DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The International Monetary Fund has raised its economic outlook for the Middle East and North Africa region’s growth in 2020 by 1.2 percentage points to an overall contraction of 3.8%, showing that despite some progress since the coronavirus pandemic began, it’s still been a brutal year by any account. Recovery
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American politics often baffles outsiders but on the eve of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, it really has never been weirder. Politicians promoting a delusional conspiracy claiming America is in the grips of a child-trafficking liberal cabal backed by the deep state are now sitting in the US Congress. And Mr Trump‘s grand fiction that
South Africa is suspending its rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine after finding it offers limited protection against mild disease caused by the COVID-19 variant discovered there. It follows disappointing results in a trial conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said. The government had been intending to give the AstraZeneca
If the name Hunt Oil rings a bell, it should. As an affiliate of US-based Hunt Consolidated, it is part of a $4 billion oil and gas empire and one of the largest privately held firms in the US. If anyone would be interested in cutting off the renewable energy revolution at the knees, that
Yuba’s electric cargo bikes are known for landing fairly high on the quality ladder. That premium build has also kept them perched quite high on the price ladder as well… until now. The company’s newest electric cargo bike, the Yuba Kombi E5, is shaking things up as Yuba’s new entry-level e-cargo bike model. The original
Recently, the Jackery team sent me one of their portable power stations: the Explorer 1000. Some companies call these “solar generators” because they can act like a generator, but they are in fact a solar panel, batteries, and an inverter to supply 110 volt power for household appliances. Full disclosure: Jackery is giving me the
Amazon and other major internet retailers could be hit with a new online sales tax to help the UK pay its debts after extensive borrowing during the pandemic. Treasury sources confirmed Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering targeting companies that have done well out of the pandemic to help pay back UK government debts built up
GCSE and A-level students have been hardest hit by COVID-19, according to the UK’s biggest study into the impacts on young people. It found pupils due to sit exams this year were not engaged with their work, and have the lowest wellbeing scores. But the report, by education group ImpactEd, also says they are not
NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC anchor Lester Holt It’s time to start thinking about a new business model for news. In the past year or so, nearly every media company has launched a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service. Most haven’t incorporated their full news divisions into the products, which are dominated by entertainment. Disney‘s three
A private equity consortium is threatening to abandon a £1.4bn deal to shake up Italian football’s broadcast rights amid uncertainty over the intentions of some of the league’s top clubs. Sky News has learnt that a group of investors including Advent International and CVC Capital Partners wrote to Serie A’s 20 clubs late last week
Katie Price’s son Harvey has returned home after being rushed to hospital shortly after receiving his COVID-19 vaccination. The teenager – who suffers from Prader-Willi syndrome – had been suffering with a high temperature and shaking following his jab on Friday. Harvey, 18, received the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab as his rare genetic condition means he falls
Trade barriers between Great Britain and the island of Ireland are a consequence of the UK’s EU exit and Brexiteers need to accept that, the president of Sinn Fein has told Sky News. Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Mary Lou McDonald said it should not come as “any surprise to any sensible person that
The government is “very concerned” about low uptake of the coronavirus jab among black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, the vaccines minister has told Sky News. Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Nadhim Zahawi said overall COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was “very high”, with data from the Office for National Statistics showing 85% of adults
Whisky distilleries on an archipelago west of mainland Scotland could soon be powered using electricity generated by subsea tidal turbines. Tidal energy firm Nova Innovation said Wednesday it would install the turbines between the islands of Jura and Islay, which are part of the Inner Hebrides. The move will be another example of how marine
At least 150 people are feared dead in northern India after part of a Himalayan glacier broke off, sending a flood of water and debris into two hydroelectric dams. A portion of Nanda Devi glacier broke off in the Tapovan area of Uttarakhand state on Sunday, with the subsequent flooding damaging the Rishiganga and Dhauliganga
The vaccines minister has told Sky News he is “confident” the UK will hit its “tough target” of offering everybody over 50 a coronavirus jab by May. Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Nadhim Zahawi said that at one point on Saturday, the UK was administering COVID-19 jabs at a rate of almost 1,000 per