politicodiary

India isnt in the good books of the European Union after all. This has become evident as the Indian version of the Astra Zeneca Oxford vaccine does not get clearance by EU.  The internal politics between the European Union and United Kingdom seems to be getting the better of India, where EU has decided it is not going to clear visa for those who have been administered with Covishield. Whether this is going to be the fate of Covaxin, only time can tell. The WHO has clared the Indian made UK formula but EU does not seem to be taking that seriously either.  Meanwhile Adhar Poonawala, the CEO of Serum Institute Of India (SII) has reassured through a twitter message that he will get this sorted as soon as possible. India has overwhelmingly used the vaccine and now people are finding themselves in a tight spot when it comes to chances of travelling to the European Union. Apparently, Poonawala has not even applied for a clearance by the European Medical Association, but the latter do...

Under Biden administration, action is in addressing the root cause of misinformation in Iran- pulling down websites serving the agenda of misinformation  The United States has taken a strong stance on information misinformation being used as a tool by Iran. It has decided to ban all such websites that was serving the purpose of disinformation. Two such websites include those owned by Iranian state-controlled news groups, Press TV and Al-Alam, and of the Al-Masirah TV channel of Yemen's Huthis .   Further, spelled Kataib Hezbollah, KH is one of the main Iran-aligned Iraqi militia groups that has also been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States. As of now, as many as 36 such websites have been seized by the United States government. Many of them are associated with either disinformation activities or other violent organizations. Apparently, they are in violation of US sanctions too, and are therefore being taken offline. Strangely, most of them we...

As a large population, India will have to be vigilant to be not caught in the third wave too soon   According to a AIIMMS Director, Randeep Guleria has warned that the third wave will come in quicker than expected, unless we keep our security net tight and immunization happens far and wide. Many countries have prevented the spread and now controlled it to an extend that they can now go mask free. But that has taken some careful planning, strict hygiene protocols to be maintained and no social crowding at all. India, due to the virtue of having a large population has found it difficult to control the widespread infection in the second wave. We lost an unprecedented number of lives. The medical system could not handle to mass spread and the country’s medical infrastructure had come to a jolting halt. We cannot afford another such wave again. Apparently, children are at more risk this time that before. Vaccine candidates are trying to get clearance from the WHO to be administere...

  Netherland feels confident about ditching the mask. The world is trying to come back to the normal, without masks, but is it too early for this.... Netherland is confident about going without the mask that its outgoing PM Mark Rutte made a public appearance on local television showing how to maintain social distance and be without the mask. No new limits are also going to be set on the number of guests that can be allowed in stores, bars and restaurants.  It might after all be business as usual. Most limit on group sizes are also being relaxed from June mid, as cases of Covid-19 infections start to fall. There are chances of a beautiful summer but there is word of caution as Autumn arises. Other countries are dwindling between whether to open restrictions or not, as the Covid-19 refuses to die and continues to emerge with mutating forms in one or the other continent.  Netherlands is happy about the robust speed at which their vaccination programme rolled out, making the...

Palestinians all over the world are getting support in one way or the other and the fashion industry is no different With the lead designer of Zara brand making a huge mistake of attacking a Palestinian model on social media, her career is now in jeopardy. Venessa Perilman made derogatory remarks about a Palestinian model in her instagram which has received huge criticism from the world wide social media fraternity. The world is up and arms against the brand and is seeking a mass boycott of the brand itself. Post pandemic, this could spill trouble for the brand.  Zara has already been asked to take strict action against the designer who apparently, gave a public apology and then took down her remarks.  The model in question is Qaher Harhash who apparently had made some  pro-Palestine remarks and had posted them online. The attack comes as a response to her posts. She later also posted screenshots of their conversation on Instagram. The publicised exchange caused thousands...

  We still have not figured it out whether the Covid-19 pandemic was actually engineered in a laboratory or not. Yet the desire to kill and control through war motivates the nations of the world Photo courtesy: www. Explica.co There is news doing rounds of a mysterious airbase being erected in a volcanic island in Yemen. At the moment, there is no news as to whose handiwork this is. No country has claimed control over the airbase at the  Mayun Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. But there was shipping traffic spotted here many years ago. Apparently, it was towards a prior attempt to build a massive runway across the 5.6-kilometre-long island and linked back to the United Arab Emirates. Yemen's humanitarian needs have been more than the world can handle. The country is devastated by continuous war over two decades. But right now, the island is becoming a point of focus. Why? Because it  sits in one of the world's crucial maritime choke-points for both energy shipments and...