Indian Economy

According to provisional tracking by Unicef, about 910 million doses were delivered through the UN-backed initiative as of December 30, The Washington Post reported. However, the tally is still far short of the 2 billion-plus doses that Covax had initially aimed for.

Ghebreyesus warned against "narrow nationalism and vaccine hoarding" in a new year statement, reports the BBC. His comments come two years since the WHO was first notified of cases of an unknown pneumonia strain in China. He warned that continuing inequity in vaccine distribution was increasing the risk of the virus evolving.

Nicaragua was one of the few states left internationally which had recognised the sovereignty of the democratic and self-governing island nation. Officials from Nicaragua, led by the authoritarian President Daniel Ortega, had signed a joint communique on December 10 on the resumption of diplomatic relations with China thereby ending its diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

The move came as at least 80 clinical centre staff called in sick on Wednesday alone because of Covid-19 infections or exposures, Xinhua news agency quoted a Reuters report on Thursday citing the memo as saying.

Pakistani and Chinese officials held meetings of the two Joint Working Groups on Gwadar and Socio-Economic Development through video conferencing equipment, the Planning Ministry in Islamabad said in a statement.

Speaking from the Elysee to the nation for New Year, Macron on Friday stressed the importance of vaccination against coronavirus. "Vaccination is our most secure asset. It divides the number of severe forms by ten," he added. He urged the 5 million non-vaccinated French citizens to get vaccinated for themselves, for their compatriots and for their country.

The Los Angeles County's Department of Public Health on Friday listed five beaches that were forced to be closed for "known sewage or chemical spill." "Water contact may cause someone to become ill. When a beach is closed, the Department of Public Health advises beach users to avoid all contact with ocean water in the closure area and where closure signs are posted." the authority said in a statement.

Sharif said the government says that the burden will not fall on the poor people, when in reality the mini budget will seize the economy's engine altogether.

The aerospace giant will be developing the new variant of the F-35 fighter planes as a part of the five-year project.  The newly developed version is expected to have minor changes and it will be similar to the F-35I, an F-35A with unique Israeli avionics modifications.

Thursday's figure was an 11 per cent increase over Wednesday's 67,090 positive cases, Xinhua news agency reported citing the data. The state's overall infection tally currently stood at 3,330,403. Meanwhile, a total of 7,373 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised across the state after 606 more were admitted in the past 24 hours.