Oxfam

Israel announced on Friday that it would allow "temporary" aid deliveries into famine-threatened northern Gaza, hours after the United States warned of a sharp shift in its policy over the Gaza war.

A first boat loaded with 200 tonnes of food aid was making slow progress towards the Gaza Strip on Thursday as efforts grew to bring more humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian territory besieged by Israel.

The leaders of six Western countries reaffirmed their support for Israel's "right to defend itself against terrorism" but also urged it to adhere to international humanitarian law. At the same time, a second humanitarian aid convoy was allowed to enter the Gaza Strip.

The Covid pandemic has created a new billionaire every 30 hours and now one million people could fall into extreme poverty at the same pace, Oxfam said Monday as the Davos summit returns.

The economies of rich countries will shrink by twice as much as they did in the Covid-19 crisis if they fail to tackle rising greenhouse gas emissions, according to research.

Profits from Covid-19 jabs have helped at least nine people become billionaires, a campaign group said on Thursday, calling for an end to pharmaceutical corporations' "monopoly control" on vaccine technology, AFP reported.

The planet could have a year or less before first-generation Covid-19 vaccines are ineffective and modified formulations are needed, according to a survey of epidemiologists, virologists and infectious disease specialists.

There are fears that poorer countries could be left behind as richer nations "hoard" more doses of coronavirus vaccine than they need.

Wealthy countries have amassed a big enough stock of vaccine doses to immunize their people nearly three times over by the end of next year, assuming the vaccines in clinical trials are all approved for use.

The fallout from the coronavirus spread that has killed more than 83,000 people and wreaked havoc on economies around the world could push around half a billion people into poverty, Oxfam said on Thursday.

The fallout from the coronavirus spread that has killed more than 83,000 people and wreaked havoc on economies around the world could push around half a billion people into poverty, Oxfam said on April 9.