1. European Medicines Agency says benefits of AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh risks

The European Union's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), said it was "firmly convinced" that the benefits of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine outweigh risks of side-effects after a number of European countries including Germany, France and Italy suspended use of the vaccine due to reports of recipients developing blood clots. "We are worried that there may be an effect on the trust in the vaccines," EMA executive director Emer Cooke said, and noted that, while investigations are still ongoing, there is no evidence that the vaccine is causing the blood clots.

2. Andrew Forrest tops list of Australia's most generous philanthropists

Billionaire Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola donated $88 million through their Minderoo Foundation last year, putting Forrest on top of the 'Top 25 Philanthropists List' compiled by The Australian. Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar placed second with $37 million in donations, followed by Fiona Geminder, Heloise Pratt & Anthony Pratt with $23.3 million, Frank Lowy with $23.2 million, and Judith Neilson with $20.5 million.

3. Uber to reclassify UK drivers as workers

Uber has announced it will grant worker status to more than 70,000 drivers in the United Kingdom, guaranteeing that drivers will receive at least the National Living Wage of £8.72 ($15.65) per hour, along with holiday pay and pensions, but not full employee benefits. The change follows major lawsuits in the UK, the US and around the world on the rights of gig economy workers.

4. 17-year-old Canadian hit by $8 million tax bill

17-year-old student Alina Bukatova from the British Columbia capital of Victoria in Canada has been hit by a tax bill of CA$8.3 million ($8.6 million) according to CBC. After originally believing that a statement from the Canada Revenue Agency and a number of phone calls about the money owed were fake, Bukatova eventually discovered that her 2018 income had been incorrectly declared as $17 million rather than $17,000 by a tax preparation chain. The error has since been corrected.

5. Stocks ease back from record highs

The Dow Jones and S&P 500 fell from the record highs reached on Tuesday, while the Nasdaq closed marginally higher. The Dow fell by 127.51 points or 0.39% to 32,825.95, the S&P dropped 6.23 points or 0.16% to 3,962.71 and the Nasdaq rose 11.86 points or 0.09% to 13,471.57.