Graphic News Planner (news) 05/03/2021 14:52:50

June 1, 2021 -- The long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum, described as the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilisation, is due to open on the outskirts of Cairo. Approximately 100,000 ancient artifacts will be on display, including the complete Tutankhamun collection.

ARCHAEOLOGY: Grand Egyptian Museum (Graphic DUE Mar 15, 18:00GMT)
GN41079
(107mm by mm deep)

March 4, 2021 -- “Loyal Wingman”, a joint project between Boeing and Australia’s military, is a combat drone capable of flying alongside manned aircraft, offering fighter jet-like performance at a much lower cost.

The “Loyal Wingman” – the first military aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia in over 50 years – made its first flight on Feb 27.

The aircraft is 11.6m long, has a 2,000 nautical mile (3,700km) range, and a nose that can be outfitted with various payloads. The aircraft can also carry weapons and act as a shield to help protect more expensive manned fighter jets, according to its developers.

Boeing has decided to the Loyal Wingman as the basis for its $400 million U.S. Air Force Skyborg prototype, an executive at the plane maker said on Mar 2.

As part of the Skyborg programme, the U.S. Air Force hopes to build a family of low-cost, attritable drones that can be reused, but are cheap enough that losses in combat can be financially and operationally tolerated.

The project is meant to produce a family of uncrewed aerial systems that can move into contested spaces and conduct aerial missions that might be too dangerous for human pilots to perform.

MILITARY: Boeing “loyal wingman” drone (Graphic)
GN41103 Graphic shows details of Boeing’s “loyal wingman” concept.
(107mm wide by 164mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 5, 2021 -- A lethal pandemic, economic and physical insecurity, and violent conflict ravaged the world in 2020, marking the 15th consecutive year of decline in global democracy, according to “Freedom in the World.”

The annual Freedom in the World report, published by Washington-based Freedom House, assesses the current state of civil and political rights on a scale from 1 (most free) to 7 (least free).

States where the average for political and civil liberties differed from 1.0 to 2.5, are considered “Free.” Those with values from 3.0 to 5.5 are “Partly Free”, and those with values between 5.5 and 7.0 are “Not Free.”

The latest Freedom in the World report concludes that the proportion of Not Free countries is now the highest in the past 15 years.

With India’s decline by four points from Free to Partly Free, less than 20 per cent of the world’s population now lives in a Free country, the smallest proportion since 1995.

The largest fall was in Kyrgyzstan. According to Freedom House, fraudulent parliamentary elections touched off protests. Sadyr Japarov -- a nationalist politician -- seized power as both prime minister and president. The country earned an 11-point score decline in 2020.

In the United States, Donald Trump’s presidency featured unprecedented attacks on one of the world’s most visible and influential democracies. For four years, Trump condoned and pardoned official malfeasance, ducked accountability for his transgressions, and encouraged racist and right-wing extremists.

Freedom House reduced the U.S. score by three points. The U.S.’s aggregate score has declined by 11 points over the past ten years, placing it among the 25 countries that have suffered the largest declines in this period.

POLITICS: Democracy under siege (Graphic)
GN41105 Graphic shows changes in “democracy gap” from 2005 to 2020.
(107mm by 161mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 4, 2021 -- Boeing has raised concerns over the design of arch-rival Airbus’ newest narrow-body jet, the A321XLR, saying a novel type of fuel tank – moulded directly into the fuselage – could pose fire risks.

In a submission to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Boeing said the architecture of a fuel tank intended to increase the A321XLR’s range “presents many potential hazards,” according to a Reuters report.

Airbus plans to make the new tank an integral part of the fuselage, meaning its shape would follow the contours of the jet and carry more fuel.

EASA has said it would impose special conditions to ensure the fuselage around the integral fuel tank is resistant to external fire to protect passengers.

In comments to EASA first reported by Flightglobal, Boeing cited risks if a jet veers off a runway or its wheels fail.

AVIATION: Airbus A321XLR factbox (Graphic)
GN41100 Graphic shows details of Airbus A321XLR.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 4, 2021 -- A global analysis of the cost of luxury living space by Knight Frank reveals the amount of real estate you can buy for US$1 million.

The annual Wealth Report 2021, published by London-based property consultancy Knight Frank, selected 20 prime city markets and calculated, based on typical luxury residential values and the exchange rate at the end of 2020, how many square metres $1 million will buy.

Monaco and Hong Kong are still the world’s most expensive residential markets -- positions they have held for the past decade. London retains its third spot, with New York in fourth place. Geneva has moved up the rankings this year, while cities in emerging markets such as Cape Town and São Paulo offer more space for your money than last year due to a combination of lower prices and currency shifts against the dollar.

London offers more than 40 per cent more luxury living space for your money, giving 31 square metres compared to 22 square metres in 2015. New York also offers an increase in area, offering 34 square metres in 2020 compared with 27 square metres in 2015 -- a 25.9 per cent increase. Los Angeles provided almost a third less space, 44 square metres, compared with 65 square metres in 2015, a 32.3 per cent decrease.

With cross-border travel halted mainly by the coronavirus pandemic, markets reliant on large inflows of international demand, such as Monaco and Dubai, saw prime apartment sales decline, Knight Frank reports.

Barbados’s new 12-month “golden visas” scheme -- aimed at a new breed of wealthy digital nomads -- saw almost 2,000 applications between July and November 2020. Dubai has implemented a similar golden visa programme.

BUSINESS: Changing cost of real estate (Graphic)
GN41101 Graphic shows cost of prime real estate in selected coutries.
(107mm by 152mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 5-8, 2021 -- Iraq hosts several ancient Christian communities but they now number only around 250,000 people, down from a population of some 1.5 million before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Despite the the threats of Covid-19 and terrorism, the first ever papal visit to Iraq is due to go ahead, during which Francis will meet beleaguered Christian communities.

For Iraq’s small Christian community, the highlight of the trip will be Francis’ visit to the north of the country. Thousands of Christians in the area were killed under the rule of Islamic State between 2014 and 2017, and hundreds of thousands more fled their homes in the face of violence and persecution.

Francis will visit the cities of Irbil, Mosul and Qaraqosh to meet people now trying to rebuild their communities and churches.

