Xiomara Castro first woman President of Honduras
Xiomara Castro became the first female president of Honduras on January 27, 2022. She is a former first lady of Honduras, as she is the wife of former President Manuel Zelaya who was deposed in a coup in 2009. Castro’s inauguration has brought an end to the 8-year rule of Juan Orlando Hernandez, a one-time US ally, who is currently facing charges of corruption in US courts.
NeoCoV Coronavirus: Wuhan scientists warn of deadlier COVID strain
Scientists in China's Wuhan laboratory have warned of a new strain of COVID-19, NeoCov that reportedly has a high transmission and mortality rate. The new strain of coronavirus is related to the Middle East respiratory syndrome MERS-coronavirus.
As per researchers, NeoCoV carries with it the potentially combined high mortality rate of MERS-CoV, where one in three infected people die on an average and high transmission rate of the current SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
The study has been released in preprint and has not yet been peer-reviewed. It was published on the bioRxiv website.
NeoCoV: Symptoms, Severity, MERS-CoV relation
The studies show that the current COVID-19 vaccinations are inadequate to protect humans from any eventuality of the infections caused by these viruses. The paper adds that extensive mutations in the RBD regions of the SARS-CoV-2 variants may hold a latent potential to infect humans through further adaptation.
Bangladesh passes bill for Election Commission formation
The Bangladesh Parliament has passed a bill for the appointment of Election Commissioners and Chief Election Commissioner for the formation of the next Election Commission. The bill which was passed by the voice vote gives a legal shield to the appointments of the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners to form the EC. The tenure of the current Election Commission will end on February 14, 2022. The bill passed by the Parliament envisages a six-member search committee appointed by the President to recommend the names of the Election Commissioners and CEC. The opposition Bangladesh National Party, however, has criticized the bill for being passed in a hurry.