| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Pfizer seeks emergency approval for its Covid-19 vaccine in India Pfizer India has become the first pharmaceutical firm to seek from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) an emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine in the country, after its parent company secured such clearance in the UK and Bahrain. The firm, in its application submitted to the drug regulator, has sought permission to import the vaccine for sale and distribution in the country, besides waiver of clinical trials on Indian population in accordance with the special provisions under the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019, official sources said. "Pfizer India has submitted an application on December 4 to the DCGI seeking emergency use authorization (EUA) for its COVID-19 vaccine in India," a source told the Press Trust of India. The UK on Wednesday became the first country to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19, with the UK regulator Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granting a temporary authorisation for its emergency use. Bahrain on Friday also announced that it has granted an EUA for the two dose vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. The pharma company has already applied to the US FDA seeking EUA for the vaccine. Opposition leaders extend support for Bharat Bandh called by farmers' groups Top Opposition leaders, in a joint statement on Sunday, extended support for the December 8 Bharat Bandh call by the agitating farmers and said the new farm laws would "destroy agriculture by mortgaging it to corporates". The joint statement was signed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, DMK president M.K. Stalin, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D. Raja, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and CPI(ML)'s Dipankar Bhattacharya among others.  Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesperson Rakesh Tikait address the farmers during a protest demonstration against the centre's farm law at Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, Ghazipur, in New Delhi on December 6, 2020. "These new laws, passed in Parliament in a brazen anti-democratic manner preventing a structured discussion and voting, threaten India's food security, destroy agriculture and our farmers, lay the basis for the abolishment of the minimum support price and mortgage agriculture and our markets to the caprices of multi-national agri-business corporates and domestic corporates," read the joint statement released by the CPI(M) office. Asking the Centre to listen to the 'legitimate' demands of our Kisans-Annadatas, the Opposition leaders said, "We the undersigned leaders of political parties extend our solidarity with the massive struggle by the farmers organised by various kisan organisations from across the country and extend our support to their call for Bharat bandh on December 8 demanding the withdrawal of these retrograde agri-laws and the Electricity Amendment Bill". Over 170 hospitalised with mysterious illness in Andhra's Eluru Over 170 people, including several women and children, were admitted with some unknown disease in the Government General Hospital (GGH) in Eluru in West Godavari district during the last couple of days, according to officials. The number of in-patients which was 55 on Saturday midnight went up to 170 by Sunday morning, the officials said, with patients suffering from symptoms like dizziness, headache and epilepsy-type symptoms, said a doctor treating them.  A.P. Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas enquires about the health condition of the patients who were admitted in Eluru Government General Hospital with giddiness and epilepsy symptoms. Photo: Special Arrangement Medical teams from different hospitals in West Godavari and Krishna districts were rushed to the colonies, where the patients are being treated in special camps. "Water, food and blood samples have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the reports are awaited. CT scan and X-ray reports are normal," the doctors said. Officials indicate so far that about 30 patients have been discharged from the GGH. This is a story we'll keep a track on and bring you more details shortly. U.K. and E.U. making last push for post-Brexit trade agreement before December 31 The U.K. and European Union (EU) are holding crunch talks on December 6 to give one last push to try and thrash out a post-Brexit trade agreement before the end of the transition period on December 31. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke on the telephone on December 5 to try and find a way out of a stalemate that has lasted months, ending in the chief negotiators on both sides concluding the latest round of talks without achieving a breakthrough.  Britain's chief negotiator David Frost (centre) wears a protective face mask as he arrives in Brussels for Brexit talks with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier on December 6, 2020. There are lingering divergences on key areas of EU fishing rights in U.K. waters and governance matters after Britain ceases to be a member of the economic bloc from January 1, 2021. "In a phone call on the ongoing negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom, we welcomed the fact that progress has been achieved in many areas. Nevertheless, significant differences remain on three critical issues: level playing field, governance and fisheries. Both sides underlined that no agreement is feasible if these issues are not resolved," read a joint statement issued by Mr. Johnson and Ms. von Der Leyen. Honey brands war with each other over NMR claims Two leading homegrown rival FMCG brands Dabur and Marico are in an open spat with each other over claims regarding their honey brands and have taken the matter to advertising regulator ASCI. Dabur on Sunday said it is filing a complaint against rival Marico before the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) for claiming its Saffola Honey sample being passed through the NMR test. The Noida-based company claimed Marico's Saffola honey has failed the NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) test and is misleading the consumers.  To know more about the NMR test and the current questions being raised about the 'purity' of Indian honey brands read our previous reporting on the subject here. "Dabur is filing a complaint in ASCI against Marico as their Saffola Honey sample from the market has failed the NMR test. Test reports clearly indicate the presence of sugar syrup in Saffola honey. Their claim on NMR test is misleading the consumers," Dabur claimed in a statement. Earlier, Marico had filed a complaint before the ASCI on October 1, over Dabur's claims of its honey passing the NMR test. The complaint has been admitted by ASCI and taken on record for further hearing, said Marico. Covid watch: Numbers and Developments The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stands at 96,55,506 at the time of writing this newsletter with the death toll at 1,40,644. In Brief: India sealed the T20 International series against Australia with a game to spare after a swashbuckling Hardik Pandya finished what Shikhar Dhawan had set out to achieve with a scintillating 36-ball 52 in the second and penultimate match in Sydney on Sunday. The visitors thus avenged their 1-2 ODI series loss, chasing down a challenging 195-run target set by the home side. They won the opener in Canberra by 11 runs on Friday. Actor Vijayashanti on Sunday met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi and is likely to join the BJP on Monday. Ms. Vijayashanti, who started her political career with the BJP in the 1990s, later joined Telangana Rashtra Samithi and later the Congress. She resigned from the Congress after the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation results over the weekend. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow | 
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