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2. India records first confirmed Omicron death in Udaipur |
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- India’s health ministry on Wednesday confirmed the country’s first death from the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Union joint secretary in the health ministry, Lav Agarwal, said the death of a 73-year-old patient from Udaipur, Rajasthan (reported on December 31) was “technically” related to Omicron.
- “That person had already died by the time the Omicron positive results came,” Agarwal clarified. “He had diabetes and other comorbid conditions and was being treated as per protocol for his comorbid conditions as well as for the infection.
- “Our guidelines state that if a coronavirus patient dies, it is considered as a Covid-19 fatality. Similarly, if a person is found to be Omicron positive, even if it is detected late, we will consider that as an Omicron positive case.”
- The patient was admitted to hospital on December 15, but tested negative for Covid-19 twice later. His genome sequencing report which came later showed that he was infected with the Omicron variant.
- Booster update: The ‘precaution dose’ (booster) for Covid — to be administered from January 10 to health and frontline workers, and those above 60 with comorbidities — will be of the same vaccine as the first and second dose, the government clarified.
- “Those who got Covaxin will get Covaxin and those who got Covishield will get Covishield,” said NITI Aayog member-health Dr VK Paul. Per government projections, nearly 3 crore health and frontline workers are expected to be eligible in January for the ‘precaution dose’, to be administered nine months after the second dose. For the 60+ age group with comorbidities, the projected figure is 2.8 crore.
- New isolation rules: All mild and asymptomatic Covid patients, including those infected with Omicron, can now isolate at home, the Centre announced while revising the isolation guidelines. The time for home isolation has been reduced to seven days from testing positive with no fever for three successive days, compared with 10 days earlier.
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5 THINGS FIRST |
SC hearing to continue in NEET-PG EWS quota case; Calcutta HC to hear case related to violence during Kolkata polls; Delhi HC to pass order on Subramanian Swamy plea seeking to set aside Air India disinvestment process; Joe Biden to deliver address on Capitol Riots anniversary; South Africa vs India, 2nd Test, Jo’burg, Day 4
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1. PM Modi’s ‘mega’ Punjab rally turns into a no-show and… |
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In what has been termed as a “ major lapse” in PM Narendra Modi’s security by the ministry of home affairs (MHA), Modi and his convoy were stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes as the PM was enroute to Ferozepur to address a rally.
So what happened?
- According to the MHA statement, “around 30 km away from the National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the PM’s convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protesters.” While the MHA did not specify who the protestors were, media reports indicated the flyover was blocked by some farmers. Modi was to initially take a chopper from Bhatinda airport to Hussainiwala but rain and poor visibility cancelled the chopper ride.
- The MHA has sought an explanation from the Punjab government. The ministry added that the PM’s travel plans were communicated well in advance to the Punjab government, which was supposed to keep a contingency plan ready and also “deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed.”
- Modi, who was forced to cancel his programme, took a dig at Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, telling airport officials “apne CM ko thanks kehna ki main Bhatinda airport tak zinda laut paaya (Say thanks to your CM that I could return alive till Bhatinda airport)”, according to news agency ANI.
And then there’s politics
- This was Modi’s first visit to the state after the repeal of the three farm laws, with Punjab’s farmers spearheading the more than a year long protest against them. It was also his first visit to Punjab after the BJP’s electoral tie up with former state CM Amarinder Singh’s party and the SAD (Sanyukt), led by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.
- While BJP blamed Channi for the alleged security lapse, Channi retorted that the reason why Modi cancelled his Ferozepur rally was the low turnout of crowd, with “only 700 people” turning up.
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3. Pilot error caused Rawat’s chopper crash, probe finds |
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- A loss of situational awareness in the pilot due to the sudden appearance of a thick cloud cover caused the fatal crash of Mi-17 V5 helicopter near Coonoor in December, killing General Bipin Rawat and 13 others, a tri-service enquiry found, TOI reports.
- The inquiry was headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh. The report described the crash as a case of “controlled flight into terrain” (CFIT) in the report presented before defence minister Rajnath Singh by IAF chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari on Wednesday. Any major structural failure or technical snag in the twin-engine chopper were ruled out, so were the possibilities of any sabotage or missile attack.
- CFIT refers to the loss of situational awareness and unintentionally hitting an obstacle — ground, mountain, tree or water body — despite being in full control of the helicopter.
- Neither the union defence ministry nor Indian Air Force has made any formal statement on the inquiry report.
- The chopper was reportedly flying at a low altitude when it entered a rolling cloud cover that drastically reduced visibility. No distress calls were reportedly made to the ground stations when the chopper entered the cloud cover.
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4. Jo’burg Test: SA need 122 to win, India 8 wickets |
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- South African captain Dean Elgar (in pic) held the key for his team’s series-levelling victory against India in the second Test after the hosts were set 240 to win at the Wanderers. Living up to his reputation as a dogged, street-fighting batsman, the lefthander was zeroing in on his fifty after facing 121 balls, despite copping numerous blows from the short stuff. However, a couple of quick wickets today can still bring India back into the game.
- The third day had begun with Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in aggression mode, taking on South Africa’s pacers, saving their careers and managing sparkling fifties. But a fiery spell from Kagiso Rabada sent both of them back, along with Rishabh Pant. R Ashwin too fell before lunch as the Proteas seized the initiative.
- Shardul Thakur smashed a few around in the second session, and Hanuma Vihari farmed the strike with the tail, taking India’s lead past 200. But Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi ran through the bottom half, finishing with three wickets apiece.
- Now, the highest successful run-chase for South Africa at the Wanderers came in May 2006: 220/6 versus New Zealand. But Aiden Markram and Elgar started positively, reaching 34 for no loss at tea.
