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G7 summit begins with focus on pandemic, climate change

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By Gistflash

June 11, 2021

Leaders of the Group of Major Industrialised Nations (G7) are meeting on Friday for a summit that is overshadowed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

On the first day, leaders are due to discuss recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic, focusing on questions such as COVID-19 vaccine donations and financial aid to build vaccine production sites around the world.

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The G7 group had pledged to donate one billion vaccine doses to poorer nations by sharing jabs directly and through financial aid, the British government announced.

Leaders were also to come up with a plan to extend vaccine manufacturing.

Ahead of the summit, U.S. President Joe Biden said the U.S. would donate another 500 million vaccine doses to 92 poorer countries and the African Union by June next year.

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is hosting the three-day summit in the coastal village of Carbis Bay, announced that his country would provide 100 million surplus doses, most of them to be distributed through the COVAX vaccine-sharing programme.

The G7 group remained divided over the issue of lifting patent protection for Coronavirus vaccines, as proposed by the U.S. and several other nations.

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French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France and South Africa would present a proposal during the summit on an exemption for a limited period of time and applying to particular places.

The group was also looking to discuss plans to better prepare the world for future outbreaks.

“Global solutions are needed,’’ according to a draft of a “Carbis Bay Health Declaration’’ seen by dpa.

In the draft, the G7 leaders commit “to strengthen our collective defences to better prevent, detect and respond to, and recover from, future pandemics through effective multilateral action and a strengthened global health system.’’

In the evening, the leaders are scheduled to attend a reception hosted by Queen Elizabeth II and her son, Prince Charles, during which environmental protection and fighting climate change was on the agenda.

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It was the leaders’ first in-person meeting in this format in two years, after the G7 leaders only met virtually last year due to the pandemic.

It was the first major international summit for Biden, which he was attending as part of a one-week Europe trip.

The group will also discuss relationships with Russia and China, with Biden looking to strengthen ties with the other G7 members again to create a united counterweight to the two nations.

The G7 comprises the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada. On Saturday, the leaders of Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa were invited as guests as well.

Johnson said he hoped this would make the summit more of a conference of leading democracies.

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dpa/NAN

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Foreign

Magnitude 5.8 earthquake hits Greek island of Crete

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By Gistflash News

Sept 27, 2021

A magnitude 5.8 strong quake hit Greece’s Crete island on Monday, according to the Geodynamics Institute of the National Observatory of Athens.

The tremor’s epicentre was located at a depth of 10 km, some 25 km south of the city of Heraklion, the capital of Crete island, while aftershocks up to 4.3 magnitude have followed, according to Greek scientists.

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Material damage has been reported, with no injuries until now, local officials told Greek national news agency AMNA.

Earlier, the Euro Mediterranean Seismological Centre put the quake’s magnitude at 6.2, which was later revised to 6.0.

Xinhua/NAN

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WHO investigators seeking COVID-19 origin going back to China

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By Gistflash News

Sept 27, 2021

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is launching a new investigation into the origins of COVID-19, months after an earlier probe ended without drawing firm conclusions, according to a report published.

WHO was putting together a team of some 20 scientists, who will be charged with finding new evidence in China and other locales, the Wall Street Journal reported.

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The group will examine whether the virus emerged from a laboratory, a theory that has been angrily rejected by China.

In December 2020, WHO investigators began visits to Wuhan, China, where the first known outbreak of the virus took place.

But their March 2021 report said they had gotten insufficient information from Chinese scientists to answer key questions about COVID-19’s origin.

In August, U.S. intelligence agencies issued a separate report saying they also could not make firm conclusions about COVID-19’s origins.

dpa/NAN

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Florida Gov. appoints Nigerian-American, Joseph Ladapo Surgeon-General

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By Gistflash News

Sept 25, 2021

Ron DeSantis,  Florida Governor,  U.S.  has appointed a Nigerian-American, Dr Joseph Ladapo,  as Florida Surgeon-General and Secretary of the Department of Health.

DeSantis in a statement posted on the Florida Department of Health website,  stated that he was pleased to announce Ladapo for the position.

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“I am pleased to announce that  Ladapo will lead the Florida department of health as our state’s next surgeon-general

“Ladapo comes to us by way of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, with a superb background.”

According to him, Ladapo has had both a remarkable academic and medical career with a strong emphasis in health policy research.

The governor said: ” Ladapo will  bring great leadership to the department of health, ” thanking both Dr Scott Rivkees and Dr  Shamarial Roberson for their hard work on behalf of all Floridians.

Lieutenant-Governor,  Jeanette Nuñez described Ladapo’s as, “an excellent choice to serve as our next surgeon general.

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“Ladapo has impeccable credentials and a strong vision to effectively serve the people of Florida at the helm of our public health agency.

“Through his service to our state, we will continue Florida’s work to advance our public health goals,” Nuñez said.

Ladapo said he is honored to have been chosen by DeSantis to serve as Florida’s next surgeon-general.

“We must make health policy decisions rooted in data and not in fear.

“From California, I have observed the different approaches taken by governors across the country and I have been impressed by DeSantis’ leadership and determination,” he said.

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The new surgeon-general said he was impressed by DeSantis’ leadership to ensure that Floridians were afforded all opportunities to maintain their health and wellness, while preserving their freedoms as Americans.

“It is a privilege to join his team and serve the people of Florida,” he said.

Ladapo was recently granted a professorship at the University of Florida (UF) College of Medicine.

Prior to joining UF, he served as an associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),caring for hospitalised patients.

He is a graduate of Wake Forest University, who also holds an MD from Harvard Medical School and a PhD in Health Policy from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

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