Author: Mike Harrison

Giuseppe Conte survived two confidence votes in Parliament last week but crucially lost his absolute majority in the Senate with the defection of an ally. Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte will formally tell his wobbly coalition government on Tuesday that he intends to offer his resignation, his office said Monday.Mr. Conte survived two confidence votes in Parliament last week but crucially lost his absolute majority in the Senate with the defection of a centrist ally, ex-Premier Matteo Renzi. That hobbled his government’s effectiveness in the middle of the pandemic.Mr. Conte’s office said on Monday night that the Premier will inform his…

The new order immediately prohibits any service member from being forced out of the military on the basis of gender identity. U.S. President Joe Biden signed an order on Monday reversing a Trump-era Pentagon policy that largely barred transgender individuals from serving in the military.The new order, which Mr. Biden signed in the Oval Office during a meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, overturns a ban ordered by President Donald Trump in a tweet during his first year in office. It immediately prohibits any service member from being forced out of the military on the basis of gender identity.Mr. Biden’s…

Legendary singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, who died last year, will get the Padma Vibushan, the second highest civilian award in the country, posthumously.Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, cardiologist B.M. Hegde and B.B. Lal, the archaeologist who claimed to have discovered temple remains at Ayodhya, will also get the Padma Vibhushan, the Union Home Ministry announced on the eve of Republic Day. Singer K.S. Chithra, former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Nripendra Misra, former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and former Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Tarlochan Singh are among the…

The expert committee said Bharat Biotech should generate safety and immunogenicity data in Phase-I clinical trial, with 75 subjects, in the proposed doses as per the protocol. The clinical trial of Bharat Biotech’s intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 is likely to take some time to get off ground with a subject expert committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) directing the vaccine maker to submit a revised trial protocol.On an application from Bharat Biotech, seeking permission for phase I/II clinical trial of the Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectored COVID-19 intranasal vaccine (BBV154), the committee said the firm should generate safety and…

The outcome of the fifth round of seroprevalence survey has indicated that Delhi population could be heading towards attaining herd immunity against COVID-19 infection, sources said on Monday.The survey has found that in one district, 50-60% of the sample population have developed antibodies, they said.For the survey, which ended a few days ago, samples of over 25,000 people from various districts across the city were collected, the sources said.Delhi’s population is over two crore, spread across 11 districts.Experts say herd immunity is said to have been developed in a population segment if 50-60% of those are found to have the…

May vary on type of fuel, vehicle; transport vehicles older than 8 years to pay levy Owners of old vehicles will have to pay the government a ‘green’ tax as a penalty for polluting the environment, which will be much steeper if you reside in one of the more polluted cities in India.The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has approved a proposal to levy a ‘green tax’ on old vehicles. Personal vehicles will be charged a tax at the time of renewal of Registration Certification after 15 years. The levy may differ depending on fuel (petrol/diesel)…

‘Rejecting, threatening or intimidating others will push the world into division’ Chinese President Xi Jinping warned global leaders at an all-virtual World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos on Monday against starting a “new Cold War”, and urged global unity in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Having largely curbed the spread of the pandemic within its borders, Mr. Xi wants to position China as a key player in a new multilateral world order as the U.S. remains crippled by the pandemic. “To build small cliques or start a new Cold War, to reject, threaten or intimidate others… will only push…

Police say the plan was to sabotage official functions on Republic Day. The Manipur police on January 25 claimed that with the arrest of two persons, the case of hurling a China-made hand grenade at the Raj Bhavan gate on January 19 has been solved. Inspector-General of Police K. Jayantakumar said the plan was to sabotage the official functions on Republic Day.Talking to reporters, police officers said a Special Investigation Team was set up to probe the incident. The team members raided a house at Khongman in Imphal east district on January 24 and arrested Lisam Ibosana (51). Police said…

India recorded the lowest number of COVID-19 deaths in over eight months with 131 more deaths being recorded, the Health Ministry said on January 25. The coronavirus caseload rose to 1,06,67,736 with 13,203 more infections. There are 1,84,182 active cases, which is 1.73% of the caseload and it remained below 2 lakh for the sixth consecutive day, according to the Ministry data. As many as 1,03,30,084 people have recuperated, taking the recovery rate to 96.83%,. The fatality rate rose to 1.4% and 131 more deaths include 45 from Maharashtra, 20 from Kerala, nine from Delhi and eight each from Chhattisgarh,…

The talks between the government and 41 protesting farm unions have remained inconclusive even after 11 rounds of discussions. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday termed the government’s proposal to suspend new farm laws for 1-1.5 years as the “best offer” and hoped that the protesting farmers’ unions will soon reconsider it and convey their decision. The talks between the government and 41 protesting farm unions have remained inconclusive even after 11 rounds of discussions. During the 10th round of talks, the government had climbed down and offered a proposal to keep the new laws in abeyance for…