Updated version promises ‘more vibrant’ representation of natural features and built environment Google Maps is getting a visual overhaul worldwide, finally letting users distinguish forest from floodplain, and desert from snowfield, at a glance. Alongside the changes to natural environments, a new set of maps will be rolling out in ... Read More »
WHO blasts ‘vaccine nationalism’ in last-ditch push against hoarding
Nations that hoard possible COVID-19 vaccines while excluding others will deepen the pandemic, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday, issuing a last-ditch call for countries to join a global vaccine pact. The WHO has an Aug. 31 deadline for wealthier nations to join the “COVAX ... Read More »
Coronavirus Could be Linked to Type 1 Diabetes in Children, Study Suggests
The autoimmune disease inhibits the body’s ability to produce insulin Covid-19 could be linked to the onset of type 1 diabetes in children, a study has suggested, after finding some hospitals saw twice as many young patients with the condition compared to normal. A growing body of evidence has suggested ... Read More »
Mysterious ‘Heartbeat’ Detected Coming From Cosmic Gas Cloud
Scientists have found an unusual, mysterious “heartbeat” coming from a cosmic gas cloud. The cloud – which is otherwise unremarkable – seems to be “beating” along with the rhythm of a neighbouring black hole, researchers say. As such, they appear to be connected to each other, the researchers write in a ... Read More »
Britain Encourages at-risk Groups to Sign up for COVID-19 Vaccine Trials
Britain on Monday urged elderly people and volunteers from Black and Asian minority groups to sign up to a COVID-19 vaccine trial registry to boost efforts to find a working vaccine against the disease that offers protection for higher risk groups. No COVID-19 vaccine candidate has yet been proven effective ... Read More »
Coronavirus: Putin Says Vaccine Has Been Approved For Use
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said a locally developed vaccine for Covid-19 has been given regulatory approval after less than two months of testing on humans. Mr Putin said the vaccine had passed all the required checks, adding that his daughter had already been given it. Officials have said ... Read More »
Lebanon’s political corruption can be rooted out – if its international donors insist
Change must come from within Lebanon, but Emmanuel Macron and others can help by ending their patronage of a disastrous regime In the aftermath of the devastating Beirut port explosion last week, it is not just the role of the Lebanese political class that has come under scrutiny, but that of their ... Read More »
Beirut explosion: What we know so far
Here is what we know so far. What happened? The disaster was preceded by a large fire at the Port of Beirut, on the city’s northern Mediterranean coast. In videos posted on social media white smoke could be seen billowing from Warehouse 12, next to the port’s huge grain silos. ... Read More »
Anxious WHO implores world to ‘do it all’ in long war on COVID-19
The World Health Organization warned on Monday that there might never be a “silver bullet” for COVID-19 in the form of a perfect vaccine and that the road to normality would be long, with some countries requiring a reset of strategy. More than 18.14 million people around the world are ... Read More »
The Lebanese Economy In Freefall – A Photo Essay
Photojournalist Achilleas Zavallis travels to Lebanon and finds a country struggling with the effects of economic decline and mismanagement. Inflation is out of control, destroying the spending power of all but a wealthy minority Lebanon has long been a country that somehow held it together. Through war, insurrection, chaos and intervention, ... Read More »