The Centre has extended the nationwide lockdown, put in to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, by two more weeks. It was set to end this Sunday but now it has been pushed to May 17.

Lockdown extended across the country till 31st May. 

Hotels, restaurants, cinema halls, malls, swimming pools, gyms to remain shut till May 31.

Metro rail services, schools, colleges to remain closed till May 31.

All domestic, international air travel of passengers, except domestic air ambulance, remains prohibited till May 31.

All social, political, religious functions, and places of worship to remain shut during extended lockdown till May 31.

Sports complexes and stadiums will be allowed to open however no spectators allowed.

Amid rumors of illness, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days, according to the country's state media Saturday. Kim was attending a ceremony at a fertilizer plant in Sunchon, South Phyongan Province, DPRK state news agency KCNA reported. Kim was last publicly seen on April 11, presiding over a political bureau meeting of the ruling Workers Party.

In a controversial move, the Jagan Mohan Reddy Government has reportedly terminated Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar, the State Election Commissioner, with immediate effect. The state government earlier reportedly issued two confidential government orders, bringing in changes to the conditions of SEC appointment and got it approved by Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan.

According to information available, the AP government reduced the term of the State Election Commissioner from 5 years to 3 years, and also brought about changes in the service conditions. Ramesh Kumar was appointed in 2016 during TDP government. Since he has completed 3 years, the government now used its newly acquired powers to terminate the SEC.

It may be recalled that the entire leadership of YSRCP government was up in arms against Ramesh Kumar for postponing local body elections citing Corona threat. Chief Minister Jagan and Ministers in his cabinet unleashed a no-holds-barred attack against Ramesh Kumar, attributing caste and other motives behind the SEC's action.

It is to be seen whether the Andhra Pradesh government's action will stand the scrutiny of law since the present SEC is still tasked with completion of the process of local body elections in the state. Besides, the clearly political nature of the government's action is most likely to be challenged in a court of law.

Meanwhile, the TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu dashed off a letter to Governor Harichandan, calling the move as 'unethical and against the law'.

Dear Sri Biswabhusan Harichandan Ji

Sub.: AP State Election Commissioner - Ceased with effect from Issuance of Ordinance - Appointment of New State Election Commissioner - Amendment to Section 200 of APPR Act, 1994 - Reg.

The YSRCP-led Government has brought in amendment to Section 200 of APPR Act, 1994 with vicious design to remove the present State Election Commissioner (SEC) of Andhra Pradesh. 

Currently, elections to local bodies have been postponed mid-way due to the threat of COVID. Thus, local body elections are in the process. In such circumstances, what is the necessity to bring in amendment through backdoor in the form of ordinance to change the term and eligibility of the SEC.

Dr. N. Ramesh Kumar, the present AP State Election Commissioner has been appointed by HE Governor of Andhra Pradesh in exercise of the powers conferred under Article 243 K of the Constitution of India read with Sub-Section (2) of Section 200 of the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994. Accordingly, he was appointed on 30th January 2016 for a period of five years. In this backdrop, to make amendments to the term and eligibility is illegal. Further, to apply the said amendment now when the Commissioner is in position is unethical and against the law. If any, the amendment is applicable after this present Commissioner's term of office is completed.

Therefore, we strongly urge Your Excellency's intervention to uphold the rule of law and democratic values.

Thank you

With warm regards 

NARA CHANDRABABU NAIDUFormer Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

President Telugu Desam Party &Leader of OppositionA.P.Legislative AssemblyGovernment of Andhra Pradesh

Pandemic Vaccine Leader Bharat Biotech Is Developing ‘CoroFlu’ - One Drop COVID-19 Nasal Vaccine using a proven Safety Platform

Bharat Biotech announced today that a unique intranasal vaccine for Coronavirus ‘CoroFlu’ is under development. An international collaboration of virologists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the vaccine companies FluGen along with Bharat Biotech has begun the development and testing of a unique vaccine against COVID-19 called CoroFlu.

CoroFlu will build on the backbone of FluGen's flu vaccine candidate known as M2SR. Based on an invention by UW­–Madison virologists and FluGen co-founders Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Gabriele Neumann, M2SR is a self-limiting version of the influenza virus that induces an immune response against the flu. Kawaoka’s lab will insert gene sequences from SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19, into M2SR so that the new vaccine will also induce immunity against the coronavirus.

