Latest News: Sharad Pawar on SC's Sushant order, ICMR Director's update on COVID vaccine

Sharad Pawar breaks silence on SC verdict in Sushant's probe

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said that Maharashtra government should accept the decision and cooperate with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Supreme Court ruled on August 19 that Bihar government's recommendations for a CBI probe in Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case were valid. Taking to Twitter, Pawar said that he is 'sure' MVA government will respect the judgment of the apex court but raked up a pending investigation by the CBI. Casting aspersions on the central agency, the NCP supremo mentioned Narendra Dabholkar’s murder case who was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013. 

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Nithyananda to launch 'Hindu Reserve Bank'

Self-styled Godman Nithyananda announced the launch of ‘Hindu Investment and Reserve Bank' in a video released on August 19. The fugitive, accused of rape, said that he will launch the 'Reserve Bank' of Kailasa as the central bank of his self-proclaimed nation on Ganesha Chaturthi. In a 2 minute 44 seconds long video, Nithyananda can be heard saying: 

“On Ganesh Chaturthi with the grace of Ganapati, we are going to be revealing all the absolute, complete details of the Reserve Bank of Kailaasa and the currencies. It’s all ready. The whole economic policies, 300-page document, is ready with absolute designing, currency everything, the economic strategy how we are going to be doing, internal currency usage and external world currency exchange has all been done legally."

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California LNU lightning complex wildfire rages

Thousands of people had to be evacuated in California after the lightning strikes sparked wildfires in the north, east and south sides of San Francisco. The wildfire caused by lightning strikes raged through Napa County causing immense loss of property. California Governor Gavin Newsom blamed the disaster on “this extraordinary weather that we’re experiencing and all of these lightning strikes.” He added that the state has recorded nearly 11,000 lightning strikes in 72 hours and recorded 367 fires.

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ICMR Director gives update on India's COVID vaccine

ICMR director told a parliamentary panel on August 19 that phase-two clinical trial of two indigenously developed vaccine candidates have almost been completed and emergency authorisation of a vaccine could be considered if the central government decides so. Balram Bhargava informed members of the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs that the vaccine candidates developed by Bharat Biotech, Cadila and the Serum Institute of India are at different stages of the trial. He elaborated that COVID-19 vaccine candidates coordinated by Bharat Biotech and Cadila are nearing completion of phase-two trials.

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Cabinet approves NRA

The Union Cabinet approved setting up of 'National Recruitment Agency' on August 19 to conduct the Common Eligibility Test. Referring to the significant reform in the recruitment process for central government jobs, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that it is one of the most landmark reforms in independent India. NRA, a multi-agency body, will include the first-level test by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Institute of Banking Service Personnel (IBPS) and the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs).

"It will bring ease of recruitment, selection, job placement and ease of living particularly for certain sections of society which are at a disadvantage on one account or the other", Singh told a press briefing.

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Microplastic pollution 10 times worse than thought

There is an alarming presence of 'invisible' microplastics in the upper levels that would estimate to 200 million tonnes of plastic in the entire ocean, said a study. The research paper published in the journal Nature Communications on August 18 measured the top 200 meters of the Atlantic to find 12-21 million tonnes of microplastic in the world's second-largest ocean. 

Although these numbers stand true only for three of the most common types of plastic in a limited size range, it is much higher than the previous estimation of 17 million tonnes which considered all plastic waste entering the Atlantic Ocean over a 65 years period (between 1950 to 2015).

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