Trump envoy slams Hamas response as 'unacceptable'
Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, criticized Hamas’s response to Washington’s latest ceasefire proposal, calling it “completely unacceptable” and a step backward.
AstraZeneca, opens new tab said it will spend $2.5 billion on a research and development hub in Beijing, as the drugmaker scrambles to revive business in its second-biggest market after scandals including the arrest of its China president last year.
Chief Executive Pascal Soriot was in Beijing and met with the city's mayor to reveal the investment, along with two licensing deals with Chinese companies, and a joint venture with a third Chinese firm on vaccines, saying they all showed the company's commitment to the world's No. 2 economy.
"This $2.5 billion investment reflects our belief in the world-class life sciences ecosystem in Beijing, the extensive opportunities that exist for collaboration and access to talent, and our continued commitment to China," Soriot said in a statement.
The R&D centre "will partner with the cutting-edge biology and AI science in Beijing and be a critical part of our global efforts to bring innovative medicines to patients worldwide," Soriot said.
The centre in Beijing will be the company's second R&D site in China - a centre in Shanghai opened in 2024 - to match two such centres each that AstraZeneca has in the U.S. and Europe, respectively, a company spokesperson said.
The Chinese government has launched several investigations into AstraZeneca's executives and activities in the country, where the drugmaker has invested billions of dollars to build factories and license experimental drug candidates from Chinese biotech firms.
China accounted for about 12% of group revenue last year. The company, the UK's largest listed company worth 183 billion pounds ($236 billion) on the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, opens new tab, is the largest foreign drugmaker in China.
Soriot has often visited the country in recent years and praised the value of doing business there even when other multinationals complained of challenges or cited geopolitical tensions between China and Western countries as a risk for the pharma industry.
He is due to attend a flagship development conference in Beijing over the coming days where some are expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The company put its former China head Leon Wang, who also led its international business as an executive vice president, on administrative leave following his detention by Chinese authorities in October, and overhauled its local management in China.
Soriot said at quarterly results last month that the company still does not know Wang's whereabouts. Its stock was hit hard by news of the probes in October 2024, but shares have since recovered as investors hope the impact could be minor.
A company spokesperson declined on Friday to comment on the status of the investigations.
The licensing agreements announced on Friday were with Chinese firms Harbour BioMed and Syneron Bio, for early-stage experimental medicines. The financial terms were not disclosed.
The deals were the latest of about a dozen AstraZeneca has signed with Chinese firms in the past several years - including on obesity drugs - worth a total of at least $9 billion, according to the company.
It is also launching a joint venture with another firm, BioKangtai, to develop, manufacture and commercialize vaccines for respiratory and other infectious diseases for patients in China and elsewhere. The site, in Beijing, will be the company's first vaccine manufacturing facility in the country.
The company on Friday also announced a partnership with state-run Beijing Cancer Hospital focused on data science and clinical development.
On May 28, the inauguration ceremony of Lachin International Airport was held.
A car drove into crowds of Liverpool fans celebrating the club’s Premier League title in the city centre on Monday evening, injuring dozens including 4 children. A 53-year-old man believed to be the driver was arrested at the scene.
EU ministers have greenlit a massive €150 billion defense investment fund—dubbed the Security Action for Europe (SAFE)—as the bloc ramps up its military readiness in response to Russia’s aggression and growing uncertainty over U.S. security guarantees.
Brazil’s economy is expected to have regained momentum in the first quarter of 2025, driven by a surge in household spending and private investment, according to a Reuters poll of economists conducted from May 21–26.
An international academic conference titled "Islamophobia: Exposing Prejudice and Destroying Stigma" has officially opened in the capital of Azerbaijan, bringing together global scholars, experts, and policymakers to address the rise and consequences of anti-Muslim discrimination.
The U.S. FDA has approved Moderna’s next-generation COVID-19 vaccine, mNEXSPIKE, for adults aged 65 and older and those aged 12–64 with risk factors, marking a major step under tighter regulations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed Friday that COVID-19 vaccines are still recommended for healthy children aged 6 months and older—if their doctors agree.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced that COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women — a move that has sparked sharp criticism from public health experts.
On the sun-soaked southern tip of China, a new kind of medical tourism is quietly unfolding. It’s not about cosmetic surgery or wellness spas but about survival.
Pakistan kicked off a nationwide anti-polio campaign on Monday, aiming to vaccinate over 45 million children under the age of five as part of efforts to eliminate the crippling disease—one of the last remaining in the world.
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