A significant trial of a daily weight-loss pill has found that it helped people to shed the pounds and reduce their blood sugar levels, making it a contender to join the new wave of drugs that combat obesity and diabetes. People who took a 36mg pill of orforglipron lost an average of 7.3kg (16lbs) over nine months, according to results from a phase 3 clinical trial reported by the drug’s manufacturer, Eli Lilly, on Thursday. The trial, which enrolled 559 obese people with type 2 diabetes from the US, China,…
Tag: Americas
Global defence budget jumps to record high of $2440bn
Global military expenditure has reached a record high of $2440bn (£1970bn) after the largest annual rise in government spending on arms in over a decade, according to a report. The 6.8% increase between 2022 and 2023 was the steepest since 2009, pushing spending to the highest recorded by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) in its 60-year history. For the first time, analysts at the thinktank recorded a rise in military outlay in all five geographical regions: Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania and the Americas. Nan…
China’s ambassador to Canada leaves his post
China’s ambassador to Canada has left his post and returned to China, a source familiar with the matter said Sunday, with the news emerging during a senior Canadian diplomat’s visit to the Asian nation. Further details into why Cong Peiwu, who has served since 2019, left his post were not immediately available. The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China’s foreign ministry said earlier that Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu held talks with visiting Canadian Deputy Foreign Minister David Morrison and the…
Analysts: Argentina F-16, naval base decisions halt China’s momentum
International affairs analysts see a foreign policy shift with far-reaching repercussions for the U.S. and China in Argentina’s decision this week to buy American-made F-16 fighter jets and its early April announcement to partner with the U.S. military on a naval base at the southern tip of South America. Argentina’s decision to purchase 24 F-16s from Denmark rather than go with a competing bid from China led some Chinese commentators to lament the setback. Beijing has been trying for more than a decade to sell Argentina JF-17 fighter jets China…
Canada spies under pressure over foreign meddling reports
Canada’s spy agency is under pressure after Justin Trudeau and his closest advisers say they were never made aware of a report that Beijing “clandestinely and deceptively” interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Canada is in the midst of a contentious public inquiry “examining and assessing” foreign interference by China, Russia, and other foreign states and non-state actors, and this week the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, testified under oath about the steps his government took to respond to the threat of meddling. In his appearance, which lasted…
India and Pakistan tried to meddle in Canada elections, spy agency says
Canada’s spy agency has declared that the governments of India and Pakistan probably attempted to meddle in its elections. As a closely watched public inquiry investigates the scope of foreign interference, on Thursday night the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) released a report suggesting a growing number of countries see Canada – and particularly its large diaspora populations – as a target for subterfuge. It said India had “intent to interfere and likely conducted clandestine activities” in the 2021 Canadian federal election, including the use of a government proxy agent…
US, Argentina to Cooperate, Combat Illegal Chinese Fishing
Panama City — Starting next month, the U.S. Coast Guard and Argentine Navy will begin conducting joint exercises aimed at combating illegal Chinese fishing in the Atlantic Ocean. Argentina, Chile and Peru have criticized Chinese-operated craft for large-scale invasive fishing in their territorial waters without regulation, which the South American countries say is depleting fish stock and damaging the natural biodiversity of the southwest Atlantic. It is a key nesting area for seabirds and feeding area for marine mammals. The Coast Guard will send its destroyer, the USS James, to…
New Study Reports Widespread Forced Labor Abuses
Forced labor generates $236 billion a year in illegal profits, a dramatic increase of $64 billion since 2014, a new study by the International Labor Organization reported on Tuesday. The study said the increase is due to a growing population of people forced into labor and the correlation between higher levels of exploitation and higher profits. Traffickers and criminals who use forced labor can generate around $10,000 per victim. The most prevalent use of forced labor is commercial sexual exploitation, the study found. While accounting for 27% of the total…
Canada reaches settlement with Michael Spavor over detention in China
Canada’s federal government has reached a million-dollar compensation settlement with Michael Spavor, a businessman who was held by China for nearly three years amid a broader diplomatic feud between the two countries. Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who became known as “the two Michaels”, were detained by Beijing in December 2018 in apparent retaliation for the arrest in Vancouver of the senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a US warrant. All three were later released. In November Spavor was reported to have threatened to sue both Canada and Kovrig, alleging that…
For Some Chinese Migrants, Few Options in Xi’s China
Lajas Blancas, Panama / Washington — With only a backpack, a portable tent and a small shoulder bag, Cong, a 47-year-old Chinese migrant, was one of more than a dozen migrants to step out of a narrow wooden boat on the stony shore of the Chucunaque River in Lajas Blancas, Panama. The stop was one of dozens he had made over the past month, and it was where he met with VOA’s Mandarin Service on his journey toward the United States — a journey that began in China’s southwestern province…