- In the final session, Shardul accounted for Markram early. But Elgar stuck around with Keegan Petersen to add another 46, before Ashwin dismissed the latter. Rassie van der Dussen then provided good support in an unbeaten 25-run stand to keep up the fight till stumps.
- Scorecard: South Africa 229 & 118/2 (Elgar 46 not out) trail India 202 & 266 (Rahane 58, Pujara 53, Ngidi 3/43, Jansen 3/67, Rabada 3/77) by 122 runs
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NEWS IN CLUES |
5. Which is the oldest pharma company in the world? |
- Clue 1: It was founded in 1668, in the German city of Darmstadt.
- Clue 2: Currently headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA, Robert M Davies is its current president and CEO.
- Clue 3: In partnership with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, it has developed Molnupiravir, an antiviral pill to treat Covid-19.
Scroll below for answer
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6. Xiaomi accused of evading customs duty, sent notice |
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- Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, which sells more phones in India than any other rival, has been accused of evading customs duty worth Rs 653 crore by Indian authorities.
- Xiaomi was among several Chinese smartphone makers and distributors whose offices were searched by the Income Tax department in December.
- The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), in three show-cause notices, demanded Xiaomi to pay Rs 653 of customs duty it evaded between April 2017 and June 2020.
- “Based upon an intelligence (tip) that M/s Xiaomi Technology India Private Limited (Xiaomi India) was evading customs duty by way of undervaluation, an investigation was initiated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) against Xiaomi India and its contract manufacturers,” a Press Information Bureau statement said.
- Reports say Xiaomi had not included the royalty and licence fee it paid to Qualcomm USA and Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software while recording the transaction value of the goods imported, thereby reducing the duty.
- DRI has recovered documents on the royalty and licence fee payments. It had also searched the factories of Xiaomi’s contract manufacturers, Bharat FIH -m the Indian unit of Foxconn -m and Dixon Technologies.
- The I-T department last week said two companies can be fined Rs 1,000 crore for non-compliance and non-disclosure over related-party transactions. Though the statement did not name the firms, Xiaomi and Oppo are believed to be the firms targeted.
Meanwhile… Cairn Energy withdrew all litigations against India in the dispute over retrospective tax.
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7. Delhi HC stays arbitration proceedings in Future-Amazon spat |
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- Noting that “there is a prima facie case made out in the favour of” Future Retail, a two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court (HC) headed by its chief justice, Justice D N Patel stayed the arbitration proceedings before the Singapore Tribunal between Future and Amazon over their 2019 deal. Alongside the stay on arbitration, effective till February 1, the HC also stayed the single judge order on Tuesday dismissing the Future Group’s plea challenging the Singapore Arbitration Tribunal’s orders.
- Amazon had successfully stalled the sale of Future Retail’s assets to Reliance Retail, citing its deal with another Future Group company, Future Coupons, with the tribunal, which stayed the Future-Reliance deal, hearing the case between Future and Amazon. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) suspended the Amazon-Future deal saying the US-based ecommerce giant had hidden certain important details of the deal and also penalised Amazon Rs 202 crore.
- Future had cited this development before the tribunal to stop the arbitration proceedings. However, the tribunal denied Future’s request, following which it approached the HC. The HC, which has also issued a notice to Amazon, observed that irreparable loss would be caused to the Future Group if the proceedings aren’t stayed.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the HC that it will not force Amazon’s employees to appear physically before it in connection with the ED’s probe into the company’s deal with Future Group in view of the Covid-19 situation.
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8. Kazakhstan declare emergency amidst protest over fuel price |
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- Central Asian republic Kazakhstan declared emergencies in the capital, main city and provinces on Wednesday after protesters stormed and torched public buildings.
- Rising fuel prices and long-running anger against the government boiled over as demonstrators attacked the mayoral office in Almaty and other government buildings in Shymkent and Taraz.
- The mass protests are the biggest challenge yet to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who succeeded 81-year-old strongman Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had ruled the former Soviet republic since 1990, in 2019.
- To quell the anger, the Cabinet resigned but all ministers will remain in their posts until a new Cabinet is formed.
- Tokayev declared a state of emergency in Almaty, imposing an overnight curfew and limiting access to the city. He later imposed a state of emergency for two weeks in the capital, Nur-Sultan.
- Many news sites became inaccessible and the global internet monitor Netblocks said the country was experiencing a widespread internet blackout.
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9. North Korea’s missile greets South Korea’s ‘peace’ railway |
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- Hours before South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in was to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a new railway line that he hoped will eventually connect the two Koreas, North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile in a signal that Pyongyang was coming good on its leader Kim Jong Un’s new year vow to strengthen North Korea’s military.
- According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile was fired at 8:10 am on Wednesday from Jagang Province on the northern border with China, which is the same province where it had, in September last year, test fired its first hypersonic missile. The missile launch was also confirmed by Japan’s defence minister, who said it flew for 500 km, with Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida calling North Korea’s repeated missile launches “very regrettable.”
- The railway line was a key issue in the talks between Moon and Kim in 2018 that were dependent on North Korea dismantling its nuclear weapons programme in exchange for lifting of sanctions against it. That led to the stalling of talks between the two Koreas and the US as the third party, with Pyongyang arguing that it should be allowed to develop and test fire short range ballistic missiles as these weapons are also possessed by other countries.
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Answer to NEWS IN CLUES |
India has not added the pharma major’s pill Molnupiravir to its national list of treatments for Covid, informed Dr Balram Bhargava, director general, Indian Council Of Medical Research. “Molnupiravir has major safety concerns including mutagenicity, muscle and bone damage,” he said, adding that contraceptive methods should be used for three months if the drug is administered to women since the child may have problems.
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Written by: Rakesh Rai, Judhajit Basu, Sumil Sudhakaran, Tejeesh Nippun Singh
Research: Rajesh Sharma
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