Over 90% of states reported failures of services in key areas of medicine, including treatment for cancer, mental illness, HIV and hepatitis. This is evidenced by results of a study conducted by WHO. "The results of this latest study, conducted in late 2021, show that health systems in all regions and countries of all income levels continue to be severely impacted, with little to no improvement...

The impact of the current wave of the coronavirus on the eurozone economy is milder than previous waves, despite the high number of infections, said the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde. The region's economy suffers "less and less" from each wave of the pandemic, she said. "Although infection rates are very high, the impact of the pandemic on economic life now seems...

Chinese New Year celebrations have been cited as the culprit behind the worsening global problem of international freight traffic. This was reported by Reuters, citing analysts interviewed by the agency. Agency interlocutors said that just preparations for the Lunar New Year led to an increase in delivery time of goods from Chinese ports in the Belgian Antwerp from 68 to 88 days. A year earlier,...

Italian fashion house Dolce&Gabbana has announced a move away from the use of natural fur, starting with its new collections for the current year. In addition, it will continue to collaborate with Italian manufacturers of eco-friendly materials, which are intended to replace raw materials of animal origin in clothing and accessories. The fashion designers say they aim for a more sustainable...

European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson intends to discuss a possibility of increasing gas supplies to Europe with Azerbaijan in early February. This was reported by the Financial Times. The EU fears that Russia could cut gas supplies in response to Western sanctions if the conflict in Ukraine escalates, the FT reported. In this connection, according to the newspaper, the EU plans to send...

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed intensifying the EU-Qatar partnership, including in the energy sector. "It is important to strengthen Europe's energy security with all reliable partners," the EC head wrote on Twitter. Earlier, a senior US administration official told reporters that the US was looking for alternative...

US GDP in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the first estimate, grew by 6.9% year-on-year (if GDP had grown at the same rate for four consecutive quarters), according to a press release from the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis. Analysts polled by DailyFX had expected the US economy to grow by 5.5% on a year-on-year basis. Real growth in US consumer spending rose 3.3%...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered its forecast for US economic growth for 2022 to 4% from 5.2%, while raising it for 2023 to 2.6% from 2.2%, the fund's report showed. Meanwhile, for 2023, the US GDP growth forecast in the report is more positive at 2.6% compared to the 2.2% announced in October 2021. The fund also reported that it expects the eurozone economy to grow by...

The main long-term threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to World Bank (WB) analysts, is a systemic increase in educational, labor, and health inequalities in the developing world, rather than a brief spike in extreme poverty. School closures and drastic changes in educational forms, according to the WB experts, will make life considerably more difficult for the younger generation...