Author: WTX News

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine was found to be 91.6 per cent effective against symptomatic Covid-19 in trial results published Tuesday, as the number of vaccinations administered worldwide passed 100 million. But none of the world´s 29 poorest countries has formally started mass vaccination drives, while the richest nations — despite finger-pointing over delivery delays — have provided more than two-thirds of the jabs administered so far. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has initiated clinical trials of Russia’s sputnik vaccine for Covid-19 as the number of cases surge in the country. Additionally, The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has granted approval…

The UAE coronavirus is moving steadily and confidently towards containing the current pandemic and moving forward through the recovery planning phase. National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) announced that through moving past the recovery planning phase with competence and ability through its institutions and members of society, both citizens and (Expat) residents. The UAE continues its wide screening approach to check the spread of the pandemic by testing large sections of the society at a time, with the total number of tests exceeding 26 million. UAE Vaccine 26 Million tests done During the media briefing on Tuesday evening,…

UAE schools and universities to begin ‘gradual return’ from February 14. Ministry of Education says classes will begin to return to normal, but distance learning will remain an option for this academic year The UAE Ministry of Education set out details on Wednesday of how the UAE schools reopening will take place. The decision came as many schools remain physically closed as a precaution or due to cases among staff and patients. “The option of distance education will remain available until the end of the current school year, taking into account the importance of coordination between parents and school principals,”…

The UAE is fast becoming a gaming hub for esports in the Middle East. Through innovative alliances and partnerships with leading US organisations – like Monumental Sports & Entertainment– the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC is connecting like-minded gaming enthusiasts in the US and the Middle East, and increasing cultural understanding. The UAE signed a partnership with the International Esports Federation to promote tolerance and coexistence within its ecosystem. This along with creating a virtual economy has been a shift in focus from the oil-rich nation. It has a certain symmetry in the middle east, with lots of tech startups being given a push in the region. Nymcard received a…

Gamestop stock fall 60 percent as Reddit-driven short squeeze loses steam, as Wall Street bites back. GameStop stock plummeted Tuesday, losing more than half of its opening value and falling to its lowest level in a week. Shares of GameStop plunged to $90 by the end of Tuesday trading, a 60 percent loss that shaved $135 from its opening price. GameStop stock has fallen steadily since Thursday after hitting a peak of $483, roughly 1,800 percent higher than its price at the start of the year. Wall Street bites back The brutal two-day stretch for Gamestop may be the death…

Uber said Tuesday it reached an agreement to acquire Drizly for about $1.1 billion in stock and cash in Uber’s latest acquisition. Uber said Tuesday it has reached an agreement to acquire the alcohol delivery service platform Drizly for about $1.1 billion in stock and cash, further expanding the ride-share company’s services. Once the transaction is completed, Drizly will be integrated with Uber’s food delivery platform, Uber Eats, and also maintain a separate Drizly app. “By bringing Drizly into the Uber family, we can accelerate that trajectory by exposing Drizly to the Uber audience and expanding its geographic presence into…

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is to step down as chief executive of the e-commerce giant that he started in his garage nearly 30 years ago. He will become executive chairman, a move he said would give him “time and energy” to focus on his other ventures. Jeff Bezos is the world’s richest man, (although jeff Besoz net worth has been superseded by Elon Musk briefly) will be replaced by Andy Jassy, who currently leads Amazon’s cloud computing business. https://twitter.com/RepJayapal/status/1356744311644319747 “Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard…

Alcohol deaths hit record high during Covid-19 pandemic Alcohol-related deaths hit a record new high during the first nine months of 2020, provisional figures for England and Wales show. Between January and September, 5,460 deaths were registered with this cause – up 16% on the same months in 2019. It is the biggest toll recorded since records began in 2001.  The high rates spanned the period during and after the first Covid lockdown, the Office for National Statistics figures show. It reached a peak of 12.8 deaths per 100,000 people in the first three months of 2020 and remained at…

New Adidas Originals shoes ZX 5000 Torsion are made of yellow kevlar, a retro rebuilt. adidas original shoes Adidas launched the ZX series in 1984, and the German activewear giant’s retro Originals branch has kept its first-ever running-focused sneaker alive in its A-ZX range, most recently via the new ZX 5000 Torsion. The jaw-dropping sneaker comes loaded with multiple custom lace options—pictured below in a yellow-specked black material that matches the heel counter’s windows—torsion lace jewels, and bright yellow sock liners. The updated silhouettes feature an entirely radical yellow Kevlar upper sat atop a matching yellow midsole. It looks spectacular. The…

