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Money Control  Date: Aug 06, 2020 PTI, Novavax Inc said on Wednesday it has entered a supply and license agreement with the Serum Institute of India for the development and commercialization of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The Indian drugmaker will have exclusive rights for the vaccine in India during the term of the deal and non-exclusive rights during the "Pandemic Period" in all countries other than those designated by the World Bank as upper-middle or high-income countries. The deal was signed on July 30, according to an SEC filing by Novavax. On Tuesday, Novavax reported that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine produced high levels of antibodies against the novel coronavirus in a small, early-stage clinical trial, and that it could start a large pivotal Phase III trial as soon as late September. https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/novavax-signs-covid-19-vaccine-supply-deal-with-indias-serum-institute-5652291.html

Hindustan times  Date: Aug 06, 2020 Smriti Kak Ramachandran,  President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday appointed former Union minister Manoj Sinha as the next Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He will replace Girish Chandra Murmu who resigned on Wednesday. In a release confirming the same, the President house said, “The President has been pleased to appoint Shri Manoj Sinha, to be the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office vice Shri Girish Chandra Murmu.” President Kovind accepted Murmu’s resignation on Thursday. There is buzz that he is going to be the next Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. The move to appoint Sinha as the next Lieutenant Governor is aimed at reaching out to the people of the union territory with a soft political touch, something that Murmu, a former bureaucrat, could not achieve during his nine-month tenure. After Satyapal Malik, who was governor of erstwhile J&K state, Sinha ...

Business Line  Date: Aug 05, 2020 PTI,  Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries has been ranked second biggest brand after Apple on the Future Brand Index 2020. “This year’s highest entrant at number two, Reliance Industries excels on every attribute,” Future Brand said, releasing its 2020 Index. One of the most profitable companies in India, Reliance is, “very well respected” and “seen as behaving ethically” as well as being associated with “growth”, “innovative products” and “great customer service”, it said. “In particular, people have a strong emotional connection with the organisation.” Future Brand, which is a global brand transformation company, said part of Reliance’s success could be attributed to Mukesh Ambani’s recasting of the firm as a one-stop-shop for Indians. “The chairman built on the existing petrochemicals business, transforming it into a digital behemoth designed to meet every customer need. “Today, this company is engage...

Dawn  Date: Aug 04, 2020 Malik Asad, The IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb warned against issuing unnecessary statements in this case as the court observed “everyone must keep in mind right to fair trial while issuing statement related to Jadhav”. “We appoint Mr Abid Hassan Manto, Mr Hamid Khan, Senior Advocates of the Supreme Court and former presidents of the Sup­reme Court Bar Association, and Mr Makhdoom Ali Khan, Senior Advocate Sup­reme Court and former Att­orney General of Pakistan, as amici curiae for our legal assistance in general and, in particular, to ensure that the judgement of the Inter­national Court is effectively implemented,” the court order said. AG Khan gave an undertaking that his office would issue advice to the government in this regard. He said the government had committed for his fair trial despite the fact that Jadhav had confessed to and convicted of committing heinous crimes of espionage and ...

The Telegram Online  Date: 06 Aug, 2020 PTI,  The finance ministry on Tuesday said the economy seems to be past the worst impact of the coronavirus but the country is still not out of the woods as intermittent state lockdowns and the rising number of cases are denting prospects of revival. The macro economic report for July released by the economic affairs department said high-frequency indicators showed an improvement from the unprecedented situation the economy had witnessed in April 2020. Data points such as index of industrial production (IIP), purchasing managers Index (PMI), power generation, production of steel and cement, railway freight, traffic at major ports, air cargo and passenger traffic, e-way bill generation all showed improvements. The government also said the agriculture sector is likely to cushion the shock of the Covid pandemic on the Indian economy in 2020-21, helped by expected normal monsoon this year and a number of reforms undertaken by the government....

The Telegraph online  Date: Aug 06, 2020 PTI,  The fuel retail business in the country is set to face some competition with the petroleum ministry simplifying norms for bulk and retail sale of petrol and diesel. An entity with a net worth of at least Rs 500 crore is eligible to obtain the liberalised licence for both bulk and retail sales, which is seen as a move to attract global giants such as Total SA of France, Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, BP Plc of the UK, and Trafigura’s downstream arm Puma Energy in the sector. Currently state-owned refiners virtually monopolise the market in which IOC is the market leader with 29,368 petrol pumps, followed by HPCL with 16,707 outlets, and BPCL with 16,492 fuel stations. larifying on the November 2019 liberalised fuel licensing regime, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas said any entity with a net worth of Rs 250 crore can get a licence to retail petrol and diesel to either bulk or retail consumers. For those seeking authorisation for b...

Dawn  Date: Aug 06, 2020 PTI,  ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday unveiled a new political map of the country essentially asserting its longstanding position on Kashmir and Sir Creek disputes. “It is a historic occasion. The political map reflects our national aspiration and supports our principled stance on Kashmir dispute,” Prime Minister Imran Khan said while introducing the map. He was on the occasion accompanied by his foreign policy, national security and information ministry aides. The map was launched after the approval by the federal cabinet. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had earlier in the day briefed the legislators from opposition parties on the map during a meeting at the Foreign Office. The new map was made public a day before Pakistan observes the first anniversary of annexation of occupied Kashmir. India had annexed the held territory on Aug 5 last year by revoking articles 370 and 35A of its constitution, which had provided special status to occupied...

Associated Press of Pakistan  Date: Aug 04, 2020 PTI, UNITED NATIONS, Aug 04 (APP):A year after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, UN human rights experts Tuesday called on India and the international community to take urgent action to address the “alarming” human rights situation in the territory. “Urgent action is needed,” the experts said in a statement issued in Geneva. “If India will not take any genuine and immediate steps to resolve the situation, meet their obligations to investigate historic and recent cases of human rights violations and prevent future violations, then the international community should step up.” Since the Indian Parliament revoked the constitutionally mandated status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019, “the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir has been in free fall,” the experts said. “We are particularly concerned that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many protestors are still in detention and Internet restrictio...

The Hindu Date: Aug 04, 2020 PTI, U.S. officials say TikTok, under its Chinese parent, poses a risk because of the personal data it handles. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro suggested on Monday that Microsoft Corp could divest its holdings in China if it were to buy the Chinese owned. https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/microsoft-could-divest-china-holdings-wh-adviser/article32271429.ece

The Economic Times  Date: Aug 05, 2020 Surbhi Agarwal, New Delhi: Nearly 15 new mobile applications such as ByteDance-owned video editing app CapCut and Xiaomi’s browser app were included in a follow-up ban on 47 Chinese apps late last month, according to a list that ET has reviewed. The remaining were ‘lite’ or ‘pro’ versions of the apps that the government banned earlier in June, including TikTok and Helo, both owned by ByteDance, the list showed. Among the new apps included in the list are photo editor AirBrush, short video and prediction tool Meipai and camera app BoXxCAM, which are owned by China’s Meitu, which makes smartphones as well as many popular selfie apps. The company’s flagship app Meitu was banned in the first round. Email service NetEase, gaming app Heroes War and SlidePlus by QuVideo Inc are the other new apps blocked in the latest list issued about 10 days ago. Xiaomi’s Mi Browser Pro has also been blocked after its Mi Community app was banned earlier. Similarly,...