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Serum Institute gets DCGI notice over Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trial suspension by AstraZeneca abroad
The central drug regulator has issued a show-cause notice to the Serum Institute of India (SII) for not informing it about pharma giant AstraZeneca pausing the clinical trials of the Oxford vaccine candidate for COVID-19 in other countries and also for not submitting casualty analysis of the "reported serious adverse events". The notice was issued following reports that human trials of the most promising COVID-19 vaccine candidate, being developed by the University of Oxford, have been put on hold after a UK participant had an adverse reaction to it.
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India-China face-off can take any trajectory, but hasn't reached the threshold of war: top govt sources
Will there be a full-blown war between India and China anytime soon? The assessment at the highest levels of India's security establishment is clear. The threshold of war hasn’t been reached yet. “It is difficult to predict the trajectory of the face-off, but we haven't reached the threshold of war. Things do build up to a full-blown conflict, but so far there have been only pinpricks. The Chinese deployment right now is non-tactical,” a top government source said. The reading within the government is that there will be minor escalations like the one on August 29-30 when the Chinese army tried to occupy Indian heights at the South bank of Pangong Lake.
In Other News
Covid hurdles: The Supreme Court dismissed a fresh batch of petitions seeking deferment of NEET, which is scheduled to be conducted on September 13. “Everything is over now, even the review petitions have been dismissed,” the apex court said while refusing to entertain the pleas that had also sought an increase in a number of exam centres.
Boosting might: The first batch of five Rafale fighter jets will be formally inducted into the IAF today at the Ambala air base. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, his French counterpart Florence Parly, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, will attend the ceremony.
On Maratha quota: The Supreme Court stayed a Maharashtra state law providing reservation for the Maratha community in government jobs and education. The order means there will be no quota for the Maratha community in state government jobs and educational institutions until the matter is decided by the larger bench.
Trump Nobel nomination: US President Trump has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, according to reports. Trump has been nominated by Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a Norwegian parliamentarian member, for his role in brokering the Israel-UAE peace deal.
On Our Specials
Poll strategy: When AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal tied up with political strategist Prashant Kishor ahead of the Delhi elections, it raised quite a few eyebrows. For AAP, Delhi was a done deal. However, Kejriwal and Kishor took to each other quite well. In the afterglow of that remarkable victory, winning 62 of 70 seats, Kejriwal and Kishor reflected a promise of future alliances, particularly Punjab. For AAP's embattled Punjab unit, the party’s third consecutive and emphatic victory in Delhi came as a ray of hope. However, Kishor’s team has indicated that Punjab is not on its plate now, Rupashree Nanda writes.
US election 2020: “Indian people" are Donald Trump's friends and supporters. This is a statement the US President has often made, accompanied by continued assurances of his "good" relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, since his Democratic opponent Joe Biden chose Indian-origin Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential nominee. However, since the pandemic began, Trump's immigration policies have moved in a direction parallel to his statements, Vidushi Sagar writes.
