With populations ageing, 78 million people worldwide could live with dementia, a neurological disorder that robs them of their memory, by the end of 2030 the UN health agency has said. The progressive condition can be caused by stroke, brain injury or Alzheimer's disease. More than 55 million people now live with dementia worldwide, and there are nearly 10 million new cases every year. So, it is a global public health concern and not just in high-income countries. The disease affects memory, orientation, learning capacity, language, judgement, and the ability to perform everyday tasks. Although the disease, one of the greatest generational health challenges, is the seventh leading cause of mortality in the world, dementia research makes up less than 1.5 percent of all health research output, World Health Organization (WHO) Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said. "We are falling behind in implementing the Global action plan on the public health response to dementia 2017-25," she said, adding that addressing dementia comprehensively requires "research and innovation to be an integral part of the response." The WHO Tuesday launched the first research blueprint for tackling the disease as strategies are needed to better understand, prevent, and treat the underlying diseases that cause it and to provide care and support to people who suffer from it, as well as those who care for them. The blueprint for dementia research, the first WHO initiative of its kind for non-communicable diseases, is designed to guide policymakers, funders, and the research community on dementia research, making it more efficient, equitable, and impactful. "We can achieve progress in dementia research by strengthening and monitoring the drivers of research highlighted in the blueprint so that they become the norm for good research practice," Ren Minghui, WHO's assistant director-general UHC/communicable and noncommunicable diseases, said. Read:Bangladesh participates in WHO’s Health for All Film Festival 2021 Developing dementia is not inevitable and some risk factors can be reduced, by controlling hypertension, diabetes, diet, depression, and the use of alcohol and tobacco, the WHO said. With the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life and support provided to those living with dementia, those who provide care for them, and their families, the UN health agency said it would work with all to ensure that the actions outlined in the blueprint are implemented, milestones are met, and strategic goals are realised.  

Facebook and its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms were down in parts of the world on Monday. The company said it was “aware that some people are having trouble accessing Facebook app” and it was working on restoring access. The company did not say what might be causing the outage, which began around 11:45 ET. It is normal for websites and apps to suffer outages, though one on a global scale is rare. Users reported being unable to access Facebook in California, New York and Europe.

More than 4.4 million Covid cases and 66,000 deaths were reported worldwide in the past week as Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday. The number of new infections in seven days surpassed last week's number by 2%, while the mortality rate was roughly flat, the UN agency added. A total of 4,444,632 people were infected with Covid-19 across the world and 66,506 patients died from August 9 to 15.  READ: Bangladesh reports 172 more Covid deaths, 7,248 fresh cases As of August 18, 208,833,116 coronavirus cases had been recorded in nearly 200 countries. Since the start of the pandemic, the Covid-19 death toll has reached 4,386,814. So far, the US, India and Brazil have seen the highest number of confirmed cases and fatalities. In Europe, over 1.1 million Covid-19 cases and more than 10,000 deaths were registered in seven days. In the Americas, more than 1.5 million new Covid cases and over 19,000 deaths were recorded. In Southeast Asia, doctors confirmed over 502,000 Covid-19 cases, while more than 19,000 patients died over the past seven days. Most Covid-19 cases, 883,996, were reported by the US in the past week, according to the WHO. There are many variants of SARS-CoV-2 that can cause Covid. Each variant is the result of a random mutation of the original virus. However, the main variant of concern now in Bangladesh, and indeed worldwide, is the Delta variant.  The variant has undergone some genetic changes that are potentially worrying in terms of transmissibility and vaccine escape. It spreads more quickly than the original virus, increasing the number of hospitalisations or deaths. READ: Global Covid cases top 208 million The Delta variant of Covid-19, detected in October 2020 in India, has now been detected in 148 territories worldwide and 50% more transmissible, the WHO says.

