1.

Moderna seeks US authorization of COVID-19 booster shots

for all adults.
According to the Moderna said
on Wednesday (Nov 17) it had
applied with the US Food and
Drug Administration for
authorization of its COVID-19
booster vaccine for all adults
aged 18 and older. The FDA
has cleared booster shots of
COVID-19 vaccines for people
who are
immunocompromised, those
aged 65 and older and for individuals at high risk of severe disease or who are regularly
exposed to the virus. Moderna is seeking authorization for a 50-microgram booster dose,
half the strength of its original vaccine given in two shots about four weeks apart.

2. Ten bodies found in migrant boat off Libya: Charity

ROME: The bodies
of 10 people were
found in an
overcrowded boat
carrying migrants
off the coast of
Libya, apparently
having suffocated,
Doctors Without
Borders said
Wednesday (Nov
17). The charity's
Geo Barents
rescue ship pulled
99 people from the
sinking boat on
Tuesday before
making the gruesome discovery in the lower deck.

At the bottom of the overcrowded wooden boat, 10 people were found dead," tweeted the
charity, known by its French initials MSF. In a later statement, it said the air was filled with
the smell of fuel, saying the victims probably suffocated from the fumes after 13 hours adrift
at sea. It took two hours to bring the bodies on board the Geo Barents, where they will be
kept pending a dignified burial.
3. Czech government bars unvaccinated from restaurants,
services as COVID-19 cases jump
PRAGUE: The Czech
government has approved
plans to only allow those
who are vaccinated against
COVID-19 or have
recovered from the illness in
the past six months into
restaurants, events and
other services from Monday
(Nov 22), Prime Minister
Andrej Babis said on
Thursday. The government had flagged the new measures this week as
the country battles a surge in COVID-19 cases and seeks to boost
vaccination numbers in the nation of 10.7 million.

The state will also require testing for COVID-19 at companies as

part of new measures, similar to a set-up it had earlier this year
during the last major wave of the pandemic. The country had a
record 22,511 cases on Tuesday. Hospitals have been filling up,
although the number of patients, at about 4,500, is still at about
half of the peaks seen in March. The country's vaccination rate
is below the European Union average, with 58 per cent of the
total population inoculated.
4. British fighter crashes in Mediterranean, Pilot Ejects
An F35 fighter from Britain's biggest aircraft carrier crashed into the
Mediterranean Sea
on Wednesday
(Nov 17), though
the pilot ejected
and was safely
returned to the
ship. The pilot
ejected during a
routine operation
over international
waters at around
1000 GMT. No other vessels or aircraft were involved. It was not
immediately clear what caused the incident.

5. At least two killed in blast in Shiite district of Kabul

At least two people were

killed and five wounded in
a bomb blast that hit a
minibus in the Afghan
capital on Wednesday
(Nov 17), officials said, the
latest jihadist-claimed
attack in Kabul. The blast
destroyed the vehicle in
Dasht-e-Barchi, a Taliban
official told AFP, in a
suburb dominated by
minority Hazara Shiites.
References:

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world?fbclid=IwAR3fJujgyMzSr-
UYwApVrwn5TeouX74f7Q1lI6b578WHoaqmUrdmV3TWtrY