kannur l monday l January 04, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 28 l city EDITION sweeping war powers to xi in china’s new defence law Effective Jan 1, the decision-making powers on military policy rest with Xi Jinping-led Central Military Commission (CMC) right to mobilise military, civilian assets Provides legal ground to launch war State Council – China’s cabinet – will have a no say in defence matters as the revisions place sweeping powers into the hands of CMC to mobilise both military and civilian resources to defend its assets both in China and abroad. ‘Disruption’ and protection of ‘development interests’ added as grounds for mobilising and deploying troops and reserve forces ■ ■ Including ‘development interests’ provides legal grounds for the country to launch war to defend national development interests The CMC is now formally in charge of making national defence policy and principles, while the State Council becomes a mere implementing agency to provide support to the military 2 years Time taken by the National People’s Congress to pass the law CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Bharat Biotech’s candidate yet to finish phase 3 trial, points out Opposition; bid to ridicule scientific community, says Nadda E x p r ess N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi Regulatory approvals to a couple of coronavirus vaccines on Sunday set off a political slugfest, with a section of the Opposition questioning the nod to Bharat Biotech’s homegrown Covaxin, since it is yet to complete phase 3 trials. While Congress leaders sought full disclosure of Covaxin’s data, BJP chief J P Nadda tore into the Opposition for coming up with “wild theories” to “ridicule” the accomplishments. The Congress remained divided, with chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala hailing the scientific community, but deputy leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh and Shashi Tharoor asking searching questions on the haste in according approval to Covaxin. The Congress troika demanded Union health minister Harsh Vardhan’s explanation on why mandatory protocols and verification of data had been done away for Covaxin. Soon enough, Vardhan reacted sharply, saying: “Disgraceful for anyone to politicize a critical issue”. Sharma, who heads the Parliamentary panel on the Ministry of Home Affairs, which had deliberated on the Covid-19 management plan, noted that the data on safety and efficacy has not been reviewed in the case of Covaxin. Tharoor warned that the approval is premature, saying Covaxin’s use should be avoided as it could be dangerous. Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Giriraj Singh took potshots at the Opposition. “Our in-house cynics M/s Ja i r a m , T h a ro o r & Akhilesh are behaving true to form,” tweeted Puri. While Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and BSP head Mayawati lauded the scientific community, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who on Saturday said he would not take a ‘BJP vaccine’, adviced the government on Sunday to avoid a cosmetic approach. As for CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury, he called for full disclosure of data of the trial phases. MP drafting law to make vandals pay up 3 wild elephants die in a day in Malabar region E XPR E S S N E W S S E RVIC E E x p r ess N e w s S e r v i c e @ Bhopal Taking a leaf out of UP’s book, Madhya Pradesh is drafting a stringent law with a provision to auction the properties of stone-pelters to recover damages caused t o p u bl i c p ro p e r t y o r individuals. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s decision comes close on the heels of three incidents of clashes between two communities during the Ram temple fundraising processions taken out in Ujjain, Indore, and Mandsaur districts. “Their act not only causes damage to properties, but also poses a risk to human lives. While peaceful protests are the right of the citizens, vandals and arsonists have to be severely dealt with,” Chouhan said. When introduced, MP will become the second state after Uttar Pradesh to have such a law. @Kozhikode Malabar woke up to the news of three wild elephant deaths — including a 10-yearold — in Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad districts on Sunday . The first death was reported in the early hours of the day when the elephant rescued on Friday from a 50foot well at Anakkampoyil in Kozhikode died after being released into the forest. Later, a jumbo was found dead in a private property in the Nilambur-Karulai forest area. The other death happened in Wayanad’s Kurichiyad range where the carcass of a oneyear-old elephant was found. Four days ago, a tusker was found dead in