More than 4.62 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide as the biggest vaccination campaign in history is underway, according to Our World in Data, a tracking website affiliated with Oxford University. Data on the website shows that China, where the coronavirus first emerged in late 2019, leads the global count with over 1.83 billion shots. India comes second with more than 523.67 million jabs, followed by the US with around 353.86 million. READ:  Cumilla councillor gives Covid shots, sparks row Brazil has administered over 160.06 million shots, while the figure stands at 108.18 million in Japan. Meanwhile, Germany has administered over 96.85 million shots, followed by the UK with 87.18 million doses. France and Indonesia have given more than 79.29 million and 79.05 million vaccine jabs, followed by Mexico, Italy, Russia, Spain, and Canada. So far, Bangladesh has administered at least 20,889,928 doses of Covid vaccines – enough to have vaccinated around 6.3% of the country's population, assuming every person needs two doses. Most vaccines are given in two doses, and some countries such as Turkey are also administering third booster shots. The number of Covid-19 cases around the world now stands at almost 207 million, including nearly 4.36 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. Getting vaccinated prevents severe illness, hospitalisations, and death; and with the Delta variant; this is more urgent than ever, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. READ:  Brazil city offers COVID shots to all 18-60 as part of test However, at the current pace of 38.2 million doses a day, the goal of high levels of global immunity remains a long way off as countries and regions with the highest incomes are getting vaccinated more than 20 times faster than those with the lowest, according to Bloomberg.

The global corona caseload is fast approaching 186 million as Covid-19 continues to spread across the world even with mass inoculations underway. The total caseload and fatalities stand at 185,975,557 and 4,017,279, respectively, as of Saturday morning. The latest figures have been released by Johns Hopkins University (JHU). So far, 3,387, 882, 587 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe. READ: Global Covid cases top 185 million The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 33,813,541 cases, according to JHU. Besides, 606,816 people have lost their lives in the US to date. Brazil is experiencing a new wave of infections in hospitals as the country has registered 1509 more deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours, bringing the national death toll to 531,688, the health ministry said Friday. A total of 57,737 new infections were detected during the period, raising the total caseload to 10,020,499, the ministry said. Brazil has the world's second-highest Covid-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third-largest caseload, following the United States and India. India, the third worst-hit country in the world in terms of fatalities, has so far recorded 30,752,950 Covid cases with 405,939 fatalities. READ: As global COVID-19 deaths top 4 million, a suicide in Peru   Situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh on Friday saw 212 Covid-19 deaths, the highest since the pandemic hit the country, amid a strict nationwide lockdown in effect since July 1. Also, Covid-19 infections in the country are at their peak now, with 9,665 new cases reported each day -- the highest daily average. The country recorded 11,324 infections in 24 hours till Friday morning after testing 36,850 samples. Bangladesh reported its highest daily Covid-19 fatality of 201 on Wednesday and 11,651 cases on Thursday. The country is in the grip of a second wave of coronavirus that is threatening to overwhelm its health service. Hospitals are now overwhelmed with patients and struggling to cope as the country is experiencing a devastating second wave of the pandemic, driven by the Delta variant. READ: Global Covid cases top 184.5 million The Prime Minister's Office on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to increase oxygen supply and corona beds in hospitals across the country to ensure the treatment of Covid-19 patients. So far, Bangladesh has administered at least 10,114,578 doses of Covid vaccines – enough to have vaccinated around 3.1% of the country's population, assuming every person needs two doses.

Iranians hoarded medical supplies, Italians urged doctors out of retirement and South Koreans prepared to pump billions into relief efforts Tuesday as the virus epidemic firmed its hold around the globe.

A scary new virus from China has spread around the world. So has rising anti-Chinese sentiment, calls for a full travel ban on Chinese visitors and indignities for Chinese and other Asians.

Beijing, July 12 (Xinhua/UNB) -- From a currency that barely registered in the international market to one with worldwide recognition, Chinese yuan's rise on the global stage over the past decade is a testament to China's growing economic clout and unwavering opening up.