Sharing details about ‘CoroFlu’ far-reaching collaboration Dr.Raches Ella, Head of Business Development, Bharat Biotech said, “Bharat Biotech will manufacture the vaccine, conduct clinical trials, and prepare to produce almost 300 million doses of vaccine for global distribution.  Under the collaboration agreement, FluGen will transfer its existing manufacturing processes to Bharat Biotech to enable the company to scale up production and produce the vaccine for clinical trials. Raches added, Bharat Biotech has commercialized 16 vaccines, including a vaccine developed against the H1N1 flu that caused the 2009 pandemic.”

Refinement of the CoroFlu vaccine concept and testing in laboratory animal models at UW–Madison is expected to take three to six months. Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad, India will then begin production scale-up for safety and efficacy testing in humans. CoroFlu could be in human clinical trials by the fall of 2020.

Four Phase I and Phase II clinical trials involving hundreds of subjects have shown the M2SR flu vaccine to be safe and well tolerated. This safety profile, M2SR’s ability to induce a strong immune response, and the ability of influenza viruses to carry sequences of other viruses make M2SR an attractive option for rapidly developing CoroFlu as a safe and effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

“We are going to modify M2SR by adding part of the coding region for the coronavirus spike protein that the virus uses to latch onto cells and begin infection,” says Gabriele Neumann, a senior virologist in Kawaoka’s lab and co-founder of FluGen. “CoroFlu will also express the influenza virus hemagglutinin protein, which is the major influenza virus antigen, so we should get immune responses to both coronavirus and influenza.”

M2SR is a unique form of the flu virus. It lacks a gene called M2, which restricts the virus to undergoing only a single round of replication in cells.

“The single replication means the virus can enter the cell, but it can’t leave,” says FluGen co-founder, president and CEO Paul Radspinner. “So, in essence it tricks the body into thinking it’s infected with flu, which triggers a full immune response. But since it can’t replicate further, you don’t get sick.”

CoroFlu, like M2SR, will be delivered intranasally. This route of administration mimics the natural route of infection by coronavirus and influenza and activates several modes of the immune system. Intranasal delivery is more effective at inducing multiple types of immune responses than the intramuscular shots that deliver most flu vaccines.

A person who returned for Paris recently to Vijayawada was rushed to quarantine facility. The case was reported from Mekalavari street, 1 town. Medical officers with covering team arrived and carried him to the hospital.

The person reportedly returned from Paris. Due to heavy rush in Delhi airport, he seemed to have escaped the testing there.

Now medical officers and their teams are disinfecting the street and the surroundings.  The person will be kept under observation during the incubation period. He is said to be a businessperson operating out of Sivalayam street.

Officials and health workers are busy disinfecting the surroundings to prevent outbreak of Coronavirus in the city.

TDP National President and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu thanked Union External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar for his efforts to bring back stranded Telugu students in particular and all Indians in general from Kuala Lumpur.

Mr Naidu appreciated the quick response measures taken by Union Minister to rescue nearly 300 Indians including Telugu people by bringing them back to Delhi and Visakhapatnam by Air Asia flight. Most of the Telugu students are stranded in Kuala Lumpur on their way back home from the Philippines. Mr Naidu thanked Mr Jaishankar on behalf of the people of Andhra Pradesh.

While thanking Jaishankar's team and AirAsia for their quick response, Naidu sought a special flight to Visakhapatnam in addition to Delhi which would enable the students to reach home safely.

Meanwhile, about 200 students studying MBBS in the Philippines, who were asked to leave the country after the shutdown, were stranded in Kaula Lumpur Airport in Malaysia, as flights to India were cancelled. But Minister Jaishankar responded to calls for help, and organised AirAsia flight to ferry the stranded students to Delhi.

It's in this backdrop that Chandrababu Naidu wrote the thank-you letter.

The Centre has provided Rs 1050 Crore till date for seven backward districts of Andhra Pradesh since 2014-15, Ministry of Home Affairs said in Parliament today. In a written reply to Y Satyanarayana Chowdary (Sujana Chowdary), the Centre said.

