A war of words erupted between poll strategist Prashant Kishor and BJP’s National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya after the former predicted that the BJP will struggle to crosse “double digits” in West Bengal polls.
Prashant Kishor, who was roped in by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress for the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021, also indicated that he will quit Twitter if the BJP performs any better in the state than his prediction.
“For all the hype AMPLIFIED by a section of supportive media, in reality BJP will struggle to CROSS DOUBLE DIGITS in #WestBengal. PS: Please save this tweet and if BJP does any better I must quit this space!” Kishor tweeted.
Hitting back at Prashant Kishor, Kailash Vijayvargiya remarked that the country will lose a poll strategist after his part forms the government in the state after the upcoming elections in the state.
“There is a tsunami of BJP in Bengal. After we form the government, the country will have to lose an election strategist,” Vijayvargiya tweeted.
The development comes a day after Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah’s two-day visit to West Bengal.
West Bengal is scheduled to go for Assembly polls in mid-2021. The dates have not been announced yet.
BJP had stunned the Trinamool Congress in 2019 Lok Sabha polls as it wrested 18 parliamentary constituencies, coming up with its best-ever performance in the state.
Post the historic Lok Sabha showing, the party considers winning upcoming Assembly polls as crucial and wants to send out a strong message to the opposition by winning the state.(ANI)
Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) leader, in an interaction with LokMarg, has denied news reports that several farmer unions have distanced themselves from Ugrahan faction after it raised human rights issues at their protest site. The farmer leader also refuted Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s claim that an agreement with farmers was in sight. “There is a deadlock,” Ugrahan says firmly. “The talks have reached a stalemate. I have no idea where is Tomar’s solution in sight.”
He also explained how human rights issues are in cohesion with a farmer’s rights, a writer’s right and a poor man’s right to protest.
Four Pakistani-origin men have been arrested by French security agencies for their suspected involvement in the recent attack outside the former office of Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, Anadolu Agency reported citing French newspaper Le Parisien.
The arrests were made in the case related to the attack in which two people were wounded outside the weekly’s former office on September 25.
According to the report, three men were indicted on Friday by an anti-terrorism court in Paris for “criminal terrorist association”, while the fourth and the youngest defendant was charged earlier in the week on December 14.
The four young men are said to be aged between 17-21 and are believed to be friends and relatives of the main attacker Zaheer Hassan Mahmoud, the report said.
On September 25, days after the opening of the trail of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack that killed 12 cartoonists and staff members, Hassan struck two people seriously injuring them with a meat cleaver outside the premises of the magazine’s former office.
Hassan was arrested immediately on terrorism charges and remains in custody.
He told investigators that prior to the attack he had watched “videos from Pakistan” concerning the satirical magazine’s decision to republish the cartoons.
In a video uploaded in social media before the attack, a weeping Hassan said he was motivated by speeches of Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the extremist leader of Tehreek-e Labbaik party, denouncing the caricatures. He had arrived in France in 2018 as an undocumented minor immigrant.
Rizvi, who died of Covid-19 in November, had been at the forefront of protests against France and had threatened the country with a nuclear attack.
During the protests, Rizvi called on Pakistan to launch nuclear attacks against France for its alleged act of “Islamophobia” after the European country vowed to fight radical Islamic terrorism.
The new arrests come days after, a Paris court on Wednesday found 14 suspects accused of aiding and abetting the 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo guilty on terrorism charges. (ANI)
Amid strained ties with China, Taiwan has put on alert and deployed its ships and jets over the passage of Chinese aircraft carrier the Shandong, which was accompanied by four warships, through the Taiwan Strait.
According to Taipei, six warships and eight aircraft were sent out to “stand guard” as the Chinese carrier group sailed through the strait, Sputnik reported.
“With the support of the people, the national armed forces have the confidence and ability to guard the homeland, and ensure national security and safeguard regional peace and stability”, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said in regards to the incident.
