NEW DELHI — The world’s first deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based Covid-19 vaccine has been cleared for use in adolescents aged 12 and above by the Indian regulator Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI). “Zydus Cadila has received approval for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for ZyCoV-D on Aug. 20, the world’s first and India’s indigenously developed DNA-based vaccine for Covid-19 to be administered in humans, including adults and children 12 years and above,” the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology said in an official release. The vaccine is developed in partnership with the…
Author: zenger.news
A giant fossilized turtle egg — believed to have been laid by a turtle the length of a fully grown human 90 million years ago — has been found with the embryo inside. The tennis ball-sized egg, which is protected by an unusually thick outer shell, was found in 2018 by a farmer in China’s Henan Province, who sent it to a university for analysis. The research team, which included scientists from the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan, the Henan Geological Museum and Canada’s Royal Ontario Museum, carried out CT-scans on the egg. This tennis-ball-sized fossilized turtle egg, containing…
AGRA, India — The Taj Mahal was opened on Aug. 21 to visitors for night-time viewing after a year and a half as Covid-19 restrictions were eased in the north-Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The 17th-century mausoleum had been closed for viewing at night since March 2020 in first the Covid-19 induced lockdown. “It is good news for tourists and visitors that after 1.5 years, the Taj Mahal has been re-opened to people for night viewing,” said Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, Superintending Archeologist, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Agra. “We have made all necessary arrangements for people to follow the Covid-19 protocol and guidelines. Only after…
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from one of the worst droughts in southern Madagascar in 40 years, the United Nations has warned. Issa Sanogo, the United Nations resident coordinator in Madagascar, warned that the population faces a severe humanitarian crisis during a recent visit to the region. “We started the visit in Betroka, an area known for its insecurity because of the presence of ‘Dahalo,’ the local name for cattle rustlers, which is now faced with food insecurity due to drought resulting from low rainfall,” he said. “We then moved further south to Amboasary and Ambovombe,…
MAROUA, Cameroon — Aminatou Habiba, a 35-year-old mother of three from Domayo in Cameroon’s Far North Region, happily flips through cartoon books as she teaches her children how to read during weekends. “We are always excited to get new cartoons to see the drawings and listen to me read and explain them,” Habiba told Zenger News. “Before this, my children had never seen cartoons and didn’t know how to read.” Until three years ago, all this was a dream to her. For years, Islamic militants Boko Haram, whose name translates to “Western education is forbidden” in Hausa, has tormented the Far North,…
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Ishmael Kumeri, a fruit and vegetable vendor, was guarding his wares during a post-election demonstration in central Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city, on Aug. 1, 2018, when the military shot him dead. Nothing has been forthcoming despite recommendations from a commission of inquiry into the shootings for the government to provide financial support to his family. “I wish they never gave us hopes of being compensated,” his wife, Suspicious Kumeri, 40, told Zenger News. “It adds more insult to what the state has already done to us. The government left us to suffer.” She shoulders the burden of raising their four…
Healthcare professionals are experiencing decreased joy, increased sadness, fear and disgust over the course of the 18-month COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). Their conclusion was drawn from analyzing more than 53,000 Twitter posts (tweets) from healthcare professionals. The researchers found that levels of joy and sadness exceeded their minimal and maximal values in the last year, respectively, 80 percent of the time. Fear preceded the various pandemic waves by a full week. That indicates that many healthcare professionals “are in a position and with adequate qualification to anticipate the pandemic development,” the…
NEW DELHI — Dozens of female officers of the Indian Army have issued a legal notice to India’s defense ministry demanding compliance to the letter with a Supreme Court of India order that explicitly rejects unfair criteria for their recruitment. “The notice has been sent on behalf of 72 women officers who are fully entitled to be granted permanent commission based on a clear and unambiguous order of the Supreme Court on March 25,” counsel of the women officers Major Sudhanshu Pandey said. “The order was clearly asking the defense ministry and authorities concerned not to compare the women officers with the benchmark of…
MUMBAI, India — Easing restrictions and built-up demand are driving Indian malls’ recovery faster after the second Covid-19 wave relative to the after-first wave figures, according to an analysis of the country’s top 14 malls by Indian analytical and research company Crisil Ratings. “With retail sales in malls rebounding strongly post reopening, pressure on rentals for mall owners is likely to be lower this fiscal year, necessitating lesser waivers compared with last fiscal year,” the subsidiary of S&P Global Ratings said on Aug. 19. “Rental revenue for mall owners is seen clawing back to 80-85 percent of pre-pandemic levels this fiscal year compared with 55-60…
ERNAKULAM, India — During Onam — an annual harvest festival in India that runs for ten days — the south Indian state of Kerala typically imports large quantities of flowers used in ceremonial decorations and other festivities. This year, however, four youngsters from the Ernakulum district started cultivating marigolds with the aim of using home-grown flowers instead of buying them from outside. Marigolds are the centerpiece for the pookalam (floral rangoli, an art form in which patterns are created on the floor) that people make in front of their homes during the 10-day-long festival. Four friends—Haneesh Sree Harshan, C.G. Jibin, Sujith Lal, and P.V. Vineeth—started…