The Evening Wrap: Serum Institute pauses COVID-19 vaccine trial

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the latest updates and the big news stories to follow today [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Thursday 10, September 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap [Here are the biggest news stories of the day]( [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Serum Institute pauses clinical trial of Covid-19 vaccine The Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune has [paused the clinical trial of the Covid-19 vaccine candidate]( being developed by Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Astra Zeneca, following a notice from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on Wednesday. Trials of the vaccine were stopped globally after one of the recipients in the U.K. showed adverse symptoms. In a statement released on Thursday, the SII said, “We are reviewing the situation and pausing India trials till AstraZeneca restarts the trials. We are following DCGI’s instructions and will not be able to comment further on trials.” While trials of the vaccine were stopped in four countries as a precautionary measure, the DCGI, in its notice to the SII, asked why it was progressing with the trials and why it had not sent a detailed report about the U.K. patient. The SII maintained that they were going by the DCGI’s directions and hadn’t been told to pause the trials. Earlier, however, the SII had come out with a statement saying nothing untoward has been reported during the trials and they would therefore be continuing them. “We cannot comment on reports of the UK trials, other than that they have been paused for further review and that they hope to restart soon. As far as Indian trials are concerned, they are continuing and we have faced no issues at all,” its statement had said. British-Swedish pharma giant AstraZeneca had said that a volunteer in its trials suffered “an unexplained illness” and such pauses in drug trials were “routine”. Induction of Rafale fighter jets a ‘game changer’: Rajnath Singh Defence Minister [Rajnath Singh welcomed the induction of Rafale fighter jets]( into the Indian Air Force (IAF) today, calling it a “game changer”. Singh said it was a very important step in the light of the prevailing security conditions that “have been created along India’s borders.” [ Rafale fighter aircraft which was inducted into indian airforce at the Ambala air base on September 10, 2020. ] Rafale fighter aircraft which was inducted into indian airforce at the Ambala air base on September 10, 2020. “The IAF plays an important role in maintaining military deterrence and their actions will be decisive in any future war. While the prevailing situation on our boundaries has caught our attention, we should not ignore the threat of cross-border terrorism,” Singh said during a ceremony at the Ambala air base where five Rafale jets were formally inducted into the No. 17 Golden Arrows squadron. This is the first imported fighter to be inducted since the Sukhoi-30s from Russia in the late 1990s. Supreme Court seeks Attorney General’s help in Prashant Bhushan contempt case The Supreme Court on Thursday [reached out to Attorney General K.K. Venugopal]( to act as amicus curiae and assist the court with the legal questions raised in a contempt case initiated against civil rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan, for his remarks on judicial corruption in Tehelka magazine in 2009. A three-judge Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar agreed with senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan’s suggestion that Venugopal needed to be heard first as the case raised several cardinal issues regarding the right to publicly criticise the judiciary. The case has brought into focus pertinent questions of law, including whether a person who expresses a bona fide opinion about judicial corruption is obliged to prove it or “whether it is enough to show that he bona fide held that opinion”. [ Attorney General K.K. Venugopal. File ] Attorney General K.K. Venugopal. File The case also involves the issue of whether the suo motu powers of the Supreme Court to initiate contempt under Article 129 and curtail free speech is restrained by the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. Dhavan had strongly pitched for these questions to be referred to a Constitution Bench. Incidentally, even in the other contempt case where Bhushan was found guilty and famously refused to apologise, Venugopal had attempted to weigh in with his opinions, only to be cut short by the Bench. Venugopal had begun by saying, “Five judges of the Supreme Court have said that democracy has failed in the Supreme Court – which is also what Bhushan said in his tweets…” But he was cut off mid-sentence by Justice Arun Mishra. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported [coronavirus]( cases from India stood at 45,51,725 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 76,256. The Union Health Ministry today directed all states and Union territories to compulsorily conduct reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or RT-PCR test on symptomatic people who test negative for the coronavirus in rapid antigen tests. Rapid antigen tests have a high rate of false negative results, and the data obtained from them can be skewed. Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said her administration has lifted the lockdown order for September 12 (Saturday) so that students can attend the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test examination on September 13 (Sunday). She said in a tweet that the government had received several requests from students to lift the lockdown on September 12. Paresh Rawal to head National School of Drama Actor and former BJP MP Paresh Rawal has been [appointed as the chairperson of the National School of Drama society]( by President Ram Nath Kovind, Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said on Thursday. The post had been vacant since playwright Ratan Thiyam’s tenure ended in 2017. Rawal had been appointed for a four-year term. Defamation complaint filed against Kangana Ranaut A [complaint has been filed against actor Kangana Ranaut]( for using defamatory language against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. It was filed on September 9 after the actor made a video addressing the CM. Ranaut was reacting to the demolition carried out in her bungalow by the Shiv Sena-run Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). In the video, which she shared on social media, Ranaut says, “Uddhav Thackeray, what do you think, you along with film mafia have taken revenge by demolishing my house? Today, you broke my house, tomorrow your arrogance will crumble. This is the wheel of time, never constant.” Soon thereafter, she posted videos of the demolition work at her house, and wrote, “Come Udhav Thackeray and Karan Johar Gang you broke my work place come now break my house then break my face and body, I want world to see clearly what you anyway do underhand, whether I live or die I will expose you regardless.” [ Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut ] Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut Senior Police Inspector Sanjay Dalvi of the Vikhroli police station told The Hindu that a non-cognisable complaint was registered yesterday by an advocate practising at the Bombay High Court. Advocate Nitin Mane’s complaint says that “the actor has defamed the CM by linking him with the film mafia,” and seeks an FIR against her under Section 499 (defamation) of the IPC. Meanwhile, the BMC today defended its stand on demolishing parts of Ranaut’s bungalow. It said before the Bombay High Court that Kangana had “made false, baseless and unwanted allegations of harassment”. Senior advocate Aspi Chenoy, representing the civic body, said Ranaut in her reply did not dispute the substantial work of alterations and additions carried out in the commercial complex. Ranaut’s plea had said, “The action of the BMC is illegal, arbitrary, mala fide and without application of mind, in violation of principles of natural justice, unreasonable and improper.” In Brief: Fraudsters allegedly used cloned cheques [to withdraw around ₹6 lakh from the bank account of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust]( Ayodhya, which is entrusted with the Ram temple construction. The police have launched a probe. DSP Ayodhya Rajesh Kumar said that on September 9, general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust Champat Rai submitted an application to the police saying that around ₹6 lakh had been withdrawn from the Trust’s account through fraudulent cheques. Senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Union Minister [Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has resigned]( from the party. Earlier, he had resigned as the party’s national vice-president. He is currently admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi as he was indisposed following his treatment for Covid-19 at Patna AIIMS. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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