Beijing did not comment on the news of the Shandong, the latest addition to its small fleet of aircraft carriers, crossing the Taiwan Strait.
It did, however, condemn the passage through the said waterway by the American destroyer USS Mustin on December 19. The Chinese military’s Eastern Theatre Command slammed it as an attempt to send “flirtatious glances” at forces that seek Taiwan’s “independence” and added that the Chinese PLA’s forces have been “tailing” the warship’s movements.
For several months, China’s People’s Liberation Army has been increasing military pressure on the island, sending warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and stepping up military exercises on nearby islands, moves widely interpreted as a threat to Taipei, reported CNN.
In order to bolster its defensive capabilities, Taiwan is building a submarine fleet to mitigate Chinese nefarious designs to invade the island or install a naval blockade.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has already made his intentions clear about Taiwan as he has vowed to never allow the island to become independent and has refused to rule out the use of force if necessary.
Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades, reported CNN. (ANI)
Sharing a glimpse of what shooting a movie amid COVID-19 looks like in the year 2020, megastar Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Sunday posted an all masked up selfie on social media, asking her fans to “stay positive and test negative”.
The ‘Baywatch’ star took to Instagram and shared a glamorous selfie along with some words of wisdom to keep oneself safe amid the coronavirus outbreak. In the picture, the actor looked gorgeous with her lightly curled hair and a low makeup look. The ‘Mujhse Shadi Karogi’ star covered her face with a transparent face shield and matching pair of chunky glasses.
Sporting a designer jacket, with a lemon-yellow top, the actor seems to be all set to hit the shooting set. Along with the glamorous photo, the actor wrote, “What shooting a movie looks like in 2020. Daily testing, face shields, and masks on hand.”
“This was taken after hair and makeup where we wait right before we shoot, in a secure distanced zone …And masks on…in between all shots!!”
Giving advice to her fans to combat COVID-19, the ‘Isn’t It Romantic’ star said, “Staying safe is part of getting the job done, protect yourself and everyone around you. Stay positive! test negative!”
On the professional front, Priyanka Chopra was last seen in ‘The Sky Is Pink’ sharing screen space with Farhan Akhtar. She will next be seen alongside Rajkummar Rao in ‘The White Tiger’.
The actor is currently shooting for ‘Text For You’ which also features Celine Dion and Sam Heugalonhan in the lead roles. Apart from that, Chopra will also be seen in ‘Matrix 4’ also starring Keanu Reeves. (ANI)
Four accused including a juvenile have been apprehended here in connection with the alleged gang rape of a 14-year-old girl in Delhi’s Greater Kailash area, the police informed.
According to the Delhi Police, the 14-year-old girl has alleged that she was gangraped by four men in South Delhi’s Greater Kailash area.
“An FIR has been registered under Section 376D/342 IPC 6 POCSO Act against three accused including one JCL (juvenile in conflict with the law),” the police stated.
Speaking about the horrific incident which took place on Saturday, the police said that a PCR call was received at Greater Kailash I Police Station regarding the gangrape of the minor.
“On receiving the said call, place of incident in GK 1 was visited where the victim was found who stated that she has been working at Greater Kailash New Delhi for the last four months. A boy/accused was also working there but he left the job one month ago. She was befriended by the boy there. Victim stated that on 19.12.2020 her friend, resident of village Benikheda, District Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh aged 17 years, called her at his friend’s place of work in Greater Kailash, Delhi where three more persons were also present,” police said.
The accused have been identified as Shivam (also known as Bhola), resident of village Benikheda District Fatehabad, UP, Hari Shankar (also known as Ramu), resident of village Benikheda, District Fatehpur UP age 30, Mangesh, resident of village Umarvada, District Bhandara, Maharastra age 18
The accused have been identified as Shivam @Bhola resident of village Benikheda District Fatehbad, UP. Hari Shankar@Ramu, resident of village Benikheda, District Fatehpur UP age 30, Mangesh resident of village Umarvada, District Bhandara, Maharastra age 18 were present.
