Hong Kong said on Wednesday it had approved a form of the BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for babies and children under five years old, in a bid to expand measures to increase vaccination uptake in the financial hub. The government said talks were being held with the vaccine manufacturer on the timeframe for when it would be available in the Chinese special administrative region. The government announced that each shot contains one-tenth of the adult dosage, lowering the chance of side effects. The government agreed to the use of China's Sinovac shots for children 6 months and older in August
Thousands of Benin Bronzes are found in several museums worldwide after being robbed by Britain in the late 19th century. A bronze sculpture of a king belonging to West Africa called the Head of a King, or Oba that was kept in a Rhode Island museum for more than 70 years is among 31 culturally valuable objects that have been returned to the Nigerian government during a ceremony at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC on Tuesday. The Benin Bronzes were stolen in 1897 when British colonial forces plundered and looted the kingdom of Benin, which is now in present-day Nigeria. �
After two-and-a-half years of stringent Covid-19 restrictions, Japan reopened its doors to tourists on Tuesday, with officials hoping a large inflow of travelers lured by a weak yen will boost the economy. By mid-morning, tourists from Israel, France, and Britain were already arriving in the country. Japan shut its borders in the early stage of the pandemic, at one point even blocking foreign residents from returning, and has only lately begun reopening in a guarded manner. In June, it started allowing tourists to visit in groups accompanied by guides. From Tuesday, it resumed vis
African children under age five will soon receive Africa's first malaria vaccine, according to Malawi's health ministry. Over 30 years were spent developing the RTS,S vaccine, which has been tested in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. There are more than 400,000 people who die annually from mosquito-borne diseases, most of whom are African children, because of the vaccine, despite its relatively low level of effectiveness. As soon as the pilot phase of the vaccine is complete, the vaccine will be rolled out next month. In Malawi, Ghana and Kenya, the World Health Organization vaccinates 360,000 ch
The Nobel Prize in economic sciences has been awarded to the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, and two economists based in the US, Douglas W Diamond and Philip H Dybvig, who have been awarded the Nobel prize for research on financial crises and banks. A Nobel panel announced the award in Stockholm on Monday. The Nobel committee said their research had shown "the importance of preventing bank collapses." The prize comes with a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000). Unlike the other prizes, the economics award was created by the Swedish central bank
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday declared Modhera village in Gujarat as the country's first 24x7 solar-powered village. Modhera, located 25 km from the Mehsana district of Gujarat, and about 100 km from the state capital of Gandhinagar, is well-known for a centuries-old Sun temple built during the Chalukya. While addressing a rally, Modi said, “We shall no longer pay for electricity, but will instead sell it and earn from it. Earlier, the government supplied power to residents; now, with the installation of solar panels, citizens will now produce their own electricity.” "A
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has jointly awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, and K. Barry Sharpless “for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.” The trio has been awarded for their work in 'click chemistry', in which molecules snap together quickly and firmly, without the need for a lengthy and complex process and too many unnecessary byproducts. Their work has applications in medical science, including the treatment of cancer. Bertozzi is based at Stanford University in California, Sharpless with Scripps Re
On Thursday, Annie Ernaux was awarded the Nobel prize in literature for the year 2022 by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. In its announcement, the Nobel prize committee praised Annie Ernaux's courage and clinical acuity in exploring the roots, estrangements, and collective restraints of memory. Annie Ernaux's prose captures the restraints of personal memory, the creation of new ones, and estrangements without being overly verbose. Through her work, she engages with French society diligently, looking at social disparities like gender, language, and class neither through rose-coloured glass
Australia intends to aim for zero extinction for its rare and special plants and animals, promising to preserve at least 30 percent of its land amid acute pressure on the country’s environment. Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek, on Tuesday, said the 224.5 million Australian dollars ($145.9m) plan offers a way for threatened species conservation and recovery over the next decade. It lays most emphasis on 110 species and 20 places that need urgent action and includes a commitment to inhibit any new extinctions of plants and animals. Plibersek said the gover
This Dussehra, Dubai will have a new Hindu temple. Jebel Ali in Dubai will be the site of the temple, which will be inaugurated the day before Dussehra. One of the oldest Hindu temples in the UAE, Sindhi Guru Darbar Temple, is being expanded into a new temple according to the Khaleej Times. Dubai's new temple will open its doors to the public on October 5. The foundation was laid for the temple in 2020, reports state. The people of this area had been seeking a place of worship for more than a decade. The temple had its soft opening on September 1 this year, with thousands of visitors allow