Vindia

  Guard of Himalayas’, ‘gentle warrior’ — Sunderlal Bahuguna dies of Covid at 94 Bahuguna was admitted to AIIMS Rishikesh on 8 May after he tested positive for Covid. The environmentalist was best known as the leader of the Chipko Movement. Kajal Agarwal  21 May, 2021 A file photo of environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna, who died on 21 May 2021. | Photo: Twitter/@kuljitnagra1 New   Delhi : Environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna, who was best known as the leader of the Chipko Movement, died due to Covid-19 Friday. Bahuguna was 94 years old and was being treated at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Rishikesh.  The AIIMS Rishikesh administration announced his passing after noon Friday. Bahuguna was  admitted  to the hospital on 8 May after he tested positive for Covid. His condition became critical Thursday night, as his oxygen levels began to drop drastically. He was on CPAP  (continuous positive airway pressure)  therapy in the hospital’s ICU. Condoling the environmentalist

  India's Biological E to produce J&J Covid-19 vaccine alongside its own candidate Photo: AFP NEW DELHI  : India's Biological E. will produce the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine alongside its own candidate, its managing director told Reuters on Tuesday, which could boost the country's overall supplies amid a shortage. "The infrastructure and plants are completely separate for both the products and we will be producing both independent of each other," Mahima Datla said in a text message, declining to give any timeline or other detail. She told Reuters in February that Biological E. was looking to contract-manufacture about 600 million doses of the J&J vaccine annually. India's government, however, did not factor in any production of J&J this year in the country in a list of likely vaccine output released last week. J&J said last month it had sought permission to conduct a local clinical trial in India for its single-dose vaccine. It has n

China bans financial, payment institutions from cryptocurrency business Photo: Reuters BEIJING  : China has banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and warned investors against speculative crypto trading. Under the ban, such institutions, including banks and online payments channels, must not offer clients any service involving cryptocurrency, such as registration, trading, clearing and settlement, three industry bodies said in a joint statement on Tuesday. Recently, crypto currency prices have skyrocketed and plummeted, and speculative trading of cryptocurrency has rebounded, seriously infringing on the safety of people's property and disrupting the normal economic and financial order," they said in the statement. China has banned crypto exchanges and initial coin offerings but has not barred individuals from holding cryptocurrencies. The institutions must not provide saving, trust or pledging service

TRAVEL Covid-19 spike in Singapore once again delays air travel bubble with Hong Kong As Singapore is unable to meet the criteria to start the travel bubble due to the more aggressive and transmissible Indian coronavirus strain, it has agreed with Hong Kong to defer the launch of the air travel bubble which was due to start May 26. Covid-19 spike in Singapore once again delays air travel bubble with Hong Kong. An air travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong has been delayed as Singapore battles with a rising number of unlinked cases tied to the more aggressive and transmissible coronavirus strain known as B.1.617. A further announcement should be made on or before June 13, the Hong Kong government said in a statement Monday. Singapore Minister for Transport S Iswaran said that as Singapore is unable to meet the criteria to start the travel bubble, both sides have agreed to defer the launch. The bubble was due to start May 26. Both governments remain committed to the arrangement,

  DRDO's 2-DG drug for Covid-19 treatment to be launched next week Patients inside a Covid-19 care centre in New Delhi The first batch of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) drug for the treatment of moderate to severe Covid-19 cases will be launched next week, the Defence Research and Development Organisation has said. "The first batch of 10,000 doses of 2-DG medicine for the treatment of Covid-19 infected patients would be launched early next week and will be given to patients," a DRDO official was quoted as saying by news agency  ANI . "The drug manufacturers are working on ramping up the production of the medicine for future use. The drug has been developed by a team of DRDO scientists including Dr Anant Narayan Bhatt," the official added. The drug has been developed by the DRDO lab Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. It will be given as an adjunct therapy or an alternative treatment, and its purpose is to as

China makes history with its first rover landing on Mars:  Five points to know about Zhurong China has now become the second country in history to safely land on the surface of Mars and deploy its own rover. Here is everything you should know. China has now become the second country in history to safely land its rover on the surface of Mars. The Tianwen-1 spacecraft was launched in July last year, and it had been orbiting Mars since February this year. The mission consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover. Here are some key points to keep in mind about China’s Mars landing and why it is such a big moment in space exploration. China Mars landing is historic China’s Mars landing is historic by all accounts. So far only the United States has successfully managed to land its rovers on the planet and also deploy them for exploration. The former Soviet Union did manage to land on Mars, but the mission only a partial success as they lost contact soon after landing. Technically, China is th

 Makers drop spine-chilling trailer of 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' Vindia/11.5.21 IST  ANI The trailer of the much-awaited American superhero film  'Venom: Let There Be Carnage'  starring  Tom Hardy  has been released on Monday. The movie based on the Marvel Comics character Venom will unveil the look of  Carnage  for the first time.  Fans of the adventure drama  'Venom'  have been on their toes ever since the makers had announced the sequel of the film. To pique the curiosity of the cinephiles, the makers of the movie have now released the first trailer of the upcoming blood-curdling flick. The nearly 3-minute-long trailer of the Sony-Marvel movie opens with the comedy scenes of  Eddie Brock  (Tom Hardy) and Venom's friendship. The trailer takes a dark turn when Cletus Kasady ( Woody Harrelson ), a crazed serial killer makes an entry. Cletus, who made his cameo in the 2018 original film, enters with a much pivotal role in the sequel. He seems to have surv

  Karnataka: Full lockdown likely after 12 May if people do not cooperate, says CM Yediyurappa Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa. (File photo) By Vindia , 7th May 2021 Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday hinted that lockdown will be imposed in the state if people do not cooperate and violate Covid-19 safety protocols. "People are not following the Janata Curfew properly. They are not abiding by our warnings. Hence, lockdown could be inevitable," CM Yediyurappa told reporters near Annamma Devi Temple on Friday. The CM said that his government will soon finalise the stringent measures required to control the surge in Covid-19 cases in the state. "If people wish that stringent measures should not be taken, then people should cooperate by wearing masks and maintaining social distancing," the Chief Minister said. Otherwise, strong measures will become necessary, he added. The Karnataka government had imposed a two-week-long curfew on April 27, which