Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Varun Gandhi has turned down the Oxford Union's invite to speak at a debate on whether India is on the right path under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he sees no merit or integrity in voicing domestic challenges at an international forum and that such a step will be a "dishonourable act".
This means there are now four promising vaccines on the horizon after Pfizer-BioNTech, Sputnik and Moderna already reporting good preliminary data from Phase 3 trials.
However, in two different dose regimens, the vaccine's efficacy was 90 per cent in one and 62 per cent in the other.
According to the 2021 England and Wales Census data, of the 915,855 citizens born in India, 49 per cent (444,500) said English was their main language, followed by 41 per cent (373,583) who said another language was their main language but that they spoke English very well or well.
The Oxford vaccine, which also has a tie-up with the Serum Institute of India, was first administered to Brian Pinker, an 82-year-old Oxford-born dialysis patient. Pinker is among the first to be vaccinated by the Oxford University Hospital's (OUH) chief nurse, hailed as a major milestone in the phased vaccination programme being undertaken by the National Health Service (NHS).
With six colleges, the university campus was a hub of scholars from around the world. It was the first to award degree titles like Mahapandit and Pandit to graduating students.
The researchers, working in an 'unprecedented' vaccine development effort to prevent COVID-19, said they have started screening healthy volunteers (aged 18-55) from Friday for their upcoming trial in the Thames Valley Region of England.
The comments came after AstraZeneca and Oxford University acknowledged a manufacturing error that is raising questions about preliminary results of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine.
An ex-employee claimed that team members were routinely subjected to verbal abuse, even for basic clarifications or suggesting improvements.
JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha heads a diplomatic mission to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore, to seek international cooperation after the Pahalgam attack while highlighting Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism.
Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran has been conferred Honorary Knighthood by the United Kingdom for his services to the UK-India business relations, the group said on Friday. He has been conferred "The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (Civil Division) - honorary DBE/KBE".
'If the BCCI wants to or does not want to remember Tiger's legacy, it is for them to decide.'
AstraZeneca has stressed that patient safety is its "highest priority" and pointed out that regulators around the world "consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects".
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, as the trial sponsor, said that they cannot disclose further medical information but confirmed that independent investigations concluded that the trials were safe to restart.
The UK's National Health Service was already lining up thousands of medics and volunteers to be ready to deliver jabs up and down the country.
The results show they induced strong antibody and T-cell immune responses for up to 56 days after they were given. T-cells are crucial for maintaining protection against the virus for years.
'Presumption of innocence must guide all formal actions, but transparency must not be mistaken for pre-judgment.' 'The cruel irony, however, is that Justice Varma is a fine judge who enjoys a reputation for writing well-reasoned judgments.'
Blood samples taken from a group of UK volunteers given a dose of the vaccine showed that it stimulated the body to produce both antibodies and 'killer T-cells', a senior source from the trial was quoted by The Daily Telegraph as saying.
The youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner who once took a bullet for campaigning for girls' education in Pakistan, was over the moon on Friday after completing her degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Britain's prestigious Oxford University.
As for Bharat Biotech, the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the CDSCO asked the firm to expedite volunteer recruitment for the ongoing clinical trial and said it may conduct interim efficacy analysis for further consideration of restricted emergency use approval for its vaccine Covaxin, they stated.
Two male volunteers were administered the vaccine at Bharti Vidyapeeth's Medical College and Hospital, a senior office-bearer of the hospital said.
Amidst growing panic over Trump's ban on Harvard's international student enrolment, overseas education consultants have this advice for Indian students.
Two pilots and an engineer were killed after a helicopter crashed and caught fire in Maharashtra's Pune district on Wednesday morning, police said.
'Those were not kind days for a woman with a break-up. The world has changed; today, nobody cares.'
The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, which had been formally tasked by the UK government last month with the process of clearance after the jab emerged "safe and effective" against the novel coronavirus in human trials, is expected to authorise the vaccine by December 28 or 29 after the final data is provided on Monday, 'The Daily Telegraph' quoted senior government sources as indicating.
"We have started the phase-III trials of the vaccine (candidate Covishield). We will administer dose to 150 to 200 volunteers," said Dr Muralidhar Tambe, Dean, Sassoon General Hospital.
The United Kingdom government has pledged 20 million to support the "ChAdOx1 nCoV-19" coronavirus vaccine trial programme, with UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock saying the government would "throw everything at" finding a vaccine against the deadly virus.
AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford are facing questions about their Covid-19 vaccine and whether regulators would quickly authorise its emergency use after the pharma company acknowledged an error in the vaccine dosage received by some participants and other irregularities and omissions, according to the New York Times.
Deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil law at the University of Oxford.
'The uneducated think of their rights as a gift. This is deeply troubling.' 'If they were educated they could claim what is rightfully theirs.'
The researchers found that after being exposed to high levels of the novel coronavirus, none of the six monkeys that were given the vaccine developed viral pneumonia. Also, there was no sign that the vaccine had made the animals more vulnerable.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on an official visit to the United Kingdom, took a refreshing jog in London's Hyde Park, wearing a white saree and her signature white slippers. Banerjee also attended a high tea reception at India House, hosted by Vikram K Doraiswami, the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, bringing together business, cultural, and political leaders to strengthen ties between Bengal and Britain. The discussions centered around fostering economic partnerships and deepening people-to-people connections.
Commonly known as 'Face with Tears of Joy', the pictograph is chosen as the word for 2015.
Two men, aged 32 and 48, were given the first shot of the 'Covishield' vaccine, being manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, at Bharti Vidyapeeth's Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday. The dose will be repeated after one month, an official said.
The Oxford Union Debating Society, citing unforeseen "circumstances", on Wednesday sought to postpone a scheduled virtual address by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the last moment, drawing flak from the ruling Trinamool Congress, which sniffed "political pressure from the highest level" in the matter.
It is a global competition for entrepreneurs aged 16-25, challenging them to develop business ideas that address real economic, social, and environmental issues.
Atishi, a prominent leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has retained the Kalkaji Assembly seat in the Delhi elections. She defeated her BJP rival, former MP Ramesh Bidhuri, by a margin of 3,521 votes. Atishi's win comes as a relief for the AAP, which suffered major losses in the polls. She had previously served as the Chief Minister of Delhi for a short period last year. Atishi's victory is significant as she is one of the few AAP leaders to win in the elections. Her win is likely to solidify her position within the party.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who is an alumnus of the University of Oxford, has extended his support to the university's new Blavatnik School of Government, which will train graduates in the skills and responsibilities of government
The 33-year-old has vast experience of playing in the United Kingdom, United States and the Gulf.