The following is the statement:

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (APR) Act, 2014 provides that the Central Government shall, while considering the special development package for the successor State of Andhra Pradesh, provide adequate incentives, in particular for Rayalaseema and north coastal regions. Accordingly, seven districts namely, Anantapur, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Kurnool, Srikakulam, Vishakhapatnam and Vizianagaram in Rayalaseema and north coastal region of Andhra Pradesh have been identified for grant of the special development package.

Following the recommendations of NITI Aayog in its report on “Developmental support to the successor State of Andhra Pradesh under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014”, Government has released an amount of Rs. 1050 crore towards Special Development Package to the successor State of Andhra Pradesh in three instalments of Rs. 350 crore each @ Rs. 50 crore per district per year for the 7 backward districts of the State since 2014-15.

There is no specific allocation in Union Budget for special development package under APR Act, 2014. However, releases towards special development package under APR Act, 2014 are made by the Ministry of Finance from the Budget under Demand No. 38 Transfers to States- Special Assistance.  

The nomination of former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who served in the apex court till November 2019, to the Upper House of Parliament has drawn huge flak from various circles, but he seems unfazed by the criticism.

Gogoi was nominated by President Ram Nath Kovind on March 16.

Ranjan Gogoi said he will reveal why he accepted Rajya Sabha nomination after taking the oath. The former chief justice of India said his presence in Parliament will be ‘an opportunity to project the views of the judiciary before the legislative’. Former SC judges and Opposition parties condemned the nomination, and called it a ‘sad day for judiciary’.

The notification issued by the Home Ministry  appointing Gogoi said: “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of Article 80 of the Constitution of India, read with clause (3) of that article, President is pleased to nominate Shri Ranjan Gogoi to Council of States to fill the vacancy caused due to the retirement of one of the nominated members.”

Gogoi, whose term lasted for a little longer than 13 months, was responsible for several important judgements during his tenure. He had headed the five-judge bench that had delivered the verdict on the controversial Ram Janmabhoomi land title dispute on November 9, 2019. The SC bench which monitored the updation of the National Register of Citizens in Assam was also headed by him.

Former Supreme Court Judge Markandey Katju has blasted Gogoi for accepting the nomination.

“I have been a lawyer for 20 yrs and a judge for another 20. I hv known many good judges & many bad judges. But I have never known any judge in the Indian judiciary as shameless & disgraceful as this sexual pervert Ranjan Gogoi. There was hardly any vice which was not in this man,” he tweeted.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechuri recalled that Ranjan Gogoi had himself said last year that "There’s a strong viewpoint that post-retirement appointments is a scar on the independence of Judiciary".

“What must one make of a govt that does this, after appointing another ex-Chief Justice as the governor of a state?” he questioned.

However, many others pointed out how Congress also elevated many former chief judges and judges into various positions. “Former CJI Mohammad Hidayatullah was unanimously elected as the 6th Vice President of India on 31 August 1979 & served till 30 August 1984. As Chairman Rajya Sabha his tenure is remembered for his dexterity & political maturity in running the Upper House,” said Pramod Kumar Singh.

“Congress can nominate Ex CJI, it can nominate Ex CEC as Minister in Government, it can nominate Justice Baharul Islam of SC as RS MP. But BJP should be a good boy and not cultivate ecosystem,” recalled Navroop Singh. 

The Left parties have demanded that the nomination of former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to the Rajya Sabha be rescinded to preserve the constitutional balance.

Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Madan Lokur reacted on ex-CJI’s Rajya Sabha nomination, saying the independence of the judiciary has been compromised

“Why the government did not follow ‘cool off period’ as mentioned earlier by Late Shri Arun Jaitely on appointing Shri Ranjan Gogoi to Rajya Sabha. Its a matter of concern for the future judiciary system,” former Law Minister Salman Khurshid commented.

A Twitter handle Srinivas Jaiprakash how pointed out, “Former Chief Justice of India Shri Ranjan Gogoi is appointed as Rajya Sabha member and there is so much noise. What were all of you doing when Congress appointed erstwhile CJI Shri Rangnath Mishra on a congress ticket to Rajya Sabha??”.

Moments after the four accused in the Hyderabad veterinarian's rape and murder case were shot dead, 'Nirbhaya's' mother Asha Singh speaking to the media said that she was extremely happy with the punishment and demanded that her daughter's culprits must also be hanged at the earliest.

“Police has done a great job and I demand that no action should be taken against the police personnel. I have been running from pillar to post for the last 7 years. I appeal to the justice system of this country and the government, that Nirbhaya's culprits must be hanged to death, at the earliest,” she added.  

