February, 2016

• 22 February

  Pak to import ‘expensive’ Hepatitis-C drug from USA

  Islamabad / AFP Pakistan has authorised the import of an expensive Hepatitis-C drug from the United States to improve treatment for the estimated eight million people carrying the blood infection, officials said on Monday. Hailed by experts as a game-changer, Sovaldi, which has been on the market since 2013, costs around $1,000 per pill in the US or $84,000 for ...

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• 22 February

  China to use new method to identify counterfeit drugs

  

  Beijing / Bloomberg China will halt the implementation of a drug-coding system that’s developed and operated by Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd. to identify counterfeit medicines. China Food & Drug Administration suspended the new electronic coding system as it made draft amendments to existing rules, allowing the use of other methods to build a system that tracks medicines back to ...

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• 22 February

  Rubio in race to win Bush’s donors

  

  Bloomberg With Jeb Bush’s departure from the presidential race on Saturday, a mighty fundraising army scattered. The question the troops face: pick another side or retreat? Bobbie Kilberg chose quickly. A top Republican fundraiser in Virginia, she got the news of Bush’s withdrawal Saturday night over text messages at a dinner. By the next morning, she was giving interviews about ...

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• 22 February

  Fracking pioneer agrees to guide energy policy

  Bloomberg The co-founder and former chief executive officer of Devon Energy Corp. has signed on to shape energy policy for Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination. Larry Nichols will lead Rubio’s energy steering committee. Nichols, who cut a $50,000 check to the super PAC supporting Rubio in December, also will host a Feb. 26 ...

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• 22 February

  Takata recall could hit million more cars in USA

  

  Washington / AFP Tens of millions of additional cars in the US alone could be recalled over Takata’s potentially defective airbags, which have been linked to several deaths, the US auto safety regulator said on Monday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement that it continues to investigate the dangers in Takata’s airbags equipped with ammonium nitrate-based ...

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• 22 February

  Jamaica’s austerity on test in national vote

  

  Bloomberg Jamaica is showing signs of revival after a lost decade of economic contraction and increase in poverty rates. In an election on Thursday, voters must decide whether they can stand several more years of the austerity the government says has underpinned the country’s recent turnaround. Since restructuring $9 billion of debt in 2013, the administration of Prime Minister Portia ...

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• 22 February

  Fraga sees Brazil suffering new lost decade in just 3 years

  

  Rio De Janeiro / Bloomberg Brazil’s economy faces a prolonged rout with no recovery in sight, as political uncertainty weighs on investor confidence and structural reforms show no sign of gaining traction, according to fund manager and former central bank chief Arminio Fraga. Even if President Dilma Rousseff survives attempts to remove her from office, she will be too weak ...

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• 22 February

  Greece blasts Macedonia border closure as Afghan refugees stuck

  

  Idomeni / AFP Greece said on Monday it was taking action to persuade Macedonia to take in Afghan migrants as thousands remained stranded at the border and the main port in Athens. “We have begun diplomatic moves… we believe the problem will be resolved,” junior interior minister for migration Yiannis Mouzalas told parliamentary television, without elaborating on what steps were ...

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• 22 February

  Afghan forces retreat from districts in strategic Helmand

  

  Kandahar / AFP Afghan troops have retreated from two districts in the southern province of Helmand, officials said on Monday, a move which highlights the challenge from Taliban fighters in the opium-producing region. “The Afghan army retreated from two army bases in Musa Qala and one base from Nawzad district” on Saturday, provincial governor Khan Rahimi said, leaving no troops ...

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• 22 February

  Delhi faces water crisis as deadly caste protests hit key source

  

  New Delhi / AFP Much of New Delhi’s water supply was cut off on Monday after members of an influential Indian caste sabotaged a canal as part of protests seeking preferential treatment that have killed at least 19 people. A representative of the Jat caste said they had called off their week-long protests which saw thousands of troops deployed in ...

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