India and China clear separate needle-free Covid-19 vaccines; Apple’s big iPhone event is later today

India and China have cleared separate needle-free Covid vaccines, one a spray in the nose and the other inhaled through the mouth, Associated Press reported yesterday. Regulators in India have authorized Bharat Biotech’s nasal version as an option for people who haven’t yet been vaccinated. Apple’s September iPhone event is later today and its priciest smartphone yet is expected. Notes: India and China have cleared separate needle-free Covid vaccines, one a spray in the nose and the other inhaled through the mouth, Associated Press reported yesterday. Regulators in India authorized Bharat Biotech’s nasal version on Tuesday as an option for people who haven’t yet been vaccinated. “This step will further strengthen our collective fight against the pandemic,” India’s health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Twitter. Bharat Biotech hasn’t yet released the results of its studies or details on when the vaccine will be available on the market, according to AP. Meanwhile, in China, CanSino Biologics announced on Sunday last that Chinese regulators have approved an inhalable version of the company’s vaccine – to be used as a booster dose. The company pointed to preliminary results of studies suggesting the inhaled version improved immune protection after one puff, but it’s not clear if it also increases effectiveness, according to AP. Apple’s annual September iPhone event – which the company has tagged with the phrase ‘far out’ – is expected later today. Four new iPhones, three new Apple Watches, and a new AirPods Pro model are expected, according to various media reports. Apple is likely to raise the price of the high-end iPhone Pro that Apple trackers are expecting to arrive with a major camera upgrade and an ‘always on’ display. The company’s latest software, iOS 16, is also expected soon. On the services front, Apple is jumping into the buy-now-pay-later market, with its Apple Pay Later product. Apple is also doubling its ad business team, according to the Financial Times. China aims to accelerate the autonomous cars ecosystem in the country. The port city of Shanghai, one of China’s biggest industrial and commercial centres, estimates that autonomous cars and related technologies can produce 500 billion yuan ($72 billion) in economic value by 2025, South China Morning Post reported yesterday. A new plan, released by the General Office of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, on Monday, calls for establishing an ecosystem that is self-reliant concerning R&D and core technologies related to autonomous vehicles, according to SCMP. Reliance Industries has entered into definitive agreements for acquiring a 79.4 percent stake of SenseHawk, through primary infusion and secondary purchase, for a total consideration of $32 million, the Indian conglomerate told the stock exchanges in Mumbai in a filing yesterday. SenseHawk, founded in 2018, is an early-stage California-based developer of software-based management tools for the solar energy generation industry. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds