1. European Medicines Agency says AstraZeneca vaccine is 'safe and effective'

A review by the European Medicines Agency's safety committee has determined that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine "is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of blood clots". Many of the European countries which had suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of blood clots, including France, Germany and Italy, have confirmed they will resume the rollout of the vaccine. The committee said it will continue to investigate potential links between the vaccine and blood clots.

2. PM says unemployment rate fall is a sign that JobKeeper 'has done its job'

After the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced yesterday that the unemployment rate had fallen from 6.4% to 5.8% in February and 88,700 jobs had been created, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that JobKeeper "has done its job" and "must come to an end". The PM also noted that "there is still a lot more to do, particularly for young people and even though the youth unemployment rate has pleasingly fallen, there is still a distance to travel".

3. Population falls for the first time since 1916

In another data release by the ABS yesterday, Australia's population was found to have fallen by 4,200 or 0.02% during the September 2020 quarter. "The last time we saw population decline was the year to December 1916, during World War 1 when the population declined by -51,500 (-1.0%)," said ABS demography director Phil Browning. Annual population growth to the end of September 2020 was found to be 0.9%.

4. Fundraiser for Harry and Meghan's $18.8 million mortgage raises $142

A fan-made GoFundMe campaign to help Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pay for their US$14.6 million ($18.8 million) home in California has ended with three donations totalling US$110 ($142). "When they came to the USA they were without jobs and with limited funds. They've stated that they've had a very rough time, so this fundraiser is a way to give help, compassion, and love by paying their home loan in full," the campaign's creator said.

5. Nasdaq drops 3% overnight

The Nasdaq dropped 409.03 points or 3.02% to 13,116.17 on Thursday, with Tesla notably falling almost 7%. The S&P 500 fell 58.66 points or 1.48% to 3,915.46, while the Dow Jones fell back below the 33,000 level which the index passed for the first time yesterday. It closed down 153.07 points or 0.46% to 32,862.30.