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Poor
patients in India facing shortage of government provided free HIV
drugs
India
> HIV
Drugs > September 04, 2014.
Several government
distribution centres for medicines in states including Maharashtra,
Gujarat and Karnataka are facing shortfalls of HIV drugs because the
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has not supplied adequate
quantities. India has been providing free antiretroviral drugs for
HIV treatment since 2004, but only 50 percent of those eligible for
the treatment were getting it in 2012, a report last year by the
World Health Organisation said. The first line of HIV/AIDS drugs
costs about 3,000 rupees ($50) for one month's supply in the retail
market. Out of 2.1 million HIV/AIDS patients in India, about 750,000
people depend on the free distribution of drugs through
government-run centres. Reasons for the shortfall in HIV drugs are
supply bottlenecks and Cipla and other companies dropping out of the
process because of late payments. NACO refused to accept that they
had denied payments and instead allege that companies like Cipla are
not bidding because they are getting more margins from exporting the
drugs. NACO also said that it had advised state governments to use
contingency funds to buy drugs from the retail market in case of
shortages. India had the third largest number of people living with
HIV in the world at the end of 2013 and about 40 percent of the
population lives below the poverty line unable to afford proper
medical care.
India
and Pakistan affected by heavy rains; PM terms “National Disastor”
World
> Floods
in India and Pakistan > September 06, 2014.
Due to torrential monsoon
rains, the regions of Jammu and Kashmir in India and Azad Kashmir,
Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab in Pakistan have been affected by floods.
Nearly 200 people in India and 205 people in Pakistan have died as a
result of these floods. According to Home Ministry of India, several
thousand villages across the state have been hit and 350 villages are
submerged. So far 47,200 people have been rescued, which includes
24,000 from Srinagar city.
Many parts of Srinagar,
including the Army cantonment in Badamibagh, are inundated, and vital
roads have been submerged, by the floods.
The Prime Minister of India
has offered an assistance of INR 10 billion to the state government,
this was in addition to INR 11 billion already earmarked for the
disaster. Terming it as a “national disaster”, Modi also took an
aerial survey of the affected areas and even offered help those
affected in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Chief Minister of
Maharashtra announced an aid of INR 100 million from the chief
minister's relief fund for the rescue and relief for Jammu and
Kashmir flood victims. Also, Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu and Gujarat, announced an assistance of INR 50 million each and
appealed to the people to come forward and help those in need.
WHO
predicts increase in Ebola outbreak, says worst-affected Liberia can
slow it but cannot stop it
World
> Ebola > September 10, 2014.
The WHO has predicted a
rapid increase in Ebola infections across West Africa and said that
Liberia, where 50 percent of total Ebola cases have been identified
till now, could only hope to slow the outbreak and not fully stop it.
Liberia’s defence minister Brownie Samukai has told a meeting of
the UN Security Council that Ebola is threatening the very existence
of Liberia as the outbreak is spreading like ‘wildfire’ and
affecting previously uninfected regions of the country. The WHO upped
the Ebola death toll yesterday to 2,296 out of 4,293 cases in
Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria as of September 6. Nearly
half of all infections had occurred in the past 21 days.
Others
Obama
vows to 'degrade and destroy' Islamic State; Ready to authorize
airstrikes in Syria
World
> Syria > September 04, 2014.
US President Obama has
decided that his goal for US action against the Islamic State (Isis)
is to “degrade and destroy” the jihadist army, all while pressure
for an escalated military response rises in the US Congress. He is
prepared to use U.S. military airstrikes in Syria as part of an
expanded campaign to defeat the Islamic State and does not believe he
needs formal congressional approval to take that action
Obama has resisted military
engagement in Syria for more than three years, out of fear early on
that arming the rebels who oppose Mr. Assad would fail to alter the
balance in the civil war while more direct military intervention
could have spillover effects in the volatile region.
When he threatened Syria
with a missile strike last year after Mr. Assad’s forces used
chemical weapons, implacable opposition in Congress led him to shelve
the plan. Now, however, the threat from ISIS has changed both the
American political climate and his calculations.
Al-Qaeda
Declares New Branch in India
India
> Al
Qaeda Wing > September 06, 2014.
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman
al-Zawahiri has announced the formation of an Indian branch of his
terrorist group. He also declared the new branch would spread Islamic
rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the subcontinent.
