News Postcard

Bihar's main opposition party RJD said on Sunday that it is in talks with the Trinamool Congress to fight the upcoming West Bengal elections together, but leaders of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party claimed that no such discussions are underway. http://dlvr.it/RrkckX

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"Dear countrymen, you would have heard a few days back that four women pilots commanded a direct flight from San Fransisco in the US to Bengaluru. The flight covering a distance of over 10,000 kilometres, brought over 225 people to India," PM Modi said in his monthly radio programme 'Mann ki Baat'. http://dlvr.it/RrjN2F

Over 37 lakh healthcare workers across India have received shots of Covid-19 vaccine till January 30, the 15th day of the nationwide immunisation drive. Uttar Pradesh has administered the maximum number of vaccine doses in the country so far with over 4.63 lakh people inoculated. http://dlvr.it/RrgyVS

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The incident has put the focus on a similar incident from 2012, when an Israeli embassy vehicle was targeted in Delhi. An investigation team of Delhi Police's Special Cell on Saturday visited the blast site to collect more evidence as part of its ongoing probe. http://dlvr.it/Rrff24

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A day after BKU leader Rakesh Tikait broke down at Ghazipur and tension spiralled, tens of thousands of farmers gathered in Muzaffarnagar town on Friday to attend a mahapanchayat in support of the Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre's new farm laws in Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border. http://dlvr.it/RrbtXw

The Editors Guild of India on Friday strongly condemned the filing of FIRs against senior editors and journalists for their reporting on the farmers' tractor rally and the ensuing violence here on Republic Day, saying it was an attempt to "intimidate, harass and stifle" the media. It said journalists have been specifically targeted for reporting the accounts pertaining to the death of one of the protesters on their personal social media handles as well as those of the publications they lead and represent. http://dlvr.it/Rrb6GS

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"Since last year, the Indian side has repeatedly used national security as an excuse to prohibit some Mobile APPs with a Chinese background. These moves in violation of WTO non-discriminatory principles and fair competition principles of market economy severely damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. The Chinese side firmly opposes them," the statement read. http://dlvr.it/RrS0rV

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The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a joint front of the protesting farmer unions, condemned the violence that erupted in the national capital on Tuesday and blamed antisocial elements for infiltrating the Republic Day tractor agitation. The morcha said it is dissociating itself from all such elements that violated the discipline. http://dlvr.it/RrN2mJ

According to the health ministry, 1,03,45,985 people have recuperated from the disease so far pushing the national Covid-19 recovery rate to 96.90 per cent. The case fatality rate stood at 1.44 per cent. http://dlvr.it/RrMGGd

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The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has written to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to consider aviation employees as frontline coronavirus workers and prioritise their Covid-19 vaccination. http://dlvr.it/RrDw57

As on January 24, till 8 am, nearly 16 lakh (15,82,201) beneficiaries have received Covid-19 vaccination.In a span of 24 hours, close to 2 lakh (1,91,609) people were vaccinated across 3,512 sessions. A total of 27,920 sessions have been conducted so far, the ministry said. http://dlvr.it/RrDQv7

"IAF is ready to undertake any challenge from Leh to Kanyakumari. The Rafale fleet is ready to undertake any operation. Rafale is not only able to operate in different parts of the county but across the world. It is able to complete all the tasks that any fourth-generation or fifth-generation fighter can do," Kumar told ANI. http://dlvr.it/RrBxCQ

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NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday visited the city-based Serum Institute of India (SII), where a major fire had broken out two days ago, killing five persons. Sources in the SII said, Pawar visited the affected building around noon and took stock of the situation. Serum's CEO, Adar Poonwalla, accompanied Pawar. In a tweet, Pawar later said, "Visited the Serum Institute in Pune along with @adarpoonawalla and reviewed the present situation there, after the unfortunate fire incident." http://dlvr.it/Rr9XJZ

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India's first indigenous vaccine against COVID-19, Covaxin, showed enhanced immune response without any serious side effects in the participants enrolled for the phase 1 trials, according to the results published in The Lancet Infectious Disease journal. Developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the ICMR and the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, the vaccine has been granted emergency use authorisation in clinical trial mode' by the Indian government. http://dlvr.it/Rr6fjy

