India has gifted 2,000 vials of Remdesivir to Nepal to meet the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Indian envoy Vinay M Kwatra handed over the medicine to Nepal foreign affairs minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali last week. The medicines are a part of the Indian government's ongoing assistance to its neighbouring nation against the battle against Covid-19. Remdesivir is regarded as a broad-spectrum anti-viral medication for treating moderate to severely ill patients on oxygen therapy. According to medical research, the drug is proven to significantly reduce the duration of hospital stay and also diminish the recovery time of patients. India also gifted disaster relief material, including tents and plastic sheets for distribution to flood and landslide affected families in five districts of the Himalayan nation.
Indian origin author on Booker shortlist
Dubai-based Indian-origin author Avni Doshi is among the six authors shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize for her debut novel ‘Burnt Sugar.’ The shortlist was unveiled virtually in London last week. “This utterly compelling read examines a complex and unusual mother-daughter relationship with honest, unflinching realism - sometimes emotionally wrenching but also cathartic, written with poignancy and memorability,” the judges said of Doshi’s entry. Doshi was born in the US and lives in Dubai
Pak House passes 3 FATF bills amid oppn protests
Hours after being rejected by the Senate, Pakistan’s parliament in a joint sitting last week bulldozed three FATF-related laws in an attempt to avoid being added to the task force’s blacklist. In the joint session, marred by opposition protests, the bills were passed with a thin majority of 10 votes. The bills passed with amendments were the Islamabad Capital Territory Waqf Properties Bill, 2020; Anti-Money Laundering (Second Amendment) Bill; and the Anti-Terrorism Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Senate had rejected the FATF-related legislation, objecting to some of its provisions.
32 Pak institutes sealed for breaking Covid guidelines
Within 48 hours after Pakistan allowed educational institutions to reopen due to decline in Covid-19 cases, 32 facilities were forced to shut again for failing to comply with government-issued guidelines. “During the last 48 hours, 22 educational institutions across Pakistan have been closed due to non-compliance of health SOPs/protocols and disease prevalence,” the National Command and Operations Center announced in a statement. The government had allowed higher educational institutions to reopen after a gap of six months.
Lankan minister climbs tree to address people
To convey the message to the people on the shortage of coconuts, Sri Lankan state minister of coconut Arundika Fernando climbed a coconut tree and said that the country is facing a dearth of 700 million coconuts due to high demand for local industries and domestic consumption. News First quoted Fernando as saying, "We hope to utilise every available plot of land for the cultivation of coconuts and boost the industry to one which would generate foreign exchange to the country." Giving a solution to the problem of prices of coconuts, he said that the government aims to reduce the prices amid the shortage of coconuts in the country.
Letter posted in Oct 1920 finally gets delivered
The postcard, faded and weathered, has a postmark dated October 29, 1920, and a stamp of George Washington, priced 1 cent. Its address is to a Mrs. Roy McQueen in Belding, Michigan and it took almost a century to be delivered. The postcard’s arrival this week had baffled Brittany Keech, the resident who found it in her mailbox. “When I first saw it, I thought, ‘This is old,’” Keech, 30, said. “I would love to be able to get it to a relative who is alive.” The postcard has a Halloween theme, featuring a witch, a goose, an owl, a bat and cat with a broom. It also has a pun: “‘Witch’ would you rather be … a goose or a pumpkin head?”
Cops suspended in Germany over Hitler pictures
Twenty-nine German police officers have been suspended from duty on suspicion of sharing images of Adolf Hitler and violent neo-Nazi propaganda in at least five online chat groups, German authorities said. It is the latest of a series of cases of far-right infiltration in Germany’s police and military. Herbert Reul, interior minister of the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, where the chats were discovered, called the discovery a “disgrace”. He described the images as “far right extremist propaganda” of the “ugliest, most despicable, neo-Nazi, anti-immigrant” kind. Police raided the homes of 14 of the 29 cops, most of whom stand accused of sharing content that included, among other things, a fictional image of a refugee in a gas chamber.
Princeton under probe over racial bias
The Trump administration has opened an investigation into racial bias at Princeton University, saying that the school’s recent acknowledgment of racism on campus amounts to a “shocking” and “serious” admission of discrimination. In a letter to the university, the US education department said the school’s acknowledgment of racism conflicts with previous assurances that Princeton complies with federal anti-discrimination laws. Princeton said it’s cooperating with the investigation and looks forward to showing that its actions have been consistent with federal law and “also with the highest ideals and aspirations of this country”.
Legal victory for HK gay couples
Hong Kong’s high court ruled that same-sex couples should receive equal treatment under inheritance law, in a step forward for LGBT rights in the finance hub. But the victory came on the same day as a separate legal bid for full recognition of foreign same -sex marriages was struck down, underscoring what campaigners say is a lack of progress on equality issues. HK law does not allow same-sex marriage.
