Scientists are getting closer to finding a cure for HIV: A team of American researchers have cured a woman of HIV through a stem cell transplant, making her the first woman and the third person to be successfully treated, Reuters reports. Prior to the woman — who was diagnosed with HIV in 2013 and leukemia four years later — two male HIV patients were successfully cured by receiving adult stem cells, which are usually used in bone marrow transplants. “Taken together, these three cases of a cure post stem cell transplant all help in teasing out the various components of the transplant that were absolutely key to a cure,” said the head of the International AIDS Society.

A “dirty dozen” banks and investors are propping up the global coal industry, channeling USD 1.5 tn into the fossil fuel over the past two years through lending and underwriting mandates, finds a study by Urgewald and Reclaim Finance. Institutional investors were found to have upward of USD 1.2 tn in global coal industry stocks and bonds. The research, which is based on the Global Coal Exit List (GCEL), found that 1,032 companies account for 90% of the world’s thermal coal production and coal-fired capacity, with 12 banks accounting for 48% of lending on the GCEL. Ten of those 12 lenders are members of the UN’s Net Zero Banking Alliance, an initiative to align the industry’s portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050. BlackRock was found to be the strongest supporter of the global coal industry among investors.

A benchmark for phasing out coal use: One of the goals of last year’s COP26 summit in Glasgow was to phase out coal usage, which, although not met, did secure pledges to “phase down” coal usage from coal-dependent countries. Campaigners have said Urgewald’s study should be a benchmark to assess the promises made at COP26. Egypt and at least 22 other countries signed on to several landmark agreements to phase out the use of coal power and end financing for new coal plants at the COP26 summit, including pledges from banks and financial institutions to end financing for new plants.

Players strike down Fifa’s proposal for a World Cup every two years instead of the current four: A survey of more than 1k male players of 70 nationalities showed opposition against the idea of a more frequent championship, reports The Independent. The survey found that 77% of players in both Europe and Asia favored the four-year system, while the majority of respondents from the Americas (63%) also said they don’t want to change the current system. Players in Africa were leaning more towards the new proposed tournament, with 49% of athletes saying they want to continue with four-yearly World Cups.