WhatsApp has moved the Delhi HC over the new social media rules that come into effect today. Cyclone Yaas makes landfall and we wish safety for our readers in Bengal, Odisha and to some extent Andhra too. In our Science section today we introduce you to two significant items that show just how far tech can influence us and it is scary.
CORONAVIRUS NEWS
💉💉 Vaccines: Moderna likely to offer single-dose jab next year, while Pfizer says it is ready to give 50mn doses this year provided govt gives legal protection. Wockhardt says it can offer 500mn doses of any Covid vaccine from Feb next year. Moderna says its vaccines are effective for 12-yr-olds.
💉🏃 Demand Down: National health authority says the demand for vaccines is down from 11 people for 1 jab to 6.5 people, will help faster CoWin registration.
💉Wastage: Hong Kong bought enough vaccines for its 7.5mn population but vaccine hesitancy resulted in less than 30% getting at least 1 dose. Millions of doses are likely to be wasted.
📦 Global Bidding: Maharashtra and BMC get eight offers from private firms to supply vaccines, but none from manufacturers.
🙃 Have It Your Way: Andhra Pradesh government will test a popular herbal remedy that is said to “cure” Covid-19 that has the backing of a local MLA.
📱 Influencing Fake News: UK PR agency with Russian links allegedly offered YouTubers and influencers money to falsely tell their followers that Pfizer jab is responsible for many deaths.
🔎🦠 Transparent Probe: The US has asked for a transparent investigation into the origins of the virus. This follows requests from scientists, and even top epidemiologist Dr Anthony Fauci who recently said he was not confident of the belief that the virus developed naturally.
🙏 Dead: 1971 war veteran Col Panjab Singh (79)
INDIA NEWS
🌀 Cyclone is Here: 1mn people evacuated, landfall likely at noon, wind@ 185 kph, Odisha likely to bear brunt.
✍🏽 CBSE: Most states back Class 12 examinations with shorter duration and multiple choice question format at schools the student is enrolled. Decision on June 1.
🆕 New rules: Starting today, new social media rules will come into effect -requires complaint redressal mechanism and officers for them- and almost none of the major websites have followed through yet. If they don’t comply, they could be held liable for the content they publish. WhatsApp, meanwhile, has sued the govt over the new rules saying it is unconstitutional.
🤔 Lakshadweep: Island’s BJP unit chief latest to attack administrator over new draft rules. The party’s second-in-command, however, backs him.
👨⚖️ Narda Case: Supreme Court refuses to stay Calcutta high court’s order allowing for TMC MLAs to be under house arrest, not jail. CBI had cited CM’s protest outside its office as grounds for custody, but SC found no merit.
👮 New Chief: CISF’s Subodh Jaiswal is new CBI chief after the Chief Justice of India ruled out the other contenders who had less than 6 months to retire. Jaiswal will have two years.
💎 Choksi Jumps: Diamantaire Mehul Choksi, wanted in the PNB scam case, goes missing from Antigua. India issues alert to Interpol.
📉 Govt Jobs Low: Central govt has hired 27% fewer people than last year, while states hired 21% less. This is a 3-year low as govts go for contractual workers (who won’t be able to speak against the system) rather than permanent posts.
📈 Price Rocket: Monthly average price of packed edible oils highest in over a decade. 60% of India’s demand is imported.
💸 Please Pay: Vijay Mallya has asked a UK court to pay his lawyers in India a sum of nearly Rs 8 crore as his accounts were frozen.
WORLD NEWS
😞 Small Coffins: Bodies of children wash ashore on Libya beach. Their parents may have tried to take them across the Meditterranean and into Europe when their boats sank.
🇮🇱🇺🇸🇵🇸 Middle East: US says it will reopen Jerusalem consulate to restore ties with Palestine, will help Gaza rebuild and criticises Israeli settlement activity.
🇳🇵🤝🇨🇳 Nepal: Opens its fifth consulate in China
🇲🇱 Mali: Vice-president seizes power and placed incumbent President and PM under arrest. This after a cabinet reshuffle in which military appointees were removed. EU, AU and the US call it a kidnap and warn of sanctions.
🇹🇷Turkey: Mafia boss on YouTube levels allegations of corruption, rape and murder against top government officials.
🇷🇺 Russia: Govt tells Google to remove banned content in 24 hours or face slow internet speed. They claim Google restricted Russian media outlets and supported illegal protests
⭐ First Man: 81-year-old Bill Shakespeare who was the second person and first man in the world to get the anti-Covid jab in December has died of a stroke that is unrelated to the jab.
“Bill was so grateful for being offered the opportunity to become one of the first people in the world to be given the vaccine. It was something he was hugely proud of.”
Joy, Bill Shakespeare’s wife
🎭 Prime Theatre: Amazon has signed up to stream high-profile live-recorded stage shows, including Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ian Mckellen.
ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE & TECH
🐟 Sea Snot: Mucous-like matter accumulates close to Turkey shore in the Sea of Marmara. Global warming has allowed phytoplanktons to thrive that causes this substance to form and threaten fishes and corals.
🧠 Brain Manipulation: Scientists have managed to get two mice to “bond” by just shining light into a small region of their brain at the same time and frequency.
🇨🇳🎥 Measuring emotion: China allegedly tested an AI software that detected emotions on Uyghur people as an advances lie detector.
News Of Today 