Libyan Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush speaks as she delivers a joint statement with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio in Tripoli, Libya March 25, 2021. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed
Dozens of armed men staged a show of force late Friday at a hotel used as a headquarters by Libya’s presidential council as the nation’s deep divisions resurface. x
The country was plunged into chaos after longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi was ousted and killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, and over the years the conflict has drawn in several foreign powers.
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COVID-19: More Support Easing Vaccine Patent Rules, But Hurdles Remain
COVID-19: More support easing vaccine patent rules, but hurdles remain
Geneva, May 7(AP) Several world leaders have praised the US call to remove patent protections on COVID-19 vaccines to help poor countries obtain shots. But the proposal faces a multitude of hurdles, including resistance from the pharmaceutical industry. Nor is it clear what effect such a step might have on the campaign to vanquish the outbreak. Activists and humanitarian institutions cheered after the US reversed course Wednesday and called for a waiver of intellectual property protections on the vaccine.
Covid: Germany rejects US-backed proposal to waive vaccine patents
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Germany has voiced opposition to a US-backed proposal to waive patents on Covid-19 vaccines, saying they were not hindering production of the jabs.
Its government said the protection of intellectual property is a source of innovation and must remain so .
The European Union earlier said it was ready to talk about the proposal, and some states gave it their full backing.
Supporters of the plan say it will allow more manufactures to produce the life-saving vaccines.
They argue that this will increase access to jabs in poorer countries.
May 6, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
In this April. 25, 2021, file photo, a relative of a person who died of COVID-19 reacts at a crematorium in Jammu, India. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) LONDON (Kyodo) Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Wednesday that Tokyo will contribute up to 5.5 billion yen ($50.3 million) in additional grant aid to India to help battle the coronavirus pandemic as the South Asian country is in crisis amid rapid spreading of the virus including more contagious variants. In an online meeting with Motegi, his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar expressed gratitude for Japan s assistance, Japan s Foreign Ministry said. On Friday, Japan said it will send 300 respirators and 300 oxygen concentrators to India. The Indian government is likely to use the funds to cover the cost.