Nigel Slater’s recipe for beetroot remoulade with blood orange Chef and food writer Nigel Slater offers up a recipe for a colourful, zesty supper that’s quick to prepare The recipe Make a dressing by slicing a blood orange in half and squeezing the juice into a bowl. Add the juice of half a lemon. Stir in 1 tsp of capers. Season with black pepper, then pour in 3 tbsp of olive oil and a little salt. Your dressing should be clean tasting, sharp and slightly salty. Remove the peel from 3 medium-sized blood oranges. Cut each fruit into about 6…

Captain Sir Tom Moore dies aged 100 Captain Sir Tom Moore has died with coronavirus. UPDATED: Number 10 to lower flag to half mast Number 10 Downing Street will lower the flag to half mast in tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore, the BBC’s political correspondent Iain Watson reports Captain Tom raised almost £33m for NHS charities, was taken to Bedford Hospital after requiring help with his breathing on Sunday. His daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore said the family had “spent hours chatting to him” after he caught pneumonia. Last week he tested positive for Covid-19. Buckingham Palace said the Queen…

Tuesday’s Briefing VIDEO: Covid-19 BLITZ – Angelina Jolie talks divorce – UK fashion industry’s warning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfAAtKiHuBE Covid-19: Test blitz to ‘find every case’ of South African variant Turkey arrests dozens of students at peaceful protest over LGBT rights Portugal to receive planeload of German doctors, hospital beds & ventilators to counter dire Covid-19 surge Lebanon hits Daesh terror cell in border town Iran’s Zarif proposes coordinated return to nuclear deal with US Dozens leave Republican Party, calling it a ‘Trump cult’ Republicans Hold ‘Useful’ Meeting with Biden on New Virus Relief Aid Brexit: UK fashion industry warns it faces…

Daily News Briefing Brief. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfAAtKiHuBE&t=17s&ab_channel=WTXNewsTeam The top stories Covid-19: Test blitz to ‘find every case’ of South African variantBBC News says a door-to-door testing blitz is getting under way in a bid to find “every single case” of the South African coronavirus variant in England.On-the-spot doorstep tests, home testing kits and mobile testing units will be deployed to try to reach 80,000 people in eight specific areas.It follows fears that the more infectious version may be spreading in communities in England.The health secretary said he wanted to “come down hard” on the variant.Read on………………..Turkey arrests dozens of students at peaceful…

Italy restaurants open as Italy eases restrictions as the country tries to return to some form of normality as restaurants and museums are allowed to reopen. Some regions – including Rome and Venice – have been downgraded from orange to “lower risk” yellow zones. As many European countries begin toughening up COVID-19 restrictions, Italy has started relaxing them. https://twitter.com/MindFly_67/status/1347896329532551168 The relaxation of the rules on Monday followed a warning from the World Health Organisation and other experts that it may be too soon. italy Coronavirus ‘Soft-Opening’ However, the easing of restrictions hasn’t pleased many business owners. Some of them have…

We all know the tragic loss of 2020. Most of the year was spent in lockdown, nevermind global travel. But we have hope for 2021 as we choose the safest airlines to fly on in 2021. For most the Covid pandemic made flying feel like a distant memory, and for those who managed to travel it became and alien and dicey proposition in 2020. For many travellers, and there’s no telling what the state of the airline industry will look like as COVID-19 continues to spread into the New Year. But for those planning to fly in 2021, We have…

Police arrested at least 488 people demonstrations in Brussels today, on Sunday against measures to curb rising infections of the coronavirus. Police broke up demonstrations in Brussels’ today near the central train station and the Mont des Arts area, Bruxelles. Sunday’s crowds were made up of both Dutch and French-speaking demonstrators, which included Yellow Vest protesters and football supporters who had gathered in central Brussels. The arrests occurred as police broke up demonstrations around Brussels’ central train station and the Mont des Arts area. No charges have been so far reported. Demonstrations in Brussels today were not approved Belgium’s Prime…

