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The sixth round of talks between the protesting farmer unions and three Central ministers got underway here Wednesday afternoon to break the over one-month-long deadlock on the recent agri laws. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab, are holding the talks with the representatives of 41 farmer unions at the Vigyan Bhawan here. The sixth round of talks between the two sides are being held after a considerable gap. The fifth round of talks was held on December 5. The protesting farmer unions are sticking to their hardline position that the discussions will only be on the modalities of repealing the three new agri laws and giving a legal guarantee on the MSP among other issues. On Monday, the Centre invited the unions for this round of talks on December 30 on all relevant issues to find a "logical solution" with "open mind" to the prolon...

Superstar Salman Khan on Sunday turned a year older but the actor decided to go low-key for his 55th birthday celebrations considering the "terrible year" 2020 has been due to the coronavirus pandemic. Khan, who is spending his birthday with his family and close friends at his Panvel farmhouse, interacted with a select media and cut a cake in the early hours of Sunday. "There are no celebrations this year, it's just me and my family here and no one else. I wasn't in a mood to celebrate my birthday as this has been a terrible year for everyone and a lot of people from the industry have passed away. So, it doesn't call for celebration," Khan told the reporters. The Bollywood star urged his fans to follow COVID-19 protocols in order to remain safe amid the pandemic. "I just hope everyone is happy, healthy and safe and are wearing masks. Keep washing your hands and maintain social distancing so that everybody remains safe," he said. The "Bhar...

The first indigenous vaccine against pneumonia, developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII), is slated to be launched by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and made available in the domestic market early next week, official sources said. According to the sources, the vaccine will be much more affordable than the existing ones manufactured by two foreign companies. India's drug regulator in July had granted market approval for the Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate vaccine, after reviewing the phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trial data submitted by the Pune-based firm. This vaccine is used for active immunisation against invasive disease and pneumonia caused by "Streptococcus pneumonia" in infants, the health ministry had said earlier. Serum Institute has conducted the phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials of the vaccine in India and African nation Gambia. "This is the first indigenously developed vaccine in the field of pneumonia," an official source said. The vac...

Contradicting his secretary of state and other top officials, President Donald Trump on Saturday suggested without evidence that China — not Russia — may be behind the cyberattack against the United States and tried to minimize its impact. In his first comments on the breach, Trump scoffed at the focus on the Kremlin and downplayed the intrusions, which the nation's cybersecurity agency has warned posed a "grave" risk to government and private networks. "The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control," Trump tweeted. He also claimed the media are "petrified" of "discussing the possibility that it may be China (it may!)." There is no evidence to suggest that is the case. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said late Friday that Russia was "pretty clearly" behind the cyberattack against the United States. "This was a very significant effort and I ...

India may need to spend USD1.8 billion on Covid-19 vaccines in first phase of a coronavirus vaccination programme, even after getting support under the Covax global vaccine-sharing scheme, according to estimates by the GAVI vaccines alliance. India’s Covid-19 caseload is close to cross 1 crore mark with 99.51 lakh cases reported on Thursday, the world’s second highest caseload of coronavirus after the United States. India plans to inoculate 300 million people over the next six to eight months. The vaccines to be used are AstraZeneca, Russia’s Sputnik, Zydus Cadila and Bharat Biotech. At least 600 million shots will be required in the first phase alone for critical workers and people most at risk from Covid-19, a list of whom has already been prepared, as per the plan submitted by India at the international forum. If India got 190-250 million shots of the vaccine under the Covax facility - a best case scenario - then the Government would need to line up about $1.4 billion to make up fo...

Charley Pride, country music's first Black superstar, has died of complications from coronavirus at age 86. Pride, known for hits like "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" and "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone", died Saturday in Dallas, Texas, according to a statement shared on the singer's official website. Born a sharecropper's son in Sledge, Mississippi, on March 18, 1934, Pride emerged from Southern cotton fields to also become the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Veteran country singer and Pride's friend, Dolly Parton was among the first to pay tributes on social media. "I'm so heartbroken that one of my dearest and oldest friends, Charley Pride, has passed away. It's even worse to know that he passed away from Covid-19 . What a horrible, horrible virus," Parton tweeted. "Charley, we will always love you. Rest In Peace. My love and thoughts go out to his family and all of his fans," she added. Singe...

Scientists have assessed the immune response against the novel coronavirus in over 150 COVID-19 patients and found that the antibodies found in the mucous membrane are activated much earlier than other types, an advance which may lead to the development of new vaccines against the disease. According to the scientists, including those from Sorbonne University in Paris, the IgA antibodies found in the mucosa dominate the early response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus compared to other antibodies such as the IgM and IgG. They said the findings, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, are "somewhat unexpected" since IgM antibodies are usually the immune system's first responders. In the study, the researchers, including Delphine Sterlin from Sorbonne University, measured antibody responses in the blood, saliva, and fluid from the broncho-alveolar lung wash in 159 COVID-19 patients, whose disease symptoms ranged in severity. "Early SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral res...

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said retail inflation is likely to remain elevated and pegged it at 6.8 per cent for the third quarter of the current fiscal. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is of the view that inflation is likely to remain elevated, barring transient relief in the winter months from prices of perishables. However, retail inflation is projected to be 5.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020-21. CPI inflation rose sharply to 7.3 per cent in September and further to 7.6 per cent in October, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said while unveiling its bi-monthly monetary policy review. According to him, with some evidence that price pressures are spreading, the outlook for inflation has turned adverse in relation to expectation in the last two months. "While cereal prices may continue to soften with the bumper kharif harvest arrivals and vegetable prices may ease with winter crop, other food prices are likely to persist at elevate...

Polling got underway Tuesday morning in the second phase of District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir amid chilly conditions and tight security arrangements, officials said here. "Polling began at 7.00 am. Initial reports suggest that only a few people have so far turned out at polling stations due to early morning winter chill," an official said here. He said the pace of voting is expected to pick up as the day progresses and temperature rises. As many as 321 candidates are in the fray in the second phase of the DDC polls and voting is taking place at 2,142 polling booths. As many as 7.90 lakh voters are eligible to vote in this phase of elections. Out of the 280 constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, 43 are going to polls in the union territory in the second phase – 25 in Kashmir and 18 in Jammu division. Election is also being held in 83 sarpanch constituencies for which a total of 223 candidates are contesting in the phase two. Also, by-polls are be...