The Christians of Iraq are considered to be one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world. They have inhabited what is modern day Iraq for about 2,000 years, tracing their ancestry to ancient Mesopotamia and surrounding lands.

There are 14 officially recognised Christian sects in Iraq. Most live in Baghdad, the plains of northern Nineveh province and Iraq’s self-run Kurdistan region.

MIDEAST: Iraq’s Christian denominations (Graphic)
GN41097 Graphic shows most prominent Christian denominations in Iraq.
(107mm wide by 168mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 3, 2021 -- The U.S. and EU have launched sanctions against nine Russian officials accused of playing a role in poisoning and jailing Russia’s most prominent opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

The U.S. measures against seven officials marked the Biden administration’s first sanctions against associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In addition, 14 entities associated with Russia’s biological and chemical agent production were hit with punitive measures, including nine commercial parties in Russia, three in Germany, one in Switzerland and a Russian government research institute, Reuters said.

The European Union imposed largely symbolic sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to Putin, a move agreed by EU ministers last week in response to Navalny’s jailing.

Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption investigator, was arrested in Moscow in January upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusation.

In February, a court sentenced Navalny to two years and eight months in prison for violating the terms of his probation while recuperating in Germany. The sentence stems from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that Navalny has rejected as fabricated.

POLITICS: U.S. and EU sanctions over Navalny (Graphic)
GN41098 Graphic shows U.S. and EU sanctions on Russia.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 3, 2021 -- Households in the world’s largest economies amassed $2.9 trillion in extra savings during pandemic lockdowns -- spending power that could help global recovery, according to Bloomberg Economics.

Despite the financial distress experienced by many families during the pandemic lockdowns of the past year, most developed economies could work from home or received furlough payments or direct government cheques. With few services, travel or leisure activities open to spend incomes on, “excess” savings in the U.S., China, Britain, Japan and the biggest euro-area nations soared.

Almost half of the $2.9 trillion -- $1.5 trillion -- is in the U.S. alone, Bloomberg data show. Chinese households poured 2.8 trillion yuan ($430 billion) more into their bank accounts than they might have done usually.

Deposits also rose 32.6 trillion yen ($300 billion) in Japan, and eurozone economies climbed a combined €387 billion ($468 billion). An analysis of British banks’ results shows domestic customers deposited £117 billion ($160 billion) of extra cash last year.

However, Bloomberg concludes that those who earn the most will likely have stockpiled. In contrast, lower-income households may have already dipped into their savings. Others may resist the urge to splurge, fearing that at some point governments will hike taxes to pay for their rescue programmes.

BUSINESS: Covid impact on savings (Graphic)
GN41099 Graphic shows breakdown of savings by country.
(107mm by 93mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 2, 2021 -- Conflict is growing between Sahrawis in Algeria’s desert refugee camps and Morocco after former president Donald Trump recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in December.

The Sahrawi government-in-exile has called on U.S. President Joe Biden to reverse his predecessor’s decision, according to Reuters.

The dispute over Western Sahara dates to the time when the territory, rich in phosphates and fishing grounds, was a Spanish colony, resisted by the Sahrawi group’s Polisario Front with Algerian backing but also claimed by Morocco.

When Spain left in 1975, Moroccan troops marched in and the Polisario, with Algerian support, turned its guns on what it saw as a continuation of colonial rule by a different country.

The two agreed a ceasefire in 1991 but, as the conflict froze and negotiations over a permanent settlement stalled, the refugees stayed in the camps.

Morocco regards the region as part of its territory and is prepared to offer nothing beyond limited autonomy. The Polisario and its government in exile seek independence.

AFRICA: Renewed conflict in Western Sahara (Graphic)
GN41096 Graphic shows timeline of dispute and areas of control in Western Sahara.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 2, 2021 -- A contract between the Indian government, Russia’s Kalashnikov Concern and Rosoboronexport could see a $766.5 million order for 750,000 AK-203 assault rifles -- with most to be produced in India.

The AK-203 will replace the Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) assault rifle, the standard infantry weapon of the Indian Armed Forces. The 5.56 calibre INSAS has been in use since 1996 but is dogged by reliability issues such as jamming and overheating. Plastic magazines are known to crack in the cold of the Himalayas.

India’s Ordnance Factory Board will hold a majority stake of 50.5 per cent of the joint venture Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited. The Kalashnikov Group will have a 42 per cent share, and state-owned Rosoboronexport will own the remaining 7.5 per cent.

The Korwa Ordnance Factory in Uttar Pradesh, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, will build the 7.62×39mm AK-203.

The rifle will cost around US$1,022 (Rs 75,000), including technology transfer and licensing. Last year, the army purchased 72,000 rifles from U.S. gun-maker SIG Sauer under a fast-track process. According to The Economic Times of India, the unit cost of the American-made assault rifle was around $1,218 (Rs 89,000).

The indigenously produced AK-203 features an ergonomic pistol grip that perfectly imitates the user’s hand. Universal Picatinny rails enable mounting infrared and night vision devices, laser sights, etc. An Indian-made 40mm grenade launcher can fit under the barrel.

Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane recently said that the final contract with Russia is to be signed soon.

MILITARY: India-Russia assault rifle deal (Graphic)
GN41095 Graphic shows Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifle.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 1, 2021 -- The Gulf Stream is at its weakest in more than 1,000 years, with new data suggesting that global warming is slowing the pace of the powerful ocean current that controls much of the Atlantic.

Two studies published recently reveal climate change is slowing down the ocean current, which carries warm water to Europe, more dramatically than previously expected.

Scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, who published a study in Nature Geoscience, say that the current has already slowed by 15 per cent in the last century, and that this is starting to affect weather patterns, such as more frequent heatwaves in southern Europe.

They predict that the current will weaken further if global heating continues, and could reduce by about 34% to 45% by the end of this century.

A separate study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that if the pace of global warming accelerates, this could cause the Gulf Stream to shut down entirely.

The Gulf Stream is one of the strongest ocean currents in the world, carrying more than 100 times the flow of the Amazon River.

It is driven by surface wind patterns and differences in water density. Surface water in the north Atlantic is cooled by winds from the Arctic. It becomes more salty and more dense and sinks to the ocean floor. The cold water then moves towards the equator where it will warm slowly.

