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ICMR warning over use of key anti-Covid pill
Worried authorities in India are cautioning against the indiscriminate use of the world's first oral anti-viral treatment for Covid-19 amid an ongoing wave propelled by the Omicron variant.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has flagged "major" concerns around the safety and effectiveness of molnupiravir developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics in the United States.
It has even excluded the drug from India's Covid-19 treatment protocol less than a fortnight after it secured an emergency authorisation for restricted use on Dec 28 from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation.
Arunachal teen allegedly kidnapped by Chinese army
China's People's Liberation Army soldiers have kidnapped a 17-year-old boy from Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Siang district, the state's MP Tapir Gao alleged on Wednesday.
He said Miram Taron was kidnapped from the Lungta Jor area on Tuesday.
His friend Johny Yaiying, who managed to escape, informed the authorities about the incident.
Both are hunters from Zido village.
The rich more than double fortune during Covid crisis
India's richest have more than doubled their fortunes during the Covid-19 crisis that has ravaged the country and worsened poverty, and the government should revisit its policies to redistribute wealth, according to the global Oxfam Davos report of 2022.
The nation added 40 billionaires to the 142 last year.
They have almost US$720 billion ($970 billion) in combined fortune, more than the poorest 40 per cent of the population, the group said in a report on rising inequality published on Monday.
Outcry as Kashmir Press Club is shut down
The Indian government has shut down the Kashmir Press Club (KPC), prompting an outcry from journalists, politicians and others who called the move further evidence of efforts to silence critical reporting in the union territory.
The KPC was the only elected journalists' body in Kashmir liaising with the government on difficulties faced by reporters and had issued statements critical of police actions hindering the media.
Three sailors killed in explosion on naval ship
Three Indian Navy personnel were killed in an explosion on the destroyer Ranvir at a naval dockyard in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The navy gave no reason for the blast but said a board of inquiry would investigate.
"The ship's crew responded immediately and quickly brought the situation under control. No major material damage has been reported," the navy said.
Mallya loses legal battle to keep plush London home
Embattled Indian businessman Vijay Mallya on Tuesday lost a legal battle to hold on to his plush London home after a British court refused to grant him a stay of enforcement in a long-running dispute with Swiss bank UBS.
The Cornwall Terrace luxury apartment overlooking Regent's Park, described in court as an "extraordinarily valuable property worth many tens of millions of pounds", is currently being occupied by Mallya's 95-year-old mother Lalitha.
More cash, gold, assets seized from Channi's kin
Enforcement Directorate officers seized a Rolex watch worth Rs12 lakh ($21,716), unaccounted cash of more than Rs10 crore, gold and property documents from the residences and offices of Mr Bhupinder Singh Honey, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's nephew, on Wednesday as part of their searches carried out on 11 premises across Punjab.
The agency claimed that it has also seized "incriminating documents" related to illegal sand mining business from Mr Honey's premises.
Asia's richest man plans to invest $103 billion in green projects
The conglomerate led by Mr Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest man, has announced plans to invest US$76 billion ($103 billion) on clean energy projects, dwarfing an earlier commitment of US$10 billion.
Reliance Industries, controlled by Mr Ambani, has signed the green energy pacts with the Gujarat government, according to an exchange filing.
DGCA initiates probe into 'near miss' at Bengaluru airport
India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated a probe into the near-miss at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport on Jan 7 which involved two IndiGo flights.
According to DGCA officials, IndiGo's flight 6E455 to Kolkata and 6E246 to Bhubaneswar were given the all-clear to take off at the same time from parallel runways.
An approach radar controller noted the two flights moving towards each other and immediately alerted the pilots who changed course at the last minute and prevented a collision.
MP police initiates process to replace non-Hindi words
After the Madhya Pradesh government signalled its intention to remove Urdu and Persian words being used in official language, the police department has started to simplify the Hindi language that its personnel use.
According to the police department, there are around 350 words which will be replaced with their Hindi version soon.
Trailblazer Sania to quit tennis this year
Former doubles world No. 1 Sania Mirza said on Wednesday that she will retire from tennis at the end of this season as injuries have taken their toll.
Her announcement came after the 35-year-old, regarded as India's greatest women's tennis player, bowed out of the Australian Open in the first round along with her partner Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine.
Sania, who has won six Grand Slam doubles titles, is married to former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik.
Lakshya triumphs in Covid-hit India Open badminton final
Lakshya Sen beat reigning men's world champion Loh Kean Yew to salvage some home side glory at badminton's India Open on Sunday after a tournament plagued by a Covid outbreak.
Third seed Sen triumphed 24-22, 21-17 in less than an hour after breaking ahead of the Singaporean early in the second game, played without spectators in New Delhi.
