The Technical Advisory Group (TAG), an independent advisory council of the World Health Organization (WHO), has recommended that Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin be given Emergency Use Listing (EUL) designation. Meanwhile, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has accused the rebel group of attempting to convert Ethiopia like Libya and Syria. In China, to match up developed economies, a north-west province, Shaanxi, is now asking locals if the authorities should sanction additional six weeks of paid maternity leaves. 

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WHO panel gives emergency use nod to Bharat Biotech’s Covid jab Covaxin

The TAG had requested “further clarifications” from the firm on October 26 in order for Covaxin to undertake a final “risk-benefit assessment” for the vaccine’s Emergency Use Listing. 

Israel: Iran-based hacker group leaks private information of 290,000 patients

A group of hackers have leaked personal information, appointment details and test results of nearly 290,000 patients of Israel’s Machon Mor medical institute.

Ethiopia’s rebel alliance ‘set to destroy’ the country: PM Abiy Ahmed

He urged Ethiopians to step up their efforts to battle opposing Tigray troops, who claim to have captured important cities along a vital route leading to the capital, and a fresh round of ethnic Tigrayan detentions has begun.

This Chinese province is thinking of 1-year paid maternity leave

Shaanxi is hoping that if locals are given an additional half a year’s paid maternity leaves in addition to the already existing 168 days, this will help put the province in the same league as some of the other developed European countries such as Norway and Germany.

Teacher suspended for telling Muslim boy ‘we don’t negotiate with terrorists’

An American teacher was suspended earlier this month after being accused of saying, “We don’t negotiate with terrorists,” in response to a query from an Arab-Muslim kid in math class.

Hubble in trouble: Space telescope enters safe mode, suspends operations

Hubble’s safe mode allows the telescope to remain powered using its solar panels as scientists figure out ways to address the issue.

Is a new Covid pandemic emerging or is it an endemic now? Experts answer

COVID-19 is expected to transition to an endemic disease in 2022 and beyond. As the Delta variant surge eases in many regions around the world, scientists have begun charting the virus’s transition from a pandemic to an endemic.

Why do dogs tilt head? New study reveals the cute reason

According to a study published last week, although a dog’s quizzical head cock seems like confusion, the gesture may actually be a sign of concentration and increased attention.  

China’s school locks down kids overnight after one Covid case

A little around 11:30 in the night, the school principal emerged outside the institution and told parents that some children will be sent to quarantine while others will be allowed to go back home in the usual manner.

Inspite of the anger over George Floyd’s murder, Minneapolis votes against scrapping police department

18 months after George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis sparked protests for racial justice around the world, Minneapolis voters have chosen not to replace their police force with a new department that would have taken a holistic approach to crime.