Even as a controversy rages over the safety of India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin after it was granted Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) even as Phase III efficacy trials are underway, renowned medical journal Lancet said the vaccine, codenamed BBV152, led to tolerable safety outcomes and enhanced immune responses. “The overall incidence of solicited local and systemic adverse events in this study was 14-21% in all vaccine-treated groups, which is noticeably lower than the rates for other SARS-CoV-2 vaccine platform candidates.” http://dlvr.it/Rr5vrh

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday said the government must accept the agitating farmers' demands in the next round of talks. He said the farmers have already spent almost two months on roads while protesting against the farm laws. http://dlvr.it/Rr3zrd

Five people were killed in a fire that broke out at Terminal 1 gate of Serum Institute of India in Pune on Thursday. Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawala offered his condolences on the incident. "The five people who died, were perhaps the workers at the under-construction building. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained," said Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol. http://dlvr.it/Rr2nM4

In the ongoing Indo-French wargames Desert Knight-21, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat will undertake a sortie in the French Rafale fighters on Thursday. "The CDS would be briefed about the wargames and how the joint exercise would be enhancing interoperability between the air forces of the two countries," Indian Air Force officials told ANI. http://dlvr.it/Rr20ZP

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With 13,823 infections reported in a day, India's Covid-19 caseload rose to 1,05,95,660, while the recoveries surged to 1,02,45,741, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday. The death toll due to the disease increased to 1,52,718 in the country as 162 new fatalities were recorded, the ministry data updated at 8 am showed. http://dlvr.it/Rqy2Nz

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of national security after reports that China has built a village in Arunachal Pradesh."Remember his promise - main desh nahi jhukne dunga (Will not let the country bow)," Gandhi said on Twitter as he posted a link of a news report about the alleged "Chinese village". http://dlvr.it/Rqt8kt

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and other EC functionaries are in Assam on a three-day visit to review preparedness for the forthcoming assembly election in the state. The EC team would hold separate meetings on Tuesday with the chief secretary, home secretary, director general of police, district election officers and the superintendents of police http://dlvr.it/RqrJ6Q

Slamming the NDA govt in Bihar, former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav said crime has doubled in the state under CM Nitish Kumar's rule. Citing a media report, RJD supremo tweeted that in 2019, under Nitish Kumar's rule Bihar reported more than double the number of crimes to what was reported in the last year of his government in the state in 2004. http://dlvr.it/Rqq9Dr

The Supreme Court on Monday said it is for Delhi police to decide whether to allow the protesting farmers to enter the national capital on Republic Day. Hearing the application filed by Delhi Police seeking a direction to put an injunction on the proposed tractor rally on January 26, the Supreme Court said Delhi Police is the only authority to decide it and not the apex court. http://dlvr.it/RqpR7d

Schools in the national capital and Rajasthan are all set to open outside containment zones from Monday onwards after remaining shut for over 10 months following the outbreak of coronavirus. Several states have already opened schools for some of the classes with restrictions after reporting a fall in coronavirus cases. http://dlvr.it/RqmlGG

The CBI on Sunday arrested a senior Indian Railways Engineering Service (IRES) official for allegedly accepting bribe of Rs 1 crore and carried out searches at 20 locations across the country, officials said. http://dlvr.it/RqlyFw

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Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday alleged that attempts are being made to threaten farmer leaders through notices by agencies like the NIA. He also accused the Centre of being insincere in talks over the farm laws and said the government is only "trying to tire out farmers". “Simultaneously, it (Centre) is intimidating farmers by issuing notices to them through various agencies like the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Farmers are not anti-nationals. We condemn this,” said Badal. http://dlvr.it/Rqk1V0

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Amid Chinese efforts to prevent a split in the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), visiting Nepal foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali Saturday said while some countries may have concerns about the current political situation in Nepal, Kathmandu won't accept interference by any foreign power in Nepal's domestic politics. http://dlvr.it/RqhhDv

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not respect farmers and wants to tire out those protesting against the Centre's new agri laws, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Friday. He also said that the talks that are being held with the protesting farmer leaders are part of the government's delaying tactics. Farmers will not relent till the laws are repealed, said Rahul. http://dlvr.it/Rqdpj0