1 World population up, girls struggle (San Francisco
Chronicle) The world's population grew slightly to 7.4 billion in 2016, the UN
has said, with a substantial youth bulge challenging political and social
systems across the planet.
The United Nations Population Fund released its 2016
State of the World Population report in Amman, Jordan. Daniel Baker, regional
humanitarian coordinator, highlighted the potential fallout — and gains — to be
had by overcoming the world's clear gender inequality in the half of the
world's population under the age of 24.
"Failing to invest in girls is nothing less
than planned poverty. Unless we invest in girls, we're planning to have a
poorer future," Baker said. The report said the world's population grew
1.1 percent to 7.433 billion from 7.349 billion the previous year.
The report focuses on the well-being of 10-year-old
girls as indicators of development success or failure. It says 89 percent of
the world's 125 million 10-year-olds live in developing countries where girls
face obstacles to equal education, healthcare and safety.
The report estimated that developing countries could
generate or lose at least $21 billion depending on their investments in the
health and education of their 10-year-old girls today. UNFP goodwill
ambassador, Princess Basma Bint Talal, said the fate of the world's young girls
rests in international commitment to equality.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/UN-World-population-grows-young-girls-struggle-10646613.php
2 Australian boys re-create life-saving drug, cheap
(Greg Dunlop on BBC) The man who sparked outrage last year by hiking the price
of a life-saving drug may have met his match in some Australian schoolboys. US
executive Martin Shkreli became a symbol of greed when he raised the price of a
tablet of Daraprim from $13.50 to $750.
Now, Sydney school students have recreated the
drug's key ingredient for just $20. Daraprim is an anti-parasitic drug used by
malaria and Aids patients. The Sydney Grammar boys, all 17, synthesised the
active ingredient, pyrimethamine, in their school science laboratory.
"It wasn't terribly hard but that's really the
point, I think, because we're high school students," one boy, Charles
Jameson, said. The students produced 3.7 grams of pyrimethamine for $20. In the
US, the same quantity would cost up to $110,000. In most countries, including
Australia and Britain, the drug retails for less than $1.50 per pill.
The boys said they conducted the year-long experiment
to highlight the drug's inflated cost in the US. "It seems totally
unjustified and ethically wrong," student James Wood said. Developed in
the 1950s, Daraprim is the best treatment for a relatively rare parasitic
infection called toxoplasmosis.
Mr Shkreli, also known as "Pharma Bro",
was chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals when it acquired exclusive rights
to Daraprim. Its decision to increase the cost by more than 5,000% in August
last year drew international condemnation. Mr Shkreli has argued the Daraprim
price increase was warranted because the drug is highly specialised.
But the firm eventually agreed to lower the price to
something more affordable. Mr Shkreli was arrested in December on allegations
of securities fraud. He subsequently stepped down as the head of Turing. His
trial is set for 26 June, 2017.
3 Eager to work at 89 (Alexandra Topping in The
Guardian) An 89-year-old has found a job after placing an advert in his local
paper asking for part-time work to stop him “dying of boredom”. Joe Bartley,
from Paignton, south Devon, is due to start work at a cafe in the town after
the owners of the family-run business spotted his request.
“No matter what your age or your background, you
deserve a chance,” said Cantina Bar and Kitchen’s co-owner Sarah Martin. “Most
people have got something to offer and Joe is someone who is keen, who is
putting himself out there. What is not to like about that?
“A lot of people who come here don’t just come for
coffee, they come for a chat, so Joe is perfect.” Bartley, who was a member of
the 6th Airborne division and served in Palestine after the second world war,
put an advert twice last month. It read: “Senior citizen, 89, seeks employment
in Paignton area. 20hrs+ per week. Still able to clean, light gardening, DIY
and anything. I have references. Old soldier, airborne forces. Save me from
dying of boredom!”
He said he had been overwhelmed by the response to
the advert, which he described as “not unusual, just an old guy looking for
work”, adding: “The owner phoned me and said she was interested, and asked me
to come in. So I arrived at the cafe and we’ve had a bit of a chat with the
owner, and shook hands.”
He said he had lived alone since his wife,
Cassandra, died two years ago, and had been lonely. “When you live on your own
there is no one to speak to. Since she died I’ve moved into a flat and it’s a
big block. Once you walk into that flat it’s like solitary confinement,” he
said.
Bartley will get a lift to work with his new
employer on Sunday, but will take a bus the rest of the week. “He is delighted,
and we are looking forward to it,” said Martin. “We think about these things
all the time. We are never going to be rich, but we like to give something
back, so when we saw the advert there was no question – the minute we saw it we
knew we’d give him a job.”
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