To replace the cold equator-bound water, the Gulf Stream moves warm water from the Gulf of Mexico north into the Atlantic.

CLIMATE: Gulf Stream at weakest in a millennium (Graphic)
GN41090 Graphic shows how the Gulf Stream works.
(107mm wide by 165mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 14-20, 2021 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features the physicist Stephen Hawking, the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, protests in Bahrain, the Eden Project in Cornwall, Turkey’s deal with the EU to curb immigration, legalisation of gambling in Nevada, U.S., and England’s Stonehenge.

March 14, 2018: World renowned physicist Stephen Hawking died aged 76. He was the first to set out a theory of cosmology as a union of relativity and quantum mechanics

March 15, 44BC: Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in the Senate on the Ides of March by a group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius

March 16, 2011: Bahrain security forces attacked and cleared protesters from the Pearl roundabout in the centre of Manama, which had been the focus of weeks of protest

March 17, 2001: The world’s largest greenhouse opened at the Eden Project in Cornwall, England. Giant biomes recreate different climates and house thousands of plant species

March 18, 2016: Turkey reached a deal with the European Union to curb the tide of migrants heading for Greece, and take back migrants who were not eligible for asylum

March 19, 1931: The U.S. state of Nevada voted to legalise gambling, outlawed since 1909, to bring much needed money into the state during the Great Depression

March 20, 1996: Precise radiocarbon dating of bone fragments from Stonehenge indicated it was built between 2550 and 1600 BC, around 1,000 years earlier than previously thought

HISTORY: On this day March 14-20, 2021 (week 11) (Graphic)
GN41066 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set) View graphic

March 7-13, 2021 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features Women’s suffrage in Switzerland, the assassination of Spanish Prime Minister Eduardo Dato, the French founding of the Foreign Legion, Cruft’s dog show, an earthquake in Japan that triggered a nuclear emergency, Syria’s civil war and the Boeing 737 Max airliner.

March 7, 1971: Women in Switzerland finally won the right to vote in national elections. One canton, Appenzell Innerrhoden, did not give women the vote at local level until 1991

March 8, 1921: Spanish Prime Minister Eduardo Dato was assassinated in Madrid by Catalan anarchists who fired at his car from a motorcycle sidecar after he left parliament

March 9, 1831: The French Foreign Legion was founded to consolidate all foreign volunteers fighting for France. It now comprises volunteer soldiers from any nation, including France

March 10, 1886: Charles Cruft, manager of a dog biscuit firm, held his first dog show in London. Crufts is now the world’s largest show of its kind, featuring 28,000 dogs each year

March 11, 2011: A magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, killing over 15,800 people, wiping out entire towns and triggering a major nuclear emergency

March 12, 2011: Syria’s brutal civil war began as a protest after the arrest of some boys for writing anti-government graffiti in Deraa. Unrest spread after the army fired on protesters

March 13, 2019: The Boeing 737 MAX passenger airliner was grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes within five months. The aircraft was cleared to resume service in late 2020

HISTORY: On this day March 07-13, 2021 (week 10) (Graphic)
GN41065 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set) View graphic

March 1, 2021 -- China’s aviation regulator said on Monday that it is studying a plan with Boeing Co for recertification of its Boeing 737 Max fleet, which has been grounded for nearly two years following two fatal crashes.

China was the first country to ground the 737 Max in 2019 after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed a total of 346 people. American regulators approved the plane in November to resume commercial flights after Boeing made technical changes and a new training regime was put into place for pilots.

“Major safety concerns” raised by Chinese regulators have not been fully resolved, said Dong Zhiyi, deputy administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, at a news conference.

Design changes must pass approval for airworthiness, pilots must receive ”effective flight training” and conclusions of investigations into the two crashes must be clear, Dong said.

China is, along with North America and Europe, one of the biggest markets for Boeing Co and its European rival Airbus. That makes the 737 Max’s approval by Beijing important for its commercial success.

AVIATION: Boeing 737 Max global fleet (Graphic)
GN41091 Graphic shows status of global Boeing 737 Max fleet.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 17, 2021 -- As the Eden Project celebrates its 20th anniversary, it has set its sights on a global expansion reaching every continent bar Antarctica.

Twenty years after the Eden Project opened in a disused china clay quarry in Cornwall, UK, its owners are working with a variety of international partners to establish a sisterhood of new Eden Projects around the world.

The eco-charity, which recreates different climate zones in giant biomes (formed from hundreds of hexagonal and pentagonal ethylene tetrafluoroethylene inflated plastic cells), opened on March 17, 2001, and houses thousands of plant species in adjoining hemispherical enclosures that emulate natural rainforest environments from around the world.

The Cornwall Eden, which celebrated its 20 millionth visitor in April 2018, has been voted Britain’s best visitor attraction several times over. Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the original Eden Project, launched Eden Project International in 2014, with the aim of raising environmental awareness around the world.

For China, Eden represents one of the more attractive solutions to the problem of defunct mines, of which there are around 300 in Jizhou district alone.

Other nations in line to receive Eden Projects include Australia, Chad, Costa Rica, New Zealand, the UAE, and the U.S.. Three more will open at other locations within the UK.

ENVIRONMENT: Eden Project looks to expand (Graphic)
GN41092 Graphic shows countries where Eden Project International plans to expand.
(107mm by mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 1, 2021 -- Road drama “Nomadland” and mockumentary sequel “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” took home big honors at Sunday night’s glitchy Golden Globes. Netflix prevailed with a commanding 42 nominations.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association awards the Golden Globes. HFPA is a non-profit journalistic organisation launched by several Los Angeles-based, foreign-born journalists in 1943. Their first awards were given out the following year in the hopes of winning foreign journalists the same access to studios, stars, and other Hollywood figures as their local American press peers.

For Oscar watchers, 65 per cent of the Globes’ “Best Picture” winners have gone on to become Oscar-winning movies since 1950.

This year, the HFPA made history by nominating three female directors, Chloé Zhao for “Nomadland,” Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman”, and Regina King for “One Night in Miami.”