Urgent testing after the South African variant found in Surrey  Testing has begun in parts of England after the South African variant of coronavirus were found with no known links to travel or previous cases. Two cases were found in Surrey and testing will also take place in London, Kent, Hertfordshire and Walsall.  Previous cases in the UK were traced back to South Africa. Cases caused by the variant were identified as part of PHE’s random checks on tests.  They have begun testing 5% of all positive cases, which has produced a number of cases that were not directly linked…

Are we ready to discuss the Subway Tuna Sandwich drama?  What’s actually going on with this claim? We look into the lawsuit Two California residents recently filed a lawsuit against Subway alleging the tuna used in Subway wraps and sandwiches isn’t actually tuna, but instead “a mixture of various concoctions that do not constitute tuna, yet have been blended together by [Subway] to imitate the appearance of tuna.”  The Tuna fiasco has caused quite a stir online with most claiming the tuna is fake and gross and slamming Subway – with little evidence.  The problem with the lawsuit is it…

Monday’s Briefing VIDEO: Myanmar coup – Covid-19 – Vaccine row heightens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhuzbWhgQgo Covid vaccine offered to all care homes in England Captain Sir Tom Moore admitted to hospital with coronavirus France & Germany threaten AstraZeneca with legal action if they favoured UK over EU when distributing Covid-19 vaccine Military coup in Myanmar as elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi is detained Egypt to launch satellite at end of 2021 More Brazil protests against Bolsonaro’s COVID-19 response Suspected suicide car bomb targets hotel in Somali capital Silver surges as Reddit army turns to commodities Brighton beat Spurs to go seven…

Daily News Briefing Brief. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXLMP8NTNMw The top stories Covid vaccine offered to all care homes in England BBC News says a Covid vaccine has been offered to residents at every eligible care home in England, the NHS has announced. Boris Johnson described the achievement, expected to be confirmed by official figures on Monday, as a “crucial milestone”. A target of 15 February has been set for the UK to vaccinate care home residents and carers, people over 70 and frontline care workers. On Saturday a record 598,389 first jabs were given across the UK. Read on ……………….. Captain Sir Tom…

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is reportedly under pressure to resign her post, after a disastrous and short-lived where the EU President took a decision to block vaccines travelling to the UK. The call to block vaccines entering the UK, after a dispute with drugmaker AstraZeneca vaccine over a shortage of supply, would have breached the Belfast Good Friday peace agreement by creating an internal border on the island of Ireland. The EU quickly retreated from its position after a global backlash, with Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove saying Brussels had recognised its “mistake”. AstraZeneca vaccine shortages The…

The German government slashed this year’s economic growth predictions to 3% on Wednesday citing the impact of coronavirus lockdowns, a drop from last autumn’s 4.4% forecast. Chancellor Angela Merkel and state leaders agreed last week to extend the shutdown until mid-February. GDP Growth forecast “We are currently seeing a flattening of the number of infections, which is giving hope,” said Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said. The economy shrank by a smaller-than-expected 5% last year, which marked the second-biggest economic plunge in the country’s post-war history. The record slump of -5.7 came in 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Altmaeir said Germany…

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has said he met with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over plans to force tech giants to pay for news sourced from local media outlets, but the Facebook chief executive and founder was unable to shift the position of the leaders. Mr Frydenberg said he and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher met with Mr Zuckerberg last week after the Facebook chief executive “reached out” to the ministers to discuss the matter in more detail. Facebook wants to post without paying But the facebook founder was unable to move the Government’s position on the code. It has been alleged…

Myanmar’s military has taken control of the country after detaining de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other politicians in the early hours. Following election Fraud allegations. The armed forces in Myanmar have confirmed that they have carried out a coup d’etat, their first against a civilian government since 1962, and in apparent violation of the constitution which the military promised to honour as recently as last Saturday. But allegations by the army of widespread voter fraud, which the electoral commission denies, have led to the most direct confrontation yet between the civilian Government and the military, who share power…

Hedge fund Melvin Capital lost 53% in January, as wall street feels the hurt from Gamestop stock gamble, according to media reports. The latest surge in silver comes as the damage to one Wall Street firm becomes clearer. However, the firm received commitments for fresh cash from investors in the last days of January and ended the month with $8bn (£5.8bn) in assets after having started the year with roughly $12.5bn, according to Reuters. The firm had bet that ailing video game retailer GameStop’s stock, which traded at less than $5 five months ago, would fall further. But retail investors,…