PM’S SUMMIT WITH 5 CENTRAL ASIAN HEADS

Two days after China held a virtual summit with Central Asian countries, India too stepped in. China had held a summit with the leaders of Central Asian countries on January 25, at a very short notice, after India had announced its summit.

PM Narendra Modi flagged Afghanistan as a common concern and said that their “mutual cooperation has become even more important for regional security and stability”.

“We all have the same concerns and objectives for regional security. We are all concerned about the developments in Afghanistan,” Modi said at the first virtual summit with the Central Asian leaders. “In this context also, our mutual cooperation has become even more important for regional security and stability,” he said.

The virtual summit saw the participation of the five presidents — Kazakhstan’s Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbekistan’s Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan’s Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyz Republic. This was the first engagement of its kind between India and the Central Asian countries at the level of leaders.

On Thursday, Modi underlined the three main objectives of the summit.

First, he said, “to make it clear that cooperation between India and Central Asia is essential for regional security and prosperity. From Indian point of view, I would like to emphasise that Central Asia is central to India’s vision of an integrated and stable extended neighbourhood.”

The second objective, he said, is to give “an effective structure to our cooperation. This will establish a framework of regular interactions at different levels and among various stakeholders.”

And, the third objective is “to create an ambitious roadmap for our cooperation”.

“Through this, we will be able to adopt an integrated approach for regional connectivity and cooperation for the next 30 years,” he said.

DON’T LET GUARD DOWN, COVID CASES STILL HIGH: CENTRE TO STATES

At a time when many states and union territories are planning to lift curbs imposed on public movement with a slight dip in Covid 19 cases in the past one week and the Omicron variant not being seen as deadly, the Centre has asked states to exercise caution while lifting restrictions as the number of infections still remain high.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday passed an order under the Disaster Management Act extending its earlier order of December 27 for covid containment till February 28.

“Due to the current COVID wave, led by the new variant, Omicron, there has been a steady increase in the number of Covid cases in the country and the active cases have increased to over 22 lakhs. Though a majority of active cases are recovering fast and a low percentage of cases are in hospitals, it is still a matter of concern that 407 districts in 34 States & UTs are reporting a positivity rate of more than 10%. Therefore, looking at the current trends of COVID virus, there is a need to exercise caution and vigilance,” Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said in a letter to chief secretaries of all states.

The MHA has told states to observe all precautions and “not let the guard down”. “Imposition and lifting of local curbs/restrictions should be dynamic and should be based on the case positivity and hospitalisation status at the local level,” the letter has said.

Ninety five per cent of India’s eligible adult population has been administered the first dose of Covid vaccine while 74 per cent are fully inoculated, the Union Health Ministry said yesterday.

RAHUL ASSURES CONGRESS WILL HAVE CM FACE IN PUNJAB

In a turnaround from the Congress’s repeated assertion of “collective leadership” ahead of the Punjab elections, senior leader Rahul Gandhi Thursday said the party will go with a chief minister face in the polls. A decision would be taken soon after consulting party workers, he said.

Gandhi added that both CM Charanjit Singh Channi and PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu had told him that the question paramount in Punjab was ‘who would lead the Congress in the state’. Both are the top contenders for the post.

Gandhi’s remarks followed hours after rumour mills were set abuzz by the absence of five prominent Congress MPs during his visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. With all of them, barring one, seen as unhappy with the current party leadership, the Congress moved fast to scotch speculation over their non-presence. The MPs who stayed away were Manish Tewari, Jasbir Singh Dimpa, Ravneet Bittu, Mohd Sadiq and Preneet Kaur.

Coming close on the heels of AAP declaring Bhagwant Mann as its CM face, Rahul Gandhi’s turnaround indicates the party understands the need to present a united front, amid speculation about Channi-Sidhu feud.

Earlier, trying to keep all sides happy, the Congress had replaced poll billboards with just Channi’s face on them, with those having pictures of Channi, Sidhu as well as former PCC chief Sunil Kumar Jakhar.

COVISHIELD AND COVAXIN  GET ‘CONDITIONAL MARKET AUTHORISATION’

The drug regulator on Thursday granted Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin Covid-19 vaccines “conditional market authorisation” for the country’s adult population.

Since January last year, the two vaccines have been available under “Emergency Use Authorisation”.

Since the two vaccines now meet the high standards of safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality that the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 requires of a new vaccine, they have been upgraded to “conditional market authorisation”. But this categorisation doesn’t change much for the public.

Covishield and Covaxin will still not be available in regular pharmacies, and you will not be able to buy them as a retail product, with or without a prescription.

The vaccines will be available for private hospitals and private clinics to procure directly from manufacturers. As and when a private hospital or clinic administers a dose, it will still have to capture it on CoWin, the govt’s digital vaccination platform.