JCL allegedly raped her with the help of his associates, police said. (ANI)
Despite the Toxic English Variant of the Corona virus there is relief and even euphoric hope in United Kingdom and USA as the long awaited vaccine against Covid-19 Virus has been rolled out. Yet not everyone is convinced. There are plenty of scare stories about the virus too including that Bill Gates has put a chip in it to control our minds.
Science has become too complex for the average person to differentiate between fact and fiction. Simply put, a vaccine, uses a neutered pathogen to provoke the immune system to be almost fully armed when the real one strikes.
Every nano second, the body is fighting ‘enemies of the body’. These invaders fail because of the incredible immune system of defence and offence. It is far more advanced than the American Army and possesses precision bombing that actually delivers precision targeting of enemy.
Antigen is material that invokes the body’s immune system to come charging at it. Most antigens are alien and from pathogens. Pathogens are nasty things that damage our body. They can be bacteria, fungi, protozoa, worms and not to forget the ubiquitous viruses. Let’s stick to viruses.
Unlike bacteria that fight straight, viruses are real insurgents. They invade cells and then use their material to survive and multiply, killing the cells in the process. The toxins produced can cause a lot more harm. The human defence mechanisms fight off these viruses in a number of ways. The body has more ranks of soldiers than the Chinese army.
There are macrophages, T-cells, B cells, helper T cells, T helper cells, memory T helper Cells, memory Killer T Cells, antibodies and so on, rank IDs that can fill this page, so we stop the list here. The body defence system is called the immune response. The immune system has a strong sense of nationalism and protects citizen cells.
A virus is destroyed either when it is in the invaded cell or before it goes into cells. When it is in the cell, both cell and virus get destroyed. The invaded cells send SOS to the immune system.
The immune system has two main forms. The innate system and the acquired system. Innate comes with birth (ancestral). It is first responders and non-specific. The acquired is a learnt system specific to a particular bacteria, virus etc. The factory making them is the bone marrow, the spongy bit in bones. There are a number of very intricate satellite production and distribution systems, such as lymph nodes, more in number than the Mandis in Punjab and Haryana.
As part of the first responders, the patrol soldiers, called macrophages attack virus infested cells by engulfing them and disintegrating them. Macrophages can’t attack viruses directly as the latter are too wily. Macrophages present the viral antigens to T cells and B cells in the bone marrow. These are soldiers of the Acquired Immunity Battalion. Each T cell and B cell is engineered to ‘hate’ a particular bacterial or viral antigen and becomes a commando.
T cells work like macrophages but are specific, and attack cells that are infected by the virus that they don’t like. They go straight to cells invaded by their hated foe.
B cells produce small identifier darts called antibodies. Each B Cell produces an antibody that is targeted at only one viral or bacterial type. The dart antibody does a sort of leg clasp on the virus, latching on to it. The clasping bit and the part of the virus it latches are specific. So the specific antibody cant tackle other antigens. If the virus mutates a bit, it does not matter because the antibody may still have enough clasp points to latch on to. This action makes it difficult for the virus to get into a normal citizen cell. Macrophages and T Cells quickly come and gobble them both, destroying them.
Trouble is that this system takes a couple of weeks. Think of it as the factory needing to calibrate machines etc. By that time the virus has done enough damage to the body. The first responders (innate system) cannot hold back virus invasion for long. By the time the T cells and B cells are made, the Virus has scaled most walls in the body that it wants to. Most people survive but many die or sustain damage to internal organs.
Body’s immune system has a memory of its enemies
Once infected the body’s immune system develops memory in the T and B memory cells. So when the virus attacks again, the T Cells and B cells are ready. The factory in the Bone Marrow has production machines on standby. They quickly attack the virus before it does damage. But can this be done even before the virus attacks first time and before it gets into the cells? That’s where vaccines comes.
