between the "minaret and the bells."
Myanmar diplomatic revolt widens as anti-coup protests return
More violence reported in Mandalay on Friday as dozens of townships in Yangon form self-governing bodies in defiance of coup leaders.
Myanmar’s coup leaders lost a tug of war over the leadership of its United Nations mission in New York, as well as the Myanmar embassy in Washington, as organised resistance against the coup grew at home on Friday with dozens of townships in the largest city of Yangon forming their own self-governing bodies in defiance of the military.
Anti-coup protesters returned to the streets amid threats of violence, to continue their demand for the generals to step down and restore power to the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
China NPC: Beijing to overhaul Hong Kong electoral system
China's top law-making body has unveiled plans to ensure only "patriots" can govern Hong Kong, as Beijing tightens its grip on the city with changes to the electoral system.
Premier Li Keqiang, addressing the National People's Congress (NPC), warned the world not to interfere.
The move follows the imposition of a tough security law.
Critics say Beijing is crushing dissent and removing the "one country, two systems" agreement it made with the UK.
Asians were thought to be the 'model minority.' Then came 'receipt culture.'
Claire Wang
In Sacramento, California, last Friday, a high school Spanish teacher made a slant-eyed gesture during a Zoom class. “If their eyes went up, they’re Chinese. If they’re down, they’re Japanese,” she said in a video recorded by a student. “If they’re just straight, you don’t know.”
Four months earlier, a U.S. marine threatened to shoot Chinese people in a viral video tweet. Addressing the group with a slur, he said, “China is going to pay for what they have done to this country and the world."
In another video recorded last July, a tech CEO taunted an Asian American family at an upscale Northern California restaurant, calling them an “Asian piece of s---.” Uproar over the clip, which has been viewed more than 1 million times on Instagram, forced the man to resign.
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