National
According to the national financial prosecutors’ office (PNF) of France, a French judge has been tasked with investigating the controversial 2016 multi-billion-dollar sale of Rafale fighter jets to India on “corruption” suspicions.
Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech India Ltd (BBIL) has published the results of the Phase-3 trial of Covaxin :
- The vaccine had an overall efficacy of 77.8% against symptomatic COVID-19.
- This is higher than the overall 70.4% efficacy reported from the Phase-3 trial results of the AstraZeneca (Covishield) vaccine published in Lancet.
- The two-dose vaccine was also 93.4% effective against severe disease and 63% protective against asymptomatic COVID-19. Moreover, it was 65% protective against the Delta variant of the coronavirus, the most widespread in India and linked to a rising number of cases in Europe as well as the United States.
Pushkar Singh Dhami, a two-term MLA from Khatima, will be the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
- He will be the 11th CM of the state.
International
The World Health Organization (WHO) declaring that China was “malaria-free” followed a seven decade-long, multi-pronged health strategy that was able to entirely eliminate indigenous cases for four straight years.
- The WHO said China is the first country in the Western Pacific region to be declared malaria-free in more than 30 years, following Australia in 1981, Singapore in 1982 and Brunei in 1987.
Sports
India captain Mithali Raj became the highest run-getter in women’s cricket across formats, surpassing former England skipper Charlotte Edwards.
