2026-08-20
4 分钟The Economist.
Top stories.
Moderna and Merck, two American pharma companies,
reported successful interim results in the trial of a personalized skin cancer vaccine.
The combination of an mRNA jab with an immunotherapy drug already produced by Merck.
Reduce melanoma reoccurrence.
The positive results are the first for a late-stage trial of an mRNA cancer vaccine.
Both companies' share prices rose.
Moderna's surged by 177%.
America's federal government debt passed $40 trillion for the first time, according to figures published on Wednesday.
Earlier, the Treasury said it will buy back more long-term government bonds in an attempt to contain borrowing costs.
In response, the yield on 30-year treasuries fell slightly to 5.2%.
Investors' worries about inflation and America's huge debt had pushed 30-year yields to their highest
since 2007. Donald Trump said he would meet Kim Jong-un, North Korea's dictator, this year.
Neither the White House nor the North Korean government confirmed this.
This week, Mr. Trump scaled back military exercises with South Korea,
partly because he has a, quote, very good relationship with Mr. Kim.
Despite the gesture, Kim Yo Jong, Mr. Kim's sister, said America still has a hostile policy towards North Korea.
Israel's military police launched criminal investigations into two incidents
in which Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed Palestinians in Gaza.