Waiving patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines is fiercely opposed by Big Pharma because they say it would set a precedent that could threaten future innovations, and insist the move would not speed up production.Here are some of the consequences waiving the patent protection on novel coronavirus vaccines could have.No Immediate ImpactThe vaccine makers say patents are not the key factor impeding faster production."Handing needy countries a recipe book without the ingredients, safeguar

United States (US) President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday announced support for a global waiver on patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines, offering hope to poor nations that have struggled to access the life-saving doses.India, where the death toll hit a new daily record amid fears the peak is still to come, has been leading the fight within the World Trade Organization (WTO) to allow more drug makers to manufacture the vaccines – a move pharma giants oppose.US Trade Represe

While many central banks are still investigating the possibility of issuing a digital currency, China has rolled out a digital currency via a series of pilot programs since last year.

The governments of South Africa, India, and dozens of other developing countries are calling for the rights on intellectual property (IP), including vaccine patents, to be waived to accelerate the worldwide production of supplies to fight COVID-19. They are absolutely correct. IP for fighting COVID-19 should be waived, and indeed actively shared among scientists, companies, and nations.

One of the most crucial early tests for United States (US) President Joe Biden concerns Afghanistan.

India on Friday posted another global record for daily coronavirus infections, pushing worldwide cases past 150 million as a pandemic that has killed almost 3.2 million worldwide continues to wreak devastation.The number of new daily cases has more than doubled since mid-February, an AFP tally showed, in an explosion in infections blamed in part on a new COVID-19 variant but also on failure to follow virus restrictions.The countries with the highest total number of cases are the United States

The launch of the first module of China's new space station - "Heavenly Palace" - on Thursday underlined how far the country has come in achieving its space dream.The Tianhe core module houses life support equipment and a living space for astronauts, and is another key step in Beijing's grand plans to establish a permanent human presence in space.Beijing has poured billions into its military-run space programme, with hopes of having a crewed space station by 2022 and event

Dr Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser, has said countries have failed to unite to provide an adequate global response to prevent the “tragic” coronavirus outbreak from overwhelming India, and singled out wealthier nations for failing to provide equitable access to healthcare around the world.Fauci said the situation in India had highlighted global inequality.“The only way that you’re going to adequately respond to a global pandemic is by having a global response, and a glo

The transition from Trump to Joe Biden has been like going from a daily crack pipe, to a small bottle of low-alcohol beer once a week.The daily White House briefings now are a snooze fest. There are no fights, no name-calling.No middle of the night Twitter storms, no payments to porn stars, no rollicking MAGA rallies.So, does all this mean it's been a boring presidency? Absolutely not. This is a far more interesting presidency - so far - than I think any of us had imagined.

The United States (US) government needlessly escalated its rhetoric against China by claiming that a genocide is being mounted against the Uighur people in the Xinjiang region.