Good morning everyone! For the first time in 12 days, we don’t mention the Middle East. Here are the other top news: Pfizer and the Indian govt are at loggerheads over legal protection, there is a new coronavirus and they are found in dogs, and then there is the GoI vs Twitter story. Also watchout for stories that may seem serious – such as Kyrgyzstan destroying vaccines or Japan launching an investigation into its bullet train – but the backstory is also (a little) funny that you may go either 🤦♀️ or 🤣.
We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly.
Margaret Atwood, author
Coronavirus News
💉👨⚖️ Protection from Jab: Pfizer and the GoI are at loggerheads after the vaccine maker asked for legal protection from any claims in India. The country has not given any maker such assurances, but Pfizer has obtained it from the UK and US.
🐕🦠 Woof Variant: They are calling it the canine coronavirus and was discovered in a sample preserved from 2018. It is unclear if this posed a threat to humans yet. If it did, it would be the 8th coronavirus to do so. Scientists say that these viruses show up all the time but it’s only if they see more such cases that the alarm must go off. NO NEED TO FEAR PETS.
💉🛒 Going Shopping: MEA S Jaishankar will be in the US next week to firm up deals with vaccine makers and increase supply. He carries requests from neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, while Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka have also sought vaccines. MEA will talk to the US about China, Middle East.
🚷 Lockdown: Kerala extends till May 30, Karnataka June 7, Goa May 31.
💉 Vaccine programme: SII executive director says Centre began inoculating people without considering WHO guidelines or vaccine availability.
⚖️ Cost-Benefit: An SBI report says that the total cost of vaccinating everyone is nearly Rs 3.7 lakh crore, which is less than the expected loss from lockdown.
⚕️ Underestimates: WHO says the global actual death count = 2X or 3X official count.
💉💉 Dumping Shots: Kyrgyzstan was forced to destroy 1000 doses of Sputnik V after someone unplugged the refrigerator containing the vaccine to charge their mobile phone.
😠 Criminal: A 17-year-old grocer dies after alleged police assault for violating curfew norms in UP; Huge crowds in Andhra Pradesh for an ayurvedic medication, without any approval, that has gone viral on social media to cure Covid-19, ruling party MLA is promoting it.
👩🏼⚖️ Mission Impossible: Supreme Court has asked high courts not to pass orders that are impossible to implement such as Allahabad telling govt to ensure all nursing homes had oxygen facilities in 4 months.
🇺🇸 No plans: White House says it has not yet thought of requiring foreign visitors to have vaccinated against Covid.
🙏 Dead Environmentalist and driver of Chipko movement Sundarlal Bahuguna (94); one of world’s leading traffic safety experts and IIT professor Dinesh Mohan (75); journalist who warned of the Bhopal gas tragedy Rajkumar Keswani (72).
🍄 Black Fungus: Like Covid-19, men are more susceptible to the fungal disease.
🚫 Don’t Believe These: 5G testing linked to Covid spread; Vaccination can make your arm magnetic.
India News
💬 Fake News: Govt tells Twitter to remove “manipulated media” tag against BJP spokesperson’s tweet. Says the website prejudged the tweet that is under investigation. Twitter’s top executive says that it was in line with policy.
🗳️ Getting her back: Bhawanipore TMC MLA resigns, Mamata likely to contest from there, which was her previous seat before she went to Nandigram.
💥 Tunnel Collapse: Portion of NHPC tunnel in HP collapsed, killing four.
👩🏻⚖️ Justice served: SC gives bail to YSRCP MP Raghurama Krishnam Raju, a critic of the Andhra CM from his own party, who was charged with sedition. He has been told not to speak to the media.
⚓🛩️ Military: INS Rajput will be first destroyer to be decommissioned; MiG-21 fighter (aka “Flying coffins”) crashes in Moga.
👩🏼⚖️🗳️ Poll Again: Andhra HC has annulled the urban local body polls held on April 7 saying it violated SC orders
🏦 Liability: Apex Court upholds a 2019 govt notification that said that individuals who gave guarantee to corporate loans were liable to pay in case the firm was not able to pay its debt under resolution plan.
👨🏼🌾 Resume Talks: Farmers want the government to talk to them over the three farm laws that had been passed last year.
As head of the largest democracy in the world, the onus of resuming serious and sincere dialogue with farmers lies with you.
Farmers’ letter to PM
🪖 Left Wing Extremism: 13 Maoists killed in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli.
🙏 Dead: Boxing’s first Dronacharya awardee Om Prakash Bharadwaj (82)
World
🇳🇵Nepal: Parliament dissolved, polls in November.
🇨🇳 Next Life: Beijing has said that the next Dalai Lama would have to be approved by it, something that the Tibetan govt-in-exile had refused earlier.
👑🔎 Deception Point: After an inquiry found fault with BBC, and Prince William slamming the channel, over Diana interview, the UK government will look into whether the broadcaster’s governance would require reform.
💩🚄 Bullet Poop: A bullet train in Japan arrived one minute late at a station causing the train agency to launch an investigation. It found that the driver had left his seat for 3 mins to go to the toilet due to a stomachache. The agency apologised for the incident and disciplined the driver.
🧘♀️ Breathe Easy: US’ Alabama lifts 30-year ban on Yoga in public schools. “Om” and “namaste” are still banned.
🇮🇷 Shocking: Iran is in shock, not because of Israel or Palestine, but of a case of parents murdering their son, and previously, their daughter and son-in-law. While murder is a capital offence in the country, killing children carries max 10 years in jail.
Business
✈️👾 Data in air: Air India reports data breach – contact details, credit card numbers and passport numbers of 4.5mn customers compromised. Other airlines that shared data processor service were also hit.
💰 Funding govt: RBI to transfer Rs 99,122 crore in surplus to the Centre, which is higher than the Budget expected.
Environment
⛏️ Dirty Coal: Rich G-7 nations and Japan have pledged to not fund overseas coal projects. They agreed to decarbonise their energy sectors in the 2030s.
News Of Today 