CURRENT AFFAIRS
04 January 2021
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Two vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, get approval for emergency use.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) on Sunday approved two vaccines, developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech respectively, for public use. The formal approval came after a subject expert committee (SEC) of the CDSCO recommended that permission be granted for restricted use in emergency situation in public interest. This allows the vaccines to be rolled out in the coming weeks. Neither company has completed phase-3 trials in India but the SEC relied on data from phase-1 and phase-2 trials, which test if the vaccine is safe and generates adequate antibodies. The committee opined that the data suggested that the vaccine was safe and well-tolerated in limited groups of volunteers. In the case of SII, the committee relied on data from the phase-3 trial on 23,000 or so participants in overseas trials. Interim data from a trial on 1,600 volunteers in India showed that the efficacy was comparable, the statement noted. In the case of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, only data from studies on animals and phase-2 data on 800 volunteers were studied. Both firms are expected to continue their clinical trials and keep submitting data. Somani did not discuss or furnish details on conditions that the companies would have to adhere to in respect of being accorded approval. The World Health Organisation welcomed India’s decision giving emergency use authorisation to two Covid-19 vaccines, saying it will help intensify and strengthen its fight against the ongoing pandemic.
B) Vaccine sceptics playing into hands of vested interests: Nadda.
The BJP on Sunday said that statements of the COVID-19 vaccine sceptics among opposition leaders were playing into the hands of vested interests and demonstrated that the opposition refused to be proud of anything Indian. Party chief J.P. Nadda said on Twitter, Congress and the Opposition is not proud of anything Indian. They should introspect about how their lies on the COVID-19 vaccine will be used by vested interest groups for their own agendas. People of India have been rejecting such politics and will keep doing so in the future. While Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had said he would not take the vaccine, terming it a BJP vaccine, Congress spokesperson Salman Niazi said it was a fraud. Another Congress leader Rashid Alvi gave a statement in support of Yadav. The way BJP and Prime Minister Modi have used agencies including CBI, Income Tax Dept and Enforcement Directorate against opposition leaders, he think there’s nothing wrong with it if Akhilesh Yadav fears that the vaccine can be misused. The way government is working against opposition leaders, fear is justified, he said. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted, The Covaxin has not yet had Phase 3 trials. Approval was premature and could be dangerous. @drharshvardhan should please clarify. Its use should be avoided till full trials are over. India can start with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the meantime. However, it is not just Opposition politicians who have expressed reservations about the process followed in giving clearance to these two vaccines. Leading clinical scientist Gagandeep Kang told a news channel in response to a question on vaccine approvals that she was completely unaware of any data on efficacy of Bharat Biotech’s vaccine and that there was no reason to believe that it would work against the U.K. variant of the coronavirus.
C) PM Modi cannot see the pain and struggle of farmers: Sonia Gandhi. Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday said a government that ignores public sentiments in a democracy does not remain in power for long and described the Narendra Modi government as the first arrogant regime in independent India that cannot see the pain and struggle of farmers. Ensuring profits for a select few capitalists has become the main agenda of the government, she alleged, and reminded the Centre that democracy means protecting the interest of farmers-workers. On the 39th day of protests at Delhi’s Singhu border, Gandhi said in a statement that the government should shun arrogance and unconditionally repeal the three farm laws to end the agitation. Just like fellow citizens, he is distressed to see the plight of our farmers who are protesting at Delhi’s borders for 39 days in this bone-chilling cold and rains to get their demands accepted, she said. The Congress leader alleged that more than 50 protesting farmers have died because of government apathy while a few ended their lives in protest. And yet it has neither melted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s heart nor did any Minister have a comforting word to say to the families of those who died.
D) Sourav Ganguly’s health improves; tests negative for Covid-19.
A day after he was admitted to a Kolkata hospital after suffering a mild heart attack, BCCI president and former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly on Sunday showed apparent improvements in his health parameters, with the ECG report in the morning showing no further complications. Ganguly was admitted to Woodlands Hospital on Saturday with chest discomfort, heaviness of head, vomiting, and a spell of dizziness while performing physical exercise in the home gymnasium. The 48-year-old cricket icon suffered a mild heart attack on Saturday and an angioplasty was performed on him later in the evening. A statement by the Woodlands Hospital said Ganguly had tested negative for Covid-19 on Saturday. The hospital statement also added that Ganguly’s family had a history of ischemic heart disease.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) China amends defence law to boost war preparedness.
