The country saw a reduction in the number of swine flu cases due to masks and sanitation practices.
India has once again pressed for the devolution of powers to the provinces under the 13th amendment (13A) of the Sri Lankan constitution and the system of provincial councils as a meaningful step towards better representation of the island's Tamil minority.
Noting that the third wave of Covid-19 has ended in India, eminent virologist Dr T Jacob John said he is "fairly confident" that no fourth wave will occur in the country unless an unexpected variant that behaves differently comes up.
'Unless we see four weeks of low and stable numbers with only minor fluctuations, we cannot call the valley as endemic just as yet'
'Better to prevent than to wait for evidence. Protection delayed can also mean protection denied'
Bad management, an exhausted government vigilance mechanism, delay in roping in private players, relaxing norms, and over-dependence on antigen tests may be the reason behind the surge, reports Shine Jacob.
Jacob Mathew, executive editor of the Malayala Manorama Group of Publications, has been unanimously elected to be the president of WAN-IFRA at its annual general meeting in Dublin, Ireland.
Booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines are the easiest barrier that must be created immediately against Omicron, according to eminent virologist Dr T Jacob John, who noted that it may not seed the third wave of the pandemic, but breakthrough infections may be common due to the new variant.
Voluntary use of masks must be promoted in the country in view of Covid-19's new XE variant, healthcare experts said, calling it the single-most effective intervention against all variants of the coronavirus.
'Almost 70 per cent production time of a vaccine is dedicated to quality control, which is done through several hundred tests.'
Maggie is among the first set of people contacted in advance by the NHS for the jab based on a pre-determined health risk criteria and will include 87-year-old British Indian grandfather of nine Hari Shukla, who will get his first dose at a hospital in Newcastle.
'We behaved as if this disease is not a problem for India.' 'We acted as if it would go away. But it didn't go away; it exploded.'
'On a daily basis you are saying, you do this, you do that, but where is the blueprint of the war?' 'How many isolations actually we need per hundred thousand people?' 'How many ventilators will we need for 100,000 people?'
An entirely preventable disease claimed the life of 173 children -- thanks to state apathy.
The theme of the Summit is "BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity". Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will host President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, President Dimitry Medvedev of Russia, President Hu Jintao of China and President Jacob Zuma of South Africa at the Summit.
Amid worldwide alarm over a radiation scare in Japan following the tsunami, India and other nations from the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa group on Thursday pressed for strict adherence to safety norms with regard to nuclear facilities and a proposal was floated for mutual assistance in similar incidents.
Dr Deepak Jacob tells us how love blossomed for him in college.
The warning comes after two National Health Service (NHS) workers experienced 'anaphylactoid reaction' symptoms shortly after being injected, but are now said to be recovering well.
The two cities finally got their act together by ramping up the testing capacity and implementing stricter quarantine norms.
'The only reason why these troubling developments are taking place is because of a certain arrogance of power displayed by this government that hopes to clamp down on those voices which have repeatedly pointed out that their bloated rhetoric and grandstanding are not matched by their insipid and tepid response in matters of governance.'
Even with an ongoing pandemic, theatres in many states functioning at 50 per cent occupancy, a quieter social life and fewer movies, Bollywood still managed to pack in plenty of drama and trauma, fun and festivity, love and war into the year.
Given Indian corporates's high indebtedness, new credit will be used for servicing loans rather than building factories. This is setting us up for more companies on life support and more zombie banks, warns Rahul Jacob.
'This bill is for the children of Partition who are still subject to inhuman barbarism because they profess a faith rooted in India.' 'If India fails them, we shall be no better than a Pakistan which brutalises its minorities and has turned into a factory of intolerant bigots,' says former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
'In one instance of the Pakistani army's violation of the Ceasefire, I ordered a far tougher response designed to deter the enemy.' 'I warned that 'unexpected damage' to their forces will be inflicted if they continued with such ceasefire violations.' A fascinating excerpt from Lieutenant General K Himalay Singh's Making of a General: A Himalayan Echo.
Even as plans to redevelop Dharavi continue to gather dust in government files, its young residents have chalked their own course and chosen to fly high. Hepzi Anthony recounts a few inspiring tales.
Saraswati spreads across 600 million light years and is four billion light years away from Earth.
They have been booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Indian Penal Code Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), he said.
The latest updates from the Malayalam film industry.
'Our government's claim that there are no undetected cases of infection that happened within our bustling cities because of exposure to infected international travellers are not credible,' notes Rahul Jacob.
'Anybody and everybody who opposes this government for whatever reasons will be branded a terrorist and charged in such a manner that all human rights will be taken away.'
The presidency of South Africa has denied reports about former president Nelson Mandela being in a permanent vegetative state.
Barack Obama will still be in the Oval Office till the morning of January 20, but gosh, we are already beginning to miss him.
Rifleman Aurangzeb, who belonged to the 44 Rashtriya Rifles, was on way back home on June 14 to celebrate Eid when terrorists abducted him.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
'The majority community needs to accept that the Indian Muslim is peace loving, not communal and treat them accordingly.'
'They are not affected by ISIS' sentiment of avenging the suffering of the global ummah.' 'They have a huge ummah of their own in India, a huge Muslim population.' 'And because of that, they have to take into consideration the political and social conditions of Muslims in India.' 'They have to express themselves in a more political way and not through terrorism.'
The linking of biometric UID/Aadhaar number to all public services makes "We, the People of India" worse than slaves, says Gopal Krishna.
Richard Rahul Verma, the first Indian American to serve as US Ambassador to New delhi, quips that surviving the first month in India is his first goal.
I-T lens on current account deposits over Rs 12.5 lakh. All the news and more post demonetisation.
