Israel plans to give fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

A government panel of experts in Israel has recommended a fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine for all people aged over 60 and healthcare workers. The move was welcomed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who said it would help the country get through a potential wave of the Omi…

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FDA Approves First Injectable Treatment for HIV Pre-Exposure Prevention.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first ever injectable drug for HIV prevention on Dec. 20. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Apretude (cabotegravir extended-release injectable suspension) for use in at-risk adults and adolescents weighing a…

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Ecuador becomes first country to mandate Covid vaccines for children from age of 05.

Ecuador has become the first country to make Covid vaccines mandatory for children as young as five years. "In Ecuador, vaccination against Covid-19 is declared compulsory," the health ministry said in a statement. This comes in amid growing fears of the Omicron v…

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The Human Freedom Index (HFI) - 2021.

The Human Freedom Index presents the state of human freedom in the world based on a broad measure that encompasses personal, civil, and economic freedom. Human freedom is a social concept that recognizes the dignity of individuals and is defined here as negative liberty or …

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Global Health Security Index - 2021.

The 2021 GHS Index measures the capacities of 195 countries to prepare for epidemics and pandemics. All countries remain dangerously unprepared for future epidemic and pandemic threats, including threats potentially more devastating than COVID-19.  Sri Lanka ranked at 105th …

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COVID vaccine card mandatory from January to enter public places.

The government of Sri Lanka has made the COVID-19 vaccination card mandatory to visit public places from January 01, 2022. Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella announced this in a tweet posted today (Dec. 21). Earlier this month, the Special Committee on COVID-19 Control deci…

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India refuses to renew foreign-funding licence for Mother Teresa’s charity.

The Indian government has rejected a request from Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity to renew its licence to receive foreign donations under the country’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). The charity was founded by Mother Teresa in 1950 in the Indian city of …

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Russia fines Google over illegal content breach

A Moscow court has fined Google 7.2bn roubles ($98m; £73m) for repeated failure to delete content deemed illegal in Russia. Details of the offending content were not specified in the announcement by the court's press service. This is the first time in Russia that a techno…

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Vikum Kaluarachchi sworn in as new Court of Appeal Judge.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday 24th December 2021,  swore in Vikum Kaluarachchi as a new Judge of the Court of Appeal (CA). He will fill the vacancy created by the recent retirement of CA Justice Devika Abeyratne. A past pupil of Royal College, Colombo, Justice Vikum …

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Canadian Filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée dies.

Jean-Marc Vallée, the director of the Oscar-winning Dallas Buyers Club and HBO hit show Big Little Lies, died at his home in Quebec City, Canada at the age of 58.  Vallée helmed numerous short films before his critically-acclaimed 1995 debut feature Liste Noir (Black List). …

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World economy to top $100 trillion in 2022 for first time.

The world's economic output will exceed $100 trillion for the first time next year and it will take China a little longer than previously thought to overtake the United States as the No.1 economy, a report showed. British consultancy Cebr predicted China will become the …

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International Day of Epidemic Preparedness - 27 December.

Battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, humans have learned about epidemic preparedness the hard way. In a bid to prepare for future outbreaks and sensitise people about epidemics on all levels, the United Nations and World Health Organization marked December 27 as the Internati…

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A Japanese professor has created a lickable TV screen.

Japanese Meiji University professor Homei Miyashita has created a lickable TV screen that can imitate the flavors of the food it displays. A Japanese professor has developed a prototype of a lickable TV screen, that allows for the flavor profiles of food to be created. With …

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South Africa anti-apartheid hero Desmond Tutu dies.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace prize laureate who helped end apartheid in South Africa, has died aged 90. President Cyril Ramaphosa said the churchman's death marked "another chapter of bereavement in our nation's farewell to a generation of outstandin…

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WHO approves India’s ‘Kovovax’.

The World Health Organization (WHO) added Kovovax, an anti-Covid vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) under license from US pharmaceutical company Novavax, to its emergency use list. In this way the number of vaccines approved by the global health body…

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Jaffna Kings lift LPL title for second consecutive time.

