A total of eight vaccine candidates for Covid-19 are in the clinical trial while another 110 are in various stages of development across the globe, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) data.

As governments around the world scramble to curb the contagion, pharmaceutical companies and health institutes in countries like United States, China, and Germany are leading the development to combat the virus, South China Morning Post reported.

 As things stand, several countries like the US, and China have even announced tentative dates by when they plan to get a vaccine ready.

On Saturday, Chinese health official, Zhang Wenhong said a successful vaccine against the coronavirus can be administered to humans as early as March in 2021.

ALSO READ: Covid-19 has shown investing in health is the smart thing to do: WHO chief

“There are uncertainties in developing vaccines. Coronaviruses, including MERS and SARS, have not seen a particularly reliable one so far… the best scenario is that if one of the vaccines that people are making is effective and progressing relatively fast, it should be available as soon as possible from March to June next year,” Zhang was quoted by the Global Times.

Read Complete Article

In the fifth and final tranche of her economic package, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced that the government would allocate additional Rs 40,000 crore, over and above the budgeted Rs 61,000 crore, to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in order to generate more employment in the country. Borrowing limit of states has been raised from 3 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product to 5 per cent in 2020-21, the finance minister said.

She said that reforms in the seven sectors will be the focus of the fifth and final tranche of economic stimulus package to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic. “Package would focus on MGNREGA, healthcare and education, businesses, de-criminalisation of the Companies Act, ease of doing business, public sector undertakings, and resources related to state government,” she pointed out.

 New policies related to public sector undertakings (PSUs) would be announced soon to ensure those in strategic sectors would remain present, and the rest would either be privatised or merged, Sitharaman said.

Read complete Article

New research has revealed the majority of people in the world don’t eat a sufficient amount of fibre to prevent life-threatening health conditions such as cancer, stroke and heart disease.

According to government guidelines published in July 2015, the average person should consume approximately 30g of fibre a day.

However, most adults only manage 60 per cent of their recommended daily fibre intake.

While eating certain high-fibre foods can have an adverse effect on some individuals suffering from intestinal disorders, regularly consuming a sufficient quantity of fibre can help keep your digestive system in a healthy and stable condition.

Read Complete Article

An eating plan that encourages people to consume high-fat foods has been criticised for suggesting it can “cure” diabetes and erectile dysfunction.

Simple as Fat – a low-carb, high-fat diet plan which costs £99 a year – has come under fire from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for breaching regulations.

In a series of tweets, Simple as Fat stated: “You can cure type 2 diabetes with real food NOT more pills” and insinuated that following the plan would offer “freedom from obesity and type 2 diabetes”.

A second post asked followers: “Has your Type 2 diabetes led to erectile dysfunction?” Before suggesting that by adhering to the programme, users could “fix it”.

Following the claims, the ASA criticised Simple as Fat for “discouraging essential treatment” for health conditions where medical advice should be sought.

Read Complete Article

Until about 2011, almonds were sitting pretty. Americans were finally getting excited about regularly eating something genuinely good for them.

Almond butter had penetrated the market to challenge peanut butter as the only game in town. But then, a scathing report brought the concept of a food’s ‘water footprint’ into the mainstream, and the almond became a poster child of foods that require an irresponsibly high amount of water.

A water footprint is the amount of water involved in growing, processing, and delivering a product to us.

All together, the US agriculture industry sucks up about 80 per cent of the country’s available fresh water. In part because of climate change (drought, extreme temperatures, erratic rain), by the year 2025, two-thirds of the people on this planet could face water shortages. That’s what’s at stake here.

Read Complete Article

Chinese smartphone maker Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has announced the launch of Huawei Mobile Services (HMS), which will ship with the company’s upcoming Honor 9X Pro smartphone. In retrospective, the HMS is Huawei’s answer to Google Mobile Services (GMS), which the company is barred to use on its smartphones due to trade sanctions imposed by US president Donald Trump. The Honor 9X Pro will ship with Android platform but without GMS apps like the Play Store and the entire Google Apps suite.

