Good News

BULLETIN 15 October 

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# A six-monthly HIV prevention injection containing lenacapavir has been confirmed effective in two pivotal studies. The first study, PURPOSE 1, showed no HIV infections among two-thousand-134 participants, while the second, PURPOSE 2, reported two infections among two-thousand-179 participants. This translates to a 96-percent reduction in HIV infections compared to background incidence. Gilead Sciences plans to file for regulatory approval to market lenacapavir for prevention. Currently registered in some countries for treatment, it is not yet available in South Africa for preventive use.

# South African film The Queenstown Kings has been nominated for 15 Africa Movie Academy Awards. The film, directed by Jahmil XT Qubeka, is centred on an amateur soccer team’s journey from playing on dusty fields to the highest level. Zolisa Xaluva and Unati Faku have been nominated for best actor and actress in a leading role respectively. Other nominations for the film include Qubeka for Best Director and Best Film in an African Language. The awards ceremony will be held in Lagos, Nigeria, on the second of November.

# The Nobel Prize in Economics has been awarded to Americans Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson for their groundbreaking research on wealth inequality among nations. Their work highlights how political and economic institutions, particularly those shaped by European colonisers, impact national prosperity. The Nobel committee’s Jakob Svensson emphasised the significance of their findings, stating that reducing income disparities is one of today’s greatest challenges:

# Italy’s most famous fashion designer, Giorgio Armani, says he plans to retire within the next two or three years. The 90-year-old remains firmly in control of his empire since he founded it nearly 50 years ago. Armani founded the fashion house in 1975, and presented his first ready-to-wear collections the following year. He has no children and his heirs are expected to include his sister, three other family members working at the company, his long-term collaborator and partner, Pantaleo Dell’Orco, and a charitable foundation.

# And finally: The Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington is expecting the arrival of two giant pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, from China today. The duo are the first pandas China has sent to Washington in 24 years. The three-year-old pandas are loaned to the zoo for ten years. Bao Li has deep familial roots in Washington, as his mother, Bao Bao, was born at the zoo in 2013 and returned to China four years later. His grandparents, Meixiang and Tian Tian, lived at the zoo for 23 years.

Stay tuned for more news………….