Highlights: A new treatment strategy against MERS has been developed It uses drugs that regulate a cellular/

Highlights: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and brain scanning can predict which treatment is best for de

Highlights: Personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines are likely to be available soon A new type of deli

Highlights: Infants conceived through IVF can have a higher risk of death than infants conceived naturally This

Highlights: A sensor based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been developed The sensor can inst

Highlights: The American Heart Association has published a statement on exercise and heart health It re

Highlights: A common intestinal bacterium has been identified that secretes a carcinogen The carcinogen produ

Highlights: The current global crisis with COVID-19 infection provides telehealth the ideal opport

Highlights : In India, over 17,265 confirmed novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases and 543 deaths as of yesterd

Highlights : Coronavirus cases have crossed over 50,000 in India, despite being under strict lockdown Social distanc

The UK tax agency has announced that it has scheduled two new webinars to support the construction industry to come to terms with the new VAT reverse charge being introduced on building and construction services from October 1.

Airbnb has disclosed that it has been contacted by HM Revenue and Customs regarding the application of tax laws or regulations impacting the company's business, adding that some matters "may result in litigation".

On November 5, 2019, the UK Government released the synthesized text of the Luxembourg-UK double tax agreement, as modified by the BEPS multilateral instrument.

New Zealand is the easiest place in the world to do business, according to the World Bank's new Doing Business 2020 report, which looks at the simplicity of setting up, operating, and paying taxes in 190 territories around the world.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that his party intends to cancel a planned cut to the corporate tax rate, which was scheduled for April 2020.

The Conservative Party in the UK has won an outright majority in elections held on December 12, 2019.

The Federal Association of German Industry, the BDI, has urged the German government to forge ahead with corporate tax reforms, warning that Germany's corporate tax regime is becoming increasingly out of step with the country's competitors.

The UK's 2020 Budget, released on March 11, 2020, includes proposals to waive business rates on small retailers, to introduce a new tax on plastics, and to remove value-added tax on electronic publications.

The German Ministry of Finance has adopted a circular including various tax relief measures for businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

The Swiss Government has announced that it will waive interest on late payments of tax, to allow companies to delay their tax payments.

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Maltese Government has announced deferrals for the payment of a number of taxes.

The Argentine Government has announced a number of tax-related measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UK Government has announced that it will delay ramping up its Making Tax Digital project, in light of COVID-19.

On April 2, 2020, the Dutch Ministry of Finance announced that the rules for requesting tax payment deferrals have been simplified and extended to cover additional taxes.

The Swiss Federal Council has launched a consultation on proposals to close what it says is a loophole in the withholding tax system, in a bid to strengthen the country's debt market.

New Zealand's Inland Revenue Department has set out the range of supports available to businesses in response to the impact of COVID-19.

The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis and Minister of Finance, Timothy Harris, delivered a "tax-free Budget" on December 12, 2019.

On December 17, 2019, the United States House of Representatives passed a year-end spending package, which includes legislation extending numerous expired and expiring tax provisions, and repealing certain taxes introduced to help fund the Obamacare health care reforms.

On January 8, 2020, a bill was introduced in the Senate of the US state of Maryland that would impose a tax on revenues associated with digital advertising derived in the state.

In a recent update, the Internal Revenue Service has announced that it has agreed a bilateral competent authority agreement with authorities in Spain to exchange country-by-country reports.

The Spanish tax authority has published its annual tax and customs control plan for 2018, which details the tax compliance and enforcement measures that it intends to undertake in the coming year.

The OECD has recently launched a new program – the International Compliance Assurance Programme – being spearhead by the Forum on Tax Administration that is aimed at providing assurance to multinationals with regards to their transfer pricing affairs.

A new tax treaty between Finland and Spain, which will broaden the Finnish Government's taxing rights with respect to pension income, will be effective from 2019, according to the Finnish Ministry of Finance.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has pledged to reform Spain's corporate tax rules so that companies pay an effective rate no lower than 15 percent.

The Spanish Government will proceed with a proposal to introduce a digital services tax along similar lines to the European Commission's proposed interim digital tax.

The UK tax agency has confirmed that it is investigating around 170 professional soccer players' tax affairs and around 20 football clubs, focusing on the taxation of image rights.

For the first time, the Commission has presented a comprehensive report on investor citizenship and residence schemes operated by a number of EU member states.

The European Commission is taking Spain to the Court of Justice over the imposition of "disproportionate" sanctions for failure to report assets held abroad.

On June 25, 2019, the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved amendments to four double tax avoidance agreements which have been pending in the Senate for several years.

Spain's acting Economy Minister, Nadia Calvino, said the Government will seek approval of legislation to introduce a digital services tax at the earliest opportunity.

On November 15, 2019, the European Commission announced the launch of an in-depth state aid investigation into tax exemptions provided to Italian ports, but welcomed commitments from Spain to abolish similar exemptions for Spanish ports from next year.

The Spanish Government has published the draft bill to introduce a digital services tax in Spain, beginning the formal parliamentary process needed to introduce the measure.

The Isle of Man is to introduce new penalties for tax return errors from October 6, 2016.

The Canadian Government has announced the establishment of an independent advisory committee on offshore tax evasion and aggressive tax planning.

The Isle of Man Government has committed to enhancing the effectiveness of arrangements to share "beneficial ownership" information with the United Kingdom.

More than 20 jurisdictions have signed up to a pilot project to exchange data held on beneficial ownership registers and registers of trusts, according to UK Chancellor George Osborne.

The Isle of Man Treasury has warned that time is running out for taxpayers who have failed to declare all their taxable income.

The Canadian Government has said that it will review its tax ruling process and voluntary disclosures program as part of its response to recommendations made last year by a parliamentary committee.

The Isle of Man's 2018 Budget maintains the zero percent company tax rate, and announces a banking tax review, which will look at taxing all banking profits at the 10 percent rate from next year.

The Isle of Man Treasury has announced that a new 30 percent penalty for participation in VAT fraud will be introduced from March 1, 2018.