the Chethalayath forest range of the South Wayanad division. Doctors who examined the Anakkampoyil elephant said it died of severe dehydration after having spent more than A medic conducts a dry run of Covid-19 vaccination on a health worker, at the Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala on Sunday | PTI Govt’s case “COVAXIN is more likely to work against newer variants like N501Y Variant (UK variant) & any other that may arise due to antigenic drift as it contains immunogens (epitopes) from other genes in addition to those from Spike protein,” says Harsh Vardhan Covixan is based on whole inactivated coronavirus; only 7 per cent persons receiving 6 microgram dose had mild symptoms Covaxin data shows it not only produces antibodies in all participants but also sensitises ‘CD4 T lymphocytes that imparts durable immune response, says Vardhan 18 hours in the unused well without food and water. “The preliminary investigation of the carcass revealed that the elephant had gone through multiple internal injuries and organ failure because of the fall. Adding to it was dehydration. All efforts were made to provide food and water to the elephant soon after it was rescued,” said Dr Arun Zachariah, chief forest veterinary officer in Wayanad. “This is an unfortunate situation. The department will take all steps to curb the intrusion of wild animals into human settlements to avoid such accidents in the future,” said Forest Officer Sudheer Neroth, of the Thamarassery range. It had taken more than 14 hours for a rescue team comprising forest, revenue and police officials, assisted by local people, to break the walls of the well and clear a path for the jumbo to come ● More on P5 out.  7 wedding guests from Karnataka killed as bus nosedives on house seriously injured shifted to m’luru E x p r ess N e w s S e r v i c e @ Kanhangad Seven persons, including two kids, were killed when a bus carrying wedding guests from Puttur in Karnataka veered off a steep road and nosedived on an unoccupied house at Pariyaram, a border village near Panathur in Kasaragod district, on Sunday. The accident happened 5km away from the groom’s house in Karike panchayat in Karnataka. All deceased belonged to Puttur in Dakshina Kannada. The district administration identified them as Aadarsh, 12, a deaf and mute boy, and his father Rajesh, 45; Shreyas,13; Ravichandra, 40, and wife Seshamma, 39; Sumathi, 50; and the bus cleaner Sasidhara Poojary 43. , The private bus was carrying around 65 relatives and guests of the bride’s family in, cluding 14 children, according The seriously injured were first brought to the Taluk Hospital in Poodankal, 17km away, and then to District Hospital in Kanhangad, which is 40km away. Later, the 11 patients were shifted to private hospitals in Mangaluru in ambulances. The bus that met with the accident at Pariyaram in Kasaragod district on Sunday to passengers. Of them, 11 persons were hurt seriously and 46 others suffered minor injuries, said district surveillance officer Dr A T Manoj. Bride inconsolable Aruna, a young BEd graduate from Puttur, and Prashanth Kumar, an employee of Karike Positioning for powerplay Junglemahal vote share (LS poll)  BJP  TMC Purulia 2014 7.15% 38.87% 2019 49.33% (+42.18) 34.19% (-4.68) Jhargram 2014 9.73% 54.6% 2019 44.56% (+34.83) 43.72% (-10.88) west bengal Nod to Covaxin triggers concern, political joust 11 persons critically injured in Kasaragod accident; bus was carrying around 65 relatives and guests of the bride’s family Bankura 2014 20.31% 39.1% 2019 49.2% (+28.92) 36.5% (-2.6) Bishnupur 2014 14.11% 45.5% 2019 46.25% (+32.14) 40.75% (-4.75) Midnapore 2014: 14.26% 46.5% 2019: 48.62% (+34.36) 42.32% (-4.19) Electorate in Scheduled Tribes 27% Junglemahal Scheduled Castes & OBCs 35% Spoilers threaten to muddle poll play in Bengal and Assam Pranab Mondal & P r a s a nta M a z u m d a r @ Kolkata/Guwahati Call them spoilers, proxies or B-teams, with Assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam just months away, two political parties have thrown their hat in the ring, one in each state, with the sole aim of damaging bigger and more established players. While the Jharkhand AGP stronghold Dibrugarh Sivasagar Kamrup Kamrup Metro Tinsukia assam  Upper districts  Central districts Jorhat Nagaon panchayat’s water division, were getting married on Sunday In the morning, there was . a wedding ritual in Aruna’s house in Puttur and the ritual of tying the ‘thali’ was scheduled in Kumar’s house in Karike panchayat in the afternoon. Around 11am, two buses —one each with guests of the AGP in 2016 elections contested 26 seats Won 14 Seats won by AGP in Golaghat Upper and Central Assam 9 Mukti Morcha (JMM) has declared that it will contest the West