Exploring all angles to events that shape the world

The World Health Organization says it is temporarily halting its clinical trials that use hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID -19 patients over published concerns that the drug may do more harm than good. The move comes after the medical journal The Lancet reported on Friday May 22 that patients getting hydroxychloroquine were dying at higher rates than other coronavirus patients. The WHO has 3,500 patients from 17 countries enrolled in what it calls the Solidarity Trial. This is an effort overseen by the WHO to find new treatments for COVID -19. READ MORE

The director of Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (Nafdac), Mojisola Adeyeye, has disclosed that clinical trails for virus treatment using chloroquine will continue despite a recent move by the  WHO to suspend a similar trial over safety concerns. She told a local broadcaster that even though Nafdac did not dispute WHO ’s conclusions, the decision to continue with the trial was in order to generate their own data. “I do not know the data that they’re looking at, whether it’s from the Caucasian population or from the African population. If the data they’re looking at and the reason for suspending the trials is from Caucasian population, then it may be justified. “But I don’t think we have data from the African population yet, because our genetic make up is different,” she added. Lagos State had announced last week that trials were to start with the anti-malarial drug. READ MORE

Algerian authorities have vowed they will not give up on the controversial use of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment against coronavirus, despite the decision of the World Health Organization ( WHO ) to suspend clinical trials, a member of the Pandemic Monitoring Committee said Tuesday. “We have treated thousands of cases with this drug with great success to date. And we have not noted any adverse reactions,” Dr. Mohamed Bekkat, a member of the Scientific Committee monitoring the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic in Algeria, told AFP . “We have not recorded any deaths related to the use of (hydroxy)chloroquine,” said Dr. Bekkat, also president of the Council of the Algerian Medical Association. READ MORE

The mainstream media in the US has mainly questioned the Trump team's recent call to "trust" POTUS to restore the economy after the pandemic ends, yet few outlets have bothered to dissect what the administration has already done to prevent the economy from collapsing. The coronavirus pandemic has ruined Trump's perceived strong point in this year's presidential election, that POTUS greatly boosted the country's economy over the last four years. READ MORE

Russia is planning to create its own orbital space station and winged, crewed spacecraft, according to Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos. Speaking to Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda, Rogozin explained how the International Space Station (ISS) is due to operate for another seven-to-ten years, and, as a world leader in the space industry, Russia should be at the forefront of whatever comes next. READ MORE

Police fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters who gathered Sunday against a controversial security law proposed by China, in the most intense clashes for months. As the demonstrators and police were facing off in the semi-autonomous financial hub, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi insisted in Beijing that the proposed law must be imposed "without the slightest delay". READ MORE

China is targeting a July launch for its ambitious plans for a Mars mission which will include landing a remote-controlled robot on the surface of the red planet, the company in charge of the project has said. Beijing has invested billions of dollars in its space programme in an effort to catch up with its rival the United States and affirm its status as a major world power. READ MORE

China warned on Monday that it will take countermeasures if the United States insists on undermining its interests regarding Hong Kong, following the latest comments from Washington about possible sanctions over new national security legislation for the city.  READ MORE

China’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong and the city’s security chief on Monday defended proposed national security laws by describing some acts in mass pro-democracy protests last year as terrorism. Several government departments issued statements in defence of the proposal after the biggest protest in the city since the coronavirus lockdown on Sunday. The security legislation, some details of which were announced last week, aims to tackle secession, subversion and terrorist activities and could see Chinese intelligence agencies set up bases in semi-autonomous Hong Kong, one of the world’s leading financial hubs. READ MORE

Britain’s refusal to seal climate commitments in a new deal with the European Union to govern their relations after Brexit has become a stumbling block in their deadlocked talks and raises the risk of future trade disputes. While Britain has joined the global Paris agreement to fight climate change and has its own ambitious emissions-cutting goals, London has refused to make binding commitments in the area in the new deal it is seeking with the EU from 2021. READ MORE

It’s back to the future as NASA astronauts launch again from the U.S. — aboard a retro-style “Right Stuff” capsule. Make no mistake: This is not your father’s — or grandfather’s — capsule. SpaceX’s Dragon crew capsule outshines NASA’s old Apollo spacecraft in virtually every way. The Dragon’s clean lines and minimalist interior, with touchscreens instead of a mess of switches and knobs, make even the space shuttles seem yesteryear. READ MORE

The African response to the coronavirus pandemic has received widespread praise. Despite the multitude of resource challenges they face, African countries have come together in remarkable ways, united by a common purpose. The countries of the Global South are more vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19 because of low levels of development, insufficient resources and weak health systems. READ MORE

The March coronavirus stimulus package provided an extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits for four months for the now 39 million people who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic, inspiring Republicans to make bogeymen of the people earning more than before. READ MORE