World leaders have teamed up with global film and music superstars to raise funds to fight Covid-19 and to raise awareness of the disproportionate effect the disease has had on marginalised communities.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Miley Cyrus and Coldplay were among the actors and artists that filled the star-studded line-up at The Global Goal: United for Our Future concert on Saturday.
The global entertainment event, broadcast and streamed simultaneously around the world, was organised by the European Commission and the international advocacy organisation Global Citizen, focused on securing further commitments on global equitable access to coronavirus vaccines, tests and treatments.
The event began with a leader-level pledging session in the afternoon followed by the virtual conference.
Before leaders and officials pledged billions of dollars in donations to bolster the world’s health systems, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen called for equitable access around the world to a future Covid-19 vaccine.
“We will only end this pandemic when it has been ended everywhere and that means every person in the world having access to tests, treatments and vaccines no matter where they live or where they are from and what they look like,” she said.
“We need to invest in vaccines in an unprecedented speed and scale and task of this scale and size can only happen if this world unites. We need our best scientists to work together we need our global health organisations to join forces and we need governments, business and philanthropists to step in and provide funding.
“That's why the European Commission teamed up with Global Citizen and with artists. I trust their power to bring people together, to mobilise their energy and to trigger change,” Ms Von der Leyen added.
Commitments at the summit are aimed at organisations that develop tests, treatments and vaccines, as well as groups that will ensure the even delivery of these while strengthening health systems in the future.
In particular, the summit is aimed at building on donor conferences that have raised money for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), which are at the forefront of developing and delivering a potential Covid-19 vaccine.
Speaking in an online panel before her performance, US popstar Miley Cyrus said she hoped to raise awareness and ensure everyone had the means to make the pandemic a crisis of the past.
“I have been really passionate about justice and equality and this campaign is all about making sure that everyone everywhere has access to the tools and solution to end Covid-19,” she said.
“As an artist that is very connected to my fans, I knew they wanted a way to make a difference and so urging them to take action and call on world leaders and decision makers especially in a time like this had made a very impact, huge difference,” Ms Cyrus added.
SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
PLAY-OFF%20DRAW
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Company profile: buybackbazaar.com
Name: buybackbazaar.com
Started: January 2018
Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech, micro finance
Initial investment: $1 million
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
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RESULTS
Mumbai Indians 181-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata Knight Riders 168-6 (20ovs)
Mumbai won by 13 runs
Rajasthan Royals 152-9 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 155-4 (18.4 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