In the past 38 years, HFPA has nominated just five women directors -- Barbra Streisand (for 1983’s “Yentl” and 1991’s “The Prince of Tides”), Jane Campion (for 1993’s “The Piano”), Sofia Coppola (for 2003’s “Lost in Translation”) and Kathryn Bigelow (for 2010’s “The Hurt Locker” and 2012’s “Zero Dark Thirty”).

MOVIES: Golden Globes winners 2021 (Graphic)
GN41087 Graphic shows winners of 2021 Golden Globe Awards.
(107mm by 170mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 26, 2021 -- The U.S. has carried out air strikes against Iran-linked militias in Syria in retaliation for recent rocket attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq. The military action was the first ordered by President Joe Biden.

The military action was described by John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, as a proportionate response.

Shia militia groups have claimed responsibility for attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq in recent weeks. A rocket attack last week killed a civilian contractor and injured several others, including a member of the U.S. military.

Rockets have also struck U.S. bases in Baghdad, including the Green Zone, which houses the US embassy and other diplomatic missions.

There are about 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq to assist Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group.

The military action came as the Biden administration has sought to open talks with Iran to revive the 2015 accord that sought to limit Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

MILITARY: U.S. strikes Iran-backed militias in Syria (Graphic)
GN41084 Graphic shows location of the U.S. strikes and rocket attacks claimed by Shia militia groups in Iraq.
(107mm wide by mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 25, 2021 -- Melting ice in the Arctic allowed a Russian gas tanker to sail through the Northern Sea Route in the middle of winter for the first time.

The success of the voyage confirms the year-round navigation of the entire length of the Northern Sea Route, the shortest passage between Europe and Asia, according to Russian shipping company Sovcomflot.

The LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie is part of a fleet of 15 vessels purpose-built to serve Yamal LNG project. They can carry up to 172,600 million cubic metres of liquified nature gas, and all have ice class Arc7, that enables them to autonomously break through up to 2,1 meters of sea ice.

The fleet of LNG carriers are instrumental in the major spike in shipping in the Russian Arctic. In 2020, more than 32 million tons of goods was shipped on the Northern Sea Route, up from 2019 when the volume amounted to 31,5 million tons.

Sovcomflot plans to take delivery between 2023 and 2025 of 18 new-generation icebreaking LNG carriers to service the Arctic LNG 2 project.

The Arctic is warming more than twice as quickly as the rest of the world and the area covered by ice there has reached historic lows multiple times over the past 12 months.

The melting in the region is already in line with the worst-case climate scenarios outlined by scientists.

BUSINESS: First Arctic navigation in winter (Graphic)
GN41081 Graphic shows voyage of the LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie in the context of the sea routes between Europe and Asia.
(107mm wide by 177mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 25, 2021 -- Diplomatic efforts to resolve Myanmar’s political crisis are intensifying as protests continue across the country calling for the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the restoration of civilian rule.

Indonesia and fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are seeking to promote some concessions by Myanmar’s military that could ease tensions before there is more violence. The regional grouping, to which Thailand and Myanmar also belong, believes dialogue with the generals is a more effective method of achieving concessions than more confrontational methods, such as sanctions, often advocated by Western nations.

On Thursday, tensions escalated on the streets between anti-coup protesters and supporters of the military. Photos and videos posted on social media showed groups attacking people in downtown Yangon as police stood by without intervening.

The violence complicates an already intractable standoff between the military and a protest movement that has been staging large rallies daily to demand that Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government be restored to power. She and other politicians were ousted and arrested on February 1 in a takeover that shocked the international community and reversed years of slow progress toward democracy.

Facebook, meanwhile, announced that it would ban all accounts linked to the country’s military as well as ads from military-controlled companies – a reflection of international outrage over the takeover.

POLITICS: Myanmar coup crisis (Graphic)
GN41080 Graphic shows selected timeline of events since Myanmar’s military coup.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 25, 2021 -- India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has renamed the world’s largest cricket stadium after himself, prompting sycophancy from supporters and charges of flagrant narcissism by opponents.

Originally called after the revered independence leader Sardar Patel, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind renamed the £70 million (€81m, $99m), 130,000 capacity stadium ahead of India and England’s third Test match.

Since Narendra Modi assumed power, a handful of India’s political commentators and close Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) watchers have tried decoding the prime minister’s character.

In New Delhi in 2018, political commentator Ramachandra Guha called Modi “a study in self-love.” Comparing Prime Minister Modi to Atal Bihari Vajpayee -- the previous BJP premier -- Guha pointed to a crucial difference. “Vajpayee ran a more collegial cabinet, consulted his colleagues, he had to, partly also because he was in a coalition.”

“To get to the top of any profession, you have to have some strong self-belief,” but the real difference between Modi and Vajpayee “is that for successes, real or imagined, he is not willing to share the credit with anyone else. Not even with Lord Rama,” Guha added.

Arun Shourie, another commentator, described Modi as a “dark triad,” with a combination of insecurity, Machiavellianism and sociopathy. Shourie also described Modi as a narcissist who needs to keep looking at the pool to reassure himself that he is beautiful.”

However, Modi’s impressive renovation of the stadium in Ahmedabad means it is the world’s largest, surpassing the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which has a capacity of 90,000.

HEALTH: Narcissistic personality disorder (Graphic)
GN41083 Graphic shows symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder.
(107mm by 123mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 25, 2021 -- AstraZeneca expects to deliver less than half the 180 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to the EU in the second quarter of 2021. The total will be about 130 million doses -- well below the 300 million contracted.

The EU has now ordered 2.6 billion doses of vaccines from six manufacturers. The European Medicines Agency has so far approved three for use, of which it has requested 1.2 billion doses -- nearly enough for three jabs for every adult in the bloc. However, the roll-out has been slow, with Germany, France and other countries struggling to accelerate their vaccination programmes.

According to Jens Spahn, Germany’s health minister, each of Germany’s 16 regions could administer 300,000 doses of vaccine a day, yet they manage only 140-150,000 vaccinations a day.

Germany, France, and some other countries have restricted the AstraZeneca vaccine to under-65s -- Germany has received more than 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses, but only used 240,000.

France has administered just 3.9 million out of 7.7 million doses received -- one of the worst records in the EU, according to website Covidtracker.fr/vaccintracker.

By contrast, Denmark and Sweden aim to fully inoculate every adult who wants it by the end of June -- a month before the UK.