China’s President Xi Jinping has signed an order that has amended China’s National Defence Law, giving the Central Military Commission (CMC), which he heads, greater power in mobilising resources to protect a new and broader definition of what constitutes the national interest. The revised regulations on military equipment, which are effective as of January 1, focus on war preparedness and combat capabilities, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, adding that they define the basic tasks, contents and management mechanisms for military equipment work under the new situation and system. The document, which State media said comprised 100 stipulations in 14 chapters, follows the general principle of the CMC exercising overall leadership, theater commands responsible for military operations and the services focusing on developing capabilities. Draft amendments released last year noted that when China’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and security and development interests are under threat. the country can conduct nationwide or local defense mobilisation. The phrase development interests was a new addition to the law, with experts noting this also included the protection of China’s economic activities and assets over. seas, such as those under the Belt and Road Initiative, as a reason for defence mobilisation. The amendment also said China will participate in global security governance, join multilateral security talks and push for and set up a set of international rules that is widely accepted, fair and reasonable, State media reported.
B) ‘Scotland must wait a generation for new vote’.
Another Scottish independence referendum should not take place for a generation, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday, as Scotland’s leader renewed calls for a fresh vote in the wake of Brexit. Referendums in his experience, direct experience, in this country are not particularly jolly events, the Prime Minister told BBC’s Andrew Marr Show. They don’t have a notably unifying force in the national mood, they should be only once in a generation. Scotland voted to remain part of the United Kingdom in 2014. Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon at the time called it a once in a generation vote, but now argues that Britain’s departure from the European Union, which a majority of Scots opposed, has changed the game. Recent polls have shown consistent support for independence.
C) Israel dismisses Iran charge it seeks to trick U.S. into war.
An Israeli official on Sunday dismissed as nonsense an allegation by the Iranian Foreign Minister that Israel was trying to trick the United States into waging war on Iran. It was Israel that needed to be on alert for possible Iranian strikes on the one year anniversary on Sunday of the assassination of Tehran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Kan public radio. Washington blames Iran backed militia for regular rocket attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq, including near the U.S. Embassy. No known Iran-backed groups have claimed responsibility. On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter: New intelligence from Iraq indicate that Israeli agent provocateurs are plotting attacks against Americans putting an outgoing (President Donald) Trump in a bind with a fake casus belli. Be careful of a trap, @realDonaldTrump. Any fireworks will backfire badly, particularly against your same BFFs, Mr. Zarifwrote, in what appeared to be a veiled threat against Israel. Mr. Steinitz said the remarks showed that Iran, after mounting U.S. sanctions billed as curbing its nuclear programme and involvement in regional conflict zones, was under pressure -economic pressure, and pressure in terms of national security.
SPORTS NEWS
A) Possible bubble-breach by Indian cricketers under investigation.
Cricket Australia (CA), in a media release, has said it was probing, jointly with the BCCI, a possible breach of bio-security protocols by members of the Indian Test team currently on tour in Australia. The decision to launch a probe was taken after a video of the players at an indoor restaurant was posted by a fan, who identified himself as Navaldeep Singh on Twitter. Five players : vice-captain Rohit Sharma, opener Shubman Gill, wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, pacer Navdeep Saini, and batsman Prithvi Shaw are under the scanner for the potential bubble breach. But they have not been barred from travelling with the team despite the ongoing investigation. The entire Indian cricket contingent, including these five, will travel together to Sydney for the third Test against Australia in the same chartered flight on Monday. If you carefully read the CA statement, they never said that it’s a breach. They said that they are seeking to determine if it’s a breach. So there is no restriction on these five players travelling with the team to Sydney. The entire team is flying tomorrow afternoon, a senior BCCI official told PTI. It is understood that the controversy has not gone down well with the travelling team and it is not amused with how Cricket Australia has so far handled the issue. Had the gentleman (the fan) in question not lied about hugging a player (Rishabh Pant) on social media, this mess wouldn’t have happened. The players had gone inside because it was drizzling. This guy, without permission, shot a video and then paid the bill which no one asked him to, and after that for publicity put a screen grab of bill, the official said. You want to tell me that Cricket Australia will be taking a decision based on a purported video of a person who first lied and then retracted his statement, he added. For BCCI, the man under scanner is administrative manager Girish Dongre. Dongre is an employee of the BCCI and is supposed to handle and also keep the team abreast of the Covid-19 protocols.
