Bonds designed to provide fast funding for poor countries branded ‘obscene’ because of complex payout criteria A flagship $500m World Bank scheme to help the poorest countries deal with a health emergency is “too little too late” for the coronavirus outbreak, say health experts. The first pandemic emergency financing ... Read More »
Almost half of the world’s sandy beaches will have retreated significantly by the end of the century as a result of climate-driven coastal flooding and human interference, according to new research. The sand erosion will endanger wildlife and could inflict a heavy toll on coastal settlements that will no longer ... Read More »
A planet twice the size of Earth may be habitable, say scientists, opening up new possibilities in the search for alien life. The exoplanet K2-18b might have liquid water underneath the hydrogen-rich atmosphere on its surface. Researchers looked at the mass, radius and atmospheric data of the distant exoplanet and used models to find the ... Read More »
Astronomers have detected the biggest explosion ever seen in the universe. The vast blast came from a supermassive black hole and left a crater so big that it could hold 15 Milky Ways, according to the researchers behind the discovery. Astronomers are unable to explain why the explosion was quite ... Read More »
The number of people killed worldwide by the coronavirus has exceeded 3,000, as China reported 42 more deaths. More than 90% of the total deaths are in Hubei, the Chinese province where the virus emerged late last year. But there have also been deaths in 10 other countries, including more ... Read More »
The world prepared for a coronavirus pandemic on Friday as hopes the disease could be contained to China vanished and investors dumped equities in expectation of a global recession. Share prices were on track for the worst week since the global financial crisis in 2008 as virus-related disruptions to international ... Read More »
Demand for bigger cars drives increase in greenhouse gas emissions, says Which? New cars sold in the UK produce more carbon dioxide than older models, according to new research that suggests the industry is going backwards in tackling the climate crisis. Cars that reach the latest standards of emissions ... Read More »
Asia reported hundreds of new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, including the first U.S. soldier to be infected, as the United States warned of an inevitable pandemic and outbreaks in Italy and Iran spread to more countries. Asian shares fell on Wednesday as the U.S. warning to Americans to prepare for ... Read More »
Turquoise killifish is able to suspend its development for longer than its average lifespan The curious ability of the African turquoise killifish to press pause on its development could have intriguing implications for human ageing, say researchers. Certain creatures, including the killifish, can put themselves into suspended animation as ... Read More »
The deadly coronavirus is looking a lot like the theoretical “Disease X” that officials have long warned could spark a dangerous pandemic, a World Health Organization expert said. Marion Koopmans, a member of WHO’s emergency committee, said the virus is the first to meet the criteria of the so-called “Disease ... Read More »
Lebanese Ministry of Information