To create memory for the specific virus, the virus itself or a form of it has to be introduced into the body so that memory T Cells and memory B cells with precision targeting can be ‘manufactured’. But that is also dangerous. What if the virus multiplies and gets out of control. Send for the white coated scientists.
Scientists work to produce attenuated form of the virus, a neutered version that cannot multiply. Or they take a part of the virus or a gene that is like the virus. The body immune system however destroys the attenuated virus or its version and memorises its structure. So when the real virus attacks, not only the first responders, but the precision commandos of the Acquired Immune Battalion are also ready.
Vaccines are not a treatment. Vaccines are a way of preparing the body for the first attack by the virus so that it destroys the virus before it overwhelms the body. Simple as that. Next time Covid-19 comes barging into the body, the B Cells and T Cells are already on stand by to pin it down.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine uses a prepared gene that invokes antibody production against a spike protein of Covid-19 Virus. The virus uses this to break into cells. The antibody stops that.
It appears simple. But is very complicated. A lot of trials need to happen to ensure there are no immediate or long term side effects of the vaccine. But the rapid spread of Covid-19 virus has necessitated shortening the period of trials.
Vaccines or their makers and supporters have to fight off another attack. Disinformation!
The first one doing the rounds is that ‘the vaccine has corona virus’ shock horror! Of course it is coronavirus or something mimicking a genetic part of it in the vaccine. Despite Facebook, Snapchat and mobiles, there is no technology to take a picture of the virus and send it to the Bone marrow ‘factory’ manufacturing precision target T Cells and B Cells. Cells cant read jpeg etc.
The second alleged ‘devastating revelation’ is that there can be side effects and scientists are not telling us! Every medicine has some side effect. They are listed in the leaflet in the box. Just read it. No secret. Side effects are from immediate allergic reaction to effects of immune response such as headaches, itching, feeling unwell for a day or so. But for the vast majority they are no reactions or ones so minor, that the benefit of the vaccine outweigh the small side effects.
The third ‘alarming inside’ info doing the rounds better suits green men in mars territory. On social media they say ‘Did you know the virus was invented by Bill Gates and the Vaccine has a microchip to read your mind and everything’. Once a person is in this wacco stratosphere, it is best to wait for him/her to descend back to earth.
So in brief summary, a vaccine uses a neutered virus or a part of it or a gene similar to it and provokes the body’s immune system to first attack it and then develop memory to be able to tackle a real attack. Memory is not ever lasting. So it might take repeat provocative vaccines to maintain the defence system up to date.
Makers of Richa Chadha and Pankaj Tripathi-starrer ‘Shakeela’ on Monday revealed that the film will be released in cinemas this Christmas.
Film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to Twitter to share the update about the release of the Indrajit Lankesh directorial.
“IN CINEMAS, THIS #CHRISTMAS… #Shakeela – starring #RichaChadha and #PankajTripathi – to release in cinemas this Friday [25 Dec 2020]… Directed by Indrajit Lankesh… Will release in multiple languages,” he tweeted.
Earlier, the makers dropped the trailer shows the story of one of the most hated and loved adult film star that shook the industry in the late 90s and early 2000s.
The unlikely tale of a woman driven by circumstances of going from rags to riches to rags, tells the story of the real-life behind the reel personality people.
The trailer showcases immense popularity of the actor, that her films are released in several languages including Sinhalese and Chinese.
Directed by Indrajit Lankesh, the film also stars Pankaj Tripathi, the movie delves into the life of superstar Shakeela who ruled the Southern film industry for over two decades. (ANI)
India may begin vaccinating people against COVID-19 in January and the government’s first priority has been safety and efficacy of the vaccine, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said.
“I personally feel may be in January in any stage or any week, there can be a time when we can be in a position to give first COVID vaccine shot to people of India” Harsh Vardhan told ANI in an exclusive interview.