Bengal elections, not for the first time though, newbie Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP) has entered the fray in Assam. Most do not give them any chance and say they will be mere also-rans. But they are expected to be crucial tools in the hands of the serious contenders to play the role of a spoiler. The JMM is expected to damage the chances of the BJP, benefiting the Trinamool Congress, as both are expected to vie for the votes of tribals, among whom the BJP has made major inroads recently . The AJP could do the same to the Asom Gana Parishad, a BJP ally, and Anil Panachooran passes away T’Puram: Poet and lyricist Anil Panachooran, 51, passed away in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday night. He was undergoing treatment for Covid-19 and died at a private hospital following a heart attack. He shot to fame with his songs in movie ‘Arabikkatha’ in 2007. too close for comfort Throwing social distancing norms to the winds, people throng Ernakulam Broadway market on Sunday. Though the dry run was held on Saturday and the state is prepared for Covid vaccination, the callous approach of the public is giving the health officials a scare | Albin Mathew Cinemas ready to reopen by January 13, ball now in govt’s court Theatre owners in the state have set January 13 as the tentative date for reopening cinemas, provided the government agrees to their demands. They are pinning hopes on resuming operations with the screening of ‘Master’ featuring Tamil superstar Vijay . “The producers and exhib- itors have put forth various recommendations before the state government, including relaxation in entertainment tax and waiver of fixed charges in electricity bills, to help the industry tide over the huge financial losses it suffered due to the Covid-induced lockdown. We this could be to the advantage of the Congress. Like the AGP, the new party’s leadership comes mainly from former activists of the All-Assam Students’ Union with regionalism its ideological mooring. Political circles in both the states believe the JMM and the AJP have been propped up by the Trinamool and the Congress respectively to do what the AllIndia Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen did to the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar last year. In the closely contested Bihar elections, Asaduddin Owaisi’s party contested 14 seats in the Muslim-dominated areas, winning five and hurting the RJD.  Continued on: P8  express read ‘Master’ release S h i b u B S @ Kochi bride and the groom—left Puttur for Kumar’s house in Karike. The bride and the groom left ahead in cars. However, to reach Karike panchayat inside the Pushpagiri reserve forest of Karnataka, they have to travel 10km in Kasaragod’s Panathady panchayat. The accident happened around 12.30pm at Pariyaram near Panathur. Aruna was inconsolable when she and Prashanth Kumar visited the taluk hospital at Poodankal to meet the in● More on P4 jured.  hope our demands will be met so that the theatres can be opened at least by January 13,” said Rejaputhra Renjith, president, Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA). According to G Sureshkumar, a fellow KFPA office-bearer, though many Malayalam The producers and exhibitors have put forth various recommendations before the government. We hope our demands will be met so that theatres can be opened by January 13 — Rejaputhra Renjith, prez, KFPA film producers have announced dates for releasing their movies, they need to assess the situation closely before making a decision. The representatives of Kerala Film Chamber, the apex body , will meet on Wednesday to discuss the follow-up measures for reopening the cinemas by January 13. They are pretty hopeful of an amicable solution and that ‘Master’ can be screened on January 13 itself. Apart from ‘Master’, the producer of the Jayasurya-starrer ‘Vellam’ has already expressed his willingness to release his movie, once the theatres are reopened. Mammootty’s ‘The Priest’, Mohanlal’s ‘MarakkkarArabikkadalinte Simham’, Nivin Pauly’s ‘Thuramukham’ and Fahadh Faasil’s ‘Malik’ are also expected in March-April ● More on P5 window.  17 killed in cremation ground roof collapse Ghaziabad: Seventeen people, most of them attending a funeral, were killed and 15 others injured when the roof of a shelter at a cremation ground in Uttar Pradesh’s Muradnagar collapsed on Sunday, police said. Jacobites try to re-enter churches Kochi: Members of the Jacobite faction of the Malankara Church tried to enter several churches, which were handed over to the Orthodox faction, yet again on Sunday. However, they were stopped by police. WITH THIS ISSUE THE ESSENTIAL CAMPUS DIGEST YOUR LIFE COACH 28 PAGES, INCLUDING 16 OF edex (TABLOID)