There is some cheer for Class 12 students as both CBSE and CISCE have scrapped their exams. The Delhi HC has made some scary remarks, or perhaps reality of doctors, on who to save from black fungus. India is clearing the path for more vaccines and the Centre’s recent notices to Bengal chief secy has come in for criticism from former bureaucrats who call it “bizarre”.
CORONAVIRUS NEWS
🌊🌊🌊🔓 Future Unlocks: If a 3rd wave hits, Centre’s criteria for districts to unlock – positivity rate <5% for a week, jabs for 70% of 45+, and following Covid protocols. Nearly half of 718 total dists now report positivity<5%.
💉 Easier Access: India waived requirement for bridging trials (where company has to prove that their vaccine can work on Indians too) for foreign vaccines if they have approval in other countries, and testing of jabs in India.
💉📦 More jabs: 3mn doses of Sputnik V land in Hyderabad. Biological E will produce Canadian firm Providence’s mRNA vaccine PTX-COVID-19-B, which is yet to pass Phase-1. China’s Sinovac gets WHO approval (50% efficacy in Brazil, 91% in Turkey). Pak launches its vaccine PakVac (65%).
💉💉 Mixing and matching: Canada to mix AstraZeneca first shot followed by Pfizer or Moderna second shot. There is the risk of blood clots.
🗞️ News from States: Maharashtra may call off global vaccine procurement tender; Odisha wants Centre to procure vaccines; Karnataka’s numbers are bad, unlikely to result in lifting of lockdown; Fear of death drives Kerala’s tribals away from vaccines. TN to suspend vaccination drive till June 5.
“Patients who are younger who hold promise for our nation… may have to be prioritised in comparison to the older generation which has lived its life.”
Delhi HC on drug shortage for black fungus
👧👶🏻🧒 Kids Next: Centre will focus on children in the event of a third wave when the virus may change its behaviour.
9️⃣3️⃣4️⃣6️⃣ : That’s how many kids have been orphaned in the country, SC told.
😤 Docs Protest Baba: Doctors around the country protest Ramdev’s recent remarks on allopathy and termed June 1 as “black day”.
🇧🇷🇷🇺🇮🇳🇨🇳🇿🇦 BRICS Support: Brazil, Russia and China have supported India and South Africa’s proposal at WTO to waive patents
🙏 Dead: Former MP minister Laxmikant Shukla
INDIA NEWS
😐 Egos at Work: Centre has sent a notice to former Bengal chief secy (who retired on Tuesday) for being 15 min late to a meeting with PM on May 28. Former bureaucrats term the orders against the former chief secy as “bizarre”.
➖✋ Cong Protests: The Group of Ministers – of FMs from different states- formed to look into GST on Covid items do not have one from the Congress.
🇦🇬💎🇩🇲 Choksi Mess: Carribean island nations are at loggerheads over Mehul Choksi with one blaming the other of “abducting” him.
🌦️⛈️ Weather Watch: IMD says this year’s monsoon will be normal to set over Kerala on June 3.
🗳️ Back Again: BJP renominates Swapan Dasgupta back to Rajya Sabha. He had resigned to fight in the Bengal polls, but lost.
😡 Crime Most Vile: Indian Army soldier accused of sexually assaulting 8-yr-old inside a train toilet and throwing her out onto the tracks. In another case, a cleric allegedly raped a 12-year-old in a mosque.
WORLD NEWS
🐔🦠 Another one: First case of human contracting H10N3 bird flu strain in China.
⛪ Papal Move: Vatican toughens stand against sex abuse and frauds by its clerics. It adds that adults too can be victimised and that offenders can be punished.
🇱🇧 Lebanon’s misery: The country’s financial and economic crisis – defaulted on debt, currency lost 85% value, great poverty- is one of the worst the world has seen in 150 years, says the World Bank. [NOTE: ARTICLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT MUSLIMS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS HAS NO BASIS]
🤫 Unspeakable: Pak journalist Hamid Mir was taken off air on Geo TV after he spoke against the military censoring media and persecuting journalists. After backlash from the public, the channel says experts will review.
💰 Simplifying Pension: Provisional family pension to be sanctioned immediately in case of death (Covid/non-Covid) during pandemic.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
🤬 Trust Violated: Nestle internal documents find that some of its products will never be healthy. Company looking to add more healthier options.
🚗🚕 Indicators weak: Passenger vehicle sales at 12-month low in May. 15 million Indian lost their jobs in May, salaried persons relatively safe.
ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE & TECH NEWS
🇮🇸 Shrinking Ice: Iceland’s glaciers, that cover more than 10% of the landmass, is shrinking. Since 1890, the country had lost 18%, but a third of that happened in the last 21 years. May disappear by 2200.
🛢️🐻❄️ No Drilling Here: US suspends drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil. It is one of the largest untouched wilderness in the country that lies over 11 bn barrels of oil.
🙋♂️ Racism: Chief editor of top medical journal JAMA quits after colleague made racist remarks and later promoted on its Twitter feed.
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