Denmark plans to quadruple its capacity to 400,000 shots a day from March until the end of July, aiming to vaccinate 3 million of its 5.8 million population.

Sweden aims to deliver nearly 4 million shots a month between April and June to an adult population of 8.2 million.

HEALTH: EU vaccine delays (Graphic)
GN41082 Graphic shows EU vaccine doses per 100 people.
(107mm by 123mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 5-8, 2021 -- Pope Francis is set to make a four-day trip to Iraq, marking the first time that a pope has ever visited the country. It will be his first foreign visit since the coronavirus pandemic struck the world.

The 84-year-old pontiff, who has been vaccinated against Covid-19, intends to go ahead with the March 5-8 visit despite the pandemic and lingering security concerns, AP said.

Francis’ main reason for the trip to Iraq is to encourage the country’s Christians, who faced decades of discrimination by Iraq’s Muslims before being persecuted by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group starting in 2014.

The slow return of displaced Christians to northern Iraq since the territory was liberated from IS in 2017 remains a contentious issue. Few Christian families have returned but the Vatican has been encouraging those who fled to come back and ensure a continued Christian presence in the area that dates from the time of Christ.

MIDEAST: Pope planning historic Iraq visit (Graphic)
GN41077 Graphic shows Pope Francis’ planned itinerary for his trip to Iraq.
(107mm by 150mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 1-31, 2021 -- Each month Graphic News publishes a World Agenda of forthcoming events that will shape the world in the month ahead. Events in March include the first anniversary of the WHO declaring the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, elections in Israel and the Netherlands, the trial of a former police officer in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd, and the 36th America’s Cup.

Events include:
Mar 6-15, New Zealand: Emirates Team New Zealand faces Italy’s Luna Rossa team for the 36th America’s Cup.

Mar 8, U.S.: Former police officer Derek Chauvin goes on trial over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020. Floyd’s death added fuel to the Black Lives Matter movement and led to weeks of street protests.

Mar 11, World: The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic one year ago. As predicted, it spread around the globe, killing millions of people. The logistics of vaccine distribution leave no chance that Covid-19 will be history by the anniversary.

Mar 14, U.S.: Unemployment benefits run out for millions of workers unless Congress passes some version of President Joe Biden’s economic stimulus budget. Some 16 million people are affected.

Mar 17, Netherlands: Dutch voters go to the polls. Despite a scandal over child welfare payments that led the government to resign in January, Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centre-right VVD party maintains strong support.

Mar 23, Israel: An unprecedented fourth Knesset election in two years was automatically triggered after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White Party failed to agree the 2020-21 budget.

Mar 28, Bahrain: Lewis Hamilton kicks off the defence of his Formula 1 world title. The 23-race season has seen changes because of the pandemic, but expects to avoid the severe disruption of last year.

Mar 30, France: The European Space Agency is seeking new astronauts for the first time in 11 years. The ESA wants to bring more women into its astronaut corps, and it is encouraging disabled candidates to apply for its Parastronaut Feasibility Project.

WORLD AGENDA: March 2021 interactive (Interactive)
GN41070 Responsive interactive graphic shows news events in March 2021.
(640px wide by 568px deep) View graphic

February 23, 2021 -- The top ten titans of the trading floor earned $20.1 billion during the pandemic year of 2020. According to the Institutional Investor, that’s a 50 percent rise from $13.4 billion in 2019.

Once the rock stars of the financial industry, hedge funds have had their public image bruised recently. That ten people -- all of them men -- could earn so much so quickly starkly illustrates the widening rift between the ultra-rich and everyone else.

As tens of millions lost their jobs under an onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic, the top ten hedge funds made average gains of 43 per cent in 2020.

Coatue Management made a fund return of 65 per cent, boosting Philippe Laffont’s earnings from $190 million in 2019 to $1.6 billion last year. Renaissance Technologies’ James Simon earned $2.6 billion last year as his fund gained 76 per cent, data from Institutional Investor showed.

According to Institutional Investor, all of the top 10 hedge fund managers made over $1 billion in 2020, compared with eight in 2019.

These earnings highlight “the disconnect between the stock market and the real economy,” said Reena Aggarwal, a finance professor at Georgetown University. While high volatility and low-interest rates buoyed hedge funds, much of the population struggled “with worries about health, jobs, mortgage payments and student loans,” Aggarwal said.

BUSINESS: Hedge fund elite earn $20.1bn (Graphic)
GN41076 Graphic shows highest hedge fund managers’ earnings.
(107mm by 142mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

March 1-31, 2021 -- Each month Graphic News publishes a World Agenda of forthcoming events that will shape the world in the month ahead. Events in March include the first anniversary of the WHO declaring the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, elections in Israel and the Netherlands, the trial of a former police officer in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd, and the 36th America’s Cup.

Mar 6-15, New Zealand: Emirates Team New Zealand faces Italy’s Luna Rossa team for the 36th America’s Cup.

Mar 8, U.S.: Former police officer Derek Chauvin goes on trial over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020. Floyd’s death added fuel to the Black Lives Matter movement and led to weeks of street protests.

Mar 11, World: The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic one year ago. As predicted, it spread around the globe, killing millions of people. The logistics of vaccine distribution leave no chance that Covid-19 will be history by the anniversary.

Mar 14, U.S.: Unemployment benefits run out for millions of workers unless Congress passes some version of President Joe Biden’s economic stimulus budget. Some 16 million people are affected.

Mar 17, Netherlands: Dutch voters go to the polls. Despite a scandal over child welfare payments that led the government to resign in January, Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centre-right VVD party maintains strong support.

Mar 23, Israel: An unprecedented fourth Knesset election in two years was automatically triggered after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White Party failed to agree the 2020-21 budget.

Mar 28, Bahrain: Lewis Hamilton kicks off the defence of his Formula 1 world title. The 23-race season has seen changes because of the pandemic, but expects to avoid the severe disruption of last year.

Mar 30, France: The European Space Agency is seeking new astronauts for the first time in 11 years. The ESA wants to bring more women into its astronaut corps, and it is encouraging disabled candidates to apply for its Parastronaut Feasibility Project.

