Coronavirus Crisis

COVID vaccine patent waiver no 'magic bullet', says EU; urges US to lift ban on exports instead

While the US has kept a tight lid on exports so it can inoculate its own population first, the EU has become the world’s leading provider, allowing about as many doses to go outside the 27-nation bloc as are kept for its 446 million inhabitants

Augmenting oxygen supply for COVID-19 patients from all sources, Centre tells Gujarat HC

In a report submitted on Monday, the Centre said a total allocation of 8,410 MT oxygen has been made to 22 high burden states and UTs

'Before we knew, she was gone': Kin of victims who died due to oxygen leak at Nashik COVID hospital recount tragedy

Those present inside the ward at Nashik’s Zakir Hussain Hospital say they will never forget watching the 24 victims slowly die gasping for oxygen

Prepare list of oxygen plants, revive closed units to augment supply, MHA tells states

The MHA also said that instances of vehicles carrying oxygen being stopped still continued and directed them to ensure uninterrupted supply and transport of the essential public health commodity

SC allows Harish Salve to withdraw as amicus for case on COVID essentials, raps lawyers for imputing motives to it

A bench headed by CJI SA Bobde said that it was pained at reading what some senior lawyers had to say on Salve's appointment as amicus in the matter, adding that it was a "collective decision" of all the judges at the bench

A year since COVID-19, Muslim women find wearing a niqab 'less daunting' as masks become the norm

Some women wore a mask under the niqab, mindful of the health guidance that requires masks to be constructed out of a “tightly woven fabric,” in order to stop the virus from being spread. Others used thick, snugly attached niqabs in lieu of a mask.

The Bad Sex in Fiction Award cancelled: Public has been subjected to too many bad things in 2020, say judges

The award’s purpose, according to the magazine, is to honor the year’s “most outstandingly awful scene of sexual description” and to draw attention “to the poorly written, redundant or downright cringe-worthy passages of sexual description in modern fiction.”

Volunteer in Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial dies in Brazil; officials say testing to continue

Oxford confirmed the plan to keep testing, saying in a statement that after careful assessment 'there have been no concerns about safety of the clinical trial'

Narendra Modi to deliver inaugural speech at Grand Challenges Annual Meet on 19 Oct

The Prime Minister's Office Saturday said that the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting will convene this year virtually from 19 to 21 October

At least 11 million girls across the globe may never return to schools due to COVID-19: UNESCO

During her visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, UNESCO head Audrey Azoulay said that for many countries, 'closure of schools have led to losses'