Covid pushes New Zealand into worst recession in years
New Zealand is in its deepest recession in decades, following strict measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic which were widely praised. The country's GDP shrank by 12.2% between April and June as the lockdown and border closures hit. It is New Zealand's first recession since the global financial crisis and its worst since 1987, when the current system of measurement began. But the government hopes its pandemic response will lead to a quick recovery. The nation of nearly five million was briefly declared virus free, and although it still has a handful of cases, it has only had 25 deaths. The economy is likely to be a key issue in next month's election, which was delayed after an unexpected spike in Covid-19 cases in August. Industries like retail, accommodation and restaurants, and transport saw significant declines in production because they were most directly affected by the international travel ban and strict nationwide lockdown.
China vaccine may be ready by Nov
A senior Chinese health official said a coronavirus vaccine could be available to the public in China as early as November. Dr Wu Guizhen, the chief expert for biosafety at the Chinese CDC, told state broadcaster CCTV that “ordinary people” in China could be given the vaccine in November or December. “Current progress has been very smooth” for vaccine candidates in the final stage of clinical trials, she said. China now has five vaccine candidates in late-stage clinical trials. China has already approved at least two experimental under emergency use. Dr. Wu, who said she was still doing well after receiving one of the experimental vaccines in April, said she expected them to remain effective for one to 3 years.
Twitter suspends account of China virologist
Twitter has suspended the account of a Chinese virologist who had claimed that the Sars-Cov2 virus may have been developed in a lab in Wuhan. Li-Meng Yan’s unverified handle @LiMengYAN119 was suspended last week. A search for her account leads to a page that reads, “Account suspended. Twitter suspends accounts which violate the Twitter Rules.” The microblogging firm did not respond to questions about why Li’s account was suspended. Twitter had recently revised its rules to curb spread of misinformation around Covid-19. Li, who worked as a virology expert in Hong Kong, had made these claims in a paper that has not yet been peer reviewed. She claimed she was assigned to probe a “new pneumonia” in Wuhan, where she discovered a cover-up operation regarding Covid-19 . She also claims that the theory that the virus originated in a market was a “smokescreen”. Li, who fled Hong Kong, is believed to be in the US currently.
US reimposes UN curbs on Iran
Over the strenuous objections of its closest allies, the Trump administration reimposed UN sanctions against Iran on Saturday, though the weight of their repercussions is unclear without the cooperation of the world’s other major powers. In a statement secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced the “return of virtually all previously terminated UN sanctions” and, in effect, declared a 2015 nuclear accord with Iran as no longer in force. “The world will be safer as a result,” he said. Pompeo also warned that the US “is prepared to use our domestic authorities to impose consequences” for other countries that do not enforce the sanctions. He didn’t elaborate. Iran responded on Sunday by saying the US is facing “maximum isolation” after major world powers dismissed the unilateral US declaration. President Hassan Rouhani said a concerted campaign by Washington to pressure Tehran had backfired. “We can say that America’s ‘maximum pressure’ against Iran, in its political and legal aspect, has turned into America’s maximum isolation,” he said.
Moscow is slow to inoculate Russians despite approval
More than a month after becoming the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine, Russia has yet to administer it to a large population outside a clinical trial, health officials and outside experts say. The approval, which came with much fanfare, occurred before Russia had tested the vaccine in late-stage trials for possible side effects and for its disease-fighting ability. It was seen as a political gesture by President Vladimir Putin to assert victory in the global race for a vaccine. It is not clear whether the slow start to the vaccination campaign is a result of limited production capacity or second thoughts about inoculating the population with an unproven product. The Russian vaccine is one of nine candidates around the world now in the late-stage clinical trials.
AstraZeneca trial blueprints released
AstraZeneca revealed details of its large coronavirus vaccine trial, the third in a wave of rare disclosures by drug companies under pressure to be more transparent about how they are testing products. “The release of these protocols seems to reflect some public pressure to do so,” said Natalie Dean, a bio-statistician and expert in clinical trial design for vaccines at the University of Florida. Pfizer and Moderna revealed details of their vaccine trials earlier. Experts have been particularly concerned about AstraZeneca’s trials because of the company’s refusal to provide details about serious neurological illnesses in two participants
Virus found on imported squid package in China
Authorities in China’s Jilin province have found the coronavirus on the packaging of imported squid, health authorities in the city of Fuyu said. One of the packages had arrived in the city via the provincial capital Changchun, Fuyu city’s health office said. It asked people who had bought and eaten imported squid at the local Sanjia Deda frozen seafood wholesale shop on August 24-31 to report to officials and seek a test. The Covid-19 prevention office said the squid had been imported from Russia by a firm in Hunchun city and brought to the provincial capital. Customs officials said they would suspend imports from firms for a week if frozen food products tested positive for the virus.
