Man's best friend has got a high-tech makeover. A Chinese company has developed a robo-dog that's whip fast, obeys commands and doesn't leave unpleasant surprises on the floor. Natasha Hussain reports.

#AI #HighTechPets #AlphaDog

There's been an increase in the number of supermarkets and shops selling produce free of the usual packaging. It's part of a growing awareness - the need for customers to shop more sustainably - but it also has financial benefits. Francis Collings reports from Paris.

#France #PlasticFree #Waste

The US government has pledged more than 200 million dollars in aid to the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees. The Trump administration cut funding in 2018. But even with the renewed support, pressure is mounting on Washington to do more to resolve the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Mobin Nasir explains. For more on this, Tamara Alrifai from the UN Relief and Works Agency joined us from Amman.

#PalestineAid #UN #UnitedStates

US President Joe Biden is leading a global campaign to ensure the world's largest corporations pay their taxes wherever they are. His administration wants to raise trillions of dollars to fund ambitious spending plans. If the effort succeeds, it would also end a so-called 'race to the bottom' that has forced countries to sacrifice revenues to keep companies from moving to tax havens. Paolo Montecillo reports. For more, we spoke to Joann Weiner in Washington. She's an economics professor who specialises in tax policy at George Washington University.

#Taxes #JoeBidens #TaxHavens

The World Health Organization says the coronavirus pandemic has exposed extreme inequalities in the global health system that favour rich countries. The WHO has renewed a call for more funding so vaccines against COVID-19 can be widely distributed to the most vulnerable communities. The International Monetary Fund has also floated the idea of a temporary 'Solidarity Tax' to force businesses that have cashed-in on the pandemic to share their profits. Paolo Montecillo reports. For more, we spoke to Doctor Margeret Harris in Geneva. She's a spokesperson at the World Health Organisation.

#Vaccines #Shortages #WorldHealthDay

The European Union's drugs regulator says it's established a link between rare blood clots in the brain and the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The European Medicines Agency now wants the Anglo-Swedish drug company to list it as one of the possible side effects of the injection. But the EMA has not changed its guidance for the vaccine, saying its benefits outweigh the risks and it's not advising governments to stop using the injections. But the UK's drugs regulator has announced plans to offer people under the age of 30 an alternative vaccine. At least 16 European nations halted or limited the use of the AZ injection last month.. with most resuming its use after the EMA said its benefits outweighed its risks.

#AstraZeneca #EuropeanMedicinesAgency #SideEffects

Scorpions kill more than 3-thousand people each year, according to the Journal of Pediatric Research. But one Egyptian entrepreneur has found a way to cash-in on the eight-legged- arachnids, hunting some of the most dangerous in the world for their prized venom. Motheo Khoaripe has more.

#Venom #ScorpionBreeding #MedicinalProperties

Shares of the British food delivery start-up, Deliveroo, have climbed as much as 4-percent on their first fully-open day of trading on the London Stock Exchange. The stock tanked by around 30-percent on their initial listing last week, after a number of major UK investors expressed concerns about how Deliveroo treats its 100-thousand plus couriers. Hundreds of them have now gone on strike across the UK, demanding better working conditions. Mehmet Solmaz has more from London.

#UKcouriers #Diliveroo #LabourPractices

Millions of people struggled to make ends meet last year due to the pandemic. But the world’s wealthiest people only got richer. The annual Billionaires Index by Forbes magazine also shows the ranks of the ultra-wealthy have grown bigger than ever.

#Forbes #Billionaires #WealthCreation

Every year millions of plastic bottle tops end up in landfills or in the sea, because they're hard to recycle. In Colombia, one company is trying to change that, by using plastic lids to make sunglasses. Manuel Rueda has more from Bogota.

#Colombia #Recycling #Sunglasses