The Jaffna Kings who topped the group phase of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2021, went on to win the title as they beat the Galle Gladiators in the final by 23 runs. The Kings were also the defending champions coming into the tournament but went down to the Gladiators on …

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Philippines hit by strongest strom of 2021 - Typhoon Rai.

The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year surpassed 300 on Tuesday (21) as humanitarian agencies warned the true scale of destruction remains unknown, partly because rescue workers are unable to access some disaster-hit areas. Super Typhoon R…

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Largest ever millipede fossil found on Northumberland Beach.

Scientists say they found the largest giant fossil in history on a beach in Northumberland - and did so by accident. It is believed that the centipede, known as arthropleura, was more than 2.5 m long and weighed about 50 kg. Some of the fossils were first noticed in 2018, whe…

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Exquisitely preserved embryo found inside fossilized dinosaur egg.

A 72- to 66-million-year-old embryo found inside a fossilized dinosaur egg sheds new light on the link between the behavior of modern birds and dinosaurs, according to a new study. The embryo, dubbed Baby Yingliang, was discovered in the Late Cretaceous rocks of Ganzhou, sou…

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Tennis player Emma Raducanu voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Tennis player Emma Raducanu was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday 19 December 2021, receiving British sport's annual individual accolade as a reward for h er beating Canada's Leylah Fernandez in the final at Flushing Meadow s. The 19-year-old was als…

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SpaceX launches 52 Starlink satellites from California base.

A SpaceX rocket carried 52 Starlink internet satellites into orbit from California early Saturday 18 December 2021. The U.S. military has become increasingly interested in using satellite imagery to extend its situational awareness and beyond line-of-sight targeting, partly …

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Leftist Gabriel Boric to become Chile's youngest ever president.

Leftist candidate Gabriel Boric has won Chile's presidential election to become the country's youngest ever leader. In what was expected to be a tight race, the 35-year-old former student protest leader defeated his far-right rival José Antonio Kast by 10 points. Mr B…

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Karl Nehammer sworn in as Chancellor of Austria.

Karl Nehammer was sworn in as new Austria’s chancellor by Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria in a ceremony in Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria. He is succeeding the career diplomat Alexander Schallenberg who took charge as chancellor in October 2021. He is the 3r…

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Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Rogers dies.

High-tech architecture pioneer Richard Rogers, who designed the Centre Pompidou and Lloyd's building, has passed away aged 88. British-Italian architect Rogers, one of the world's best-known architects, died at his home in London on Saturday (18th) evening. His death…

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India successfully test-fired the ‘Agni P’ missile off the coast of Odisha.

The nuclear-capable ballistic missile ‘Agni Prime’ was successfully tested off the coast of Odisha by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Recently, DRDO has successful test-firing of the air version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on December …

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International Human Solidarity Day - 20 December.

Every year on December 20th, International Human Solidarity Day seeks to celebrate the word’s unity in diversity. It’s also a day to raise awareness about the importance of solidarity. Solidarity is defined as an awareness of shared interests and objectives that create a psy…

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Cate Blanchett to receive lifetime cesar award from French Film Academy.

Australian actress Cate Blanchett will receive French cinema’s top honor, the César d’Honneur, a lifetime achievement award, from the French Film Academy. The French academy on Friday 17 December 2021 said it had picked the two-time Oscar winner to be the 2022 César d’Honneu…

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Joe Root becomes 4th player in history to score 1600 Test runs in a calendar year.

England skipper Joe Root etched his name in history books on Saturday 18 December 2021. The right-handed batter became only the fourth player to score 1600 Test runs in a calendar year. He picked up the feat on the third day of the ongoing Second Ashes Test against Australi…

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Kumar Mangalam Birla receives Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Aditya Birla Group’s chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla has received the Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award- Business Transformation from The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) based out of Silicon Valley.  Birla is the first Indian Industrialist to receive the award for global entrep…

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Malta becomes first EU nation to legalize cannabis.

Malta has become the first EU country to legalise the cultivation and personal use of cannabis. Adults will be allowed to carry up to seven grams of cannabis, and grow no more than four plants at home. But smoking it in public or in front of children will be illegal. Several o…

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