EU leaders to talk over social strategy in Porto summit
European Union leaders have met up in Portugal to set the bloc s social agenda. But some are skeptical of a breakthrough amid resistance from the so-called Frugal Four.
The majority of EU leaders are attending the summit in person for the first time this year
The European Union heads of state and government met in the Portuguese city of Porto on Friday to discuss the bloc s social affairs strategy for the next decade. The (pandemic) recovery is still in an early stage, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in her opening speech at the high-level conference.
NEW DELHI: With coronavirus cases still surging to record levels, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing growing pressure to impose a harsh nationwide lockdown amid a debate whether restrictions imposed by individual states are enough.
Many medical experts, opposition leaders and some of the Supreme Court judges have suggested the lockdown seems to be the only option with the virus raging in cities and towns, where hospitals are forced to turn patients away while relatives scramble to find oxygen. Crematoriums and burial grounds are struggling to handle the dead.
On Friday, India recorded a new record of 414,188 confirmed cases in the past 24 hours. Its tally has risen to more than 21.4 million since the pandemic began with faint hopes of the curve going down quickly. The Health Ministry also reported 3,915 additional deaths, bringing the total to 234,083. Experts believe both figures are an undercount.
EU Leaders Pledge Brussels Role In Fight Against Poverty By Thomas CABRAL with Alex PIGMAN in Brussels
05/07/21 AT 8:15 PM
EU leaders stressed on Friday the importance of fighting poverty and inequality as the continent emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, but member states remain divided about Brussels role in rebuilding a fair economy.
The heads of the EU institutions agreed an action plan with stakeholders from labour and civil society, before heading to dinner with most of the 27 member state leaders ahead of Saturday s European summit. We are going to transform Europe s economic governance, thanks to this action plan, the model will be more balanced, more fair. a better Europe, host Antonio Costa, the socialist prime minister of Portugal, declared.
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HELENA, Mont. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced that Montana will share COVID-19 vaccines with Canadian truck drivers from neighboring Alberta.
According to a memorandum of understanding signed Friday about 2,000 truck drivers from Alberta who transport goods from Canada to the U.S. will be eligible to be vaccinated at a highway rest stop near Conrad.
The vaccines will be available between May 10 and May 23. A similar program to vaccinate truck drivers from Canada began in North Dakota last month.
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The pharmaceutical industry is arguing that President Joe Biden’s decision to back a waiver for COVID-19 vaccine patent protections will undermine innovation and shrink the already-strained supply chain.
“It s an empty promise. . It s not going to lead to more shots in arms. In fact, it s likely to make the situation worse because patents aren t the problem,” Stephen Ubl, CEO of pharmaceutical industry trade group PhRMA
said on Fox Friday.
The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that the United States would support a proposal moving through the World Trade Organization to lift intellectual property protections temporarily on coronavirus vaccines in an effort to aid other countries struggling to quell devastating outbreaks. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai called the administration’s policy reversal “extraordinary measures … in service of ending this pandemic.”