Category: Life & Style

On Friday, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asks the international community to “change track” in protecting the ocean from the climate crisis.

The ocean is affecting its ecosystem by getting warmer and more acidic as it serves as a giant carbon and heat sink. Guterres warned that the ocean “shoulder a great deal of the burden” and global warming, biodiversity loss, and pollution are a triple crisis facing the planet.

In his video message, he said that the polar ice is melting and global weather patterns are also changing with it. The conference took place this week in the northern French coastal city of Brest.

Ocean-dependent communities also suffer as more than 3 billion people rely on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods. Along with this, the fish stocks are also under threat from destructive fishing practices, overfishing, illegal unreported, and unregulated fishing patterns.

He said that change in the track is a must as it has been 40 years since the signing of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Guterres pointed out that legal certainty is integral to ocean governance.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU would increase its spending to boost the vaccination drive in African states. They plan to increase as they are lagging behind despite having received the COVID-19 vaccine supplies.

African countries began rollouts of the vaccines much later than wealthier countries, which began receiving the limited doses in late 2020.

Gavi, a nonprofit global vaccine alliance, estimates that Congo and Burundi have used less than 20% of the available doses, however, supplies have grown exponentially in recent months and many countries are finding it difficult to absorb them.

von der Leyen said in a conference in Dakar, Senegal, “We have to make efforts to accelerate vaccinations, especially in African countries where vaccination rates are the lowest”.

She further added that in addition to the 300 million euros already committed by the EU and its member states for this purpose, she said the EU would spend 125 million euros ($143 million) to train medical staff and provide doses. Officials from the EU said they wanted now to change their message to Africa “from vaccines to vaccinations.”

Von der Leyen however stated that the EU will continue to send vaccine doses to Africa, aiming to reach 450 million doses by the summer, which is three times more than what has already been shared.

On Monday, India approved Russia’s one-shot Sputnik Light COvid-19 vaccine for unvaccinated people. India has approved the shots for emergency use almost 10 months after it cleared the two-dose Sputnik V.

Indian drugmaker Dr. Reddy’s spokesperson said, “The current restricted use in emergency situation approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to Sputnik Light is for the single-shot standalone vaccine. Our efforts to seek approval for Sputnik Light as a precautionary dose/booster are currently underway”. However, the was no immediate response to an email request for comment by the DCGI.

Currently, India is using AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine in tandem along with the local form Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. It has inoculated more than 75% of the adult population, 950 million adults.

The nation has also approved the booster shots for the frontline workers, senior citizens having morbidities. The government has mandated that the shots have to be the same as the original one.

According to several private hospitals, the majority of the population is demanding Covaxin (Bharat Biotech) and Covishield (Serum Institute of India).

The urban vaccine centers have reported slowing down post achieving a significant coverage in terms of vaccination.

The Worlds Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus discussed collaboration on Covid origins with the Chinese premier. Tedros visited Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

On Saturday, Tedros tweeted, “Pleased to meet with Premier Li Keqiang. We discussed COVID-19 and the need for an aggressive effort on VaccinEquiyt this year to vaccinate 70 percent of all population”. He tweeted referring to the campaign organized by the WHO for fair access to vaccines around the world. He further added that they also discussed the need for stronger collaboration on COVID-19 virus origins that are rooted in science and evidence.

Among the mysteries surrounding COVID-19, which has killed over six million people worldwide, is when and where the virus originated. While the United States and other countries have criticized China for delaying the sharing of information when the virus broke out there in 2019, China has denied that it did so.

In December, WHO urged the second phase of an investigation into the cases after Beijing failed to disclose some early information that might help pinpoint the origins. Earlier this week, Jeremy Farrar, former director of the Wellcome Trust and former UK government adviser, said the “overwhelming majority” of evidence indicated natural origins, although a laboratory leak could not be ruled out.

On Thursday, Germany’s expert vaccine commission, the Standing Committee on Vaccination (StiKo) raised a recommendation approving the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for adults. Novavax shots were first approved in Indonesia.

It is hoped the protein-based shot might help address vaccine hesitancy since it uses a conventional technology rather than messenger RNA vaccines (mRNA) that have proven most effective during the pandemic.

Approximately 74% of people in Germany have already had two doses of the COVID vaccine. The government wishes to increase its status to 90%.

In the StiKo, it is recommended that adults receive two Novavax doses, at least three weeks apart. Yet, it recommended booster shots be mRNA vaccines, such as those made by BioNTech-Pfizer or Moderna.

A statement released by StiKo said, “Current data shows that protection against infection with the currently circulating omicron variant decreases within a few months after first booster vaccination. This is particularly significant for people aged 70 years and older and those with immunodeficiency, as they are at highest risk for severe COVID-19 course after infection”.

According to the World Health Organization, the Novavax vaccine has an efficacy rate of 90% against mild, moderate, and severe diseases.