Zawahiri described the
formation of "Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent" as glad
tidings for Muslims "in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujurat,
Ahmedabad, and Kashmir" and said the new wing would rescue
Muslims there from injustice and oppression.
India put several provinces
on heightened alert after the announcement. Until now there has been
no evidence that al Qaeda, the group responsible for the Sept. 11,
2001 airliner attacks on New York's World Trade Center, has a
presence in India.
US
Open 2014: The Champions
Sports
> Tennis > September 07, 2014.
Sania Mirza clinched the
mixed doubles crown at the US Open 2014 with her male partner Bruno
Soares of Brazil. The duo beat the pair of Abigail Spears (US) and
Santiago Gonzalez (Mexico) by 6-1 2-6 11-9.
It was her 3rd mixed-doubles
titles, after the two with Mahesh Bhupathi at the Australian Open in
2009 and then at French Open in 2012.
Men's Singles
In the Men's Singles
category, US Open witnessed a new unheralded champion. Croatia’s
Marin Cilic conquered his first grand slam having dashed the hope of
Kei Nishikori - the first man from Asia (and Japan) to reach a Gand
Slam final - with an emphatic scoreline of 6-3, 6-3 and 6-3.
Women's Singles
Serena Williams defeated
Caroline Wozniacki to bag her 3rd consecutive US Open crown. It's her
sixth US Open and 18th Grand Slam title overall.
Men's Doubles
Bob and Mike Bryan lifted
their fifth US Open and 16th Grand Slam doubles title. It was also
their 100th tournament title overall. They defeated Spaniards Marcel
Granollers and Marc Lopez 6-3, 6-4.
AAP
releases video showing Delhi BJP leader allegedly offering bribe to
MLA amid reports that the BJP might be invited to form the government
Politics
and Government >
Delhi Assembly
Polls > September 08, 2014.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal
has released a sting video showing Delhi BJP vice president Sher
Singh Dagar allegedly offering Rs. 4 crore to AAP MLA Dinesh Mohaniya
amid reports that the BJP was preparing to form the government in
Delhi, which has been under president’s rule since February.
Mohania was allegedly told by Dagar that he could contest the
election on a BJP ticket and even if he lost, he would be given
chairmanship of any government-run board. None of the parties has a
majority to form the government in Delhi. However, being the
single-largest party in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, the BJP
looked set to receive an invitation from lieutenant governor Najeeb
Jung any time and the party was likely to prove its majority on the
floor of the house in a secret ballot. The fresh allegations leveled
against the ruling party will likely have a serious impact on whether
the BJP should be invited to form the government. Dagar has said that
Mohania had approached him to join the BJP and hence Dagar had
attended to him. The BJP’s Delhi unit has distanced itself from the
controversy and sought an explanation from Dagar.
Iraq
Parliament approves new government
World
> Iraq > September 08, 2014.
The Iraqi parliament
approved a new government on Monday after a late-night parliamentary
session following months of domestic and international pressure to
replace the previous government of Nouri al-Maliki. Key positions,
including those of the defense and security chiefs, were left open
amid controversy over who would fill them. The new prime minister,
Haider al-Abadi said he would name candidates for those positions
within a week. The new lineup meets U.S. demands for an inclusive
government involving deprived Sunni and Kurdish minorities. The new
government also paves the way for increased US military assistance to
fight the ISIS in the country.
Electrolux
buys GE Appliances business for $3.3 bn
Corporate
> Electrolux > September 08, 2014.
Electrolux has agreed to pay
$3.3 billion to acquire General Electric Co's appliances business, a
move that would put the Swedish group head-to-head with Whirlpool
Corp. at the top of the U.S. market for white goods.
The deal is the largest ever
by Electrolux and comes amid consolidation among makers of stoves,
dishwashers and washing machines. Whirlpool agreed to pay more than
$1 billion when it acquired a majority stake in Italian company
Indesit Co. , a purchase that would roughly double Whirlpool's
business in Europe.
As part of the deal,
Electrolux also acquires a 48.4% shareholding in the Mexican
appliance company Mabe, which has a 30-year product-development and
manufacturing joint venture with GE Appliances. That will give
Electrolux access to Mabe's Continental and Dako brands, which could
help it compete in Brazil, where it has lost market share to
Whirlpool as strapped consumers have gone down market.
