US city on verge of ‘duress law’ to give criminals ‘poverty’ shield

US city on verge of ‘duress law’ to give criminals ‘poverty’ shield

Elected officials in a major US city plan to pass a law that will allow thieves to sell items they steal if they do it to earn money for basic needs and trespassers to set up camp on private property when it is to obtain adequate shelter. Dozens of other...

Read more
South Africa’s minerals council seals partnership with ‘Mining Indaba’

South Africa’s minerals council seals partnership with ‘Mining Indaba’

Minerals Council of South Africa has announced a strategic investment partnership with African Mining Indaba. The partnership comes into effect in February next year. The minerals council has long been a supporter, partner and participant in the annual in-person Mining Indaba. Mining Indaba in local language refers to annual mining...

Read more
Billions poured into Covid vaccine facilitated multiple tests at the same time

Billions poured into Covid vaccine facilitated multiple tests at the same time

The slowest part of vaccine development isn’t finding candidate treatments, but testing them. This often takes years, with companies running efficacy and safety tests on animals and then in humans. Human testing requires three phases that involve increasing numbers of people and proportionately escalating costs. The Covid-19 vaccines went through...

Read more
Fast quest for coronavirus vaccines and what it means for other diseases

Fast quest for coronavirus vaccines and what it means for other diseases

When scientists began seeking a vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in early 2020, they were careful not to promise quick success. The fastest any vaccine had previously been developed, from viral sampling to approval, was four years, for mumps in the 1960s. To hope for one even by the summer...

Read more