European Union

The Romanian government on October 23, introduced emergency restrictions with night curfews, as well as sending school children on vacation for two weeks due to a rise in COVID-related cases. Moreover, the country recorded a high number of deaths due to Coronavirus stretching the hospital system to a breaking point. As per reports, the country has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the European Union.

Serum Institute of India's Covishield vaccine is cleared for a travel pass in eight EU nations- Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Estonia, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, and Switzerland. Amidst issues of Covishield's travel pass clearance, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute tweeted on June 28, "I have taken this up at the highest levels and hope to resolve this matter soon." In the past, EMA had cleared only four vaccines. 

According to sources, Alphabet subsidiary Google may face its most serious regulatory challenge yet. The EU's antitrust authorities are planning to launch a formal probe into its profitable digital advertising business, by the end of the year. The investigation would concentrate on Google's position in relation to advertising, publishers, middlemen, and competitors. Last year, Google had earned $147 billion from its online add business.

Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine has become the first vaccine globally to be approved for children aged between 12-15 years. The vaccine was approved by the European Union drug regulator on May 28 with no "major concerns" remark. Following the approval, Germany plans to start vaccinating those aged 12 and above in June. Notably, the trials of the vaccine were conducted on 1,005 children and none of them developed any major side-effect.… read-more

The Centre is preparing to take a 20-member European Union delegation in Jammu and Kashmir during February 17-18. Reportedly, the envoys will assess the condition of the valley post Article 370 revocation and recently concluded first District Development Council elections. Besides, the delegation will interact with residents of the valley, including leaders, traders, journalists and citizens. Interestingly, the visit has come days after the… read-more