Have a question? Here are some of the frequently asked questions answered by the company:

  How can one download or install the app without the Play Store?

The Honor 9X Pro has AppGallery, which is part of HMS ecosystem. Though it may not have all the apps one gets on the Play Store, it is a growing platform that comes with fairly good number of apps.

Existing Android users can also transfer apps from their old smartphone to Honor 9X Pro. However, only those app will work that do not have dependency on GMS.

Read Complete Article

Chinese electronics major Huawei on Wednesday announced the launch of the Huawei Freebuds 3 True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earbuds at Rs 12,990. These earphones will go on sale starting May 20, exclusively on Amazon India, which is currently running a ‘Notify Me’ campaign to register consumers’ interest. The Huawei Freebuds 3 will come with Huawei CP61 wireless charger in India.

The Huawei Freebuds 3 boasts the active noise cancellation technology, in a first among hanging-type earbuds. The earbuds are powered by Huawei’s proprietary Kirin A1 chip, which is the same processor that powers its GT2 smartwatch. The Huawei Freebuds 3 is estimated to have an on-battery time of around 4.5 hours with ANC activated. It features 14.2mm sound drivers, one of the biggest in the segment. The Huawei Freebuds 3 also features Bluetooth 5.1 and has a connectivity coverage of around 150 metre.

Read Complete Article

Korean electronics major Samsung on Tuesday announced it had started home delivery of digital lending platform Finance+, which allows consumers to buy Galaxy smartphones from the comfort of their homes.

According to the company, the Finance+ is a universally accessible digital lending platform that provides easy financing opportunity to consumers for purchase of Galaxy smartphones in India.

Samsung Finance+ service is currently available across 12,000 dealers in nearly 300 towns.

“Samsung Finance+ is our ‘Make for India’ initiative towards financial inclusion and Digital India. We are confident that the home delivery of Samsung Finance+ will help millions of consumers in India,” said Mohandeep Singh, senior vice-president, mobile business, Samsung India, in a statement.

Read Complete Article

Portable Bluetooth speakers come and go, and we end up asking for more. What’s better than tiny speakers that we can keep in our bag and let it go loud whenever the time is right. The concept is not new and we have seen many portable speakers lighting up our small parties. They even make a good travel companion, so they remain in demand all the time.

The Mi Outdoor Bluetooth speaker is one such entry in the sub-Rs 2,000 price range that not only fits well in your budget but also on several other counts.

  We used this speaker and felt it was praiseworthy, even if not perfect. Here’s what we found in our review:

Design and build

The speaker boasts a minimal and premium look (something common in most Xiaomi products). It has a square form factor with rubber finish at the bottom and fabric coating at the top. The volume buttons are on the right and the power and play/pause buttons on the left. At the bottom, there are the 3.5 mm audio jack and micro-USB charging port protected by a rubber flap. There is also a stretchable lanyard cable to hang the speaker wherever you like.

Read Complete Article

A few months ago we reviewed Cloudwalker’s Smart Screen (review) and felt it was incomplete without a good soundbar. Later, the Mumbai-based tech startup came up with its new soundbar, the Burst E3000, with a 100 watt output, for Rs 7,999.

We got hold of a unit and reviewd it. Here’s what we found:

Design and connectivity

The Burst E3000 has a glossy finish on top and sides, with its branding on the front grille. It comes with a subwoofer unit that makes it a complete package. The soundbar is neither sleek nor bulky. There are two ports at the rear to mount it on a wall. On closer look, the plastic material used here makes it look less sturdy. But that is not too bad, given its price.

There are physical buttons at the top for play/pause, standby/source, while the connectivity ports are placed at the back. What’s interesting is the LED light strip beneath the bar that offers 11 light effects which can be managed using a tiny remote controller. The LED light gives a good effect overall if you dim the lights of your room while watching movies or a web series.

For connectivity, the Burst E3000 features Bluetooth 5.0 and it’s really quick to connect with a smartphone or other Bluetooth-enabled devices. The Soundbar offers multiple connectivity options like AUX, Line IN and Optical port to connect it with other compatible devices.

Read Complete Article