WORLD AGENDA: March 2021 (Graphic)
GN41069 Graphic shows news events in March 2021. An interactive version of this graphic is also produced each month.
(163mm wide by 210mm) View graphic

February 22, 2021 -- U.S. planemaker Boeing has recommended grounding dozens of its 777 jets around the world following a catastrophic engine failure on a United Airlines plane over Denver on Saturday.

Most carriers that fly the planes with the same engine variant said they would temporarily pull them from service.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered United Airlines to step up inspections of the aircraft after one of its flights made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport on Saturday as pieces of the casing of the engine, a Pratt & Whitney PW4000, rained down on suburban neighbourhoods. None of the 231 passengers or 10 crew were hurt, and the flight landed safely, authorities said. United is among the carriers that has grounded the planes.

About 60 of the PW4000-powered Boeing 777 jets are still flying globally, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Another 67 of the jets are in storage, although they haven’t officially been retired.

AVIATION: Boeing 777 grounding (Graphic)
GN41068 Graphic shows details of grounded aircraft, and recent PW4000 engine failures.
(107mm by 160mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 22, 2021 -- Stress, isolation and financial hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic led to nearly 84,000 overdose deaths in the year to July 2020 -- the highest number of drug fatalities ever recorded in a single year.

The latest figures published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a 23 per cent rise on the previous 12-month period, with opioids accounting for more than 61,000, or 73 per cent, of those deaths.

During the presidential campaign, Joe Biden proposed a $125 billion investment in preventing substance abuse, treatment, and recovery, over ten years, with taxes on the pharmaceutical industry.

Just one in five people with opioid use disorder in the U.S. can access treatment when they need it. President Biden now faces twin health crises -- the coronavirus pandemic has also triggered an economic recession that threatens some addiction treatment centres’ survival.

For the president, it’s personal -- he has talked openly about his son Hunter’s struggle with addiction and substance use disorders.

In May 2017, as the number of overdose fatalities hit 68,370 over 12 months, President Donald Trump proposed to cut the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s budget by 95 per cent -- from $388 million to just $25 million.

It was not until October 2017, as the number of overdose fatalities hit 70,690, that Trump declared the opioid crisis as a public health emergency.

“If what we’ve been doing was working, we wouldn’t be where we’re at right now with overdose deaths,” says Ryan Hampton, a Biden adviser.

“If we can get someone on the recovery journey and they can sustain that for five years, they have an 85 per cent chance of sustaining that recovery for the rest of their lives,” says Hampton.

HEALTH: Pandemic escalates overdose deaths (Graphic)
GN41072 Graphic shows rise in overdose deaths since 2015, plus spike since Covid lockdowns came into effect.
(107mm by mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 22, 2021 -- The Duke of Edinburgh remains in hospital for a period of “observation and rest”. He was admitted to hospital in London on Feb 16 for an undisclosed reason although it is not related to coronavirus.

Prince Philip, who turns 100 on June 10, has been spending the latest lockdown with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle where both received Covid vaccinations in January.

The duke was said to be in good spirits when he entered the King Edward VII Hospital in central London “as a precautionary measure” after feeling unwell.

He was last in hospital in December 2019, when he spent four nights at the same hospital for treatment for a “pre-existing condition”. He was discharged on Christmas Eve.

The duke is Britain’s longest-serving royal consort. He and the Queen marked their 73rd wedding anniversary in November 2020.

PEOPLE: Prince Philip profile (Graphic)
GN41062 Graphic shows life and times of Prince Philip.
(219mm wide by 249mm deep) View graphic

February 19, 2021 -- A shortage of semiconductors has hit carmakers around the world. Analysts predict the lack of chips -- used in engine management and driver-assistance systems -- will wipe out $61 billion of sales in 2021.

Auto plants in the United States, Asia, and Europe have temporarily shut down as the semiconductor shortage makes it impossible to complete some vehicles' production.

Automakers are sending their chip supplies to their most profitable, most essential products. For example, Ford shut down its Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky for a week to allow it to continue full production of its popular F-150 pickup.

Chip production has been disrupted in Asia for months, as consumers, in lockdown due to the pandemic, purchase laptops, smart speakers and gaming systems. Launches of high-end computer graphics cards needed for new video games have also been affected by the chip shortages.

Fitch Solutions predicts the North American auto market will have the lowest growth level of just 5.9% in 2021. Europe will be the best performing region in 2021 with projected vehicles sales growth of 10.8, according to the financial information company

The shortage now threatens to hit the much larger electronics industry. A broad range of gadgets -- from smartphones to gaming consoles -- could see shortages or price hikes.

BUSINESS: Auto microchip shortage (Graphic)
GN41063 Graphic shows predicted global sales loss in 2021 and lost production in 2020.
(107mm by mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 18, 2021 -- Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp reached a landmark three-year global deal with Google that it said would bring “significant” licensing payments for content used on Google’s “News Showcase.”

Alphabet-owned Google’s agreement is the latest for the 89-year-old media mogul, his son Lachlan and News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson. Previously News Corp had agreed to compensation deals for premium content from Apple and Facebook for their Apple News and Facebook News products.

Earlier this week, Australia’s two largest free-to-air television broadcasters struck deals with Google collectively worth A$60 million ($47 million) a year.

The agreements come days before the Canberra government plans to pass laws that would allow it to appoint an arbitrator to set fees for content used by tech giants Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Facebook has responded by blocking Australian users from sharing or viewing news. The social media giant said the proposed law “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers.”

Facebook imposed the ban with immediate effect, with users reporting that they could not see news articles on the platform.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said his government will not be intimidated by Facebook blocking news feeds to users. He described the move to “unfriend Australia” as arrogant and disappointing.

Faced with a similar European Union copyright directive, Google struck a three-year $76 million deal with Alliance de la presse d’information générale in France. APIG’s 121 publications will receive an average of $209,300 a year. Google has agreed to similar arrangements in Germany, Brazil and Argentina.

BUSINESS: Google strikes payment deals (Graphic)
GN41059 Graphic shows Google content deals around the world.
(107mm by 142mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 21, 2021 -- A video game series that’s sold over 110 million units, made “Zelda” a household name and created a multibillion dollar franchise, was released 35 years ago.

The Legend of Zelda is a fantasy action-adventure video game franchise created by Nintendo stalwarts, Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka.