The two vaccines will be supplied under “programmatic setting”, which means only those whom the govt has made eligible for the precautionary dose — frontline workers, healthcare workers, and the elderly population with comorbidities — can access the third dose. Hospitals will be able to administer the third dose of Covishield or Covaxin to others only after the govt makes a change in its policy.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST /Jan 28

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Thursday 2,51,209

Active Cases 21,05,611 (-96,861)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 4,92,327 (570)

Total Vaccination: 164.44 Crores (+57,35,692)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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CHINA BACKS RUSSIA ON UKRAINE CRISIS, REBUKING US AND NATO

China’s foreign minister called on Thursday for a peaceful resolution to the political crisis over Ukraine but chided the US and Nato, saying that Russia’s “reasonable security concerns should be taken seriously”. The remarks by the minister, Wang Yi, were Beijing’s most explicit so far in support of Russia’s position in the confrontation and reflected the deepening ties between the countries, especially in opposition to the US on security matters.

“Regional security cannot be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs,” Wang said, according to a foreign ministry statement released after he spoke by telephone with US secretary of state Antony Blinken. Wang’s remarks echoed the messaging of President Putin, who has warned that Nato’s support for Ukraine threatened Russia’s security. Since Putin ordered a huge buildup of Russian forces near Ukraine’s borders, China has remained relatively muted about the crisis, mainly calling for a negotiated settlement.

COVID WILL RETURN ‘LIKE THE FLU’ AFTER OMICRON, BUT WON’T BE A PANDEMIC: LANCET

Nearly 50 per cent of the world’s population is likely to be infected by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus by March, and while the pandemic should end soon, Covid-19 is expected to become a recurrent viral disease like the flu, according to a recent article published in The Lancet, a peer-reviewed medical journal based in the UK.

The 19 January article, authored by Christopher J.L. Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), a research centre at the University of Washington, USA, further said that after the Omicron wave, “Covid-19 will return, but the pandemic will not”.

“The unprecedented level of infection suggests that more than 50 per cent of the world will have been infected with Omicron between the end of November 2021 and end of March 2022,” Murray wrote.  Since the proportion of cases that are asymptomatic or mild has increased, compared to previous coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) variants, the infection-detection rate has declined globally to 5 per cent from 20 per cent, he added.

THE REST

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DELHI SHOCKER: WOMAN GANG-RAPED, PARADED THROUGH STREETS; 9 HELD

A woman was allegedly abducted, gang-raped and paraded by her attackers on the streets of east Delhi's Kasturba Nagar with her hair chopped, face blackened and a shoe garland around her neck, police said on Thursday. Of the 11 accused, nine people, including seven women from one family, have been nabbed. The other two accused have also been identified but are absconding.

The incident is described by police as provoked by personal enmity.

Several videos purportedly of the woman being paraded did the rounds of social media.

Preliminary investigations indicate the victim and a boy belonging to the family of the accused were friends. "The boy committed suicide in November last year and his family is now blaming the victim. They have alleged it was because of her that he took the extreme step. To extract revenge from her, they allegedly abducted her. They wanted to teach her a lesson," a senior police official said.

Those accused in police custody said during their interrogation they perpetrated the sexual assault and the subsequent public humiliation to defame the survivor, officials disclosed.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir and Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal were among those who condemned the brutal assault and the subsequent public humiliation and asked for strong action.

CHINA RETURNS YOUTH MISSING FROM ARUNACHAL

China’s People’s Liberation Army has handed over the teenager who went missing from near the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal on January 18. Miram Taron was handed over to the Indian Army at the Wacha-Damai border meeting point in Anjaw district of far-eastern Arunachal.

Indian authorities are “de-briefing” the youth to ascertain if he had lost his way in the thickly forested areas along the LAC or had he been abducted by the PLA. The due procedure was being followed, including a medical examination of the youth, said officials.

RAIL PROTESTS: 8 STUDENTS HELD IN PATNA, COACHING CENTRE OWNERS NAMED IN FIR

The police in Patna have arrested eight people identified as students and named the owners of six coaching centres in an FIR for their alleged role in the protests that turned violent over the past few days linked to the Railways’ recruitment drive.

The owners of the coaching centres have been accused primarily of allegedly instigating the students to stage the protests.

The tutors have denied the allegations and claimed that the protests were “spontaenous” after several students who expected to qualify in the recruitment drive for Non Technical Popular Categories (NTPC), failed to get through.

The tutors who have been named in the FIR registered include Faisal Khan, better known as Khan Sir, also runs a popular coaching channel on YouTube.

EX-VP ANSARI, 4 US LAWMAKERS RAISE ALARM OVER 'RIGHTS ABUSES'

Former Vice President Hamid Ansari, a US Senator and three Members of the US Congress have expressed concern over the alleged violation of human rights, political liberties and religious freedom in India under PM Narendra Modi.

US Congressman Jim McGovern, Co-Chair of the powerful Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, listed several warning signs that showed India’s allegedly alarming backsliding on human rights. He was speaking at the Special Congressional Briefing called to commemorate India’s 73rd Republic Day on January 26.