Australia is set to reopen its border for foreign tourists from February almost two years. The nation has locked its border for tourists due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On Sunday, the Australian government is set to announce the news post-meeting of the national security committee.

Karen Andrews, Home Affairs Minister said in an interview, “We are getting ready to open as soon as we can. We don’t have all the information we need to be able to take the decision, but we are very close”.

Prior to lockdown, Australia’s tourism industry’s annual revenue generated was over $84.9 billion. However, the revenue in 2020-2021 was a steep fall of 41% in the first year of COVID-19. Australia’s hospitality sector was hard-hit due to the border restriction and lockdown induced due to COVID.

Re-opening of the borders was back-to-back delayed by the new variants coming up which also restricted the local travel within the nation. The highly contagious Delta variant also forced to suspend the trans-Tasman travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand. The variant made residents less confident regarding travel booking in advance which lead the nation to cancel major events.

Queen Elizabeth II is ready to mark 70 years on the throne on Sunday. She is the first British monarch to reign for 70 years, heralding the start of her Platinum Jubilee.

At the age of 25, she inherited the throne on February 8, 1952, after the death of her father George VI. The sovereign’s record-breaking reign as head of the state came when she was watching wildlife in a remote part of Kenya with her husband, Prince Philip.

However, on this landmark date, the queen traditionally spends the anniversary of the death of her father in private. On Sunday, there are no public engagements expected due to the previous years.

Queen Elizabeth II has emerged as a constant throughout the United Kingdom’s turbulent postwar and imperial eras – a symbol of Britain’s modernity and a living link to its past. She regularly tops the survey as the most popular royal.

If Queen sits on the throne till June 12, 2022, she will overtake King Bhumibol Adulyadej as the longest-reigning modern monarch. Till now only three monarchs in the world have reigned for more than 70 years, France’s Louis XIV for 72 years, 110 days, Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej for 70 years, and 126 days, and Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein for 70 years and 91 days.

Most of the European countries have lifted almost all the COVID restrictions and plans to ease restrictive measures. The WHO has prepared a set of guidelines with six criteria.

However, according to the WHO guidelines, countries are requesting to consider easing measures after the number of infections declines and its health system can cope with the virus cases and the possible outbreak. They further asked to guarantee their capability for surveillance and contact tracing.

Denmark is the latest EU nation to announce dropping most of the measure as it follows in the footsteps of the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the rate of infection remains at a record high across the continent.

After the emergence of Omicron in December, the European Union reacted rapidly with varying levels of strictness. However, they are now relieved that an increase in intensive care patients has not materialized.

According to the Office for National Statistics, Coronavirus infections decreased for the second consecutive week. Covid-19-infected people fell from 3.4m to around 3 million in the week ending January 22, as measured by the ONS infection survey.

WHO senior advisor Natasha Azzopardi Muscat said, “It is very clear that this transition is not going back to normal but moving forward into a new normal”.

Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi congratulated Indians as it reached 75% of the adult population to get fully vaccinated with both doses of the vaccine. Mr. Modi tweeted it as the “momentous feat” for India in the fight against Corona.

On Sunday, health minister Masaukh Mandaviya said in a tweet in Hindi, “With the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Prayas’, India has achieved 75% of its adult population with both doses of the vaccine. We are getting stronger in their fight against Corona. We have to follow all the rules and get the vaccine as soon as possible”.

In the last 24 hours, India has administered a total of 62,22,682 doses, bringing the total tally of doses administered number to 1,65,70,60,692. However, India reported 2,34,281 new cases, which raised the total tally to 4,10,92,522. There is a dip in the number of infections as compared to the Saturday record by 0.5%.

The death toll reached 893 in the last 24 hours which took the total death toll to 4,94,091. Currently, 18,84,937 are active in the country.

Indian-origin professor Chennupati Jagadish is accorded a rare honor in Australia. A native of Telugu, Cheenupati Jagadish is appointed as the President of the Australian Academy of Science (ANU). He is the first Indian to hold the position.

Mr. Jagadish is a leading nanotechnology and physics researcher and eminent and now will continue as the next president of the ANU. he is set to take over the position in May next year.

ANU Vice-Chancellor, Nobel Laureate professor Brain Smith said, “Professor Jagdish is the right person to lead the Academy of Science. Australian science and scientific research is very safe and inspiring in the hands of Jagadish”.

Professor Jagdish is born and raised in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh who moved to Australia 31 years ago. He graduated from Nagarjuna University and in 1977 completed his M.Sc. from Andhra University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Delhi in 1988 and in Canada as a lecturer for several years. 1990, he came to Australia to set up an optoelectronics and nanotechnology research institute.

Currently, he is also Director of the Australian National Fabrication Facility, as well as Head of the Semiconductor Department of Optoelectronics and Nanotechnology.