Aditya
Birla Chemicals to acquire Jayshree Chemicals’ unit for Rs 212
crore
Corporate
> Aditya
Birla > September 08, 2014.
Aditya Birla Chemicals
(India), a subsidiary of the $40 billion Aditya Birla Group, on
Monday said it will acquire the chlor-alkali division (CAD) of
Jayshree Chemicals for a cash consideration of Rs 212 crore. Jayshree
Chemicals' chlor-alkali facility with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes is
located at Ganjam, Odisha. It has around 1600 acres of salt works in
Andhra Pradesh. Chlor-alkali is used extensively in aluminium and
several other industries. Jayshree’s chlor-alkali manufacturing
facility is situated in close proximity to several aluminium
manufacturing facilities, which provides significant growth
opportunities.
Supreme
Court gives CBI directors 10 days to respond why he should not be
removed
India
> CBI
Chief Controversy > September 09, 2014.
The Supreme Court has given
CBI chief Ranjit Sinha 10 days to respond to a request in the apex
court that seeks his removal from office for allegedly trying to
protect companies and people who his agency is investigating on
telecom and coal scam charges. In a series of petitions, Prashant
Bhushan, a lawyer-activist and a senior leader of the Aam Aadmi
Party, has demanded that Mr. Sinha has abused his office as head of
the CBI. To support his claims, Mr Bhushan has asked the Supreme
Court to review a diary that recorded the visitors to Mr. Sinha's
home. The list, which has been leaked to the media, allegedly
includes executives from Reliance Telecom, which has been charged by
the CBI of offering bribes in exchange for an out-of-turn mobile
network license. Other visitors to his house include Congress leaders
whose relatives and firms have been linked to the coal scam. Mr.
Sinha has not denied the visits but said that they were less frequent
and they didn’t influence him in any way during the investigation.
British
PM begs Scots: Don't rip apart our UK 'family of nations'
World
> Scottish
Independence Referendum > September 09, 2014.
Reacting on a referendum on
whether Scotland should be an independent country that will take
place on 18 September 2014, British Prime Minister David Cameron has
begged Scots not to rip apart Britain's "family of nations".
In a sign of new panic in the British ruling elite over the fate of
the 307-year-old union, Cameron and opposition leader Ed Miliband
scrapped their weekly question-and-answer session in parliament to
speak at separate events in Scotland.
Background:
Following an agreement
between the Scottish Government and the United Kingdom Government,
the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill, setting out the
arrangements for this referendum, was put forward on 21 March 2013,
passed by the Scottish Parliament on 14 November 2013 and received
Royal Assent on 17 December 2013.
The referendum question, as
recommended by the Electoral Commission, will be "Should
Scotland be an independent country?" - voters can only answer
yes or no. With some exceptions, all residents in Scotland over 16
can vote, this represents over 4 million people - only a simple
majority is required to win.
Many issues have been raised
during the campaign including which currency an independent Scotland
would use, public expenditure and North Sea oil. Opinion polling
indicates the vote will be close.
China
to invest heavily in India, plans to set up industrial parks in Pune
and Ahmedabad
World
> Indo-China > September 09, 2014.
Chinese premier Xi Jinping's
visit to India on September 17 will see a host of trade
collaborations between the two countries. More than 20 Chinese
companies will sign purchase agreements with Indian companies worth
$650 million to buy copper cathodes, seafood, polypropylene, oil and
cotton yarn among other items. China will set up two industrial parks
in Ahmedabad and Pune. The Ahmedabad park would focus on power
transmission and generation equipment manufacturing. The Pune park
would be completed in three years and would see investments to the
tune of $500 million. The two neighbours are also expected to sign an
MOU to develop India's railway infrastructure. The Gujarat government
will also sign two MOUs. One with Guangdong province for bilateral
development in industry, business, energy development, water
resources management, environment conservation, cultural ties and
another with Guangzhou city for development of Ahmedabad and
Guangzhou as sister-cities. Chinese firms have invested only $1
billion compared to around $4 billion invested by Indian companies in
China due to several trade barriers and the Indian government seeks
to lower the trade deficit this time between the two countries.
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