He was asked about India’s vaccination drive against coronavirus.
The minister said that the vaccines, including those who have applied for emergency use authorisation are being analysed by the regulator.
“India is not less than any country when it comes to COVID-19 vaccine and research. Our first priority has been the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. We do not want any comprise on that. Our regulators are analysing them with seriousness,” he said.
The minister had said on Saturday that the country’s scientists and health experts have worked on the development of an indigenous vaccine and in the upcoming six to seven months India will have the capacity to inoculate about 30 crore people.
“Our scientists and health experts have worked on the development of a vaccine by genome sequencing and isolation of the coronavirus and developed an indigenous vaccine. In 6-7 months, we will have the capacity to inoculate about 30 crore people” he had said addressing the 22nd Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting on COVID-19.
There are six COVID-19 vaccine candidates in different clinical trial stages in India including Covishield, Covaxin, ZyCoV-D, Sputnik V, NVX-CoV2373 and recombinant protein antigen-based vaccine. Besides this, three COVID-19 vaccine candidates are in the pre-clinical stage of which one of the coronavirus vaccine candidates is in the pre-development stage being researched by Aurobindo Pharma, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.
“Six vaccines are in the clinical trial stage. And there are three vaccines in the pre-clinical stage. Some of them may get licensed in the coming weeks but we cannot foretell at this moment of time because licensing is the domain of the national regulator the Drugs Controller General of India,” Bhushan had said at a press conference.
“These vaccines are of two to three doses. Even after vaccination, COVID-19 precautions must be followed as advised by the scientists,” he noted.
Referring to Covaxin, being manufactured by Bharat Biotech International Limited, Hyderabad in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), he said it is in phase 3 trials and is on an inactivated virus platform. The manufacturers have applied for emergency use authorisation.
Earlier this month the United Kingdom became the first country in the world to authorise the use of Pfizer and BioNTech for emergency purposes.
On December 2, the UK became the first country in the world to authorise the use of Pfizer and BioNTech for emergency purposes, thus, paving way for the delivery of the vaccines.
The first recipient of the vaccine was Margaret Keenan from Northern Ireland who is 90-year-old. She was vaccinated at University Hospital in Coventry earlier on Tuesday.
With 26,624 new COVID-19 cases recorded in the last 24 hours, India’s total coronavirus cases reached 1,00,31,223, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Sunday. (ANI)
US-based Sikh NGOs donated toilets, geysers, and tents for farmers protesting against the farm laws and sleeping in the open at Tikri border and other places on Sunday.
“Due to lack of basic facilities at protest sites, we have decided to donate 200 portable toilets and geysers,” S P Singh Khalsa, Hoshiarpur Coordinator, Sikh Panchayat Fremont California, told ANI.
He said, “Apart from these, we are also providing 400 geysers. Out of these, 200 have already been provided to farmers at Singhu Border. While 100 are being provided today, remaining will be provided later.”
“We assessed what were the needs of the protesting farmers. My organisation is trying to help them as per their needs. They are forced to sleep under the open sky in this winter,” Singh further said.
Slamming the government, he said, “The government failed to provide minimum support price to farmers, which they should have. They should have provided facilities of hot water to farmers. Lack of toilet is another issue here. They are forced to stand in lines for almost two-three hours, in this chilly weather. “
“As farmers are forced to sleep on the ground, we are distributing tents to them to protect them from winds,” said Gurdal Singh.
Farmers have been protesting on different borders of the national capital since November 26 against the three newly enacted farm laws–Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance, and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
Meanwhile, the Narendra Modi government is reaching out to farmers across the country, with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s eight-page letter to protestors being translated into various vernacular languages.
Sources stated that the letter which was written primarily for Hindi-speaking states will now be circulated among the farming community across the country in an effort to garner their support for the Central farm laws and explain the issues in detail in a language familiar to them. (ANI)
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