Ansari said India was “experiencing the emergence of trends and practices that wanted to distinguish citizens on the basis of their faith, gave vent to intolerance, insinuated otherness and promoted disquiet and insecurity”.

Others who spoke included Senator Ed Markey, Congressmen Jamie Raskin and Andy Levin, former Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and Amnesty International’s Carolyn Nash. The three Congressmen had taken anti-India stand in the past too.

Ansari’s remarks drew criticism from a range of organisations.

OPEN SCHOOLS, ALL-INDIA WAVE DIP EARLY FEBRUARY, SAYS GENOMICS INSTITUTE HEAD

Making a strong argument for the reopening of schools, at least in areas where the Covid curve has begun to go down, Dr Anurag Agrawal, director of Delhi-based Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, said on Thursday that the pandemic is now entering a stage where normal activities can resume with relatively small and not very difficult precautions.

Agrawal said that keeping children away from school had potential adverse impacts on their physical and mental development that, in his opinion, was a bigger problem in the current context than the risk of Covid infection.

“The risk to children’s mental health and development by not going to schools is far greater than their risk of having anything to do with Covid-19,” Agrawal said in response to a question on whether it was safe to send children to school.

He said the situation that India is currently in — high rates of vaccination, high levels of immunity, and low risk of severe disease or deaths from Omicron — it is advisable for people to “get on with their lives” with some precautions.

Agarwal, who is the chair and only Indian member of the WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Sars-CoV-2 Virus Evolution, said the third wave had most likely peaked in several big cities, and was likely to plateau very soon at the national level as well.

TATA GROUP TAKES OVER AIR INDIA

The Air India disinvestment process got completed today with the govt officially handing over the management control of the airlines to Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of the Tata Group’s holding company.

After taking over the airlines, Tata Sons’ Chairman N Chandrasekaran, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day, said, “We are delighted to have Air India back at the Tata Group and are committed to making this a world-class carrier.”

After a competitive bidding process, the govt had on October 8 last year sold Air India to Talace Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the Tata Group’s holding company, for Rs 18,000 crore.

DoT DROPS PLAN ON LOCAL 5G STANDARDS

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is dropping its contentious plan to push for a separate India-specific standard for 5G -- also known as 5Gi -- after strong opposition from telecom companies.

Telcos had raised a ruckus about the proposal, insisting that the move to opt for a separate Indian standard would substantially increase network costs as well as mobile device prices because specific chipsets would now have to be made for India and the country would be unable to leverage global economies of scale.

The proposal would also make inter-operability between other global networks a serious problem, impacting services such as seamless roaming globally. The companies had also pointed out that it would seriously derail India’s ambition to be a manufacturing hub of 5G telecom equipment and mobile devices for the world.

HC DELETES REMARKS AGAINST JUHI CHAWLA, REDUCES FINE TO RS 2 LAKH

The Delhi high court on Thursday expunged remarks made by its judge against actress Juhi Chawla that she had filed the lawsuit challenging the setting up of 5G wireless networks in the country on account of health hazards, for gaining publicity.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh also reduced the costs imposed on Chawla from Rs 20 Lakh to Rs 2 lakh, saying that she did not take up the 5G issue in a ”frivolous and casual manner”.

The division bench allowed Chawla's appeal and set aside the single judge's June 4, 2021, order by which Chawla and two others' suit was dismissed with the observations that it was ”defective”, ”abuse of process of law” and filed for ”gaining publicity”.

The actress, who was present during the virtual hearing, volunteered to work with the Delhi State Legal Services Authority and feature in programmes for empowering the marginalised sections of society.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: ASH BARTY AND DANIELLE COLLINS IN WOMEN’S SINGLES FINALS

A ruthless Ashleigh Barty swept into her first Australian Open final on Thursday with the top seed outgunning a resurgent Madison Keys in a clinical, straight-sets demolition. The world No 1 overwhelmed the 51st-ranked American 6-1, 6-3 in just 62 minutes to set up showdown against American 27th seed Danielle Collins.

Barty is the first Australian woman into the decider of her home Grand Slam since Wendy Turnbull in 1980 and is aiming to become the first winner since Chris O’Neil two years earlier.

She is also looking to add to her 2020 French Open and 2021 Wimbledon 2021 titles, with the top seed on an ominous 10-match win streak to start the year.

Danielle Collins also delivered a superb performance in the semifinals to upset No.7 seed Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-1 and reach her first Grand Slam final.

Collins, whose only previous major semifinal appearance was also at the Australian Open, in 2019, has won her past 11 completed matches. Her only loss since Indian Wells last October was via retirement to Alison Riske in the Linz semifinals. She went unbeaten in Billie Jean King Cup Finals action in November, and the Australian Open is her first event of 2022.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Never work just for money or for power. They won't save your soul or help you sleep at night. - Marian Wright Edelman

OFF TRACK

This weekend in New Zealand, a man who lost his wedding ring in the ocean found it in the water over a year later.

The man says the most amazing thing about the story is that his wife fell for it.