Chotta News Bada Dhamaka
Hii! Welcome to Chotta News Bada Dhamaka. I’ve picked out the top news stories over the past month, and written a summarized version to help you understand it better and read it faster. I hope you all enjoy reading it! In today’s post I’ll be covering:
Update on the COVID-19 vaccines
Why do we recognize a Dove as a symbol of peace?
Yoshihide Suga: Japan’s new prime minister
Please make sure to comment on your views on any of the sub-topics or mention any topics that you would like me to cover. Happy reading
COVID-19 Vaccines:
We’re almost 8 months into quarantine, and the race for the vaccine hasn’t stopped. The top three vaccines are the AstraZeneca, Moderna and Sputnik.
AstraZeneca: AstraZeneca started its vaccine trials in April in Britain, and until now they have vaccinated 18,000 people worldwide, as they have clinical trials in Britain, Brazil, India and South America however they are paused in the United States. As of yesterday, AstraZeneca has started Phase-III human trials in Pune (India), the vaccine is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) at Sassoon General Hospital. The vaccine will be given to 150-200 volunteers.
Moderna: Moderna just like AstraZeneca is also in Phase III of their human trials with 30,000 volunteers. Moderna is one of the first drug companies that is conducting a clinical trial in the U.S. The CEO of Moderna says that they should know if their vaccine is effective by November.
Sputnik V: The Russian vaccine is working with Dr.Reddy’s laboratories to execute a phase III clinical trial which is set to start in the next few weeks in government hospitals all throughout India, The Russian Direct Investment Fund has agreed with Indian Manufacturers to produce 300 million doses of the shot in India.
The connection between doves and peace:
This has nothing to do with any current affairs or news, but when I came across this article, I found it really interesting and wanted to read up more on why is a dove recognized as a symbol of peace.
The dove was chosen as a symbol of peace at the first International Peace Conference, based on Pablo Picasso (the artist) ’s piece ‘Dove of peace’. Picasso developed this artwork after his friend Henri Matisse who
was previously his rival gave him a pigeon as a sign of peace and Picasso worked on the image and created his work.
Doves also have a similar meaning in Greek Mythology, Christianity. Doves in Greek mythology is believed to be a symbol of love and renewal of life, and olive branches mean abundance and drive evil away when you put these together when there are rebirth and forgiveness and all evil is drawn away and prosperity is created. Christians use doves to portray baptism, and there is a reference to a dove in the Bible as Noah sent a dove when the flood water receded, and the dove returned with an olive branch. This showed how nature was peaceful again and life had returned to earth.
In case you want to read the whole article: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/international-day-of-peace-2020-united-nations-theme-know-why-dove-is-a-symbol-of-peace-2298545
Yoshihide Suga: Japan’s new prime minister
Shinzo Abe was the prime minister of Japan for 8 years before unexpectedly resigning his post due to bad health. Yoshihide Suga was Abe’s right-hand man and due to his first-hand experience shadowing Abe helped Suga win the vote for prime minister by 314/462 votes. However being elected during the COVID-19 pandemic is not going to be an easy task for him having to not only deal with COVID-19 that is causing the largest economic downfall after consecutive years of economic stagnation, but nearly a third of Japan’s population is also over the age fo 65. Under the circumstances of COVID and Abe sudden resignation Suga was elected by his own party, however, next year he will have to be voted as a prime minister by the general public. Because Suga is a veteran politician, observers fear that the general public might want a younger PM, making these next few months extremely crucial for Suga if he wants to secure his place in the next election.