"Now rapists would think twice before committing a crime, they would now fear getting killed in a police encounter," said activist Trupti Desai, who added that the killing of the accused will set a good example. 

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said, "When a criminal tries to escape, police are left with no other option, it can be said that justice has been done."

The action of Telangana police has been lauded by politicians and public alike with many saying that swift justice will be a deterrent for further atrocities on women.

RJD’s Rabri Devi said, "What happened in Hyderabad would act as a deterrent against criminals surely, we welcome this. In Bihar as well, cases of crimes against women are increasing. The state Govt here is lax and doing nothing."

Baba Ramdev said that police had done was very courageous. "I must say that justice has been delivered. Legal questions over it are a different matter, but I am sure people of the country are at peace now," he added.

All four accused in Hyderabad veterinarian's rape and murder case were killed in an encounter at 3:30 am on Friday, the Cyberabad police said.

Rahul Gandhi on Thursday lashed out at Narendra Modi led BJP government for its economic policies which were leading India into 'trouble'. Gandhi further accused the duo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of 'living in their own imagination' and having no contact with the outside world. 

Gandhi was speaking on during the day one of his three-day visit to his Parliamentary constituency Waynad where he stated that the imaginary world created by Modi was falling apart. 

The Congress leader was responding to a query on the government's claim that there was no financial crisis in the country.

"Mr Amit Shah and Mr Narendra Modi live in their own imagination. They have no contact with the outside world. They live in their own world and they fantasise about things. That is why the country is in such trouble," Gandhi told the media.

In fact, if Narendra Modi listens to the people of the country there wouldn't be any problem, he added.

He accused  Modi of distracting people from reality through his gimmicks and said that it has become a regular thing for the BJP government. 

"Because he lives in an imaginary world. He wants India to live in an imaginary world. Now that is breaking... he is in trouble," Gandhi said.

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram has been granted bail by the Supreme Court in the INX Media money laundering case. Chidambaram was arrested on August 21st after Enforcement Directorate filed a case against him. 

The court, while granting bail to Chidambaram ordered him to not tamper with the evidence or influence the witness. The court has also barred him from giving any interviews or issuing public statements of any kind in relation to the case.

 Chidambaram has been released after he furnished a bail bond of Rs 2 lakhs along with 2 sureties of the same amount. The apex court also has ordered the senior Congress leader to not travel abroad without its permission.

The court directed P Chidambaram to furnish a bail bond of Rs 2 lakhs along with 2 sureties of the same amount and said he could not travel abroad without the Court's permission.

The case was heard by a bench of justices R Banumathi, AS Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy. Chidambaram has been in custody for 105 days since his dramatic arrest televised live by a team of Central Bureau of Investigation officers late on August 21.

First arrested by CBI in the money laundering case of August 21, the top court granted him bail on October 22. The CBI was investigating Chidambaram in a case relating to alleged irregularities in Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to the INX Media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs. 305 crore in 2007, during his tenure as the finance minister.

Congress' leader in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were also migrants as their home was in Gujarat while they lived in Delhi. 

"I can say that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah Ji are themselves the migrants. Their homes are in Gujarat but they have come to Delhi," Chowdhury told ANI.

"India is for everyone -- for Hindus, for Muslims and for everyone else. They are creating the fear that they will throw out Muslims. They do not have the capability to do that. But what they want to show is Hindus will be allowed to stay, while Muslims will be sent away," he added while speaking against the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

The statement Chowdhury comes at a time when Home Minister Amit Shah is in discussions over the bill with members of political parties and civil society organisations from the North-Eastern states.

The Union Home Minister met them on Friday and Saturday while the third meeting is scheduled for December 3.

Stating the purpose of the bill, Amit Shah had earlier said that it was needed to ensure that the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, Christian and Parsi refugees who were being discriminated on the basis of their religion in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan can obtain India citizenship.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8 this year, aimed at granting citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, who came to India before December 31, 2014.

Meanwhile Chowdhury also suggested Shah to learn a bit more about the Indian migrants across the world who were contributing to the national economy.

"It is because of the issue of Citizenship Bill that they have been swept away in West Bengal (assembly by-elections). If they continue with it, they will be swept away from the rest of India too,"