The premise of the series revolves around various incarnations of Link, a young elf-like humanoid with pointy ears, and Princess Zelda, who possesses magical powers. Together, they fight to save the kingdom of Hyrule from evil demon Ganon.

Although their personalities and backstory can differ from game to game, Link and Zelda are more or less the same each time: Link, usually wearing a green grab, starts each game with few skills and no weapons and must then attain them through side quests on his way to the big showdown; Zelda is often a member of the Royal Family, sometimes in need of rescue from Ganon, and in others helping Link to battle him.

To date, there have been 27 official canon game releases on all of Nintendo’s major game consoles, including several older titles that have been spruced up and rereleased on later, more advanced machines.

Since the original Legend of Zelda was released on February 21, 1986, the franchise has spawned an American animated television series, Japanese Manga adaptations and a whole heap of toys and merchandising.

The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's most prominent and successful franchises – selling almost 115 million units (second only to Mario) – with several of its entries considered to be among the best video games ever made.

GAMING: The Legend of Zelda 35th anniversary (Graphic)
GN41055 Graphic looks at the history of the Zelda video game franchise, with details on game sales over the years.
(163mm by 240mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 17, 2021 -- Samples from mammoth remains thought to be 1.2 million years old have yielded the oldest full genome known to date. The finding provides new insights into how mammoths evolved.

Writing in the prestigious journal Nature, Love Dalén and colleagues report the recovery of DNA from the molars of three mammoth specimens buried in the Siberian permafrost.

This is the first time that DNA has been sequenced and authenticated from million-year-old specimens. Before this, the oldest sequenced DNA was from a 500-700,000 year old horse-bone.

Extracting the DNA from the samples was challenging. Scientists found that only minute amounts of DNA remained in the samples and that it was degraded into very small fragments.

Analyses of the genomes showed that the oldest specimen, which was approximately 1.2 million years old, belonged to a previously unknown genetic lineage of mammoth, referred to as the Krestovka mammoth.

The discovery of two different genetic lineages of mammoth in Siberia during the Early Pleistocene epoch came as a surprise.

“All previous studies have indicated that there was only one species of mammoth in Siberia at that point in time, called the steppe mammoth. But our DNA analyses now show that there were two different genetic lineages”, says the study’s lead author Tom van der Valk.

DNA analyses also suggests that the Columbian mammoth – one of the most iconic Ice Age species of North America – was a hybrid between the Woolly mammoth and the Krestovka mammoth.

The new results open the door for a broad array of future studies on other species.

“One of the big questions now is how far back in time we can go. We haven’t reached the limit yet. An educated guess would be that we could recover DNA that is two million years old, and possibly go even as far back as 2.6 million”, says Anders Götherström, a professor in molecular archaeology and joint research leader at the Centre for Palaeogenetics.

The study is the result of an international collaboration that has involved 22 scientists from nine countries, including Sweden, Russia, UK, U.S., Germany, China, Turkey, Norway and Denmark.


SCIENCE: World’s oldest genome sequenced (Graphic)
GN41048 Graphic shows details about the discovery.
(107mm wide by 178mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 17, 2021 -- Saudi Arabia is moving to release some political prisoners and repair relations with regional rivals as it prepares for a policy reset with U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration.

Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) became Saudi’s de facto ruler in 2015, the 35-year-old prince has pursued a series of provocative foreign policy ventures.

During the 2020 election campaign, Democrat candidate Joe Biden had harsh words for Saudi Arabia, one of the United States’ key partners in the Middle East, mostly condemning the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

The Biden administration has ended “soft” support in Yemen that the coalition received under President Donald Trump’s administration -- notably weapons, intelligence and logistics. The decision came following an order to block smart-bomb technology to Saudi Arabia for use in the war.

Biden has also called on Saudi Arabia to improve its human rights record.

MbS triggered global outrage after the 2018 assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

According to several U.S. lawmakers, MbS deserves ultimate responsibility for the assassination. Agnes Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur for extrajudicial or arbitrary executions, made a similar assessment in June 2019, issuing a report that called it “inconceivable that an operation of this scale could be implemented without the Crown Prince being aware, at a minimum.”

Biden’s Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, has said she intends to declassify a CIA intelligence report into Khashoggi’s murder. The Post reports that the CIA concluded with a high degree of confidence that the Crown Prince ordered the assassination -- Riyadh denies his involvement.

MbS’s other foreign policy adventures include:
Partially cutting ties with Canada.
Waging a bitter oil price war with Russia.
Qatar’s three-year blockade.
Imposing an unofficial trade boycott with Turkey.

POLITICS: U.S.-Saudi relations face scrutiny (Graphic)
GN41054 Graphic shows contentious issues in U.S.-Saudi relationship.
(107mm by 157mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 16, 2021 -- Israeli start-up Redefine Meat is planning to launch its plant-based 3D-printed steak substitutes globally this year. Industrial-scale printers will produce around 100kg of Alt-Steak per hour.

Redefine Meat has raised $29 million (€23.9 million) in a funding round led by Happiness Capital and Hanaco Ventures to build a large-scale pilot factory, Reuters reported on Tuesday (February 16).

The Alt-Steak recreates the muscle structure of beef. The fake steak is high in protein and -- and being plant-based, made out of soy and pea proteins, coconut fat and sunflower oil -- has no cholesterol.

Chief Executive Officer Eshchar Ben-Shitrit said. “We want to change the belief that delicious meat can only come from animals. We have all the building blocks in place to make this a reality.”

“Our meat today versus some other cuts of meat are the same,” Ben-Shitrit said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “You cannot distinguish.”

Redefine Meat teamed up with Israeli meat distributor Best Meister last month for distribution to restaurants and butchers in Israel. It plans to enter Europe, starting with Germany and Switzerland, in the coming months, followed by Asia and North America later this year.

According to data firm Allied Market Research, the global meat substitute market could reach $8.1 billion by 2026. The funding is “a major step toward becoming the world’s biggest alternative meat company by 2030,” Ben-Shitrit said.

BUSINESS: 3D-printed steaks (Graphic)
GN41051 Graphic shows principles of printing plant-based faux meats.
(107mm by 148mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 16, 2021 -- Houthi rebels could take full control of north Yemen with the capture of the oil-rich city of Marib, weakening the government’s negotiating position amid growing U.S. pressure for a political solution.

