Substances used for air conditioning in almost all new cars are building up in the environment and may pose a threat to human health, researchers say. These “ozone friendly” chemicals have been introduced to replace products that were damaging the ozone layer. Now widely used across industry, these alternatives do […]
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The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits jumped by almost 3 million last week as virus shutdowns continue to weigh on the US economy. The filings brought the total number of new jobless claims since the middle of March to more than 36 million. That amounts to nearly a quarter […]
When some Indian cities eased the grinding lockdown last week to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, long queues were seen outside liquor shops across the country. In cities like Mumbai, a Covid-19 hotspot, booze-loving people made a mockery of social distancing rules, prompting the government to shut the […]
A US pharmaceutical firm has signed agreements with drug makers in South Asia to expand supply of the drug remdesivir for treating Covid-19. The agreement between Gilead and five generic pharmaceutical companies in India and Pakistan will help make the medicine for 127 countries. Remdesivir cut the duration of symptoms […]
Prosecutors in Malaysia have dropped charges against Wolf of Wall Street producer Riza Aziz over the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal. Mr Riza, stepson of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, was accused of money-laundering over allegations he received $250m (£221m) from 1MDB – a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. He has agreed to […]
India will provide free food to migrants for two months as part of a $266bn (£216bn) economic plan to combat the effect of the Covid-19 lockdown. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said grain supplies worth $463m would benefit 80 million migrants. Tens of thousands of migrants have been fleeing cities on […]
Japan has lifted a state of emergency imposed due to the coronavirus in 39 out of 47 prefectures, after a sharp fall in new infections. The order still applies in Tokyo, Osaka and on the northern island of Hokkaido, where new cases are emerging daily. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said […]
A test to find out whether people have been infected with coronavirus in the past has been approved by health officials in England. Public Health England said the antibody test, developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, was a “very positive development”. The blood test looks for antibodies to see if […]
One in 400 people in England has the Covid-19 virus, a survey of nearly 11,000 people in households suggests. They were asked to carry out swab tests over the two weeks up to 10 May. This indicates about 148,000 people in England could be currently infected – 0.27% of the […]
Honda has said it will restart production at its UK car plant next month. The company told employees and suppliers that work would resume in Swindon in the first week of June after stopping production due to the lockdown. Honda said it would implement “measures to mitigate risks and provide […]