Heavy fighting between forces of Yemen’s internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels are raging in the strategic province of Marib, with dozens killed.

The Iranian-backed rebels earlier this month renewed their attack on the oil-rich province. But they faced stiff resistance and have not made progress amid heavy casualties mostly from the Houthis, military officials from both sides said.

The loss of the government’s last northern stronghold would be disastrous for Yemen’s beleaguered leadership.

The fighting in Marib could thwart renewed efforts by the UN to re-launch negotiations between the warring sides.

President Joe Biden has turned a spotlight on the brutal conflict, declaring earlier this month that the U.S. would end its support of the Saudi-led military offensive, including “relevant” arms sales.

The administration has also moved to lift a terrorist designation against the Houthis, citing the need to mitigate Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.

The war in Yemen has killed some 130,000 people and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.

YEMEN: Battle for key Yemeni city intensifies (Graphic)
GN41050 Graphic shows conflict situation report.
(107mm wide by 147mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

February 15, 2021 -- Bitcoin has reached a new record, rising above $49,000 for the first time. The cryptocurrency is up by almost 63 per cent since the start of the year, buoyed by JP Morgan and Tesla’s endorsements.

On Monday morning, bitcoin changed hands at $47,751.99, down 2.3 per cent over 24 hours but up 62.9 per cent year-to-date. 

The milestone comes as traders and analysts have described institutional investors’ interest in bitcoin as growing “at a staggering pace.” Yesterday, Bloomberg News reported that Morgan Stanley’s $150 billion Counterpoint Global investment unit is considering a stake in the cryptocurrency. That news came after CoinDesk revealed that Deutsche Bank is planning to offer crypto custody to hedge funds.

Last week, American investment banking services company Bank of New York Mellon Corporation announced that it plans to hold, transfer and issue bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. And that came after Tesla announced on February 8 that it would invest about $1.5 billion into bitcoin. The move triggered a 25 per cent bitcoin jump by February 14.

Meanwhile, Mastercard followed Visa and PayPal, allowing merchants to accept cryptocurrency payments. Apple Pay has adopted bitcoin through cryptocurrency spending service BitPay. However, sceptics warn the asset class could be in a bubble.

BUSINESS: Bitcoin nears $50K milestone (Graphic UPDATED Feb 15)
GN41047 Graphic shows recent milestones in bitcoin’s value.
(107mm by 134mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

January 28, 2021 -- Countries around the world are struggling to control the pandemic of the pneumonia-like virus that originated in China late 2019 as it spreads across the globe.

The number of people around the world who have contracted coronavirus is continuing to surge, with the death toll from the pandemic rising rapidly, as the global outbreak continues to take lives and wreak havoc on economies and established routines of life.

Medical workers and health services around the world are also at breaking point and the livelihoods of millions are at risk amid a widespread shutdown caused by the virus and the damage the viral outbreak is inflicting on the global economy. Layoffs are sure to accelerate as the world sinks into a recession with revenue collapsing at restaurants, hotels, movie theatres, gyms, airlines and numerous other businesses.

HEALTH: Coronavirus pandemic interactive (6) (Interactive UPDATED Jan 28)
GN40054 Interactive graphic shows cases, fatalities, and recovered cases from the COVID-19 coronavirus. N.B. This data is updated daily.
(800px wide by 568px deep)

March 25 - July 23, 2021 -- After being delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Olympic flame, which has been held in Tokyo for a year, is set to be carried around all 47 of Japan's prefectures in a lengthy 121-day long Torch Relay.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay will run from March 25-July 23, 2021 – following a 12-month delay caused by the global coronavirus pandemic.

During its travels the torch will visit all 47 prefecture capitals, plus hundreds of towns and villages along the way – giving people from all walks of life a chance to share in the celebration.

The Olympic torch was designed by Tokujin Yoshioka and is inspired by traditional cherry blossoms. Five petal-shaped columns surround the tip of a rose gold aluminium beacon, which produces five separate flames.

Around 30% of the aluminium metal used in the torch's construction is recycled from emergency prefabricated housing units built in the aftermath of the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

TOKYO 2020: Olympic Torch Relay (1) (Graphic UPDATED Jan 13)
GN39550 Graphic shows the route of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay around Japan.
(163mm by 214mm deep)

May 7, 2020 -- Clinicians have traced the brutal rampage wrought by the coronavirus through the body, from the lungs -- ground zero -- to the heart and blood vessels, kidneys, gut, and brain.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 enters human cells by attaching to a cell-surface receptor called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Once infected, the virus hijacks a host cell and turns it into a factory, making copies of itself to attack more cells.

Once in the nose and throat, the virus travels to the lungs. At the end of the lung’s respiratory tree lie the alveoli, tiny air sacs lined with a layer of cells that are also rich in ACE2 receptors.

Usually, oxygen crosses the alveoli into capillaries, tiny blood vessels, before being carried by the blood system to the rest of the body. As the immune system fights the virus, white blood cells release signalling molecules called cytokines. These proteins coordinate the body’s response against infection and trigger inflammation.

Vital organs throughout the body that are rich in ACE2 -- which helps regulate blood pressure -- are all targets for the virus. The lining of the heart and blood vessels, the kidneys and small intestine, along with the nose, throat and alveoli, are all rich in ACE2 receptors.

In some patients, an overreaction of the immune system known as a “cytokine storm” results in uncontrolled levels of cytokines which then activate more immune cells, resulting in hyperinflammation. Immune cells start to attack healthy tissues -- blood vessels leak, blood pressure drops, clots form, and catastrophic organ failure can ensue.

A newly observed threat from the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 is an abnormal tendency to blood clotting. Blood clots can break apart and travel to the lungs, blocking vital arteries -- pulmonary embolism -- or lodge in the brain, causing a stroke.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Animation can simplify complex subject matters and bring them to life. Video infographics promote engagement by immersing the viewer in a self-playing animated sequence. For more information: https://www.graphicnews.com/base/info.php?q=235

HEALTH: How coronavirus kills video animation (Video)
GN40186 Video shows how scientists have established that coronavirus kills people.
(720px wide by 405px deep) View graphic